“I Know I’m A Christian, BUT…”

Oftentimes, I have been somewhat stunned to hear other Christians excuse their inappropriate behavior. It's as though they have "excused themselves" temporarily from their faith. Galatians 1:6 (KJV) states:”I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:” They often say things such as:

I Know I’m a Christian, BUT…I cannot forgive what he did to me.

I Know I’m a Christian, BUT…she was my friend & betrayed me.

I Know I’m a Christian, BUT…I like to have sex, and no I’m not married.

I Know I’m a Christian, BUT…I like social drinking, even getting a little “buzz.”

I Know I’m a Christian, BUT…I just HATE President Obama.

I Know I’m a Christian, BUT…I am the first Woman CEO of my company. I cannot submit to my husband when I’m home.

I Know I’m a Christian, BUT…I just don’t have time to spend with my children. Thank Goodness for iPhones/Pads; Video Games; & Social Media.

I Know I’m a Christian, BUT…I am only HUMAN.

The word “but,” as a conjunction is “used to introduce a statement that adds something to a previous statement and usually contrasts with it in some way.” As a noun, it is “a reason someone gives for not doing or agreeing with something.” http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/but

Striving to live our lives as “Christ-Like” as we can does not allow for “But.” GOD does not allow for exceptions. We don’t get the option to pick-and-choose what we are willing to obey.

Therefore:

You are either going to FORGIVE or you are not.

Matthew 6:15 (NIV): “But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

You are either going to refrain from bad & promiscuous behavior or you won’t.

2 Corinthians 12:21 (NKJV): “lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and I shall mourn for many who have sinned before and have not repented of the uncleanness, fornication, and lewdness which they have practiced.”

Ephesians 5:5 (NKJV): “For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.”

You are either going to obey your leaders, including the President, or you are not.

Hebrews 13:17 (NKJV): “Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.”

You are either going to allow your husband to be head of the family or you will not.

Ephesians 5:24(NKJV): “Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.”

Ephesians 5:22-23 (NKJV): “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.”

You are either going to raise your kids or you will not.

Proverbs 22:6 (NKJV): “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.”

Proverbs 31:27-28 (NKJV): “She watches over the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness. 28 Her children rise up and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praises her:”

The acronym for B.I.B.L.E. is often stated as: Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. I can attest to the fact that it can be very difficult to follow, especially in a society that does everything to contradict it. Acts 5:29 (NKJV): “But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men.”

Guess What?  I didn’t make the rules…

Nor did I create Heaven and Earth…nor did I create man from the dust of the earth…nor did I suffer an excruciating death on the cross for the sins of mankind. I don’t have a Heaven or Hell to send you. ONLY GOD DOES…

He didn’t instruct me to like his commandments, debate their relevance; nor be selective in adhering to them.  He told me to OBEY HIM…

Romans 2:7-9 (NKJV): “eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath, 9 tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil,…”

And that’s precisely what we have to do.

Will it be easy?  No…

Revelation 2:10 (NKJV): “Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

Will it be worth it…ABSOLUTELY!!!!