Evaluating 40 Days of Community

[*NOTE: Quotes from the 40 Days of Community Workbook are blockquoted.]

"We're compelled to love God's family...because it shows we are saved."

"We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love other believers." (1 John 3:14 (GW).

Loving other believers is the evidence that we belong to God's family.

Amen to that! But note that loving is as God defines it, not as we think of it. True love doesn't just give material gifts or time or friendship; it stands for and shares truth with grace.

Consider this: if you have no love for others, and if you're only concerned about your own needs, then you should question whether Christ is really in your life.

Amen again!! See 2 Cor 13:5 and Phil 2:1-7. But again, we need to remember that love is not just doing nice, selfless things for people: it is intolerant of evil. Love loves the truth first and foremost. And love meets the real need by feeding the needy with God's Word and demonstrating grace by declaring freedom from the bondage of sin and death -- but in order to do this, we must refute error and stand for truth.

Note Matt 7:21 (NASB): "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father."

Will you accept God's offer?

And in order to do this, we must count the cost. We are not coming for mere blessings, but because of a thirst for righteousness--not a social club with its benefits of community. Also, because God works in us who truly believe, we need to be careful to plow the soil of the hard heart and to "salt the oats" so to speak--break through hard heartedness and create a thirst for righteousness, since the natural man does not seek after God nor can he. The blessing is that we are yoked together with the Holy Spirit who does the work of conviction of sin, convincing of Jesus Christ and the need for righteousness. But if we are yoked together with Him, then at least we will be moving in the same direction.

The Bible says, "...whoever accepts and trusts the Son gets in on everything, life complete and forever! (John 3:36a, MSG).

The Message is very misleading here. In the NASB it is: "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." If we are being made sanctified, if we are going to take up our cross daily and follow Christ, then life most definitely will get more difficult here on earth. But amazingly, the spiritual bread that God feeds us through the Word and prayer sustains us through it with a smile on our faces!

"Jesus, I believe in you and I receive you." ... If you sincerely meant that prayer, congratulations! Welcome to the family of God! You are now ready to discover and start living God's purpose for your life.

What does sincerely mean? What about counting the cost? Rick gives assurance without warning, and that is serious business. Our assurance should not be given by men, but through the Holy Spirit and the evidence of our completely new lives, heart and desires to please Him and to know and love the truth.

There may be others of you reading this who've already made a commitment to Jesus, but you realize now that you haven't been doing a very good job of loving other believers. That's OK--God will help you grow in your capacity to love.

Was it a full commitment? If not, this person is not a disciple of Christ (Luke 14, especially verses 27, 28 and 33). Again, we need to reiterate that loving is natural to the true believer. And again, is Rick Warren giving these people false assurance by saying "That's OK" and encouraging them into a works righteousness? This is not about being perfect in everything you say, but this is the

Q: If you were put on trial for your faith, and your expression s of love were the only evidence, what would the verdict be?

But what if you were put on trial before God? Would anything you do save you? Think about the examples of Mother Teresa and Nelson Mandela.

Mother Teresa

• Mother Teresa gave her entire life to helping the poor and destitute, but she didn't understand the gospel or share it with anyone of another religion. She said: "I’ve always said we should help a Hindu become a better Hindu, a Muslim become a better Muslim, a Catholic become a better Catholic." She also said, "There are so many religions and each one has its different ways of following God" -- but she failed to declare that there is only one way to God.

Nelson Mandela

• Nelson Mandela suffered greatly and spent 27 horrible years in prison because of his fighting for the freedom of his people. He was able to sustain himself through this unfathomable torture. Upon his release, he soon became the president of South Africa. Nelson said the following: "During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to the struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But, if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." Nelson was most definitely purpose driven. But Nelson worshipped an ideal for this existence on Earth. His mind was not set on things above. How could someone endure 27 horrible years in a small, dirty prison cell for the benefit of his people and an ideal without Christ? Nelson's mentor was Ghandi.

So, simply showing love to people doesn't prove you are a Christian. In fact, even if you gave everything you owned to the poor (Mother Teresa), or gave yourself over to be burned at the stake (similar sacrifice as Nelson), you are nothing and gain nothing without Christ!