I would like to start off with a simple question:
Dear Christian. What do you do with your in-between moments? Not just the ones you have between the next two meetings, or the ones you have between your meals. I'm talking about all of them. Every moment from when you leave church one Sunday and then arrive on Sunday the following week. How do you live your life on a regular basis between the Sundays?
Dear Christian. What do you do with your in-between moments? Not just the ones you have between the next two meetings, or the ones you have between your meals. I'm talking about all of them. Every moment from when you leave church one Sunday and then arrive on Sunday the following week. How do you live your life on a regular basis between the Sundays?
I ask this question because something has become so apparent to me from the witnessing on the streets that I do. Many people have this misconception that they can continue to live like the world and be a Christian. This is not what is taught in Scripture. Nowhere in the word of God can you find verses in which you can stay the same after you are saved. It is actually quite the opposite. Here are a few examples:
James 4:4
"You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God."
We see that God is serious about he way you live your life.
Matthew 6:24
"No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money."
Here we see that we can only serve one master: Either God or sin.
We know that the “remedy” of our sin is Jesus Christ. When He opens our eyes, grants us repentance, and saves us, everything changes in us and about us.
John 3:3
"Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."
Ezekiel 36:26
"And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh."
These verses are talking about being transformed because that is what must actually take place. We must be made new.
When we are made new and granted repentance by God, what does that mean? Will you be perfect? No! Like it says in Ecclesiastes 7:20, "Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins." Romans 3:10 states, "As it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one." You might be wondering what exactly am I getting at…
When we “repent” of our sin, it means “a change of mind” towards sin. While we will continue to sin after being saved (although we should be growing in holiness while we are being sanctified), how do we view our sin? Are we “falling” into sin, or are we “diving” into sin? Do we “hate” our sin” or do we “love” our sin? Let’s get personal for one example. Do you enjoy your lusting and fill your eyes with the image of the passerby, or do you catch yourself and look away and hate the fact that you sinned with your eyes?
Our lives should be Christian “between the Sundays.” We are not to be going into church cloaked in one façade, but then purposely go through the week doing things that we know we shouldn't be doing. Paul addresses this “abusing of grace” multiple times, including the beginning of Romans 6, starting in verse 1:
“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?” We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life…”
Biblically, you cannot have one foot in the world and one in this so-called Christian life you think you are living. How does your week look between the Sundays? Are you reading the Bible daily? Are there areas of your life that need to be “cleaned up?” Do you love your spouse the way that Christ loves the Church? Are you continually preaching and living the Gospel? Are you continually praying without ceasing? Are there areas of your life that you live in front of your non-Christian friends and co-workers, but you would never do in front of your Christian brothers and sisters?
While none of us are good (perfect) according to God’s standard, we can only serve 1 master. Which one do you serve between Sundays? Do you see how big of a question of “between the Sundays” is now? It's an eternal question. If you are not, at your core, a different person, you are not saved. If you do not hate the sin you once loved and love the God you once hated then you are not saved. If you can live in your old lifestyle, the one that you had before you were "saved" with little not no remorse, then you are not saved.
Now for the final question:
If you are saved, do your in-between moments glorify God? If not, repent! Stop being a fraud and start living the life that you are called to live!
If you are NOT saved (or do not know what that means), then I have a few questions for you. Where do you think that you are going to spend eternity after you die? Heaven or hell? Let’s take a test, based on God’s standard, to find out. Have you ever lied? Have you ever stolen anything? Have you ever lusted, which Jesus calls adultery in your heart? Have you ever hated, which Jesus calls murder in your heart? If you have done even one of these things in your entire life, then you would be guilty of breaking God’s law. Because He is perfect and just, God must punish sin. That punishment is hell for eternity. The good news is that Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man, lived the perfect life on earth that we are incapable of. He died on a cross, not for His own sin as he was perfect, but for ours. He was buried and raised 3 days later, conquering death. Repent from your sin and put your trust in Christ. He paid the penalty that you owe so that you can be saved from hell and spend your eternity with Him!
James 4:4
"You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God."
We see that God is serious about he way you live your life.
Matthew 6:24
"No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money."
Here we see that we can only serve one master: Either God or sin.
We know that the “remedy” of our sin is Jesus Christ. When He opens our eyes, grants us repentance, and saves us, everything changes in us and about us.
John 3:3
"Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."
Ezekiel 36:26
"And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh."
These verses are talking about being transformed because that is what must actually take place. We must be made new.
When we are made new and granted repentance by God, what does that mean? Will you be perfect? No! Like it says in Ecclesiastes 7:20, "Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins." Romans 3:10 states, "As it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one." You might be wondering what exactly am I getting at…
When we “repent” of our sin, it means “a change of mind” towards sin. While we will continue to sin after being saved (although we should be growing in holiness while we are being sanctified), how do we view our sin? Are we “falling” into sin, or are we “diving” into sin? Do we “hate” our sin” or do we “love” our sin? Let’s get personal for one example. Do you enjoy your lusting and fill your eyes with the image of the passerby, or do you catch yourself and look away and hate the fact that you sinned with your eyes?
Our lives should be Christian “between the Sundays.” We are not to be going into church cloaked in one façade, but then purposely go through the week doing things that we know we shouldn't be doing. Paul addresses this “abusing of grace” multiple times, including the beginning of Romans 6, starting in verse 1:
“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?” We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life…”
Biblically, you cannot have one foot in the world and one in this so-called Christian life you think you are living. How does your week look between the Sundays? Are you reading the Bible daily? Are there areas of your life that need to be “cleaned up?” Do you love your spouse the way that Christ loves the Church? Are you continually preaching and living the Gospel? Are you continually praying without ceasing? Are there areas of your life that you live in front of your non-Christian friends and co-workers, but you would never do in front of your Christian brothers and sisters?
While none of us are good (perfect) according to God’s standard, we can only serve 1 master. Which one do you serve between Sundays? Do you see how big of a question of “between the Sundays” is now? It's an eternal question. If you are not, at your core, a different person, you are not saved. If you do not hate the sin you once loved and love the God you once hated then you are not saved. If you can live in your old lifestyle, the one that you had before you were "saved" with little not no remorse, then you are not saved.
Now for the final question:
If you are saved, do your in-between moments glorify God? If not, repent! Stop being a fraud and start living the life that you are called to live!
If you are NOT saved (or do not know what that means), then I have a few questions for you. Where do you think that you are going to spend eternity after you die? Heaven or hell? Let’s take a test, based on God’s standard, to find out. Have you ever lied? Have you ever stolen anything? Have you ever lusted, which Jesus calls adultery in your heart? Have you ever hated, which Jesus calls murder in your heart? If you have done even one of these things in your entire life, then you would be guilty of breaking God’s law. Because He is perfect and just, God must punish sin. That punishment is hell for eternity. The good news is that Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man, lived the perfect life on earth that we are incapable of. He died on a cross, not for His own sin as he was perfect, but for ours. He was buried and raised 3 days later, conquering death. Repent from your sin and put your trust in Christ. He paid the penalty that you owe so that you can be saved from hell and spend your eternity with Him!
Jonathan Eckel
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