A Genuine Abundant Life In Christ

Christ promised a "more abundant life" or "life to the full [the max]" in John 10:10, but few believers achieve it or find this new life in Christ; they live defeated lives battling Satan and enslaved to sin and self, even their pet sin (cf. Psalm 18:23; 19:12-13), and haven't had victory over the sin which easily entangles them (cf. Heb. 12:1), so as to move on to inner fulfillment and meaning as a believer doing God's will--as we're wired to do.  Being set free is the most rewarding experience as a believer and we gain power over our sin.

The abundant life is not about having more material goods, or even achieving the so-called American dream, or necessarily anything money could buy--Paul had it all (this life) and look at how he suffered!  Jesus made the promise that if we "seek first his kingdom and righteousness," that "all these things shall be added unto [us]" (cf. Matt. 6:33).  But what did he mean?  Jesus never promised to meet our so-called felt-needs or wants, but only our needs (cf. Phil. 4:19) as God sees them to do His bidding and will--for we shall never lack God's resources to do God's will (cf. 2 Cor. 9:8)!

Dismiss the materialistic Christian who believes that the man who dies with the most toys wins! Jesus advised against storing up "treasures in this world" (cf. Matt. 6:19)!  Material blessings are not evil per se, if they are God's will, though; however, A. W. Tozer wrote a book about the "blessedness of possessing nothing."  Actually, Corrie ten Boom also found out we are richer when we hang on to things "loosely" and realize God is the owner, and we are only stewards of everything as a gift on loan from God (we are actually on borrowed time too!)--Psalm 31:15 (NIV)  says, "My times are in your hands...."

There is a greater gratitude in the fewness of possessions (whereof we are now content to have little or much per Phil. 4:13; cf. Psalm 84:11), and a joy in giving, for it's "more blessed to give than to receive" (cf. Acts 20:35).  God just wants us to cultivate a debt of gratitude and to be thankful in all circumstances, though not for evil itself, the opportunities it brings and that God trusts us with the trial to overcome it--for all faith must be tested as if by fire.

Now, what is the abundant life?  It is the appreciation of life and the little things as the gift from God, and all it entails.  You find new fondness and excitement in the mundane, and also the fortitude to endure trials and the endurance and ambition to work hard and not be lazy because you have a purpose in what you're doing.  When you look at the sunset, or the wonder of the stars at night, or the beauty of a rose, will you scorn their Creator?  Creation is filled with things to put us in awe and have to reverence God for His wonders and mysteries.

The believer who has an abundant life will find joy in the little things, like a portrait of a dear one, a piece of art on a canvas, or even in nature, such as the beauty of a tree, that only God can make.  Everything seems to have meaning and gives the opportunity for serving God and finding joy and delight.  Remember how Paul rejoiced even while in prison (cf. Phil. 4:4, says to "rejoice in the Lord always")--the fruit is that you want to share it!

This joy is an inner sense that no one can take away, and doesn't depend upon happenings, like happiness does, but is Christ-centered and has purpose.  Christians who have a purpose and know-how God uses them and offer themselves to God are the most joyful ones--for a believer that isn't a servant is a contradiction in terms--even Christ came to serve (cf. Mark 10:45). We ought always to be abounding in the work of the Lord and to aim to please Him, our Master. If we are willing to do His will, He will show us what it is and give us the opportunity to do it and we will find purpose.  Second Peter 1:10 (NIV) says that we ought to "make [our] calling and election sure" and this is the first step to finding purpose as a believer (everything to live on--nothing to live for!).  NB:  Christians are spiritually alive as well!

The key is that we are meant to find joy worshiping, and even in the little things--that money can't buy, especially relationships, i.e.,  fellowship (we use things and relate to and love people, not vice versa).  We see God at work in the world and what man can to do with God's will and a purpose, so he's a man on a mission!  Beware: "prosperity theology," or false teachers who tell you to cash in on Christ now, and if you don't have the so-called American dream or material prosperity and success, that you are missing out and are sub-par--who have missed the boat and the cut spiritually, and fall short.  Many things, such as appreciation of fine art; music; peace of mind; knowing forgiveness; having purpose, drive, fulfillment, and meaning in life--these cannot have a price tag on them and are priceless!

