Is It Too Hard To Be A Christian ? by Beverly Rich
Is it too hard to be a Christian? I hear this excuse from so many
people. So I am asking you today if you have ever felt this way? I
honestly can say that I felt this way when I first became a Christian.
I said there were too many rules and guidelines to follow. For me it was too
hard to be perfect. But as I grew from the spiritual baby I once was
to an adolescent in spirit I realized that I don't have to be perfect.
God doesn't ask me to be prefect. In fact he says that I can't, am
not, and never will be perfect. It says in the Bible, (Romans 3:23) "For
all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God."
When Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit tree they brought sin
to the earth. For this reason all chances of man being perfect were
wiped away.
Still, however, after explaining this to many people I still get
the excuse that it's too hard to be a Christian. When I ask why, I am over
whelmed with answers. The answers or excuses range in a numerous
amount of things. "People don't believe in me." "My friends stab me in
the back." "People call me a fake." "They call me a liar." "They don't
understand me." "they bring false testimonies against me." "They tear
me down." "It's just too hard to be a Christian."
Well, guess what? People didn't believe in Jesus. (Matthew 13:58)
"And he did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief."
Judas, one of Jesus' disciples, betrayed Jesus. (Mark 13:10-11) "Then
Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests to betray
Him to them. So when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give
him money. So he sought how he might conveniently betray Him." Peter,
another one of his friends and disciples denied him, (Luke 22:54-60)
"Then having arrested Him, they led Him and brought Him into the high
priest's house. And Peter followed at a distance. Now when they had
kindled a fire in the midst of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat
among them. And a certain servant girl, seeing him as they sat by the
fire, looked intently at him and said, "This man was also with Him."
But he denied Him, saying, "Woman I do not know Him." And after a little
while another saw him and said, "You also are of them." But Peter
said, "Man, I am not." Then after about an hour had passed, another
confidently affirmed, saying, "Surely this fellow also was with Him,
for he is a Galilean." But Peter said, "Man, I do not know what you are
saying!" People called Jesus a fake, they didn't believe in who he
was. They called him a liar, a false prophet. These things are all over the
Bible. They didn't understand him or his ways. This was because Jesus
was of his father and the Bible says in Isaiah 55:8 "For my thoughts are
not your thoughts nor are your ways My ways," say the Lord."
They also brought forth false testimonies against Jesus. (Matthew
26:59) "Now the chief priests, the elders, and all the council sought
false testimony against Jesus to put him to death." They tore Jesus
down too. (Luke 23:50-53) "And behold, there was a man named Joseph, a
council member, a good and just man. He had not consented to their
counsel and deed. He was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who himself was
also waiting for the kingdom of God . This man went to Pilate and asked for the
body of Jesus. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it
in a tomb that was hewn out of rock, where no one had ever lain before."
The followers of Jesus took Him down from the cross, the cross in which He was nailed to by his hands and feet. The cross in which He hung from after being beat beyond recognition and being pierced. Jesus faced everything you have and much more, but praise God, Jesus follow God's will and die on the cross for us. Thank God though that Jesus did die on the cross
because for that reason we can live an eternal life. We can live a
life in Christ. A life in Christ is a life of victory. In Genesis 3 the first
part of verse 1 says this, "Now the serpent was more cunning than the
beast of the field which the Lord God had made" this verse says that
the Devil, the serpent, is smarter than man. The Devil led man to
destruction, but Jesus opened a door to salvation. In the first part
of Mark 16:18, speaking about believers, it says this, "They will take up
serpents..." Right now I face you with a question. Is the Devil defeating you?
Are you giving place to him and the destruction he brings? Are you going
to allow the Devil to out smart you? Or are you going to take up
serpents? By dying on the cross Jesus opened a door to salvation. The
Bible says that if you simply believe that Jesus died on the cross and that
God raised him from the grave you shall be saved. You have a choice to
make. You can continue to let the devil outsmart you and destroy you
or you can take up that serpent becoming a believer and asking God to
forgive you.