It seems safe to understand that for most of us our relationship with God began out of self-interest. We were drawn to the gospel to satisfy our need for forgiveness and the escape of our deserved eternal punishment. I believe that most all of us who are “saved” would confess that, that is so. However, to remain on that self-interest level is juvenile at best. The Scriptures have much to say regarding our obligations, responsibilities and our culpability as followers of Christ.
It seems to me that this self-interest matter is what Paul describes as carnality. He said the following to the church at Corinth:
1 Corinthians 3:1And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
I fear that altogether too much of Christianity today is just plain carnal. God’s people demand to be approached with material that satisfies their self-interest. Much of it seems to be surrounded by the idea of how we can enjoy peaceful, prosperous and satisfying lives in Christ. While those three objectives are not absent from consideration in the Scriptures, it certainly is not how our Savior presented the Christian life. For our Savior, it seems the bottom line was sacrifice and faithfulness.
Luke 9:23And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
The truly consistent and faithful followers of Christ today are those who have accepted this adult responsibility.
