Second Class Christians
Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul? (1Cor 1:13)
Is Christ divided? There were quarrels among the believers at Corinth. They were lining up according to their favorite teacher, Paul or Apollos. Some were using the “Jesus” card, trying to appear mature but still adding to the arguments. Paul rebukes this childishness, then asks the question, “Is Christ divided?” He reveals that to cause divisions or classes within the Church, the Body of Christ, is a horrible crime. There is no room today for anything similar. The Body of Christ cannot be divided and fulfill its purpose.
In Judges 7 God chose Gideon to defend Israel from the invading army of the Midianites. Gideon rallied an army of 32,000 men. The army and the livestock of the Midianites were beyond calculation. Gideon's small army was of no significance against the army of Midian.
God told General Gideon a very strange thing. He said that everyone who is afraid should return home! 22,000 people packed up and ran. The 10,000 that remained were not chosen by God, exactly. Anyone who wanted to, could leave. And the majority did. They knew exactly what they were doing. They disqualified themselves.
God wanted to thin the herd some more. He tested the men in a way they did not realize. He had them drink water. All who put their hand to their mouth were placed in one group. All who drank like a dog, on their knees with their head down, were placed into another group. The group who put their hand to their mouth were 300 soldiers. The other larger group was sent home. Less than 1% of the original army remained. God did not chose them, necessarily. The 99% disqualified themselves, knowingly or unknowingly. Some knew why they went home. Others had no idea why they were sent home.
Why did God make second class soldiers? He did not. They disqualified themselves. Some because they wanted to. Others because they were ignorantly careless.
In Revelation chapter 2 and 3 Jesus speaks to 7 churches. His messages are probably both practical to the then current churches in Asia Minor (present day Turkiye) as well as to the Church of today and of the future. In each letter Jesus makes special promises to some who are described as overcomers. Why is Jesus making second class Christians? Isn't our judicial standing before God based upon His grace without any work on our part? Exactly. However, there is more to our life and to our being than just our reborn spirit.
Some are actual believers, but they do not want any responsibility. They want to live the natural life for themselves. They want to feed the flesh aspect of their lives. They want to maintain a selfish attitude all their life. They want to think like a child. They know what Jesus says about many things but they want to ignore Him.
We may have a giant question mark over these people. They may be satisfying the technical definition of “believer”, but they want to go back to their old home. They are like many in Gideon's army, they want to go back to their old home and leave the rest to do battle. They know clearly what they are doing.
There are others who are sincerely ignorant of what the Bible teaches. They are destroyed, in a figurative sense, for lack of knowledge (Hos 4:6). Out of the greater Church, how many have not disqualified themselves? I hope it is greater than the 1% that made up Gideon's final army. I hope you and I are part of the overcomers.
Why is Jesus making second class Christians? He is not. The invitation to be an approved servant is open to all.
To some of Jesus followers, He is promising an abundant entrance to His kingdom. To some, He promises a new name, a white stone, and an inheritance to rule the nations. Jesus promises the overcomers that He will confess their name before the Father.
To some, Jesus promises the privilege of being part of the Bride. Not everyone is.
With God's enabling, it is easy to gain an abundant entrance to Jesus' Kingdom. It is easy to be rewarded by Him for a life of obedience. It takes real effort to ruin everything. It is whatever you want. Some can love the promise of the Lord's appearing. Some can chose to be close to God, practically speaking. Or you can chose to hold onto the natural life. By the way, the natural life will be destroyed anyway so it is not advisable to keep a death grip on it.
Do not place yourself into the camp of the disqualified.
April 30, 2024