"I am trying to advance my faith", not "I am growing in my faith" or "I have been unfaithful, and am trying to come back.", but somewhere in between. It is a very non-commital statement once you think about it. Like, Jesus is going to tell you when you die..well, "you tried, thats what counts."
not to go yoda, but, "do or do not, there is no try". Jesus isnt going to say "good try", friend....sorry, he is going to say one of two things..."Good job, true and faithful servant", or "get away from me, I never knew you"...it sounds harsh, but that is really how it is. Jesus didnt really waste time on the people who were trying to advance their faith in a very non-commital way. In order to call your self a Christian, defined: Follower of Christ, you must be willing to commit.
Jesus did not mince words with people who werent willing to fully commit. When the rich man came and asked Jesus what he had to do to reach the Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus asked him if he had obeyed the commandments. The rich man said he did, and Jesus knew it was true. But then Jesus turned the table and said "if you want to see the Kingdom of Heaven, sell all you have and follow me." The rich man left, did not follow Christ, because he was too attached to his possessions and money than to fully commit. But notice what Jesus did...nothing. Jesus didnt chase after him, he didnt make a deal with him or soften the responsibilities of the man, Jesus moved on.
A commitment to become a follower of Christ is a full life commitment. Our salvation is based off more than just simply saying a prayer and then continuing our life as nothing else has changed. The acceptance of salvation means a repentance..not just being sorry, but a full turning away from your sins. This is not lip-service salvation, this is full on lifestyle change salvation. Paul tells us in Romans that we are not saved by our deeds but by Grace alone; however James tells us that "faith without works is dead". It is both, we have to believe with our hearts and minds, and follow with our bodies. We cant try to work on our faith, we have faith and we put it to work. Do or do not..there is no try, I think Jesus and Yoda would agree.
Jesus did not mince words with people who werent willing to fully commit. When the rich man came and asked Jesus what he had to do to reach the Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus asked him if he had obeyed the commandments. The rich man said he did, and Jesus knew it was true. But then Jesus turned the table and said "if you want to see the Kingdom of Heaven, sell all you have and follow me." The rich man left, did not follow Christ, because he was too attached to his possessions and money than to fully commit. But notice what Jesus did...nothing. Jesus didnt chase after him, he didnt make a deal with him or soften the responsibilities of the man, Jesus moved on.
A commitment to become a follower of Christ is a full life commitment. Our salvation is based off more than just simply saying a prayer and then continuing our life as nothing else has changed. The acceptance of salvation means a repentance..not just being sorry, but a full turning away from your sins. This is not lip-service salvation, this is full on lifestyle change salvation. Paul tells us in Romans that we are not saved by our deeds but by Grace alone; however James tells us that "faith without works is dead". It is both, we have to believe with our hearts and minds, and follow with our bodies. We cant try to work on our faith, we have faith and we put it to work. Do or do not..there is no try, I think Jesus and Yoda would agree.
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