Friday, October 21, 2011

Christian Heritage... What Is It Really? (Conclusion)

(Read Part 1 , Part 2, and Part 3)

Please take just a moment, stop reading and reflect on your conversion. What transpired? Perhaps more importantly, what is ongoing today? Was it just a “decision” that you made when you were young that was inherently expected of you? Did you raise a hand and walk an aisle and then embark into life as a Christian, simply doing the things that Christians do in this nation? Do you have to strain to think of any spiritual occasions in your life that aren’t directly linked to organized, religious activities? Is it remotely possible that you’ve spent your entire life going through passed-down, religious motions that hold no regeneration power? Where are you now, spiritually, compared to when you were born again? What evidence is there today that you’re in fact a new creation being conformed into the image of Christ? As Paul told us in 2 Corinthians, Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves.

So what is a Christian heritage really? In light of the Scriptures, it must be rooted and established in demonstrating Christ to the generations that are watching us. It must be exclusively pointing others to a personal revelation of The Christ, not programs, practices and traditions alone. Anything less than this is just another pattern of this world, cloaked in Christian garments.

I offer this challenge. Where does your Christian identity lie? Remove the years that you spent teaching Sunday School classes or volunteering in the nursery. Take away all of your Christian heritage that in the end will not be able to be a leg for you to stand on. Forget all of the tracts that you handed out during revival week. All of your faithful Sunday service attendances? Throw them out too. What remains? When all the “Christian-y stuff” is vacated, what proof resides within your inner man that you’re a new creation, regenerated from the inside out? These findings alone define whether or not you’re in Christ. Not what denomination you were born into or what church building your obituary will associate you with. All of those things, although enjoyable and important to so many, are simply not the goal.

Christianity, true biblical Christianity, the “Christ-is-my-life” life – this alone is the goal. Be assured of this today my friend – search your inner man and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal where your identity lies. It must be found in Christ alone. All else falls short. Has the Spirit of the living God truly transformed you into a new creation? What legacy will you leave behind?

3 comments:

Seminario said...

Good article. I will try to include some of this in my spanish seminary. I am still learning English. So this was helpful to me. Thanks!

cee said...

A very inspiring and true post! We need to constantly evaluate n remind ourselves of our heritage as christains... I wrote something similar you could check it out...
Loudspeakers411.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

I never thought of it that way, my sister says that she's a Christian and she belives in the higher power