By Edwin Crayton/Opinion

And why do so many of them claim to be Christians?

If you’ve read your New Testament, you’ve probably noticed that when Jesus physically walked the earth, he often criticized religious people for loving the things of the world. What he was talking about was the fact that they valued the things of the world more than they valued the things of God. In fact, the Scriptures even say, “he who becomes friends with the world becomes an enemy of God” (James 4:4).  If you are a Christian, you should know that we who confess Jesus as savior and Lord are supposed to place nothing before God. It’s the first of the ten commandments: “You shall have no other god before me” (Exodus 20:3). Yet, many things become like idols for us.

When Jesus asked the question, “What does it profit a man to gain the world and lose his soul? (Mark 8:36)”, he was warning us that the lures of this world can lead us down a wrong, dark path to hell. The Bible makes it clear that often we won’t even know it’s already happened. A person may become successful, rich and popular and then, one morning, wake up in hell. In Luke Chapter 16:19-31, there is a story of a wealthy man who did just that. Two men died. One was Lazarus the beggar who befriended Jesus. And the other was a rich man named Dives. Lazarus went to heaven. The rich man went to hell. When I first read this story, I was stunned when Jesus made it clear that even successful people who die without accepting Jesus as Lord and savior will be damned. Here is what I believe the Holy Spirit has taught me about testing where my loyalties really are. What follows are some ways we leave God out and follow the world instead of him. The types of lures Satan uses to hijack our love for God and then transfer it to this world, are too numerous to cover in the scope of an article this size (or any size). However, I believe these transgressions are universal:

• People follow the world by giving in to unbelief. It’s been so since the beginning of the world. Adam and Eve, the very first man and woman did not believe what God told them. They believed the stranger, the Devil and disobeyed God by eating the forbidden fruit (Book of Genesis, Chapters 2-3). The Devil was worldly and disconnected from God. Adam and Eve did not believe God, even though he was clearly the one who created them. And he even warned them of what disobedience would bring.  They were without excuse. Adam and Eve’s decision to disobey God and listen to someone other than God brought sin into the world and led to all the sins that occurred down through the generations. Worse, their unfortunate choice qualified every human being for an eternity in hell. Today, we are repeating their mistake as many also disbelieve God’s Word. They reject Christ and the very words of God. They criticize Christians who try to live by biblical standards. Like Adam and Eve, many people today are listening to voices other than God’s voice. Unfortunately, like Adam and Eve, they don’t realize it’s the on ramp to hell. What’s the best way to hear God’s voice? Read your Bible. Read it cover to cover.
• People follow worldly concepts because instead of building God’s kingdom, they are really building their own kingdoms. The Pharisees rejected Jesus, attacked and eventually killed him because he was viewed by them as a threat to their power. The Pharisees wanted to build their own kingdom. They wanted Jesus and everyone to submit to their rules. Do we do that too? Sure. We ask God to bless us and do things for us. Nothing wrong with that. But that is focused on getting what we want. It’s building our How many times do we ask God what we can do for him? When we do so, we are focusing on building his kingdom.
• People follow worldly ideas because they view God as permissive. They want a god who will let them do whatever they want. Even some people in church live in lifestyles the Bible has prohibited. Tell them about it and they will accuse you of “judging” them. But the Bible is clear when it teaches that even though Jesus forgives sin, he does not endorse it or downplay it. Some pastors are even openly living in sexual lifestyles that the Bible forbids. They are teaching their congregations that their sinful lifestyle is alright with God. They are lying. Isaiah 5:20 says, “Woe to those who call evil good.” God has a zero tolerance for sin. Yes, he will forgive your sin, but you must regret it, repent for it, which means you must stop it and turn from it. He will empower you to do so.
• People choose the world when they have too much confidence in their own intelligence. Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us that we should trust in God and should not lean to our own understanding. That means that we should yield to God and allow him to be in control instead of us. But really, most of the time, we humans make decisions without consulting God. This is why the world is so messed up. I plead guilty and confess that sometimes I struggle with letting go and letting God. Am I the only one? Of course not. But as I’ve grown older, I have realized that all human wisdom is flawed, while God’s wisdom is flawless—perfect. Look at it this way. God cannot fail. I can. You can. So, who should be making the decisions? Should be a no-brainer shouldn’t it? When we take charge, we limit God and therefore we miss out on a blessing that he would like to give, because we are limiting him. When we do that it’s called “being dumb”. God’s ideas, intelligence and power are always going to be bigger and more awesome than ours.
• People are fooled into believing success in this world guarantees success in the next world. It does not. The rich man in Luke Chapter 16 wound up in hell. Lazarus would have been considered a financial failure by the standards of this world. Yet he ended up enjoying the riches of heaven. Is it worth it to do evil in order to gain the world’s riches and end up in the fiery pit of hell for an eternity? Someone once said, “Whoever dies with the most toys wins.” Someone much wiser responded, “Dying with the most toys still means you’re dead.” True Success is accepting Jesus as savior and lord. It’s making it to heaven. Jesus himself said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me” (John 14:6). As Lazarus the Christian beggar proved, you don’t need money to come to Jesus and spend eternity in heaven.

