John

Can You Be a Christian Without Being a Disciple?

February 13, 2020 by Tim Sherfy

I heard a caller on a radio show ask, “Can you be a Christian without being a disciple?” I have been wrestling with this same thought of late. Before diving in, we should define the terms, so we are all on the same page. The term “Christian” now means many things in our world, but for this discussion, I mean someone who has trusted Jesus is who He says He was and has surrendered their lives to His Lordship.

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A disciple, again for our discussion, is someone who is constantly and consistently pursuing Jesus, desperate to live their lives as He lived His. My inclination is to say you cannot be a Christian if you are not a disciple. I could be wrong but let me give you some reasons for my belief, and then I’ll say a few words about why I might be wrong.

Do Good People Go to Heaven?

February 6, 2020 by Tim Sherfy

Aaron Rodgers, the star quarterback of the Green Bay Packers made waves when he proclaimed, “I don’t know how you can believe in a God who wants to condemn most of the planet to a fiery hell. What type of loving, sensitive, omnipresent, omnipotent being wants to condemn his beautiful creation to a fiery hell at the end of all this?” Mr. Rodgers is misinformed about the God in whom he does not believe.

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Jesus was clear saying He did not come to condemn the world, but to deliver it from the forces of evil (John 3:17-18). We are saved from the condemnation Mr. Rodgers talks about by bowing down to Jesus as Lord and surrendering our lives to Him. Those who reject Jesus condemn themselves, it is not the will of God (John 3:18; 2 Peter 3:9).

A New Creation

December 26, 2019 by Tim Sherfy

When you give your life to Jesus, everything changes. It’s not only your eternal destiny that changes, but your life right now is transformed. God gives you a new identity. Everything you’ve thought about yourself is no longer true. You are no longer what anyone else has labeled you. You are no longer limited by your own beliefs or those of others. When you make Jesus Lord of your life, you become a child of the King.

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From that moment on you are not a failure, you are more than a conqueror (Romans 8:37). You are not an aimless wanderer, you are a person of purpose, created with unique gifts and talents to accomplish things for the Kingdom of God only you can do (Ephesians 2:10). Your old limitations and fears no longer apply. You are a new creation in every way (2 Corinthians 5:17).

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Friendly Fire

December 19, 2019 by Tim Sherfy

It seems to be in vogue for Christians to attack other Christians publicly, decrying their stances on issues with which we may disagree. I am 100% about standing on Biblical truth. If we’re going to do that, we need to stand on all the truths of Scripture, not just the ones we choose. I recently was forwarded an email originally from a prominent person in Christendom. In the email, the individual called out many professing Christians for their stance (or lack thereof) regarding a particular sin.

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The list included corporations, athletes, and entertainers. There’s something wrong with us if the best use of our time is attacking fellow believers in Christ. Each of us has sin in their lives. We also must recognize not everyone who claims to be a Christian is a true follower of Jesus. As many before me have pointed out, it is far better to be declaring Who we are for rather calling out those things we are against.

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Fear Makes Us Forget

December 9, 2019 by Tim Sherfy

Nothing is so damaging to our faith as fear. Fear has a way of undermining everything we believe. We know God is bigger than anything we might face, but when we get a difficult diagnosis from our doctor, we fear the future. We forget the serious times in our lives through which God has already seen us. When we lose a job, we fear we’ll run out of money and forget God has promised to provide for our needs (Matthew 6:31-33).

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And while we know God is the essence of love, when we become afraid we’ll never find a spouse, or when we lose a spouse and feel the absence in our lives, we fear we’ll never know love again. Fear makes us forget what we know to be true.

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