God Does Not Give Up on Us Easily

When I was young, there were two games that we would play that did not require any equipment.  Simon Says and Red Light, Green Light.  I find it strange that we never played 20 Questions or I Spy with My Little Eye.  But anyway, I want to talk about Red Light, Green Light.  For those of you who do not know, the game is a race.  But you can only run when you have the "green light."  Someone who isn't running in the race would yell, "Green light!" and you would run.  But as soon as they yelled, "Red light!" you had to stop immediately.  If you were caught running during a red light, you had to start over at the starting line.

Red Light, Green Light is a fun game.  But this is not a game we can play when it comes to our salvation.  You may ask, "How can you play Red Light, Green Light with your salvation?"  Green Light, Red Light is a game of start and stop, start and stop, start and stop, start and stop.  Salvation--on the other hand--is not a repetitious start and stop.  Some people think that at one moment you could be saved, then in the very next moment you can be lost.  Then later you are saved again, and then again later, you are lost.  Saved then lost, saved then lost.  This is called Stop and Go Christianity.  This type of Christianity leaves people thinking, "Did I sin recently?  I may have.  Is so, am I lost right now?  I'll ask for forgiveness so I can be saved again.  But what about later today?  Will I sin before the end of the day and become lost again?"  Now, have you ever asked yourself these types of questions?  I sure have.

I remember back to my baptism; it was a Thursday.  After I was baptized, I overheard someone say to someone else who was there, "Yes.  I remember when I was baptized and not wanting to commit that first sin."  Interesting concept.  Our sins are washed away when we are baptized, right?  Yes.  Therefore, I must be perfectly clean and sinless when I come up out of the water.  I remember the next week very well.  I felt renewed after my baptism.  I felt like I had a purpose--a spiritual purpose.  And through the rest of that week, I tried my very, very, VERY best not to commit that first sin.  It was about three days after my baptism when I first started asking those questions.  "Have I sinned yet?  I'm not sure.  I don't want to give up this perfection.  Will I be able to keep this up through the rest of my life?  It's been only 3 days and I still have years upon years to go."  Then that weekend, I remember sinning.  I lied to my parents.  Looking back, did I sin before that weekend?  Probably.  But that weekend, I lied.  I had failed.  I was no longer perfect.  I began asking myself new questions, "Am I still saved?  Did my baptism only last about 5 days?  Should I be baptized again?  Or should I pray that God will forgive me?  What about the next time I sin?  And the next?"  From that time on, you could say that I started to "drag my feet" as a Christian.  Sure I still tried not to sin, but I did not have the motivation in my heart to strive for sinlessness anymore.  I began viewing my degree of righteousness, or saved-ness, based on how much I knew of the Bible.  The more Biblical knowledge I had, the more righteous I was.  And that kind of thinking is wrong, but that is for another lesson.

And here's where we get to the good part: What does the Bible have to say about the Stop and Go Christianity?

1) First of all, one symptom of Stop and Go Christianity is being unsure of your salvation.  You may have heard it many times before, but we can know that we are saved.  1John 5:13 says, "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life."  Are you unsure whether or not you are saved?  Then you might have the mind-set of Stop and Go Christianity.

2) Secondly, let's look at what else the apostle John said.  When I was baptized, I believed that when I came up out of the water, I was perfect and sinless--just like Jesus Himself when He walked this earth.  But John says that isn't right.  1John 1:8 says, "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."  Even immediately after my baptism, I was not perfect and still had sin.  So right now as I stand before you as I have been baptized... When was the first sin that I will be accountable for?  Was it the first sin after my baptism?  No!  As I stand here before you, the first sin I committed that I will be accountable for was long, long before my baptism.  For when I was baptized, not only was I forgiven of all the sins I had committed before my baptism, but also all the sins that I will ever commit--as long as I keep my faith in Christ.  Furthermore, when was I forgiven of all the sins I have ever and will ever commit?  Was at my baptism?  Yes, in a way.  For I tell you, my sins and your sins were forgiven before we were ever born.  Because Jesus took the whole world's sin away when He died on the cross.  For John the baptist says in John 1:29, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"  Did you know everyone's sins have already been forgiven?  But it is at baptism that you make your pledge of a good conscience to God (1Pet 3:21) and you enter into that forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38).  On the other hand, Stop and Go Christianity says that God's forgiveness is given one moment and taken away each and every time we sin.  Red light; green light.  But the apostle John says that God's forgiveness is constant.  1John 1:7 says that the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.  That includes the sins of the past, the sins of the present, and the sins of the future.

3) Thirdly, let's study a parable of Jesus that applies to what we're talking about.  Read Luke 13:6-9.  Jesus said in John 15:1, "I am the true Vine, and my Father is the vinedresser."  So this man in the parable (who's perhaps the vinedresser's servant) goes out and finds a tree he planted that isn't bearing fruit.  What does it mean to not bear fruit?  It means this tree isn't loving, or joyful, or peaceful, or patient, or kind, or good, or faithful, or gentle, or has self-control.  This tree is not bearing fruit!  I ask you: what's the point of planting a tree if it's not going to bear fruit?  The man, here, says he should cut it down.  I mean, why waist the soil?  Why should God bestow forgiveness on someone who is not bearing fruit?  Why would Jesus prepare a place in heaven for someone who is not bearing fruit?  Basically the tree is worthless just as a dead tree and the servant wants to cut it down.

