Fence Walkers

 Revelation 3:14-16, “And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, ‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.”

You will hear a lot these days about change you can believe in. I want to talk about change God can believe in. We always say, "I believe in God," but did you know that God believes in you too? And whenever you confess your sins and become born again, then that’s when God wants to believe in you the most. Our text tells us that it literally sickens God whenever we can’t make up our minds. Do we want to serve God? Do we want a part-time salvation? Or will we commit to His fullness and be obedient to His word?

What does your life look like? Are you lukewarm? Are you hot or on fire for God? Or has your desire for Him grown cold and only now and then "fires" up? I believe it all begins with genuine repentance. Are you truly sorry whenever you sin? Have you changed since you were saved? Or do you feel guilty now whenever you sin? What is the fruit of your salvation? If you’ve just recently been saved, can your friends see a difference in your life? There needs to be a change that we all can believe in!

Here’s a fact of life.....change is inevitable. That’s right, we are going to change whether we want to or not. Don’t believe me? Pull out some pictures of yourself from last Christmas. Have you changed? I have! A little fatter, a little greyer. Things change even when we don’t want them to. Not all changes are good! Some changes are for the better...some are not. Some grow "hotter" in God. Some cool off and go from lukewarm to cold. So, we have to be aware that change will occur and make a conscious decision to continue to grow closer to God instead of growing away from Him.

Life is like a river. There is a current constantly flowing. Usually, we go upriver. We must paddle. If we quit paddling in the middle of a current, we don’t just sit still in the same place. We go wherever the current takes us. That’s probably what we were doing before we came to the Lord. That’s not changed; that’s the same old, same old. It takes determination and drive to paddle. It takes strength and faith to keep paddling for your destination. It takes the Holy Ghost to continue whenever you don’t feel like paddling.

The gospel is about change. A person who has accepted Jesus as their personal Savior and has made a commitment to Him is going to change. A person who claims to have accepted Jesus as their Lord and who continues to be substantially what they always have been is kidding no one but themselves. If you catch on to this gospel, it will change you! There is a contradiction these days that comes out of a word that has become the motto of the contemporary religious scene, and that word is "tolerance." Some are saying, "I’m okay, you’re okay." Some are saying that Jesus accepts us just the way we are.

Now, this is true only if it is understood what the gospel is all about. Coming to Jesus just the way we are is like getting into the shower just the way we are. A person doesn’t take a shower before they get in. They get into the shower just the way they are, literally. But when they get out of the shower, they are different; they are clean. Because that is what showers are for. Showering is what I do to get clean and keep clean. And so a person comes to Jesus just as they are like you or I get into the shower after working in the yard.

A person who comes to Jesus just as they are...proud, selfish, bitter, resentful, lustful and out of control...and who stays that way hasn’t really come to Jesus at all. Coming to Jesus is about being washed and being made clean. The scripture is clear that those who are forgiven must also be cleansed from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Look at the first part of that. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.” Forgiveness is freely given for genuine repentance. To repent means literally to "turn away" from the act that you are seeking forgiveness for. Genuine repentance means that you are sorry and that you will stop doing that which has grieved God and separated you from Him.

How about this....“Lord, I’m really sorry I got caught.” or “God, I really regret that sin. I sure hope I can do better next time.” Does either of these statements indicate genuine repentance? I don’t think so. Both are prompted out of guilt or embarrassment, not a heartfelt sense of remorse over the fact that the Father has been grieved. Usually, those who pray like this have no intention of changing. They just want God off their backs.

Genuine repentance involves several things. First, confession. Not just, “Lord, I’m sorry for my mistake,” but “Lord, I have sinned against you.” Confession acknowledges guilt. The second is repentance. Repentance involves recognizing that the sin was against God. Although David committed adultery with Bathsheba and then had her husband killed, he realized that his sin was primarily against the Lord. Psalm 51:2-4, “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions and my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight.”

All of us need to recognize that our sin is primarily against God. Other people may be hurt as well. However, when we hold our sin up to the love of the Father expressed through the Cross, we see that is where sin is darkest. Repentance also includes taking full responsibility for our sins. David didn’t blame Bathsheba or make any excuses for himself. He said, “For I know my transgressions and my sin is ever before me.” He didn’t say, "The devil made me do it"! David realized that he alone was responsible for his sin. Whenever we catch ourselves blaming someone else...even the devil...for our sin, our repentance is incomplete. We should take full responsibility for our offense, no matter what happened or who was involved. Regardless of the temptation, we are ultimately the ones who choose to sin.

 

Lastly, repentance is not complete without honesty. I believe God is looking for us to be honest about our weaknesses, our failures, and our frustrations. Honesty promotes fellowship. If we are open and honest with the Lord, He can continue to work with us, even after we have sinned. We get into trouble when we start to cover things up: “Now, Lord, I know I made a mistake. But after all, everybody makes mistakes. Nobody’s perfect.” Responding this way avoids the real issue and is therefore dishonest. If we approach God in that fashion, there is not much He can do with us.

look at 1 John 1:9 again, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” That says that He will cleanse us from all unrighteousness if we what? Confess our sins. It is so important for the believer to repent.

