A Burden

A Burden

I want to share about something that burdens my heart as a pastor. It is the tendency that people have to walk away from the church and from Jesus. To be clear, I am not talking about people changing churches. That is an action that is sometimes right and sometimes wrong. I am talking about people who make a profession of faith in Christ, seem to be growing in their faith, and then depart from it. Some of these people just seem to drift away from the Lord. Some stop going to church but say they still believe in Jesus (and maybe they do, but I would just caution all of us to remember that you cannot really love Jesus without loving His bride). Others rebel against the Lord and are living in open sin. They have been captured by the allure of the world. Some people are led astray by false teaching. Others still believe but are being overwhelmed by circumstances and trying to handle life on their own instead of in Christian community. Some of the people I am referring to are still attending church regularly but are just floating along spiritually instead of really walking with Jesus.

Why is this such a burden to me? First, it greatly concerns me for the people who walk away because one of two things is true. Either they are not truly saved or they are Christians who will reap what they sow and experience the discipline of God. Second, it concerns me for the church because it hurts the church’s witness and it leaves people on the sidelines instead of using their gifts to serve the Lord.

In having this concern, I am not saying it is easy to stay faithful to the Lord. In fact, it is impossible in our strength. When I see people walk away and especially when I see pastors fall, it scares me. I know that it could very easily be me. Some of Paul’s final words in 2 Timothy 4:6-7 speak to me. He wrote, “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” Those words amaze me because of what he seemed to count as success. He wasn’t recounting all of his triumphs and great ways the Lord had used him. He wasn’t writing about people who had gotten saved through his preaching, churches he had planted, or books of the Bible that he had written. His final testimony was that he had “fought the good fight… finished the race…kept the faith.” May the same thing be said of us.

How can this be true of us? How can we stay faithful and finish well? I think Colossians 2:6-7 is key. Paul says, “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught abounding in it with thanksgiving.” Here are a few key takeaways from these verses:

1. We received Jesus by faith so we are to walk by faith.

2. Christianity is not a one-time decision, but it is a life with Jesus that begins when we trust Him.

3. He is the object and focus of our faith. We walk with Him. The purpose of our spiritual disciplines is to know Him better.

4. The references here to “the faith” and “teaching” show us that it is crucial to know the Bible. Solid, strong Christians know biblical doctrine and how it applies to their lives. You cannot be a strong Christian without knowing Scripture.

5. We need to be rooted in Jesus. Going deep is the only way to be strong and last long in the Christian life. Shallow, superficial believers will eventually be swept away