Passages like the following have fallen out of use and are hardly ever preached on today:-
“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world.” (1 John 2:15-16)I saw a great plaque the other day – I very nearly bought it – it simply said:-“don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” (James 4:4)
“I’d be unstoppable if I could get going!”
I believe that this is true for all Christians, for The Salvation Army collectively (in the western territories) and for the wider church. The problem is that to ‘get going’ requires not just sporadic consecration but entire and continuous consecration.
Entire sanctification occurs when I determine that whatever my circumstances my life is entirely set apart for God. It is a ‘crisis’ decision to submit my free will to God in faith – even though I have no idea where that submission will take me or what it will require.
I’m not a bad Christian nor am I a bad Salvationist but ‘I’d be unstoppable if I could get going’.
As Christians we have three choices:
- We deny God, live lives of hypocrisy and pretend to our friends that we are
followers of Christ when we know in truth we are not. - We live a life of ups and downs with periods of sporadic consecration, yet continue a dalliance with the world – we will have some success but our Christianity will always be mediocre.
- We determine to entirely consecrate ourselves, taking the gift of salvation to its utmost limit and thereby become ‘unstoppable’.
I have always known that it has to be number 3 or nothing – quite simply it will be holiness or bust there are no other alternatives.
What think ye?
Love and prayers
Andrew
1 comment:
You know I agree. It's all or nothing. We were thinking here at the week-end about being filled with the fullness of God.(Eph 3:19)
You are either full or you are not. You cannot be a little bit full. If there is a space then you are not full. A car cannot run on empty but even a little bit of petrol means it can move. It is not like that for the Christian. We need to be full to function as Christians if what achieve is to be ministry rather than activity in the name of Christ. (I would define ministry as something that begats life) Many Christians who are not full of the Spirit appear to be moving forward but the reality is that they are being pushed and pulled along by others. When the outside support stops they stop.
Every part of us needs to filled. Why? Because the love and life of Christ is spread by spillage. My cup is full and then it runs over.
I hope this makes some sort of sense.
God bless
Carol
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