Repentance is different, however, for the believer and the unbeliever. Repentance for those outside of Christ means a change of mind. The unbeliever is to change his mind about what he believes concerning Jesus. He moves from unbelief to the belief that Christ paid the penalty for his sin. An unsaved person admits that they cannot save their self. They trust Jesus instead of their own goodness for eternal life. They change their mind about God and His payment for our sins. It is important to understand that repentance for the unbeliever does not refer to cleaning up his life. There is no magic wand that makes them perfected in Christ overnight...any more than the believer has a magic wand that causes them to make the right decisions.

And unbelievers should understand this.... you don’t clean up your life and come to God...you come to God and let His Spirit clean you up! Let Him change you...because He will if you are obedient to Him. But even after you come to Christ, you will still have the need at times for repentance. After you receive Jesus, you will continue to repent as you grow in Christian faith and character. This repentance is a change of mind that leads to a change in behavior.

What happens when we delay our repentance? The Bible teaches that God disciplines those who are disobedient. When we keep on in our sin with no intention of stopping, we won’t escape the disciplining hand of the Father. There is a consequence to our sin and our failure to address it. However, we know that if you and I deal with our sins genuinely, openly, and immediately, God can lessen the severity of our discipline. We are wise to repent as quickly as the Holy Spirit has convicted us. That’s another reason that we should desire more and more of the Holy Spirit of God in our lives.

The issue is not whether we should change; God is insisting that we change. We are all going to change before this is over. But scripture and history teach us that some will change and be saved, and others will change and be lost.

There is one thing that hasn’t changed. And that is the Word of God. It was infallible when it was written, and it is infallible now. Just because you have changed, or society has changed doesn’t mean God’s Word has or ever will. Malachi 3:6, “ For I am the LORD, I do not change.” or Matthew 24:35, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.”

It used to be taught that the hour of God’s judgment means that we are in danger. It was taught there are forces out there that can do us in and that our only safety is to be completely committed to Jesus. It was taught that the devil was going to be destroyed, and those who persisted in being on his side would be finally destroyed with him in hell. That’s the way it used to be taught.

There is a new spin being given to things now. Hell is out. It is “politically incorrect” to talk about hell. Love is in. The truth is that if you really want to know what the love of God is all about, you must keep hell in the picture. Can’t you see how that must be? If we do away with hell, there is not really much incentive to respond to the love of God.

 

We are not hearing enough about the devil and his tactics these days. We do not seem to be aware that there is an enemy after us who is more dangerous than a sniper, a stalker, or a pedophile. There is an enemy who is after us 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from the time we are born into this world until we check out at the end. If the devil ain’t chasing you, it’s because he’s already got you! He has some new tactics, though.

You remember that at the beginning of the Christian era, Satan tried to destroy the church by force. But this only caused the church to band together and to grow. Satan then changed his tactic, and instead of trying to wipe out the church by force, he simply decided to join it, and he encouraged his infidel followers to do the same. What was true way back then is especially true in this generation. If a person is not aware of this infiltration and expects the devil to be on the outside and the good guys on the inside, that person will be in for a big surprise.

When the devil appeared to Jesus in the wilderness, he did not appear in the form of a red imp with a pitchfork. He appeared as an angel from heaven. If Jesus had judged strictly from appearances, He might have been deceived. And so, in the 21st century, if we judge strictly by appearances, we will be deceived. The scripture is clear in the book of Revelation that before this is all over, the very elect could be deceived. There will be miracles wrought and other signs and wonders. God’s Word has NOT changed!

The problem is that since the devil was baptized and became a member of the church in good and regular standing, he has been trying to change the rules and redefine the parameters of the game. Of course, this must not be allowed in the church because, as far as church doctrine and the meaning of holiness and godly living are concerned, it is the Word of God that has the last say. It is not up for a vote or a matter of how a person may see it.

We must return to the Word of God as the standard of righteousness. We must wake up and see that, although we are changing and we must change, the change must be a change toward holiness and godliness and not a change that would institutionalize the world and its sinful ways. It cannot be a change that “tolerates” what is an abomination to the Lord.

Some would say that we ought to empathize with people and compromise the truth in order to get people into church. The ideology that we must meet people’s needs if we are to attract them to Jesus is flawed unless it is well thought out. Dope addicts have needs. Their need is more dope. Those who sell drugs are meeting that need. What they really need is to understand the grace of God and the life that they can have in Christ! The drugs just satisfy a passing fancy....and getting people into the church by entertaining them is simply satisfying a temporal need and not an eternal one! They must recognize the need for true repentance and change in their lives!

Friends, the church is not a club or a social event. It is a place to come and worship God in Spirit and in truth. It is a place to gather with like-minded people to strengthen our faith and encourage each other. It is a place that reminds us that we need to come to God with genuine repentance and to offer up the change in our lives that God Himself can believe in!