IS YOUR LIFESTYLE A TESTIMONY THAT THE LORD HAS CHANGED YOU?

BIBLE PASSAGE:
But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” 
Show me your faith without deeds, 
and I will show you my faith by my deeds. 
(James 2:18)

MEDITATION:
By no means will our ‘deeds’ save us, 
but our ‘good deeds’ are evidence of our salvation.
Conversely, our ‘bad deeds’ can show a lack of being changed by the Lord.
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not 
from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can 
boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Unfortunately there are some who think James 2:18 means 
they should show others they are ‘religious’ (instead of righteous).
As long as they can convince others (and themselves) 
that they are Christians, then in their opinion, they must be saved.

Many are living a “Name it and claim it” lifestyle.
In other words, if they tell people they are a saved, 
then in their own mind, they must be saved.
This is one of Satan’s schemes to keep people out of heaven.

God, however wants a “Give it and live it” Christian lifestyle of His followers.
He demands that we surrender (‘give’) our lives to Him,
and ‘live’ a life with a changed heart, attitude, and actions.

Mark Twain made a statement that is amusing, but says a lot 
about the phoniness, selfishness and problems caused by others.
“The more I learn about people, the more I like my dog”.
Dogs are loyal, dependable and obedient (through training) to their master.
That is what God wants of those who claim to be Christians.
He wants His children to be loyal, dependable and obedient.

But there are some who have redefined His expectations, and the more 
we learn about them, the more we can see the lack of a changed life.
They can ‘show a faith’ to others, but there is no loyalty, 
dependability, or obedience which indicates God has changed them.

I know of several examples, where someone has ‘shown’ all the signs 
of being “religious”, but the more people learned about them, 
they discovered they were having affairs, and ‘shacking up’ 
with someone outside the boundaries of marriage.

There are other examples of people ‘showing’ to be ‘religious’ but later 
people discovered that they were not remaining sober in obedience to God.
Some say they are just ‘social drinkers’, but is that what God expects?
I saw a man during a Sunday School class of around fifty people 
make the statement, “The most spiritual man I know, drinks alcohol”.
I wondered how God would assess his spirituality.

There is a Sunday School class at another church 
that freely drinks alcohol at the socials in the homes 
of their members (people actually bring alcohol to the gatherings).
Try to visualize that setting if Jesus showed up physically at the door.
Imagine someone saying, 
“Hey Jesus, come on in and grab a cold beer from the fridge”.

God’s Word tells us that our lack of sobriety makes us vulnerable to the
attacks from Satan, and opens the door for him to gain a foothold in our life. 
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around 
like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8).

Some try to justify their disobedience by saying, “That’s just who I am”.
The statement is true because apparently they are not, 
“Just who God changed them to be”.

We can put on a front for others while continuing to live in sin,
but we cannot change God’s mind regarding our sinfulness.
Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? 
Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers 
nor men who have sex with men  nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards 
nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 
(1 Corinthians 6:9-10)

MEDITATION:
We all make mistakes, but at some point, we need to become more serious 
about God’s expectations of those who claim Him as Lord of their lives. 
Thank goodness, we have a loving Father 
who forgives our failures when we have a repentant heart.
But when our mistakes become our lifestyle, 
it should cause us to wonder if we have truly been changed by the Lord.

When the Lord changes us, 
we will have a new sensitivity to our influence on others.
For instance, we realize that 
if a lost soul thinks drinking alcohol is wrong,
and they see us drinking, then we have had a negative impact 
on their concept of being a follower of the Lord.

Paul, whose heart was changed by the Lord, 
shows a new sensitivity to the influence his actions will have on others. 
He made a decision to even avoid eating certain foods, 
if it caused others to sin.
Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, 
I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall. 
(1 Corinthians 8:13)

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for Your merciful gift of salvation. Help 
me to realize that true salvation means I can expect significant changes 
in my life. Remind me that the things which are acceptable by a sinful 
world, are not acceptable by You. Help me to eliminate the things in my
own life which do not meet Your approval, and can have a negative
impact on any lost people who may be observing my lifestyle.”  

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