At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said in Matthew 5:13-16 "You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trodden under foot by men. "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."
Christians should be changed through Jesus Christ. We should all be praying for "LESS OF ME" in our lives and "MORE OF JESUS" in our lives. Watch the music video "Different" by Micah Tyler below:
Sadly, there are a lot of Evangelicals / Fundamentalists that think most of the 1.2 billion Roman Catholics are "NOT SAVED" which is really saying, "Most Catholics will GO TO HELL" because that's what "NOT BEING SAVED" really means. Many of these Evangelicals / Fundamentalists think that some Roman Catholics will be "SAVED" despite the teachings of Roman Catholicism and that any "SAVED Catholics" remain Catholics out of ignorance or other various reasons like family. In addition, many of those that judge Catholics point to the Bible as "PROOF" but often miss true Biblical teachings as taught by Jesus Christ or lack understanding of the meaning of words as simple as the word "BELIEVE." In the end, each one of us answers directly to God for what we did and didn't do in this life. God is the final judge.
So let's continue...
I'm not going to go beyond the Gospels. I'm going to stick with JESUS ONLY. In other words, direct from the mouth of Our Lord and Savior. Would you agree that trumps what you say, what I say, what anything else in the Bible says? If you are a Christian, you should agree that the words of Christ trumps all.
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." As you likely know, you cannot base the whole Christian faith on one Bible verse. Yes, John 3:16 is completely true. I was brought up with a song "God Said It, I believe it, That settles it for me." However, many people want overly focus on John 3:16 and say "ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS BELIEVE."
There are two key problems with "ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS BELIEVE."
1) Believe is a verb. To believe is to act. To believe is to be "Different." - Did you watch the video? "I wanna be different - I wanna be changed - 'Til all of me is gone" - I don't do all the "Catholic Things" as some may refer to them like the "Sign of the Cross" because I believe that saves me. I make the sign of the cross to be "Different," to remember my Baptism, to remember the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, to remember what Christ did on the Cross, to Pray, to open myself up even more to God, to confess my faith and more.
2) Jesus Himself COMMANDS us to do. He commands us to be "Different."
Matthew 22:37-40 "And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.”
Does loving God and loving others require action?
Yes, in Matthew 25:41-43 Jesus had been speaking in parable form, but do you think he meant what he said and was trying to make a point? "Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me." Does this tie into what he said into Matthew 22 about loving God and loving others?
Jesus commanded us to: "Follow Him" - "Make Disciples" - "Preach the Gospel" - "Do this in remembrance of me: Holy Communion." - "Not to Judge" - "Repent" - "Not to Lust" - "To Baptize" and much more.
John 15:10 " If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love."
I could go on and on and make this a much longer blog post like many that I write, but I'm going to leave you with something to answer. FYI, I'm not judging because it's not my place. I'm also not perfect. I'm simply challenging all of us as Christians to think about this:
If God asks me "Why should I let you into heaven _________ ( insert your name ) ?"
One Possible Answer: "I believed in Jesus Christ through faith, but I wasn't any "Different." My life was more about me than about Jesus. I was just too busy with work, with my smart phone, with Facebook, with anything but Jesus to truly live out my faith. But God, I still believe through faith without being "Different" and without following your commands in the Bible that you should let me into heaven."
I'm not God. I'm not the judge. But is that how anyone would really want to answer to the God of the universe for our eternal salvation?
I want to be "DIFFERENT." Do you?
Here are the words to the video "Different" by Micah Tyler:
I don't wanna hear anymore, teach me to listen
I don't wanna see anymore, give me a vision
That you could move this heart, to be set apart
I don't need to recognize, the man in the mirror
And I don't wanna trade Your plan, for something familiar
I can't waste a day, I can't stay the same
I wanna be different
I wanna be changed
'Til all of me is gone
And all that remains
Is a fire so bright
The whole world can see
That there's something different
So come and be different
In me
And I dont wanna spend my life, stuck in a pattern
And I don't wanna gain this world but lose what matters
And so I'm giving up, everything because
I wanna be different
I wanna be changed
'Til all of me is gone
And all that remains
Is a fire so bright
The whole world can see
That there's something different
So come and be different; oh-oh
I know, that I am far, from perfect
But through You, the cross still says, I'm worth it
So take this beating in my heart and
Come and finish what You started
When they see me, let them see You
'Cause I just wanna be different, ye-ey
I wanna be different
I wanna be changed
'Til all of me is gone
And all that remains
Oh is a fire so bright
The whole world can see
That there's something different
So come and be different
I just wanna be different
So could You be different
In me
Songwriters: Micah Tyler Begnaud / Kyle Lee
