To Whom Much is Given, Much is Required

To Whom Much is Given,
Much is Required

After a person is saved (and perhaps baptized with the Spirit), many things are then required of that person. He is expected to walk in the Light, as God gives the Light. He is expected to grow in Grace and Knowledge of the Lord. He is expected to follow the Lord Jesus Christ—according to the Word of God!

If that person has been involved in error, wrong teaching, or in a Church that doesn’t really believe in God or the way of God according to the Word—he is expected to come out of that Church, to straighten his ways, and to allow God to work within his heart and life. Very little is required of the person who doesn’t know God. But much is required of that person after he comes into a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Fundamentally, this is what we are talking about. This is wherein the difficulty lies. For example there are multiplied thousands of Catholics who have been (in my opinion) truly Born-Again. They love the Lord Jesus with all their hearts. And, yet, there are multiplied thousands of them (including Priests and Nuns) who elect to remain in the Catholic Church. Is this proper? Are they Scripturally correct in doing so? What will happen to these people if they persist in maintaining this position?

I suppose the question should be raised: Does it really matter? Does it matter whether a person is Protestant or Catholic? Does it matter whether an individual belongs to one particular Church or another? Do these things count?

It Does Matter

Of course, many will say it doesn’t matter. Many Preachers avoid this issue—and proclaim to the world that the only thing of importance is whether the Person has come to the Lord Jesus Christ. Admittedly, the fact of an individual being saved is of tremendous importance, but the question must be raised, “What happens to that individual after he or she becomes saved?”

This period of time following the Salvation experience is so important that the bulk of the New Testament was provided to show Christians how to live, how to walk in the Light, how to conduct themselves, and how to follow the Lord Jesus Christ.

If a Christian, even though genuinely saved (Born-Again) and baptized with the Holy Spirit according to Acts 2:4, elects to stay in an environment of error, then that Christian’s Spiritual Growth will (at least) be stunted, and perhaps much worse will result. That individual could even be destroyed, spiritually speaking, if he insists on walking contrary to the Light that God has laid down.

A tremendous obligation enters the hearts of those persons who have been saved by the Blood of Jesus Christ. They are no longer their own, but are bought with a price (I Cor. 6:20). That price was the indescribable agony suffered by Jesus as He hung on the Cross. We are, therefore, “to deny ourselves and take up our Crosses and follow the Lord Jesus” (Mk. 8:34). We are commanded to follow the Lord wherever He may lead. It may be at the cost of losing friends, relatives, Church, Mother, Dad, job security, or even our very lives. Read Matthew 10:34–38. The Lord was very specific on this in all His teachings and in all four Gospels.

So What Should the
Christian Do?

So, we come to the bottom line as we address ourselves to those Christians who are truly saved but attend a religious organization in error. What should they do? Is it proper (in God’s eyes) for them to stay in that particular Church after they have been Born-Again? Will they become “better Church members”? What should they do? Should they get out of the “Church”, renounce its practices and policies, and find another Church to join and associate themselves with? What are the answers to these questions?

I hope they will realize that I speak out with equal fervor against anything I consider to be non-scriptural in any Denomination. And, yes, as those who have followed me for any length of time will realize, this includes Pentecostal Churches as well.

You see, the problem lies, all too often, in our tendency to “root for the home team.” If we’re Democrats, the Democratic Party can do no wrong. If we’re union members, the union can do no wrong. If we belong to the Moose or the Elk or the Rotary—the Moose, the Elk, and the Rotary can do no wrong. And if we’re Catholic, the Catholic Church can do no wrong. The Truth, naturally, is that anyone can be wrong, and if we don’t diligently search for the Truth, we can be wrong.