J. C. Ryle once said, “The true Christian is called to be a soldier and must behave as such; he is not meant to live a life of religious ease, indolence, and security. He must never imagine for a moment that he can sleep and doze along the way to heaven, like one traveling in an easy carriage.” That’s the exact opposite of how many Christians live today. Bad theology and teaching have created a generation of believers who lack an understanding of what it means to follow Christ.
Never in history have those most devoted to Jesus lived a life of ease. Why would we think anything has changed? As long as God allows Satan to roam the earth, the devil will make sure followers of Jesus will be harassed, hated, and persecuted (John 15:18-20; John 16:33). The narrow path is the hard road (Matthew 7:13-14).
To live a life surrendered to Jesus, Paul warned us we will need to put on the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18). His choice of metaphor was not an afterthought, but the inspired truth of the Holy Spirit. No one puts on armor unless there is a threat, and know that the powers of darkness are threatening us every day. Because messages of self-help and self-improvement garbage rain down from our pulpits today, our focus is obsessively within instead of the battle that rages without. The great irony is we spend our lives seeking security in a world where security cannot be found. We seek from the world what we can only find in Christ.
The hard road offers no opportunity for us to sleep and doze. The enemy is like a lion, always seeking the chance to pounce and tear us to shreds (1 Peter 5:8). Our world is not a safe place for Christians, which is why so many are falling away from the faith. Of course, we know that those who claim to have been saved but have walked away from Jesus never knew Him in the first place (1 John 2:18-19). They bought into a Jesus that offered peace, security, happiness, health, and success. They bought into the lie of the antichrists filling so many pulpits in our land today.
My heart aches for those sitting in churches promoting these false messages. How many think they are in Christ but will burn in the flames of Hell because they never sought the truth for themselves? The Bible is clear on how true followers of Christ will live. We will know them by their fruit (Matthew 7:16-20). Where there is no fruit, there is no salvation. If your desires are no different from those without Christ, there is a better than good chance you have never experienced the transforming power of God’s redemption. If your actions, opinions, and words contradict the plain teaching of Scripture, you are only fooling yourself in saying you are a Christian.
Jesus said if we love Him, we will obey His commands (John 14:15). His Word tells us if we love the things of this world, then we have no love for Jesus (1 John 2:15). The hard road is where we will find ourselves when we pursue Christ. Forget ease, apathy, and security. These are all foreign to a life surrendered to Jesus. Why would anyone sign up for such a life? We sign on because of the matchless love of Christ. He is our priceless pearl (Matthew 13:45-46), incomparable and worthy of our lives. We travel the hard road because it is the only way to experience the beauty, grace, and salvation of our King. Don’t wish for a life of ease. Yearn for an eternity with Jesus, and surrender everything so you might get it.