“Either Christianity is true or it’s false. If you bet that it’s true, and you believe in God and submit to Him, then if it IS true, you’ve gained God, heaven, and everything else. If it’s false, you’ve lost nothing, but you’ve had a good life marked by peace and the illusion that ultimately, everything makes sense. If you bet that Christianity is not true, and it’s false, you’ve lost nothing. But if you bet that it’s false, and it turns out to be true, you’ve lost everything and you get to spend eternity in hell.”
– Blaise Pascal
It is unusual for a scientist to defend belief in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. However, the 17th-century physicist and mathematician Blaise Pascal applied common sense to reason, asking, “What does one have to lose by being a Christian, a true believer?“
What is a “true” believer?
Many people attend church services and participate in church worship, rituals, and traditions. But does that make them “true” believers? Does sitting in a garage make you a car? Religion can be dangerous because it’s easy to be deceived into believing that attending Sunday services, raising hands during worship songs, and experiencing positive emotions automatically make one a Christian.
How many professed Christians have you met that praise the Lord in church on Sunday and practice unethical business dealings on Monday? How many “Christian” politicians vote for tax payer funded abortions? Are they true Christians?
At the wedding reception in Cana, Mary the mother of Jesus tells us exactly how to be “true” Christians in the verse John 2:5: “His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you’.” Can you imagine being one of those servants who obeyed Jesus by filling 6 stone jars with water, and then witness that water become wine moments later? Mary’s advice is simple, “Be obedient to Him.”
Three steps to being obedient to Jesus
1. Read and study scripture.
For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
– Hebrews 4:12
2. Let the Bible penetrate you, allow it to convict you.
3. Jesus is the word of God, do what He tells you to do!
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
– 2 Timothy 3:16-17
The Cost of Darkness
This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. – John 3:19-20
We have two choices. We can turn towards the eternal light of God or the shiny temporal objects this world has to offer. Believers understand they are physically “in” this world but not “of” this world. Our existence here is temporary as our focus is on the light of God’s eternal world.
Non-believers are “of” this world and have nothing to look forward to but its darkness. When Jesus says “their deeds were evil”, He is stating their sins will earn them darkness.
Pastor John Piper’s quote “What is Sin” aptly defines the cost of darkness:”
“What is sin?
It is the glory of God not honored.
The holiness of God not reverenced.
The greatness of God not admired.
The power of God not praised.
The truth of God not sought.
The wisdom of God not esteemed.
The beauty of God not treasured.
The goodness of God not savored.
The faithfulness of God not trusted.
The commandments of God not obeyed.
The justice of God not respected.
The wrath of God not feared.
The grace of God not cherished.
The presence of God not prized.
The person of God not loved.
That is sin.” – Pastor John Piper
The cost of darkness is the presence of God not realized!
One day, you will close your eyes for the last time in this physical world. Where do you want to find yourself when you open them on the other side? Please give God a chance and turn away from the darkness of this world, turn towards Him, be filled with His light and live your life in agreement with God’s will, as guided by His Holy Spirit. You have been bought and paid for by His Son, Jesus.
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