STUFF ABOUT GOD AND CHRISTIANITY | Dr. Ron Braley
Many Christians live at a spiritual extreme that could hinder God’s partnership with those he seeks. Some believe Christians only need to accept Jesus as their savior and confess their sins. This dangerous mindset, common among many Western evangelical Christians, can lead to spiritual complacency and contradicts the commands of Father and Son to honor, grow, love and obey.
How did this occur?
It has developed over decades through misapplications of core principles such as salvation by grace, a lack of discipleship, poor teaching and selfishness.
Father and Son understand who they are and what they have done — they don’t need our approval but do want our partnership.
God seeks partners to reconcile his creation in this age and to rule in the next.
• “Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation … Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:18-20).
• “He who overcomes, and he who keeps my deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations” (Revelation 2:26; see also Revelation 3:21 and 1 Corinthians 6:2-3).
The role of partnership involves training and transformation through discipleship, which should be each Christian’s top priority as both a disciple and a disciple-maker.
Everything else stems from it, including worship and spiritual growth. However, statistically, fewer than 20% of churchgoers regularly participate in discipleship activities such as small groups, Bible study, fellowship, prayer and accountability (https://www.barna. com/research/statechurch- 2016/).
Moreover, only 14% of today’s Western Christians seem to demonstrate the actions and attitudes that barna. com researchers associate with those of Jesus (https://www.barna. com/research/christiansmore- like-jesus-or-pharisees).
These numbers suggest that little discipleship is taking place, and imitating the one we call Savior is even more rare. Nonetheless, no spiritually lazy people are welcome in God’s kingdom.
• “Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he takes away . . .
If anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned” (John 15:2-16).
• “Then he will also say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite me in; naked, and you did not clothe me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit me’” (Matthew 25:41- 43).
In summary
God doesn’t need our affirmation, nor will he tolerate Christian laziness. Repent and thrive or perish. In my next article, we’ll learn about the heavenly armor of God and why it’s a musthave.
Blessings and peace.
Braley, a Taylorbased minister, Air Force veteran, husband and father, earned a Master of Divinity degree from Regent University in 2018 and a Doctor of Ministry from the same school in 2021.
