My family got together yesterday (Sunday), which is very normal for us. It usually begins with 4 to 5 hours of volleyball at a park, but the weather looked to be too windy, so my son decided to cancel this week. So, we got together in the early afternoon and played games, had some dinner, and, as Tanner, my son-in-law, desired, we watched the UFC event that happened on the White House lawn. It was quite the spectacle. You can read more about it on any news app. Not the Bee has a fairly good article on it, and there are a few videos showing some good highlights.
One of the things that stood out was that several of the fighters who won their bouts actually quoted Scripture and testified of their faith. One young man, who needed a translator for the rest of his post fight interview, quoted John 3:16 and gave his testimony in fairly good English.
One of the Americans who won a heavyweight fight, started with giving his opponent an obscene gesture, used some very inappropriate choice words both before, during, and after the match, and then proceeded to say that the most important thing was his relationship with “my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” I was actually surprised that he didn’t insert some obscene descriptor between the words “my” and “Lord.” What is it with some people?
Now, I do not know the heart of this man, or whether or not he is truly saved. But the Bible says we can know somebody by their fruits. And you can’t get good fruit from a bad tree. But it certainly seems that many people think that Christianity is simply adding “Jesus” to our lives without anything else changing. You can do and say whatever you want, as long as every now and then you pay lip service to God, and He will see that and welcome you into the Kingdom. But that isn’t what the Bible says. In fact, some of the harshest words, warnings, and punishments are for those who do this. The whole reason Israel and Judah were sent into captivity was because they were doing this very thing. God said He abhorred their sacrifices because of this attitude. He desires obedience much more than sacrifice.
And God has not changed. I finished the Gospels and am now in the Book of Acts. And we can see the major change in Peter’s life very quickly. At the end of John, he was still pretty unsure of himself, and for good reason. He had denied Jesus over and over, just as Jesus said he would. And the Book of John has an aspect of the story that is not in the other gospels. Peter is said to be warming himself by a ‘charcoal fire.’ The charcoal they had was cheap and had a very pungent smell. Peter denied Jesus while warming next to a charcoal fire.
Researchers have said that one of the things that brings back memories the best is smell. If you go to a house showing, some real estate agents will have the family bake cookies, so that the place “smells like home.” After the resurrection, Peter and some others went fishing, and Jesus appeared to them on the shore. When recognized, Peter jumped out of the boat and swam the 100 yards. He needed to see Jesus. He needed to see if there was any chance of forgiveness. And as soon as he got out of the water, John says that Jesus was cooking breakfast “over a charcoal fire.” I think this is significant. Everything Peter had said, his denials, and, as per Luke, how Jesus looked right at him after the final denial, all of that would have come rushing back into his consciousness. And that needed to happen, so that Peter could then be brought to helplessness, only to have his Savior restore him and give him his commission. Peter’s life was forever changed, and was made even stronger after Pentecost.
At that point we see Peter standing up in front of the Sanhedrin and saying things like, “You denied Jesus!” Excuse me Peter, but didn’t you do the same thing? Yes. But don’t you see that while this was a great sin, Jesus is a great Savior, and Peter was so forgiven that he could use these terms to convict others of the same thing, and preach the good news of the Gospel even to the High Priest, who KNEW that Jesus had risen from the dead. We know this because he paid off the soldiers to lie about it.
However, there was a married couple in Acts 5 that tried to pull one over on Peter and God. Ananias and Sephirah lied about the amount of money they got from a property they sold and withheld some of the money for themselves. When Peter confronted them, separately, it seems as though he was saying that had they been honest and said that they were giving only part of the money, they would have been okay. But, it appears that they wanted to look good for everyone else. They thought that appearances were important. And while they didn’t use bad language and make obscene hand gestures, and then proclaim Jesus as Lord and Savior, what they did was very much akin to what many famous people do. They live as they want, and then throw Jesus into the mix in hopes that this is enough to get past the entrance gates in Heaven.
And while this is up to the true Judge of us all, I do want to give you this warning. If you life is no different now than it was before you were saved, you may want to examine yourself a little more closely. It was Peter who wrote in 2 Peter 1:5-11
For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (ESV)
It isn’t just lip service that gets you into Heaven, it is a changed heart that ever seeks to grow in all virtue and godliness. I really like that Peter wrote these verses, because he was radically transformed by the salvation, love, and forgiveness of the true Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It may be time to wake up and smell the charcoal for some of you. Examine your life. Make you calling and election sure.
Amen
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