Gates of the City

There have basically only been two types of Christians in the world.

One type has lots of convictions, at least in the beginning. That is basically because when they first hear the Gospel and come to Christ they ask Him to please help them be the kind of Christian they should be. Naturally, He does. He begins by opening up and illuminating His word to them, showing them His will and what He expects of them. Thus, they come under conviction of His Spirit as He begins to point out those things in their lives that are not compatible with His holiness and consequently need to be forsaken if they are to continue to both walk with and grow in Him. This shows the critical “relationship” necessary in Christianity as God endeavors to make us His people.

At first, there is usually an attempt to do the right thing, but because many have not fully surrendered to Christ He won’t empower them so as to have victory over their sin. For if He did, it would in truth be disregarding their freewill, because in their hearts they don’t really want to resist the temptations in their lives. Their hearts actually want to commit the sin. This is actually the purpose of temptation in our lives; it proves to one’s self the trueness of their heart. See, as long as Adam didn’t eat of the forbidden tree he would have always known he loved God. But by doing so, he showed his love was greater for something or someone else.

Even though these types of Christians are convicted, they’re still attracted to their sins and don’t really want to give them up. So, with time, these people will either fall away completely from Christ, or they will adapt their faith and just become religious like the Pharisees were, and they will simply begin to justify themselves by comparing themselves to others which they deem are worse people than they are, or distract themselves by spending their life away arguing about doctrine.

This type of Christian struggles with their commitment and thus will often try to negotiate with God, to reach a compromise so to say, where they give some of their time and money to good causes or deeds. They might even make a manageable commitment to their church to oversee something for a season to show they’re seriousness and to prove their faith. But that is where we leave the struggling Christians and go to the other type of Christian… the one with true faith, the overcomers.

The one with true faith understands the truth where the Apostle John warned them to be not deceived; “He that sins is of the devil, and he that works righteousness is righteous even as He [Jesus] is righteous.”

Because God’s word is hid in their heart, they cannot consent to sin because they understand the offense it is to the Holy Savior. Therefore, they can resist temptation for they are empowered by His Spirit to be overcomers of all pressures and temptation the world throws at them. This is always done at a cost to themselves, for Jesus warned them that they cannot be His disciple unless they freely choose to pick up their own cross and follow Him. He makes this requirement because it is the only way He can fully restore their souls. But this too often takes them down a path of righteousness that winds through a dark valley haunted by the Shadow of Death, their death. See this type of faith lays hold of salvation because it perseveres and works by love.

They understand they were once dead in their trespasses and sins, so now they trust Him knowing that not only has He given them life, but that He is in truth their life. They realize that to trust and obey Him is the only way to their realizing the fulfillment of His exceeding great and precious promises of being partakers of His divine nature. Thus, they walk in the light just as He is the very author and means of that life; therefore, they have holy fellowship with their Father and Savior. Their hearts are settled and hence resolved to give heed to the purifying of their souls by obeying His truth, which is possible only through the empowerment of His Spirit within them. This is both believing unto salvation and working out salvation. These Christians, though always fully capable of yielding to sin, nevertheless purposely out of love for God and others now walk with conviction of righteousness and not under the conviction of sin.

Sadly, Jesus said there were going to be many, many more of the first type of Christians. Those who will be found guilty of taking His name in vain. For scripture plainly say that they who call themselves Christians “ought to walk even as He walked.” These Christians will only be “overcomers” in that they have overcome the conviction of sin; for while professing Christ as Savior, they are again entangled in the depth of sin because their conscience has been so seared so as to permit them to freely continue in their willful sin. They now choose to ignore that Jesus came and died and rose again so that He might save them from their sins and change their nature. But how, if they will not let His save them from their sins, can He truly save them from their sin’s reward of death and hell?

The latter Christians are indeed very few, Jesus said so. That is because they understand The Gate is a strait, and not straight. It is a path fraught with dangers whereby they must always be clothed with the armor of God and yielded to the commands and orders of the Captain of their Salvation. They understand He alone knows the narrow path that leads to eternal life, and being His sheep, they have learned to trust His voice as the Great Shepherd of their souls. Thus, they have tuned their ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the Churches and will be overcomers of both their carnal nature and adversary.  Why? Because they have come to love God with all their heart, mind, and strength, and have experienced through all their hardships that He is indeed able to sanctify them wholly, so that their whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of their Lord, Jesus Christ. He is faithful.

So, which kind of Christian are you?

Jude 1:24 – Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, 25 To the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.