ARE YOU A BELIEVER OR A KNOWLEDGEABLE SINNER?
I was born into a Christian Family. My mum was the evangelism coordinator of the church we attended. Dad served in the church also. Mum had a 4 p.m. hour of prayer at the Upper Room almost daily. I witnessed impartation and deliverance. She jokingly said once that someone informed her to stop conducting deliverance during my pregnancy so that demons do not enter the baby. (Smiles)
As a young boy, the church was all I knew. My parents even launched out in ministry when I was ten years old. All I grew up seeing was church. Sunday evening was always for evangelism. I remember my brother telling my Dad one Sunday evening, “Must we always follow you. I am not going today”. Dad smiled. He left him alone. He did not utter a word.
Yet! I still got lost in the world. I had my “Hophni and Phinehas” moments – wrong and ungodly sexual behaviour! Thank God for his saving grace.
You are not saved because you can fill ‘Christian’ in a form. You are not saved because you grew up in church. You can be singing in the choir and yet not saved. You can be a cell leader serving faithfully, yet you are not saved. You can even be morally upright, and yet you are not saved. Why? Morality is fine, but your good is not even enough.
What makes you a believer?
It is not just believing. Do you know that demons also believe? You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!
James 2:19 NKJV
It begins with an acknowledgment that you are a sinner. You are a sinner by nature, not just by conduct. A bad tree will bring forth bad fruits.
You see your need for Jesus Christ and salvation. You then make a conscious and intelligent decision to follow Christ. You confess Him as your Lord and Saviour. Repentance is not just remorse; it is a change of nature, attitude, lifestyle, association, and values. Your change is so obvious that your former company sees it clearly that “Temi is a changed man.”
Someone told a young lady that “Temi is at home.” She said, “The Temi that came back home is not the one I used to know.” I had been in compromising acts in my former life with the same lady.
You must be committed to following the Word of God and obeying the Lord no matter the cost. The salvation that leaves you to talk anyhow, dress anyhow and behave anyhow should be suspected. Salvation straightens you up! It impacts your character.
No matter how much you feed a dog, it can not become a man. Salvation is not a self-improvement programme. There is a total change in nature. Some who say they are believers are only “knowledgeable sinners.”
Guess what! Even the devil quotes scriptures. He knows what is written. What does he do with it? He uses it to feed the flesh. That is exactly what an enlightened sinner will do. They will defend their sins with “scriptures.” You cannot meet Jesus Christ indeed and abuse scriptures.
What is your salvation testimony? What has changed? Or are you still hiding under scriptures to defend nonsense? The Bible is not a defence for a sinful life!
© temilOluwa Ola, Eruwa