The conclusion of the matter is that to be a "vessel of honor" and be used by God for His glory is the greatest joy one can experience, and this is not something experienced apart from the abundant life in Christ.  There is comfort and joy knowing that Christ will never leave us nor forsake us (cf. Matt. 28:20; Heb. 13:5) and anoints us for His work.  Let us have this simple prayer:  Lord, melt me; mold me; fill me, and use me! There's a caveat to all believers:  Do you appreciate the things God does give you, before asking for more, and are you a good steward of God's resources--relationships, time, talents, spiritual gifts, opportunities, energy, and money?

Here's the ultimate question:  Are you hard to please?  And so, in short, the abundant life to be experienced is the exchanged, surrendered, and yielded life (cf. Gal. 2:20) with Christ living through us as we yield to His promptings and will--the more enslaved to Christ, the more joy and freedom in Christ!  The platitude is still valid: It's not how much of the Spirit you have, but how much of you He has!   Soli Deo Gloria! 

A Profile Of Jesus

"If God were a man, we would expect His personality to be true humanity.  Only God could tell us what true man should be like. Certainly there are forerunners of piety in the Old Testament models.  Foremost must be a complete consciousness, coupled with complete dedication and consecration of life to God.  Then, ranked below this, are the other virtues, graces and attributes that characterize perfect humanity.  Intelligence must not stifle piety, and prayer must not be a substitute for work, and zeal must not be irrational fanaticism, and reserve must not become stolidity."--Bernard Ramm   


"In Christ we have the perfect blend of personality traits, because as God incarnate, he is perfect humanity." --Paul Little, Know Why You Believe, John Schaff describes Him as follows:


"Jesus' zeal never degenerated into passion, nor his constancy into obstinacy, or his benevolence into weakness, nor his tenderness into sentimentality.  His unworldliness was free from indifference and unsociability or undue familiarity; His self-denial from moroseness; His temperance form austerity.  Hie combined childlike innocence with manly strength, absorbing devotion to God with untiring interest in the welfare of man, tender love to the sinner with uncompromising severity against sin, commanding dignity with winning humility, fearless courage with wise caution, unyielding firmness with sweet gentleness!" 


He washed the disciples' feet, yet claimed to be the Judge of the world.  Though He claimed deity, He never showed aloofness or arrogance, but was humble and came to serve, not to be served (cf. Mark 10:45).    Scholar John Schaff again portrays Christ:


"This Jesus of Nazareth without money and arms, conquered more millions than Alexander, Caesar, Muhammad and Napoleon; without science and learning, he shed more light on matters human and divine than all philosophers and scholars combined; without the eloquence of schools, he spoke such words of life as were never spoken before or since and produced effects which lie beyond the reach of orator or poet; without writing a single line, he set more pens in motion and furnished themes for more sermons, orations, discussions, learned volumes, works of art and songs of praise than the whole army of great men of ancient and modern times."


His personality shows no sign of mental aberration, chemical imbalance, or illness, according to Dr. Gary R. Collins, a clinical psychologist and chair of the psychology division at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, who says there are a "variety of proofs.  Among them are these: His teaching was impeccably moral and consistent with His claims; He demonstrated the gamut of human emotions;  He was "never paranoid"; "He understood human nature"; "He never demonstrated inappropriate emotions"; He had meaningful, "healthy," multiple, "close personal relationships"; No one could accuse Him or convince Him of sin! He was the Exemplar without a flaw;  "He spoke clearly, powerfully, and eloquently;" His fame and claims didn't go to His head and give Him a "bloated ego;" His sermons were not the rantings and ravings of a madman; He was a mystery--if He were a deceiver, liar, lunatic, or deceived Himself, the disciples would've figured it out by living with Him three years in close contact; and finally, He challenged His enemies to convince Him of sin (cf. John 8:46).


