8-ball corner pocket.

8 ball, corner pocket.

Have you ever considered whether you know what you think you know? It's an odd question, but I hope by the end of this piece you ask yourself that question. 

If you are playing a sport and you accidentally score a point or a goal, does that mean you're good at that sport? What if you're driving and narrowly avoid a collision at the last minute because your car happened to slide out of the way...are you a good driver?

What about in our spiritual lives, can we accidentally be a Christian?

Before the church was called the Church, or Christian, the members of the church of God were referred to as followers of "the way". We understand well today that the Christian walk is much more than mental concept, it's an entire way of life, a lifestyle. To break down the definition of the word 'Christian' is to read one that 'does as Christ does/did.' That includes not just keeping the Sabbath and Holy days, but the health laws, the statutes, the command to love our neighbors, tithing, etc. In short, the way of God is a 24/7 lifestyle. Can we understand anything from that fact? 

A lot of people see that many well meaning protestants live successful and happy lives, often much happier than their atheist peers, while not having the Holy Spirit. It would be easy sometimes to call those people Christian because they follow a portion of God's law.

Are the happy and successful lives these people lead a result of "keeping" the law of God? 

We should look at what it means to Keep God's law, as well as consider Why we were created human in the process.

We find in scripture that man was Created with free-moral agency. God created man with a spirit in him that allows him to be self-aware and choose between two things and also to understand the concept of choice. We are taught that God did not create us to make every choice correctly, because Character cannot be created by fiat. Character being defined by your conscious determination to choose one thing over another. That means that we have to see or perceive good and evil, and as God states so many times "Choose good". Can we then accidentally live God's way of life? What about God's other laws, like gravity? We joke about the fact that you 'don't have to believe in gravity to fall off a roof'. That's certainly true, every time you accidentally step off a ledge, you interact with gravity, but are you "keeping" the LAW of gravity? 

We are told in scripture that there are Blessings and Cursings associated with God's laws. Those blessings and cursings are independent of the knowledge of their existence. That's evident by the conditions of our nations. When God's laws are not followed, things go horribly wrong; conversely, even if you unknowingly do God's will, things go well. His laws exist independently of our belief.

What does it mean then to "keep" His law? Does it not mean to CHOOSE to follow God? We are told that we are judged according to our individual works, what we do with what we're given. So far this may seem like a no-brainer, but I ask you, if you cannot Prove to yourself from the Bible why you do something does it count?

That's a heavy question to ask. We know that following God's has attached blessings, so if we do things correctly without knowing why we would not be cursed… but would it be accounted to us as righteousness? 

"Prove all things, and hold fast to what is true."

I challenge you to consider EVERYTHING we do in the Church of God and one-by-one prove them to yourself FROM the Bible what is true. 

When you're playing pool, and all that's left is the 8-ball, you have to "call" the pocket that you intend to sink it in. That's because there are options… there are six pockets, randomly sinking that 8-ball doesn't show that you have control over it. In the case of the 8-ball you have to say "8-ball, corner pocket" and then Do It or it counts as a loss.

Matthew 7:21-23 Christ says that there is a distinction between people that follow the law and those that practice the law.

Just because we happen to be 2nd, 3rd, 4th generation in the Truth Doesn't mean we Keep it..

I challenge you then, look at you life, call your ending and do it.

Seth Forrestier 02/08/20