After writing the discussion on repentance, a lot of things got turning in my mind. We look at repentance as this great condemning thing. We think of judgment, death, guilt, shame, etc. But that is quite the opposite of what it really is. Repentance is the door to freedom in Christ. Only the power of Christ can set us free and make us holy and wholly like Him. But we can only gain access to that power through repentance.

Now, repentance is not that time you came to an altar and asked for forgiveness only to go back to those things that you supposedly repented of the very next day. On the contrary, true repentance causes a revolution to take place in your life. If we continue to live as before, then we must question our salvation and question our repentance. True repentance will cause deep change to take place in our lives.

As I got to the end of writing, this part of it really nailed me.

We aren’t ruthless with sin! Many “Christians” spend half of their time sinning, and the other half of their time repenting of that sin! This should not be so. Sin defiles and destroys, it pollutes and poisons, curses and corrupts. Yet we think it’s sweet! We tolerate it because of the temporary benefits it gives us.

The problem is superficial repentance. We repent with our lips, but our heart still longs for the things that sin gives us. We really aren’t free because we really don’t want to be. We still maintain the possibility of committing that same sin. But God will never remove the guilt as long as we continue to entertain the sin. It is deep folly to desire that God forgive us of something that we intend to commit. The Lord is looking at the heart and is more concerned with how we respond to temptation today than with what we promise to do with the temptation tomorrow.

Ouch. God, may I always be a person of deep repentance like David, that repented not because he was wrong, but because it hurt you and put a wedge in the relationship.

I only covered the first 1.5 chapters of the book for the discussion, and it was a heavy one. I knew based on my study and writing the teaching that it would be a heavy one that required the presence of God. I know I needed him for a few reasons. First, the things I wrote were strongly convicting me, and I knew that God needed to do some work on me first. I also knew that a word like this one really needed God’s touch on it, otherwise it could come off as a bashing message. I desperately wanted God to show up and do something. And show up He did.

But before I get there, I’ll highlight parts of the discussion. One of the things that really struck me was the opening line. “We don’t know much about the gospel.” We went on to talk about how we SAY that we know our friends and neighbors are going to hell, but how much does that really weigh on our hearts and minds? For most, probably not much. We are too concerned with what we see that what is unseen is of little concern when it really comes down to it. We don’t want to be inconvenienced, so we don’t step out. “The church today is not fully experiencing what Jesus died for and not becoming what he prayed for.”

I gave an analogy of a family that has an abundance of food every meal in a land of severe famine. The starving people around would KNOW that you had food, and would not hesitate chasing you down asking for some nourishment. Then I asked why people aren’t running to the church or to us begging us to show them the way to Life. That was something that none of them (including me) had pondered. Why isn’t the world knocking down the doors of the church trying to get in?

We say we want God to move, we have prayer meetings dedicated to God bringing revival. But do we REALLY understand what that truly means? Often, we don’t, or we would pray differently. If we REALLY understood what it is we are praying for, our prayers would change dramatically. God wants to pour out His Spirit, but for the sake of the saints, He can’t. I sincerely believe with all of my heart that if God poured out His Spirit like in Acts, many in the church would fall over dead, literally. I know those are bold words, but I truly believe them.

In Acts, the whole book is dedicated to what the Holy Spirit did through the men and women of God immediately following Christ’s ascension. Tremendous salvations, awesome miracles, incredible healings and deliverances all took place in the book of Acts. Peter preached his first message, and 3,000 people got saved. People were being added to the church daily. Peter would walk, and his shadow would fall on some, and they would get healed. Paul, one of the greatest persecutors of the church has a radical conversion, and sees incredible miracles take place in his ministry. God is moving.

But severe judgment also took place in Acts. Ananias and Sapphira told a lie to the people of God, and God struck them down. God was seriously moving in ways that we can only imagine today. But judgment was also falling in ways that we only read about. The reason I believe that a move of God that we WANT to happen would kill people in the church is because it did in the past. People took the things of God lightly, and God destroyed them.

God MUST show Himself to be holy. Whether that means through our obedience to His will, or through our punishment of disobedience, God WILL show Himself to be holy to the world. For those in disobedience, He will give a “grace period,’ but that only lasts for so long before it becomes about His name and not you anymore. And that is when the judgment comes. And today, most of the church is in disobedience. But God in His infinite wisdom, spares us severe judgment as in the days of old by simply holding back the outpouring that WE claim we so desperately want.

After the discussion, I posed the question, “Are you willing to do what it takes to really see God move? Judgment begins in the house of God.” I told them to find a place and just figure out if you are willing to do your part in that move by surrendering COMPLETELY to Him and walking in His ways, with the UTMOST integrity. I got on my knees and thanked God for speaking through me, and then prayed that I would let God do in me what He always wanted to do, but couldn’t because I was in the way. After, I glanced around to see many of the college students weeping before the Lord, just letting Him get in and do some rearranging in their lives. God showed up and really moved on some people. It was awesome, thank you Lord!