He was the most outstanding personality of all time:  not to be surpassed or improved upon by either predecessor nor disciple; the greatest leader in history; He did the most good for mankind; He was the greatest teacher; He lived the holiest life; He was the best example for mankind; He was the greatest moral teacher, guide, and incentive to morality; He had the biggest impact on history.  And His cruel death was not the end of Him.  Calling Him the greatest man who ever lived doesn't do Him justice or saying Jesus the Great!   You don't compare Him, you contrast Him!  He is simply God's last word to man and all we need to know of God!


C. S. Lewis, in Mere Christianity, writes:  "A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher.  He would either be a lunatic--on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg--or else he would be the Devil of Hell.  You must make your choice.  Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse."  He goes on:  "The discrepancy between the depth and sanity of His moral teaching and a diagnosis of rampant megalomania" are patently incompatible.    


No one can peg Jesus, put Him in a box, nor adequately describe Him nor figure Him out (cf. 2 Cor. 9:15), but whatever is perfect is what He demonstrated, and what He lived out was perfection personified.  He cannot be improved upon!  He demands worship, not admiration, discipleship, not study!   Soli Deo Gloria! 

Faith Is A Gift From The Benefactor

"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him..." (John 6:44, ESV).
"And he said, 'This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father'" (John 6:65, ESV). "For who sees anything different in you?  What do you have that you didn't receive..." (1 Cor. 4:7, ESV).

One of the most overlooked and misunderstood heresies of the church, as embraced by the Papists, is that faith is a work--some Catholics realize it's a gift, but's it's generally not accepted and are downplayed.  The Romanists officially teach faith as a meritorious work, not a gift at all; for they don't believe grace is sufficient to save us, but merit must be added (they teach that grace is necessary, but not sufficient!).  The Bible makes it clear, by any careful perusal of the pertinent verses, that faith is a gift we have no right to boast of (cf. Eph. 2:9), as if it were, meritorious, but Catholics add merit to grace and works to faith, and we're not saved by works (cf. Tit. 3:5; Eph. 2:9).

Examples of it being a gift in Scripture are manifold: God "opened" Lydia's heart to believe in Acts 16:14; Paul saw "those who had come to believe through grace" (Acts 18:27, CEV), by which we can infer it's a gift and we are "enabled;"  "... everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name" (Acts 10:43, CEV). That means it's something we receive, which Peter reiterates in as this:  "... To those who received a faith equal to ours..." (2 Pet. 1:1, ESV);   Acts 11:18, CEV, says that "God has enabled Gentiles to change their hearts and lives so that they might have new life"; finally, it is written, "For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but suffer for his sake"  (Phil. 1:29, ESV). Without God's work, no one would believe!  But we must take the leap!

Faith must be seen as the flip-side of repentance (cf. Acts 20:21; 26:20; Luke 24:47), but not its equivalent--both are necessary (either believing repentance or penitent faith, if you will).  It makes sense that faith is a gift as the famous verse of Eph. 2:8 says if you realize the antecedent of "gift" is faith, so both salvation and faith are a gift!  It's a gift, which means God decides who receives it by election, according to His good pleasure (cf. Eph. 1:5) and will:  "... Everyone who was appointed [or elected] for eternal life believed" (Acts 13:48, CEV).

Faith is the instrumental means of righteousness, not righteousness itself--it cannot be both!  Abraham believed God and it was reckoned unto (not as) righteousness (cf. Rom. 4:3).  Faith is not the destination, but the door to eternal life--a hurdle to get through and pass with flying colors as we receive the gift of eternal life, that cannot be forfeited, but our state of grace is permanent.  Note: "... how God had opened a door of faith for the Gentiles" in Acts 14:27, CEV.  Jesus is the enabler, and opens our hearts by melting them and turning them from stubborn "hearts of stone into hearts of flesh" (cf. Ezek. 36:26) that can respond to the gospel message: "God has exalted Jesus to his right side as our Leader and Savior so that he could enable Israel to change its heart and life and to find forgiveness for sins," (Acts 5:31, CEV).