And this is what gets me...  This is why I adore this parable...  In verse 8, the vinedresser (God) says, "Let it be a little while longer.  I'm going to dig around it and add fertilizer."  God is merciful.  God is merciful.  I'll say it again: God is merciful!  If there is anything I want you to take from this lesson, it's that God does not give up on us easily.  He does not retract forgiveness and salvation each time we sin.  God's forgiveness is not immediately removed when we are not bearing fruit.  God wants His children to bear fruit.  And He's patient with us.  Just as Peter said in 2Pet 3:9, "The Lord is patient with you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance."  And look here...  Not only is God patient with those who do not bear fruit, but He still takes care of those of us who are not bearing fruit.  For those of us who are having trouble bearing fruit, God's going to take an active role in our lives to bring us to repentance so that we may bear the Spirit's fruit.  How God helps those who are not bearing fruit, I do not exactly know.  Perhaps it's putting people in our lives that open us up to wonderful nature of God.  Perhaps it's an encouraging word someone says that motivates us into working for God.  Perhaps it's a loving brother or sister who will warn us when we have bad attitudes and that we need to bear good fruit.  Whatever is causing us to not bear fruit, God has something to help us out of that.  For Paul says in 1Cor 10:13, "God is faithful.  He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with every temptation he will also provide a way of escape."  God can bring us out of a spiritual stupor and bring us back to bearing good fruit.

I want to talk about two reasons why a Christian may not be bearing fruit.  There may be many more than these two, but it seems that everything can fit into one of these two categories.

1) Lethargy.  This is laziness.  Many people do not bear fruit because they are lazy.  They've become comfortable and no longer want to grow spiritually.  Laziness just doesn't happen.  It usually grows over months and years.  Have you become lazy in bearing fruit and working for God?  Is working for God seem like a task that is too big for you?  Because it's not.  And is being loving, joyous, kind, or having self-control too hard for you?  Then you might be lazy in your Christianity.  Don't be lethargic.  Don't think that Christianity is something only the over-achievers can really do well.  Find someone who is loving, joyous, kind, or has much self-control.  Observe them and do what they do.  As Paul told the Corinthians, "Be imitators of me, even as I also am of Christ." (1Cor 11:1)  You'll find that living Christ-like is not something unattainable.

So to those who are lethargic, Paul says this, "That you may be filled with the knowledge of His will and in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.  May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints of light." (Col 1:9-12)  And Jesus says to the lethargic, "Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first.  If not, I will come to you and remove your lamp stand from its place, unless you repent." (Rev 2:5)

2) Apathy.  This is not caring.  Many people do not bear fruit because they don't care enough.  Everyone cares about something.  Whether that something is Christ, our family, our jobs, our friends, our possessions, or even ourselves.  People stop bearing fruit because they value other things over Christ.  No one admits apathy, so we must step back and judge our actions.  Our actions and the things we do are the proof of what we really care about.  Do we miss the assembly of the church because of sports?  Do we never read our Bibles yet find time to watch TV?  Do we never find time to pray yet find time play video or computer games?  Do we talk about others by gossiping or do we tell others about Jesus?  The things of the world are trying to get in our way.  They are crying out, "Care about us, care about us!"  And the more we care about the things in the world, the less we care about Jesus.  Again, the more we care about the things of the world, the less we care about Jesus.  We may say to ourselves, "Sure, I care about Jesus.  He's an important part of my life."  We might care for Jesus, but do we care enough for Him?  Jesus said that He has to be number 1.  Not number two.  And you're not allowed to have two number 1s.  There's only one thing that is more important to you above everything else.  Is it Christ?  Jesus said, "Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me." (Matt 10:37)  He goes on to say in Luke 14:26, "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate even his own life, he cannot be My disciple."  Nothing in this world is even remotely as important as Christ.  Step back, think about your life, and judge the fruit you are bearing.  Does your fruit tell you that Christ is first in your life?  Or do your actions prove otherwise?

So to those who are apathetic, Paul says, "Therefore remember that at one time you were separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth and strangers to the covenant of promise, having no hope without God in the world.  But now in Christ Jesus you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ." (Eph 2:11-13)  And Jesus says to the apathetic, "Remember, then, what you received and heard.  Keep it, and repent.  If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you." (Rev 3:3)

And now we reach the last verse of the parable.  I have one more thought, then this lesson is yours.  God is merciful.  God is patient.  But there will come a time when God's mercy and God's patience will run out.  If someone is a Christian and they are not bearing fruit, there will eventually come a time when God will cut him or her down.  Just as Jesus told the churches in Revelation, "Unless you repent, I will remove your lamp stand."  God does not remove salvation and forgiveness from us each and every time we sin because He wants us to repent, but He will remove forgiveness and salvation from us if we fail to bear fruit and fail to repent.  Is your faith and Christianity bearing spiritual fruit?  Or are you a lifeless tree not bearing fruit for God?  If so, then God's digging around you.  He's giving you fertilizer.  God is working in your life so that you will repent and bear fruit.  God is faithful, but God's mercy and patience will eventually run out, and salvation and forgiveness will no longer be granted to us if we are lazy or apathetic in our Christian life.

Don't play the game of Stop and Go Christianity.  Forgiveness is not a game of Red Light, Green Light.  If you are a Christian and bearing the fruit of the Spirit, have the assurance that you are saved.  If you are not bearing fruit of the Spirit, ask yourself if it's time to come back to God and repent of your sin.

Andrew Swango, xyhelm@gmail.com

(Originally written around 2007)