But it doesn’t stop by simply asking, “What is the wise thing to do?” There is so much more to consider. Simply asking the question may not immediately reveal the answer. If we are not trained to think wisely and make wise decisions, we can still be decieved by the answer that we come up with. The question must then be run through some filters that will help clear the fog of uncertainty away. I’m sure there are many filters, but we talked about 4 in particular.

1. My Future. Hopefully everyone has goals and plans for their life. Hopefully those plans and goals are part of God’s plan for our lives. If they aren’t, well, that is another topic in itself. It’s easy for us to get sidetracked by things that we think are good decisions but lead us farther away from our destiny. But if we take our options, and ask it like this: “In light of my future and where God wants me to be, what is the wise thing to do?” in other words, is this choice going to cause me to linger or launch toward my destiny? Will this choice help me reach the future that God has for me?

A great example of this is a dating relationship. I know of far too many people that get into a relationship with someone because they are attractive, or maybe they have a great personality. But very few people look through the lens of the future when it comes to a dating relationship. Rarely is the question asked, “Will this person help me get to my God-given destiny?” Instead, we look simply at the here and now, and ask, “Can I be happy right now? Even if it’s just for a moment?” Sadly, that type of thinking stems from something very deep, and is a topic for another day. If we focus on what is ahead, and make decisions toward that mark, we will find that less time is wasted cleaning up messes that we made and more time is spent on running towards our goal.

2. My Failures. Everyone has areas where they have failed. Areas where they simply cannot keep it together, and they make mistakes. Areas where they consistently make mistakes in. It could be sin, it could be stupidity. Hopefully, we are aware of those areas, and can put up safeguards to ensure that we don’t fall in them again. Once again, the question applies beautfully here by saying, “In light of my failures, what is the wise thing to do?” If one of our options causes us to entertain an area of personal weakness, it should be avoided at all costs. When we ask this question, the answer once again becomes very clear what we should do. If what I am doing is going to cause me to flirt with the weak areas of my life, then I shouldn’t do it.

An example of this would be drinking. I don’t want to get into the symantics of drinking and what the Bible says. I have seen alcoholism destroy far too many people’s lives, so I choose the side of avoidance. But someone that gets saved that has a history of drinking should not be around other people that are continuing such behavior. I believe strongly in the power of God, but I also believe strongly in the power of poor choices and influences. Continuing to be around the thing that once bound us is a fool’s choice.

3. My Integrity. Sorry, I couldn’t think of one that started with an “F.” Our integrity, our character, who we are, is perhaps the most important thing that we have. I submit that it’s even greater than our salvation. Before stones are thrown at me, let me say it this way. We can be saved, and mess up, and God in his grace forgives us. But we can be saved, mess up, and man may not forgive us. We can do irreparable damage to people and taint their view of God by doig something that destroys our integrity. Granted, our integrity stems out of our relationship with God. I live in holiness because it pleases the heart of God. True integrity comes from a heart that says, “I want to be like Christ.” That is where true character lies, in becoming like Christ.

So then the question becomes, “In light of my character and who Christ is making me, what is the wise thing to do?” Will this choice puncture or propel my character? Will this enhance who I am? Will this lead me into the character of God?

4. My Followers. This one kind of goes with number 3, but I wanted to mention is separately. John Maxwell said that even the most introverted person will influence over 10,000 people in their lifetime. That blows me away. There is always someone that is looking up to you, whether you are making wise choices or not. No matter what you are doing in life, SOMEONE is following you. I have heard it said that you will teach what you know, but you will impart who you are. This involves character (number 3) as well as the followers. Someone is following me, so I must make wise choices for their benefit as well as my own. So the questions becomes, “In light of those that follow me, what is the wise thing to do?”

My choices will affect those that follow me, whether I know they are following or not. I am called to be like Christ, and my actions should exhibit that. Pastor Bret Allen once said, “If I have a bad day, a student could have a bad life.” What this means is that I can have a bad day, but I should handle it the way Christ would. This ensures that I take nothing out on a student, and that they always see the attitude of Christ.

My part in this was to lead the college group, called “The Uprising.” For the discussion, I talked a out the Best Question Ever, and broke it into two parts, since I also will lead the usual Sunday night discussion this week as well.

Many times, people wind up in a place where they ask, “How did I get here?” The problem isn’t that they plan to screw up their lives, but rather that they didn’t plan not to. People don’t plan on having a failing marriage, but few plan not to. They don’t plan on being in huge financial debt, but few plan not to. They don’t plan on going from relationship to relationship, ending up with pieces of a broken heart, but few plan not to. Nobody plans on being addicted to substances, but those that are rarely plan not to. So the problem becomes a lack of safeguards against things that can derail our lives. We just get in the car and drive without consulting a map, checking the car to be sure it’s ready for the trip, making sure it has enough gas to get there, etc. We don’t plan ahead, we just go because we don’t ask the Best Question Ever.

Perhaps the greatest realization we can come to is that we are masters of self-deception. We can talk ourselves into a terrible idea. I can convince myself that a poor choice is a good one, because somehow the rules don’t apply to me. I am somehow superior than the odds, and can maneuver my way through it. But in the end, I discover that I too have made a grave mistake.