The point is that we cannot believe on our own: "For without Me you can do nothing" (cf. John 15:5)--not even believe!  No one can come to the Father without being drawn or wooed (cf. John 6:44, 65 quoted above).  We do not have the so-called willpower (cf. Rom. 9:16) to come to God on our own, but must be enabled or empowered.  What God does by grace is quicken faith within us or kindle faith so that we can come to the Father through the Son. God opens our eyes to see!   Romans 12:3 says we all (as Christians) have received a measure of saving faith!  We don't believe because we are wiser, smarter, more educated, or more sophisticated--we're all in the same boat as God has leveled the playing field and made us all incapable of faith apart from a work of grace in our hearts.

We must also realize what faith isn't:  It's not acquiescence or agreement to a dogma, like the Papists  teach; it's not temporal faith, like believing God for a healing or material blessing; it's not gullibility either; and it's not faith in the church or any other misdirected zeal and fanaticism--because it's the object that's crucial and it must be "Christ alone" or as the Reformers taught: soli Christo!  God owes no one salvation and has mercy on whom He will; if we believed of our own initiative (and God always takes the initiative and makes the overture), we have reason to believe we deserve salvation, and it wouldn't be grace but justice to save us!

Who's saved then?  The elect whom He chose from the beginning:  "... The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened" (Rom. 11:7, ESV); We didn't choose Him, He chose us (cf. Jn. 15:16); Scripture says, "For many are called, but few are chosen" (Matt. 22:14, ESV).

In summation, we don't achieve faith (conjuring it up or working ourselves into it by convincing ourselves), but we receive our faith as a gift of regeneration--any other interpretation leads to denial of the doctrine of total depravity which tells us that our wills are also wicked and stubborn and need conversion; God does a work of grace sufficient to transform our lives.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Commonality And Contrast In Religion

All religions teach basically the same thing in application, though their philosophies or worldviews may differ; however, Christianity is by definition, not a religion. Christianity is strictly a faith, seeing that is the virtue central to its plan of salvation, and that it holds to a body of faith.  Religions all instruct man to ingratiate himself with God or some deity or higher power and to gain this approbation by a system of good works, thus meriting salvation--they all stress salvation in their own way.  One must realize that all religions have an element of truth to them and just enough to inoculate a sincere person to the real thing!  Sincerity isn't everything though a requisite; however, there are many who are sincerely wrong.

We don't need to delineate all religions to see how they are all mutually contradictory and don't teach the same concept of God, salvation, or even make the same diagnosis of man's problem and the ultimate cure.  Dr. Karl Menninger, the psychiatrist who wrote Whatever Became of Sin?--yes, I read it and it's a good read and even a must-read for theologians and/or scholars--and this book shows Christianity's diagnosis of our dilemma as rooted in sin or rebellion against God, it's our Declaration of Independence from God, doing our own thing and going our own way--defined as "refusing the love of another [i.e., God]." This is a word psychiatrists are starting to use again in their quest for us being responsible and accountable for our choices--no sin means no ultimate accountability.

All religions have some noble goal to accomplish but they are optimistic about man's nature (i.e., he is basically or inherently good), and don't realize we cannot please God--all our good deeds are as filthy rags!  For instance, in Islam, they deny the Fall of man.  The point to note in a works religion, and all religion seeks to do some work for salvation, as man is incurably addicted to gaining God's approbation by good behavior, is that you can never know for sure whether you are "in" or not, in other words, of being saved and secure in it.  In contrast, only Christianity offers a full and complete assurance of one's destiny to heave, and even power over sin in the here and now. The only way you can be sure of your salvation or place in heaven is for it to be a gift, not something to be earned or deserved--not by merit, but grace alone.  If we had to do anything, we'd fail!  In the Bible, people would ask the question, "What must I do to be saved?" (Cf. Acts 16:30; John 6:28).  This shows his orientation towards works and that he doesn't realize it's a gift to be received.

