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Can I still be a Christian and….
There is an old story from back in the old west. A guy wanted to hire a horse and carriage driver for a long trip. He put the word out that he wanted the very best driver in the whole territory and he was willing to pay top dollar.
It didn’t take long before drivers started coming to him looking for that job. One driver said, “You see that steep drop off over there? Let me show you what I can do. I will take my horses at a full gallop and slide the carriage right up to within a single yard of the edge and whip it back without the carriage experiencing even the slightest tip.” He put his horses into a gallop and did everything exactly as he predicted. The carriage slid around to within a yard of the edge and whipped back with all four wheels firmly on the ground.
Another driver was watching the demonstration and said to the man, “That’s nothing! I can do that and even better. I can sling this carriage around and slide it over to within 1 foot of the edge and I can do it blind folded!” He then proceeded to take off his bandana and tied it around his eyes. He put his horses into a full gallop and headed straight for the edge of the cliff. Then just as he had predicted, he whipped the carriage around and swung it to within a foot of the edge and then brought the carriage right up to his potential employer-still blindfolded!
The cowboy pulled off his bandana, slapped his knee and looked at a third driver who had come to apply for the job, “Well, How are you gonna top that? How close to the edge can you go?” The third cowboy took off his hat and rubbed the sweat from his forehead with his shirtsleeve and said, “Well, I’ll tell ya, I think I am about as good a driver as anyone but I ain’t even going anywheres near the edge of any ol’ cliff with me, my horses or my wagon. I don’t recon it’s too smart to be taken chances like that even if I think I can do it- especially ifn I got me a paying customer on board. I always make it my policy to steer as far away from stupidity as I can.”
The man instantly looked up at the third cowboy and said, “Mr. You got yourself a job!”
There are some specific examples of issues new believers often deal with and some responses to them further down in this section. But I suggest you read this section before going on to those questions so that you will have a better understanding of the proper way to approach these kinds of questions, circumstances and dilemmas. Jesus talked about building our spiritual lives like a builder builds a house and that is by starting with a solid foundation.
The point of the old west story above is that it is foolish to be thinking about how close to edge we can get and still be saved. Who wants to think like that? When we come to Christ and recognize our need of salvation and ask Him to be our Lord and savior, the last thing we should be thinking about is trying to give the Lord the bare minimum so that we can still please our flesh and at the same time still avoid going to hell.
If a person loves the Lord and truly has given their heart to Jesus, they will be intentionally looking for ways to better serve the Lord and please him. If this is not our heart’s desire, then there is good reason to question whether or not we have really given him our heart.
Again, as with most things, attitude is everything. A ‘REAL’ Christian always considers the Lord in everything. Christians never use phrases when considering the Lord’s will such as, “I don’t care what the Lord thinks about it-I am going to do it anyway; or “ No one is going to tell me what to do or where to go or what to wear or what to watch, eat or smoke!”
Yet, even with a genuine desire to please the Lord and a true love for God abiding in our hearts, we can still do what the Bible calls- ‘stumbling’. A person stumbles when they are walking along minding their own business and they trip over something in their path. They don’t plan it. They don’t premeditate it. They just ‘stumble’ over something.
There are many things that can cause even a TRUE CHRISTIAN to stumble. There are situations that come up where we can regretfully, react wrongly, make poor decisions, speak foolishly, and act unwisely. A driver can cut us off in traffic and we respond by yelling or driving in a retaliatory manner. I am sure you can think of a host of possible situations where stumbling can occur.
Sometimes new believers or ‘baby Christians’ have a whole lifetime of bad habits formed. These habits are like ruts in the road. We get saved and are starting out strong with God, and then something happens that knocks us back into the same old pattern again. This DOES NOT invalidate our born again experience. Before you were born again, you wouldn’t have even cared if the particular behavior were pleasing to the Lord. But now, the second you fail to walk in the way you know would be pleasing to God, you feel terrible- you have stumbled.
At that time, direct your heart to God and say- even out loud, “Lord, I have really blown it. It was very stupid of me. Please forgive me and help me to not go there again.” The bible says that when a believer confesses his or her sin that God is faithful to forgive our sin and cleanse us of ALL unrighteousness. (1John 1:9)
That said, we all know that we are more likely to stumble when walking in darkness than in the light. A REAL CHRISTIAN, will actually invite more light into his or her life. They like light. They want light. They feel terrible when they stumble and they want to avoid stumbling. Jesus said, “This is what brings judgment, Light has come into the world, and mankind loved the darkness more than the light; because their deeds were evil. For everyone that does evil hates the light because his or her deeds will be exposed. Everyone who walks in the truth, loves the light and comes into the light so that his or her good deeds will be made manifest. (John 3:19-20) Don’t be like a cockroach that runs from the light!