The Best Question Ever clearly defines for us how to proceed in our decision making process. The question is simply, “What is the wise thing to do?” By itself, not much of an epiphany. But if you think about the questions that we normally ask when making decisions, it is a HUGE breakthrough in our decision making that can keep us from derailing our lives.

Typically, we ask ourselves a series of 4 questions. The questions are usually in our subconscious, and are rooted in the before-mentioned self-deception.

The first question is, “Is there anything wrong with this?” The problem with this question is simply, we are focusing on the wrong thing. In essence, we are basing our decision making solely on whether it’s right or wrong. But in a clear perspective, is there anything wrong with buying a car? Of course not. The issue here isn’t whether it’s morally right or wrong to buy a car, but whether it’s financially feasible to do such. The Best Question Ever causes me to ask, “Can I afford the car payments? The insurance?” At that point, I can then make a wiser decision. Wisdom isn’t NECESSARILY rooted in morality, although morality plays a big part in wisdom.

The focus of that question really leads us to a second question, “How close to the edge can I get before I do something wrong?” In Christian terms, “how close to sin can I get before I cross over and do something sinful?” This of course is an error in thinking. Jesus never called us to live near the edge, but rather to walk with the mind of Christ.

If we operate in the thinking of, “How close can I get before going over?” this will eventually lead us to the third question, “How far OVER the edge can I go before the consequences become unmanageable?” So here, we are ok with some consequences of our actions, but because we are masters at self-deception, we somehow think that we are above the circumstances, and can “get out whenever we want.”

Then we find ourselves asking the fourth question, “How did I end up here?” And we realize that we have made a huge mess of things. Somewhere along the way, someone warned us, maybe we even felt it ourselves, but we thought we could handle it, then we find ourselves crying out for help because we have hit rock bottom.

Good is the enemy of best. Our typical line of thinking causes us to settle for good when God designed and destined us to have the best. I believe the number 1 strategy of the Devil is to get believers to settle for good. If believers caught on and started living their lives for the absolute best that God has for them instead of settling for good, we would see a dramatic change in this nation towards God. But the enemy has lulled us into settling for what is good instead of what is best.

I began by defining what sin was according to Scripture. When we think of sin, we think of the big things or the obvious things. But according to 1 John 3.4

Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.

Lawlessness is the Greek word “Anomia” meaning the condition of being without the law because of ignorance or violation of the law. Then we broke it down even more. Why did Adam “sin” when he ate the fruit? Is eating fruit wrong? No, but disobeying God is. That was a heavy part of the discussion.

Then I talked about obedience, and how it causes God to turn and take notice.

But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word.

When we are humble (fully dependant on God), contrite (totally broken before God), and tremble at His word, then He takes notice. Obedience is a MAJOR deal to God, and should be so to us.

We claim that we believe God and believe in God, but we don’t obey. This is contrary to Scripture, as belief and obedience were synonymous in the Word. In Hebrews 3, God is talking about how Israel could not enter God’s place of rest because of their diobedience. We all know they disobeyed. Then it uses an interesting set of words in verses 18 and 19.

And to whom was God speaking when he took an oath that they would never enter his rest? Wasn’t it the people who disobeyed him? So we see that because of their unbelief they were not able to enter his rest.

It uses disobedience and unbelief as the same thing. So to believe meant you obeyed, and to oeby meant you believed. Sad how we no longer walk that way. But God never changes, his laws and principles remain.

So in a nutshell, to get God’s attention, obey Him. It amazed me (not really) how much this word peirced me personally. I realized that I am not totally walking in obedience to God, and that is hindering some of the things that He wants to do through me. May I always be someone that walks in obedience to You, Lord.

We opened with a statement, “Read what you believe or believe what you read?” Most Christians already have a system of belief that they follow, which can be influenced by how they were raised, what they were taught as a believer through their church or denomination, or their own personal experiences with God and His Word. So we had to eliminate that type of thinking first, otherwise someone who believes what is contrary to what the Word says will automatically not receive from the Word.

According to the Word, someone who is part of the true Body of Christ, someone that is truly a believer and not a fake, imposter, or pretender, CAN in fact lose their salvation.

However, if righteous people turn to sinful ways and start acting like other sinners, should they be allowed to live? No, of course not! All their previous goodness will be forgotten, and they will die for their sins.
Ezekiel 18.24

My dear brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders away from the truth and is brought back again, you can be sure that the one who brings that person back will save that sinner from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins.
James 5.19-20

These are just a couple of the main passages that describe the absolute possibility that a true believer has to fall away from Christ and miss out on heaven. Toward the end of the night, I was looking at many “bug eyed” college age people who had come to grips with the fact that a person that falls away has the same fate as a non-believer, and in most cases, will receive far worse then non-believers.

At the end of the night, we broke into groups, and I had a very long discussion with a young man who was very knowledgeable of the Word, but was misguided on some key things in relation to our discussion. He would say things like, “How can a person who is on the foundation come off of that foundation and go to hell?” Basically, it comes down to choice. God will not override man’s free will. Now someone that has a deep intimate relationship with Him more than likely won’t fall away, but the potential is still there.

Overall, it was a great night, with a few more people than last time in attendance. And I can think of a couple people that probably won’t be returning.