\n\t\t\t\t\t\tDownload Audio\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\tText: Revelation 3:14-22<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nI. Many here are Christians. You’ve been Christians for a number of years. Do you\nremember why you became a Christian? \n A. Many people have never chosen Christ. There are some here who have yet to obey\nthe Gospel’s call. \n
B. Why do they hesitate? What is it that is holding them back?<\/p>\n
II. What is a Christian?<\/p>\n A. There are numerous ideas about what constitutes a Christian. We need an exact\ndefinition\n
1. A Christian is not just someone who believes in God. – James 2:19<\/p>\n 2. A Christian is not just someone who is not a Jew or a member of some\neastern religion.\n
B. The word “Christian” means a “follower of Christ”<\/p>\n
C. Let’s see how the Bible describes a Christian<\/p>\n 1. While discussing how servants ought to behave, Peter makes the following\ncomment in I Peter 2:21 – Those called (or Christians) are to follow in\nChrist’s footsteps.\n 2. Luke 14:25-33 – We must carefully consider the cost of following Christ.\nIt doesn’t come for free. We must give up all this world has to offer to\nfollow Him.\n
3. John 8:31-32 – We must live in Christ’s word.<\/p>\n
a. II Timothy 2:15 – A worker who knows how to handle God’s word.<\/p>\n
4. John 15:8 – Christ’s disciples are fruitful<\/p>\n
a. We produce fruit by living God’s word – Galatians 5:22-23<\/p>\n
b. We produce fruit by spreading God’s word – I Corinthians 3:5-9<\/p>\n
5. John 14:15 – Christians obey Christ’s commands<\/p>\n
III. Excuses people give for not being a Christian<\/p>\n
A. No Time<\/p>\n 1. Too busy with life. Trying to get ahead. Trying to make enough to retire\nearly. Or to afford the pleasurable extras.\n
2. Are these really important?<\/p>\n a. Matthew 6:25-34 – There is no need to worry or to try to get ahead.\nGod will provide; if we we put him first.\n b. I Timothy 6:6-10 – Christians are to be content. Riches just entrap\npeople, bringing grief.\n
c. James 4:14 – Life is uncertain. <\/p>\n
d. Proverbs 23:4-5 – Riches are temporary<\/p>\n
e. Mark 8:36-37 – What good is wealth after we die?<\/p>\n f. Solomon found that the pleasures of this world were useless.\nEcclesiastes 2:10-11. They don’t profit a person; they don’t improve\ntheir situation.\n
g. Need a retirement plan? The best and only one is a home in heaven<\/p>\n
B. Christianity is not applicable to today’s situations<\/p>\n
1. Christ has not changed – Hebrews 13:8. <\/p>\n
2. God does not change – Malachi 3:6<\/p>\n 3. All good comes from God and that has not changed – James 1:16-18. This\nincludes salvation.\n 4. Looking through the Scriptures, we find that the sins commit back then are\nstill being committed today.\n 5. Therefore, the Bible is still as valuable today as it was when it was written. \nII Timothy 3:16-17\n
C. I’m a good person. God won’t condemn me.<\/p>\n
1. What is “good”?<\/p>\n a. Consider a respected man in his community. He was devout. Men\ndescribed him as God fearing. He gave to the needy and prayed\nregularly.\n
(1) Would you consider him “good”? Was he saved?<\/p>\n (2) Yet, in Acts 10, Peter told Cornelius to become a Christian.\nAfter he obey, we are told that he was saved.\n b. Paul told us that he lived his whole life with a good conscience –\nActs 23:1\n
(1) Yet, he needed to be baptized to be saved – Acts 22:16<\/p>\n
2. We need a standard to measure “goodness” by<\/p>\n
a. Our conscience is not a good guide as we see from Paul’s life.<\/p>\n
(1) At one point, he persecuted the church<\/p>\n
(2) Jeremiah 10:23 – Man cannot determine his own way<\/p>\n
(3) The conscience is trainable; toward good or evil<\/p>\n
b. Many ways seem right, but are not – Proverbs 14:12<\/p>\n
c. The Bible is the right measuring stick – II Corinthians 10:12-18.<\/p>\n 3. If you are claiming to be doing good and yet you have not obeyed the\nGospel, the end is described in Matthew 7:21-23\n
D. I already have my religion<\/p>\n
1. But do you have Christ’s religion?<\/p>\n a. People who offer this excuse generally are not interested in finding\nout\n
b. They don’t want the boat rocked<\/p>\n 2. I John 4:1 – Don’t believe everything that you hear. Prove that it is from\nGod. \n
3. II Corinthians 13:5 – No only others, but also test yourself for the truth.<\/p>\n
4. And what is our standard to measure against?<\/p>\n a. Since Christians are followers of Christ and his teachings, then the\nproof should come from Him.\n
b. II Timothy 3:16-17 – Profitable for reproof and correction.<\/p>\n
E. I’m not good enough<\/p>\n 1. In one sense, none of us are good enough. We have all sinned – Romans\n3:23.\n a. If we claim to be without fault, then we are deceiving ourselves – I\nJohn 1:8\n 2. Perhaps they believe they are unable to change or that they are unwilling to\nchange.\n
3. We are able to overcome sin!<\/p>\n a. Hebrews 4:15 – Jesus has shown the way. He endured temptations,\njust like us, but He did not succumb to sin.\n
b. I Corinthians 10:13<\/p>\n
(1) The sins you face have been faced by others before you<\/p>\n
(2) No temptation we face is beyond our capability<\/p>\n
(3) There is always a way out<\/p>\n
F. It’s too restrictive<\/p>\n
1. Sin itself is restrictive<\/p>\n a. People don’t realize it, being caught within it – Ephesians 4:22, II\nTimothy 3:13. \n
