There is a song on contemporary Christian radio stations by Matthew West called “The Motions”. The singer is making a case to Jesus ( I assume, he never actually uses the Name) that he isn’t feeling whatever a true Christian feels and he’s making the statement he doesn’t want to go through his whole life wondering “what if I had given everything, instead of going through the motions?”
I fear there are many people today that are looking for a feeling as evidence that they are saved. There is such a drought of truth concerning what salvation is and what the evidence that one is saved, that today, as in times past, people might be mislead all the way to hell if some of us don’t speak up.
The truth is, none of us can earn, buy, work or give up anything to achieve salvation. You cannot save yourself! Those that teach these things are false teachers and are aiding the enemy. In fact, Paul clearly said in Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God;”.
It took God’s plan, allowing Jesus Christ to become fully God in fully human form to become the sacrifice. We can do nothing, only Christ. Only through Him can we be “Just As If I Haven’t Sinned”, that’s what justification means. By his blood we are washed clean of the impurity of sin each of us was born into.
Dear reader, be careful about feelings when it comes to your Christian walk. As our pastor states many times, people get more emotional at sports events than they do in church! You will feel joy and happiness, but not all the time. We should not judge ourselves or others about how “UP” we feel. I don’t think many Christians in third world countries feel “up” just before their head is lopped off. But I do feel God may give them peace, in the knowledge that they have eternal life waiting on the other side.
We must be careful not to just “go through the motion” of being a Christian either. God gives us guidelines as to what to look for. Do we bear good fruit? Do we love our neighbors? Are we truly repentant of our sins? Do we really put our trust in Jesus Christ and have faith the size of a mustard seed? Do we really, honestly and truly love Jesus, not just because he died on a cross, but because He first loved us? I don’t see a rule that says we must be feeling a certain way all the time.
The truth is, we are still human, and we know that if we are Christians, Satan will attack us every chance he gets. So at times we will be sad, angry, joyful, peaceful, uptight and on and on. We should never give a false appearance by just “going through the motions” and trying to act in a way we don’t feel.
Let me put it this way, how can your fellow brothers and sisters know if you need help, whether spiritually or otherwise, if you appear like it’s all rainbows and sunshine, when clouds and rain have moved in?
What would your testimony say if you put on a false face because you think it is a “Christian” face, but your family knew there was something wrong? Remember the One we put our faith in laughed, wept, became angry, felt compassion, hurt, felt joy and hungered. We must remember our Lord gave us the ultimate example on truthfulness, including our emotions and feelings.
So, in closing, what I’m trying to say is that intentionally “just going through the motions” may be the same as false witness. Our best true witness is to let others know that yes, we still live in the world and experience many of the same things non-Christians do, the difference is we have Jesus to look to for peace. We may feel sad, angry, happy or nothing at any given time, but we have Jesus all the time.
If you have turned your life over to Jesus, truly repented of your sins and walk in the faith of His promise that He is the way, the truth and the life, then my friend you are saved. The Holy Spirit will put your spirit at ease. Assurance of salvation is not dependant on feelings, but of knowing!
If you don’t know what it means to be “SAVED”, or to be “Born Again”, or you want to know what it takes to receive salvation, please turn to the back of this newsletter and read SALVATION. In His own words, Jesus said in John 3: 16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
