From the Historical to the Living

Believers must understand that just inviting people to church does not fulfill their Christian obligation of sharing the Gospel. What is turning off the world from spiritual awareness is the church itself. Debt ridden monuments of human ingenuity have turned off countless numbers of potential believers. What the world needs to see is Jesus, not a buffer zone between the Savior and the people. The lost will only see Jesus through the Believer. If we are not living the Word there will be little of no chance for the carnal to visualize Jesus. The Gospel is a visible, living, example of the written Word. To simply hear the Word preached from the pulpit, will have little or no effect on the hardened heart. What opens the heart is when the Believer exhibits the Word through his life! Let's take this one more step. Once a person comes to know Jesus, he then is challenged to see God through Jesus. This is where the problem of spiritual growth is challenged. People stop their spiritual questing by resting on the foundational teachings of Jesus. Paul makes it clear in his letter to the Hebrews that when Believers settle only on the "Doctrine of Christ" (principles), their spiritual maturity will suffer. Those foundational areas are, repentance, faith, baptism, laying on of hands, the resurrection and judgment. (Hebrews 6: 1, 2) Today many churches center only on these six teachings. Paul stated that after establishing themselves in these areas, they needed to "go on into perfection." (Hebrews 6:1) Failure to press on in their spiritual walk, will keep them from maturing. The Christians that settle on the "milk" of the Word will remain unskilled in the Word, for they will lack the ability to discern good and evil. (Hebrews 5:13, 14)

The "milk" Believers will face the danger of falling away from the Faith due to their lack of spiritual growth. The "deceitfulness of sin," (Hebrews 3:13) will draw the untrained Believer away from the faith through feelings and emotions. Paul warned about the consequences of falling away from the faith. (Hebrews 6: 4-8) He was not talking about backsliding, but apostasy, a complete forsaking of the Faith; body, soul and spirit. To the "milk" Christian, they reject the concept that one can forfeit their salvation. To support their Scriptural ignorance, they gather verses that at first reading, would seem to debunk the interpretation that one can lose their spiritual status with God. Contextual robbery and the elasticizing of Biblical verses has given way to a belief that once they Believe, they are in a holding pattern waiting for the Lord to come, or for them to go to Him. Armed with that resolve, they attend a weekly gathering with other Christians and then return to the secular realm with lukewarm behavior. With this kind of attitude one can readily surmise why the Church is not more effective in its representation of the Kingdom of God.

When a person has truly experienced God's grace, there is a desire to dedicate ones life to accomplishing all that God has for them. Every day is a day of opportunity to increase in the knowledge of His will. Reading God's Word should be as normal as breathing. The more the Believer increases in understanding, the more visible the Kingdom becomes. The "meat" consumer has moved from the basics of the Faith, to the reality of who they are in Christ. They realize they are more than conquerors. They have become what the Word of God proclaimed they could be. These Believers are sealed by God (II Corinthians 1:21) and the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13, 4:30). Unlike the "milk" Believers, the maturing saints know that they know and nothing could ever separate them from God.

Problems abound with the weak, while Praises abound with the strong. Feelings and emotions energize the label wearers, while faith and actions motivates the true Believer. What are the people of the world seeing in us, Jesus, or a slightly different version of themselves? It is time for Christians to decide whether to rest on the historical Jesus, or live a life with the resurrected Christ!



 By Paul W Hoffmaster


Article Source: From the Historical to the Living