(1) Sin deceives the sinner.<\/p>\n
b. A man, blind from birth, doesn’t miss colors<\/p>\n
c. We can be enslaved by passions and pleasures – Titus 3:3<\/p>\n
2. We cannot serve two masters – Luke 16:13. <\/p>\n
a. If God is not our master, then we must be enslaved to Satan.<\/p>\n
b. Romans 6:16-23 – We are either slaves to sin or righteousness<\/p>\n c. Romans 6:23 – The benefit of service to God is life. Sin brings\ndeath.\nIV. For those here who have yet to obey God, what excuse can you give? What more must it\ntake for you to obey our Creator and become his willing follower?\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Download Audio Text: Revelation 3:14-22 I. Many here are Christians. You’ve been Christians for a number of years. Do you remember why you became a Christian? A. Many people have never chosen Christ. There are some here who have yet to obey the Gospel’s call. B. Why do they hesitate? What is it…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[99,608,47],"class_list":["post-63768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-becoming-a-christian","tag-excuses","tag-salvation"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":91970,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-remain-a-christian-when-christians-sin\/","url_meta":{"origin":63768,"position":0},"title":"Why Remain a Christian When Christians Sin?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 8, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer Why do we stay faithful to Jesus when so many churches and people do so much wrong? It's a common complaint. Here is an elder, a deacon, or a preacher who fell from grace in some way or abused other members. Here is a church that is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":50202,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-christian\/","url_meta":{"origin":63768,"position":1},"title":"What Does It Mean to Be a Christian?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 26, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Peter 1:13-25 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Over 75% of Americans claim to be Christians, a percentage that has been steadily declining while the non-religious rises. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Still, it is a high number, but it appears to be in conflict with Jesus\u2019 warning - Matthew 7:13-14 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0What actually makes a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19913,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/doesnt-the-lord-require-christians-to-marry-christians\/","url_meta":{"origin":63768,"position":2},"title":"Doesn’t the Lord require Christians to marry Christians?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 19, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: You said in \"What does a woman do when the Christian men around seem more interested in non-Christian women?\" \"While being married to a non-Christian often makes it more difficult for a Christian woman to remain faithful, there is no requirement that Christians -- male or female -- must\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14138,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-christs-law-about-divorce-and-remarriage-apply-to-non-christians\/","url_meta":{"origin":63768,"position":3},"title":"Does Christ’s law about divorce and remarriage apply to non-Christians?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 6, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I met a lady who is not a Christian (or proclaims to be a denominational Christian) and she has been divorced for a while (not by the approved way of Christ). If she became a true Christian and remarried, would she still be guilty of living in sin or\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":62689,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/has-becoming-a-christian-changed-you\/","url_meta":{"origin":63768,"position":4},"title":"Has Becoming a Christian Changed You?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 19, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Romans 12:1-8 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The Barna Group has done several surveys on the impact Christianity has on people\u2019s lives. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In May, 2006, a survey showed that 51% said that they had been greatly transformed by their faith. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I found that interesting because of what Jesus said\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Morally-Acceptable.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Morally-Acceptable.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Morally-Acceptable.gif?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":57527,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-evangelism-dying\/","url_meta":{"origin":63768,"position":5},"title":"Is Evangelism Dying?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 2, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"by Lloyd Gale In a recent column of the Christian Science Monitor, Michael Spencer wrote; \"We Evangelicals have failed to pass on to our young people an orthodox form of faith that can take root and survive the secular onslaught. 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