People confess Christ as savior and lord, but in fact, they live by worldly values.  

Sure, they claim they are following a Christ who was not prejudiced, but somehow, they themselves are prejudiced. They attend segregated churches by choice. They’re materialistic, even though Jesus was not and warned people about worshipping money. In business, these “so called Christians” leave their faith at home, so much so, that their business practices are exactly like those of nonbelievers. In short, they live daily life like the world. They fit in. They want to fit in. They don’t live like Jesus. He did not fit in. The Bible even says God’s people are to be “peculiar”. We are supposed to be different from the rest of the world.  We are supposed to also obey Jesus. Jesus made this point when he asked some less than faithful people in his circle, “Why do you call me lord, lord and then don’t do what I say?” (Luke 6:46). He also said, “Those who love me will keep my commandments” (John 14:21). Maybe the question is, do we really love him?

People cling to a worldview that opposes and is even incompatible with God’s worldview.

There are people who form their worldview on their own first, then they go out and find a religion and a “god” that fits what they’ve already decided. I suspect that is why we often hear some people say, “I wouldn’t serve a god who does…. (fill in the blank)?” Actually, the Bible teaches that God is who he is, take him or leave him. He doesn’t change to fit our lifestyle. Unlike your phone, he doesn’t do updates on himself. The Bible tells us we need to conform to God’s way of thinking because he knows best. He has all the wisdom and all the power. When we see things through the eyes of Jesus, we have true wisdom and peace. But we must humble ourselves to allow that to happen. Philippians 2:5 says, “let this mind be in you that is in Christ Jesus.” Bottom line is, when we want Jesus, we also want his point of view.

People buy into the trends of the day and of this world and that will almost always include abandoning God.

The social trends of the moment are increasingly meaner and anti-Christ. TV shows and popular social media routinely ridicule Christians and godly living. It almost seems you have to be anti-Christian to get a job in Hollywood.  This is an era when sexual concepts and ideas on reproduction go against Bible teachings and become so popular, they become laws.  In such an evil, toxic environment it’s easy to go along in order to get along. But Jesus doesn’t want us to sell out. He wants us to stay true and loyal to the faith. He warned us that those who reject him will be rejected by him. Being a Christian means we are to be faithful even when being faithful is unpopular or dangerous. The Bible promises that all believers will have trouble in this world. That’s sobering. But Jesus also promised that he would be with us at all times and the Bible reassures us that in times of persecution or even death, we will be given instructions if we are believers. 

People put off coming to Jesus because, they’re having too much fun living like an unbeliever in the world.

Some people will tell you that they’re not ready to believe in Jesus. They’ll admit, they like living outside of his will because they’re having a ball.  I’ve heard other people say, they’re going to get themselves together one day and then come to God. But they can’t do that. If they could, they wouldn’t need a savior.  More important, our days are numbered and no one knows when they’re going to die. In Luke 12:16-21, there is a great story of a man who was very well off and he decided he would just take all his goods, store them and then take it easy. God told him his soul would be required of him that day.  He died. You do not know, neither do I when we will pass on to the next world. That’s why every single day matters. Don’t wait. It may be too late. Those who are having fun doing what God prohibits should realize that if that last day comes before they’re surrendered to Jesus, their next stop will not be fun at all. The Bible is clear that the fires of hell await nonbelievers who die as nonbelievers (John 3:18, Revelations 20:15). It’s automatic.

Pray and obey God’s Holy Word. It is a sad reality that those who die in their sins without repenting will not be saved. And what about their friends who joined them and encouraged them to sin? Where will they be? Nowhere to be found. Stay faithful. Pray for God to give you strength to do so.

If you have never given your heart to Jesus, you can do so now. Ask him to be your savior and lord and repent for your sins. Accept him as lord, which means you are willing to let God lead you in living. (Read John 3:16 and Romans 10:9-10). Believe. And remember, this world is temporary. The next world is eternal. And God and only God controls the eternal world. You cannot choose both worlds because they exist in opposition.

As Adam and Eve discovered the hard way, it doesn’t pay to let anyone or anything lure into choosing the world and its ways instead of choosing God. You cannot sit on the fence either, or just ignore God, because neutrality is not an option. Whoever does either of those things will regret it for an eternity.

On October 6,1927, the first movie with talking actors was premiered by Warner Brothers Studios. It was called The Jazz Singer. It would change movies forever. But the day before, Sam Warner, the pioneer who was crucial to making it all happen died. Imagine. Just one day before giving the world an historic film. Who knew he’d die? We never know when we’ll go.

Most important question. Where did Sam Warner wake up in eternity? Heaven or hell?

Where will you? 

“You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God” –James 4:4

^“But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” –Joshua 24:15

Please pray for the following:

Pray for the soul of The United States of America

Please pray for our local library. Unfortunately, the Natchitoches Parish Library lost its funding when not enough people voted for the mileage tax that supports it. Pray to God to help this excellent and vital resource for our community survive. A great library like ours is essential.

The opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of the Natchitoches Parish Journal or its associates.