There are various ways to shed light on the path you are walking. First, surround yourself with people in whom you can confide your weaknesses. If you are a man, have a solid Christian friend or two that you can confide your areas of temptation and struggle, women do the same with a godly Christian woman or two. Give them permission and even open invitation to ask you pointed questions from time to time such as, “Hey, how you doing with that issue we were talking about last week? Are you still walking in victory over it? Also, allow yourself to be such a person in their life. Suppose you ask them if they are walking in victory over an area of temptation and they say, “No, I really blew it this week.” Gently, but firmly say, “Why didn’t you call me when you knew that you were being tempted and weakening to it? Next time, you call me even if it is 3:00AM!”
Another way to put light on your path is to avoid putting yourself in an area where you know you have weakness and have struggled in the past. Don’t start the conversation in your mind with words like I'm JUST gonna… or, I’m not REALLY gonna…do this or that. The human heart is deceitful and desperately wicked above all things, who can fully comprehend it? (Jeremiah 17:9)
“Ya, I’m Just gonna go down to the store and grab a newspaper. (But you know that the route you are planning to take goes right by a certain magazine rack where you know they sell things that will pollute your soul. After all, YOU can’t help it if you 'just happen' to catch an eye full on your way by. You don’t plan to actually buy one of the magazines. You are JUST going to get a newspaper. YOU can’t help it if the magazines are out along the way. The next thing you know you have got your mind working overtime in the background eroding your determination to do what you know in your heart is right. You then have the added component of hormones being released into the equation and before long you have rationalized and compromised yourself into a place of failure.
A woman likes to chat on line and ends up ‘having innocent chats’ with ‘just a friend’ that ends up in as an emotional affair-even though she can falsely comfort herself by saying that it was not ‘physical’ adultery.
Perhaps Mary can have a computer and it is not an issue to her at all but to Betty, it is a stumbling stone in her path- Betty should just simply not keep one around where she can have private use of it. She should put light on her path by at least making sure that it is our in a common area with any precaution necessary to not allow her mind to start making plans for failure down the road. Sometimes our flesh will file away little tid-bits of information that will make it easier for us to fail at a later date. Be on your guard.
Finally, the best way to lighten your path is by filling yourself with the word of God. Read the Bible, listen to Gospel sermons. King David spoke of the word of God in this way, “Your word O God is a lamp for my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105) Jesus said, “I will never leave you or forsake you. He will be faithful by the power of the Holy Spirit to nudge you and give you a little push on your conscience so that you will know see the temptation to sin and God’s way out of it.” (Matthew 28:20 / I Corinthians 10:13)
I said before that a new believer will have old habits and lifestyle patters that they may slip into if they are stumbled by something but as time goes on, the new basic pattern of life will be to be to walk in the light. Here is a basic truth to keep in mind, ‘When we compromise and give in partially, it makes it easier to give in more the next time until we eventually harden our hearts to the Lord’s warning entirely. If we give in a little, we feel that since we have already done this, I may as well go ahead and do that too. On the other hand, if we find ourselves in a place where we have stumbled and failed, instantly go to the Lord in prayer and confess it. You may feel unworthy to be in God’s presence and may feel it awkward to talk to God about it. You are indeed unworthy, as we all are, apart from His saving goodness and grace-but go to the Lord anyway. You will find forgiveness, cleansing and power to fortify yourself against that weakness.
No one failed God more miserably than King David did with Bathsheba but listen to his prayer, “Have mercy on me O God according to your loving kindness: according to the abundance of your mercies, blot out my sins. Wash me thoroughly from my filth and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my wickedness and my sin is always in front of my eyes.
Against you only, I have sinned and done what is evil in your sight. You are right in all your judgments against me. I have been corrupted and sinful even before I was born. Lord, I know you desire truth in the inward heart of heart, not merely in outward appearance. Deep in my innermost being you desire that I should know true wisdom. Purge me with the cleansing agents that only you can supply. Wash me and I will be whiter than snow. Let me know the joy and gladness of your salvation again. Even though you have righteously disciplines me and punished me as I deserved, please now restore me and wipe out my sins.
Create in me a clean heart O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Don’t cast me away from your presence (even though I deserve it), but renew a right spirit within me. Restore me again to the place where I rejoice in your salvation. Remove my guiltiness before you and I will also be faithful to help teach others to walk in your ways as one who has known failure and forgiveness myself. I will sing songs of your goodness and faithfulness.
I will speak to others about the mercy I have received. I know now, that you do not want a bunch of religious token gestures and ceremonies and rituals. You want a heart that is broken and grieved by failing to do what is right. If my heart is right first, then you will be pleased with my religious sacrifice and service-not the other way around. (Psalm 51paraphrased)
Notice, David was not broken hearted that he sinned and got caught. He was broken hearted that he had offended God and was terrified that he may have jeopardized his relationship with the Lord. He was not dreading hell. He was not wanting be sure and still make it to heaven. He wanted to be close to God and not miss being able to know God and be close to God.
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