Creeds don't save!  Faith doesn't save!  Christ alone saves and it's the object of the faith that matters, not the amount of faith.  Meager faith in Christ saves, while a lot of faith in the Pope or the Church will not!  We must turn our creeds into deeds though!  Christianity is not only concerned with orthodoxy or right belief, but orthopraxy or right behavior, and we are not saved by good behavior, but unto good behavior (cf. Eph. 2:10).  Not by works, nor without them!  The Reformers formula was "by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone."  We will not be rewarded according to the amount of faith we have (cf. Rom. 2:6; Psa. 62:12), but the quality of our works and whether they stand the test of fire--some will be saved as if by fire (cf. 1 Cor. 3:10).

All religions teach the same applications in principle (Christianity is superior though, for instance, of all 52 known virtues, they are all depicted in Scripture, but no other religion comes close to covering all these bases).  Christianity must be admired even on the basis of its superior morals and virtues.  When they say that all religions teach the same thing--and George Lucas has come to the conclusion that all religions are true--they are basically referring to the application, not the philosophy or worldview.  For instance, they all teach the betterment of mankind, the value of virtue, and the necessity of good works, though Christianity raises the bar!  The Golden Rule, as an example, is the highest code of honor and ethics one can attain, compared to the Brazen, Silver, and Iron Rules are known in this rat-race and the dog-eat-dog world of the law of the jungle.

People are more interested in what the religion does for you, not it's doctrines, though they are also important--teaching without application leaves one cold.  They said of Jonathan Edwards, probably the clearest-thinking of all American theologians, that his doctrine was all application, and his application was all doctrine.  The end result of the validity of a religion is its effect on the convert and what it can do for him.  We stress what Christ has done for us, not what we do for God!  The conversion experience is a miracle of transformation of the soul and only is apparent in the Christian faith, whereby the person becomes a new creature in Christ (cf. 2 Cor. 5:17) and gets a new lease on life and a new start.

The contrasts are manifold:  religion says "do"--Christianity says "done"; Religion reaches out to God--Christianity is God reaching out to us; religion is all works based; Christianity is all grace-based and its a gift that cannot be earned, deserved, or paid back; Religion gives no assurance; Christianity gives full assurance; Religion teaches you to lift yourself up by your own bootstraps; Christianity says that God can transform your life in His control; Religion says works are in order to gain the approbation of God; Christianity says we work out of gratitude to please God and are therefore a "therefore," not an "in-order-to." Man tends to ingratiate himself fourfold:  morality, good works, philosophy, and ritual or religion!  Religion itself is all a "do-it-yourself" proposition! You can distinguish the person of religion simply by asking him if he's saved!  The religious person doesn't know!  You can be very religious and not be saved, or even have a formal religion!

God is not so concerned that we get all our doctrines straightened out or nitpick and split hairs on them, as He is that we love and serve Him.  What matters most is whether our hearts are in the right place.  Don't be content just to be doctrinally correct!  We cannot avoid doctrine and must not reject it, but it's not everything--God wants us to learn to love, serve, obey, and know Him as the ultimate goal.  Most important thing about knowing God is just knowing Jesus--what a concept--everything we need to know about Him is expressed in Jesus for us to see--if you've seen Jesus, you've seen the Father! In the final analysis, a person's eternal fate or destiny will be decided at Judgment Day by his view of Jesus and what he did with Him at the final audit of his life and work.  How did he treat Jesus?

Instead of learning all the minutiae of the different religions we need to see the Big Picture and how unique our faith is so that we can readily tell the counterfeit--the Secret Service studies the real thing so they can recognize counterfeit bills!   We believe uniquely in a personal God we can know, and that especially loves is and even is love and that's His essence and defining trait.  We believe sin is the problem but God has solved the sin question by the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.  We believe our salvation is complete, sure, knowable, and eternal in Christ and available to all who will believe.  We believe God's final word to man is in Christ and God became a man in the incarnation of Jesus to make Himself known.  We believe in the infallibility, inerrancy, perspicuity or clarity, sufficiency, reliability, accuracy, simplicity, authenticity, necessity, fidelity, integrity, inspiration, and authority of the Word--the battle cry of the Reformation was sola Scriptura, or by Scripture alone (as the sole rule of faith and authority).

