Saturday, October 1, 2011

Burger King Religion

"Have it your way!" Many people not only want food choices their way but also want the same pick and choose when it comes to God.

A couple of mornings ago I was reminded of this verse in my morning reading: Also if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules. 2 Timothy 2:5

As Christians these days we bristle at the word rules; it seems so rigid. We like flexibility. When we are telling a pagan about God we want to avoid telling them about the rules. We don't want to tell them that if they are going to follow Jesus there are things they can no longer do.

But what is really on my mind is people who call themselves Christians but want to be the Burger King; they want to have it their way.

I think of some people I know of who divorced their spouses. It wasn't for the reasons that Scripture would allow. One even proclaimed they were "happily divorced" yet God says he hates divorce. These people are now preparing to marry someone new. In Scripture, God says they are going to commit adultery.

So what if we really believe the verse I mentioned above? What if people who decide to have it their way end up not getting the prize? Maybe the rules are important, inflexible and only broken with serious consequences.

Now I'm not saying that people lose their salvation when they sin; 1 John 2:1 shows that forgiveness is available. But there is much Scripture that makes it clear that once you are saved you may not always be saved. For that reason we need to be careful not only of how we live our own lives but of what we excuse in others.

Philip

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