09.30.07
The Abundant Life - Now or To Come?
Most of modern day Christianity has its place in the pit of hell. Today I write to you not to sell Christianity to you as they have done so cleverly but to plead that Christianity is the only way a man can be saved from eternal separation from God on judgment day.
You see, the “pastors” of today are saying come to Christ; He will bring you homes and cars and money and security and He came so you can have an abundant life now. They are liars.
If we say that we have come to know Christ then we should walk in the same manner as He walked (see 1 John 2:6). And what did Christ say about His “walk” when a man who wanted to be a disciple came to Him?
Matt 8:19-20
19 And a certain scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” 20 And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
NASB
What a twisted version of the True gospel is being presented today. The Son of God, the Blessed One, the richest man ever to set foot on this cursed ground we call earth did not live in a 4800 Square foot home nor did He have a chariot caravan take Him from city to city. He walked from place to place and at times He had nowhere even to lay His precious head to rest.
“But Wesley, the pastor even read a verse in the Bible that says He came to give us an abundant life.”
Yes, I am sure He did. Satan also recited verses to Jesus from the Old Testament that were practically word for word during His temptation. And Christ battled him by saying “we must live by EVERY word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” And if your pastor was interested in telling you the truth, rather than selling you a gospel, then He would tell you that the abundant life is not to be lived now but later.
Here is what Christ has said about the abundant life:
John 10:10
10 “The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy; I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly.
NASB
These words are no lie. They are true. It is the interpretation of that passage that is the distortion of facts. If I extract this passage from the book of John, I could easily deceive you into believing that His purpose was to give you whatever your heart desires while you live in this present evil age. In other words, sell you a gospel. Who wouldn’t you want to come to an all powerful God who promises you bliss? You mean I get homes and cars and anything that I can squeeze into those words “abundant life”. Count me in! Right.
What have we done with the Gospel?
Let us look at what else John has written about “life”. Let us follow Jesus’s example and live by every word that proceeds from God’s mouth.
John 12:25
25 “He who loves his life loses it; and he who hates his life in this world shall keep it to life eternal.
NASB
You hypocrites, what do you say now? Has Christ decided to give you an abundant life in this world and then did He command you that you must “HATE” that very same abundant life? Have you no sense?
I really encourage you to meditate upon that question.
The “life” that is talked about is “life eternal” not the ”life in this world”. There is a definite distinction made in the Scripture. But I know your dilemma, you can’t sell an abundant life that you don’t receive now to an evil generation.
Who will tithe? Right. If you taught the men and women in your congregation a doctrine similar to “Foxes have holes but the Son of Man has nowhere even to rest His head”, who would remain in your congregation? Who wants to live a life of sacrifice and suffering when a current life of abundance is being promised?
ONLY THOSE WHO TRULY LOVE CHRIST!
Paul loved Christ and here is what Jesus said to him:
Acts 9:16
16 for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake. ”
NASB
I speak to you “pastor”. I suppose without the “feel good” and the “abundant life” gospel the healthy tithe from the congregation would cease to exist and even your own livelihood would be threatened. You may not even have a place to lay your own head! But you don’t dare go down that road, because truly your teaching is about keeping a congregation and not about saving a congregation.
But your professed Lord (Who is Lord) is quite different from you. He was not afraid to preach the hard things so that men could understand the fullness of His message. This is why He is the Savior. And as a result …
John 6:66
66 As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew, and were not walking with Him anymore.
NASB
What a concept! If the world did not accept Christ teachings then they, as a whole, will not accept yours if you faithfully preach Him.
John 15:20
20 “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also.
NASB
Let me share one more passage out of many possible:
Matt 19:29
29 “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, shall receive many times as much, and shall inherit eternal life.
NASB
Today, to follow Christ is not about “leaving houses” as written in the word of God, but they will tell you that it is about gaining houses. They say following Christ is not about sacrificing your family life to any degree for Him and gaining it eternal but it is about Him providing an abundant family life for you right now. What a disservice they have done to the whole truth written in Scripture.
I am going to tell you the truth. The gospel is about recognizing you are a sinner and that God has a Holy hatred for sin. All sinners will be punished eternally. Without a Savior you have absolutely no hope. The wages of sin is death. Christ came to save you from this sure death and to take away your sin. A true disciple of Christ has been bought with a price. He has died your death and you are to be living walking sacrifice for Him. It is true that an abundant life awaits the sanctified in Christ but to walk this earth like Paul, Peter or even Christ is not to walk in a life of luxury and bliss but it is to sacrifice everything for the Name of God and for His Kingdom.
For the Truth of my King
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