Christianity alone postulates that God is a person we can know and is personal, has personality, and wants to get personal and go one-on-one with us as individuals He loves.  Our faith alone satisfies the deepest desire of man to have a meaningful relationship with our Creator, that just believing He exists or knowing about Him doesn't fulfill.  Contrary to popular opinion, the Golden Rule is not the essence of Christianity, but it's a faith that must be lived out and practiced by demonstrating it to the world by good works (as Paul would say, "I'll show you my works by my faith," and James would say the flip side, "I'll show you my faith by my good works").

The faith you have is the faith you show--is it any wonder that Mahatma Gandhi said that he'd become a Christian if he ever met one!  Even he admired the high ethics of Christianity, but Christians are not perfect, just forgiven works in progress, with perfection as the standard, but direction as the test!  In our faith alone, eternal life is equated with knowing God in Jesus' high priestly intercession in John 17:3!  Thus we can have a growing and living relationship with God as our Father, who loves us personally.

One must note the foundations of Christianity are based on fact and history, not fable, tradition, myth, or legend, no other religion can uniquely claim this; and as proof of Scripture's authority and of God's approval, Scripture alone has thousands of fulfilled prophecies--not just a few lucky guesses or self-fulfilling prophecies either.  Finally, with all due respect to world religions, Jesus alone claimed deity and no other founder did--not Buddha, not Confucius, not Muhammad, no one!  This is what turns people off to our faith: its exclusiveness and positing absolute truth that can be known through Christ as the personification of Truth with a capital T--i.e., truth is not relative, but knowable and fixed for eternity; we are accountable for it--willful ignorance is no excuse!  At Judgment Day one's fate will be determined by his answer to Christ's query to his disciples in Matt. 16:15, saying:  "Who do you say that I am?"  and He answered it in John 8:24 as, "Unless you believe that I Am ["He" is not in Greek manuscripts, stating His deity as the Great I Am], you will die in your sins." It doesn't matter what you think of these other false prophets, gurus, false teachers, the Pope, and even angels of light like Moroni, but it does matter what you make of Christ--whose Son is He?

One doesn't even have to believe in the Bible to get saved (as Paul found out on his missionary journeys to the Greeks), despite the fact that it's the only Holy Scriptures that claim God as the Author, saying over 2,000 times, "Thus saith the LORD," in the Old Testament alone!  The very existence and continuity of the Bible is a miracle in itself due to all the systematic attempts to destroy it throughout history, and it's fidelity and integrity are firmly established and plain to see.

To make things clear by contrast:  Religion lays down what man must do; Christianity lays down what God has done; religion is the best man can do; Christianity is the best God can do; religion is knowing a creed or the rules; Christianity is knowing a person; religion is a code of conduct, self-reformation,  a philosophy, or a catalog of rules; Christianity is a relationship, a renewal, and more abundant life!  Jesus said, "It is finished!" "Paid in full!" "Tetelestai!" This was stating that He had completed the work of our salvation on the cross and it's a "done deal" that only needs to be applied to believers who will receive it by faith as a gift in grace, undeserved, unmerited, and unearned.  You can be very religious without being a Christian and vice versa: you can be a Christian without being very religious! The ultimate question to ponder is whether one knows God, not has an opinion about some concept of God.

In sum, let me cite an old anecdote:  One preacher was interrupted by a man who said that he "tried religion for five years and it didn't work for [him]!"  The preacher countered that he "tried it for fifteen years and it didn't work, either!"  The man asked him to explain why he was a preacher then:  Then he "tried Jesus," was his telltale confession!   Soli Deo Gloria!