I stole the following analogy from a pastor I follow, but it was so good and it impacted me so much, that I thought it would bless you and also help you perhaps explain to others what the Christian Walk entails.
Salvation is a FREE Gift, given to us by God's Grace, Love, and Mercy! Think of it as a Brand New Car, all shiny and gorgeous with a pristine engine and new wheels and a beautiful body. One day our Father offers us that car for Free! What person would turn that down? (Well, actually many do). But let's say you receive this great gift. Now what?
What do you do with a new car? Do you put it in the garage and never drive it? Or maybe you drive it but you forget to put gas in it or you never get it serviced, never put oil in it. What will happen? For one thing, you will probably run out of gas and get stuck somewhere you don't want to be. For another, you might ruin your engine by not putting in oil or getting it tuned up.
I think all of us an agree that when we get a new car, we read the Instruction manual to figure out how to run the car efficiently and how to care for the car so it will take us where we want to go without breaking down, right? Some of us will even get it washed, waxed, and vacuumed out frequently to keep it looking good!
The car is the free gift of salvation, the instruction manual is the Bible, the gas is the Holy Spirit. All are needed in order for you to take that free gift and move forward with it. It's totally up to YOU what you do with it.
- Will you hide your salvation from the world? (keep the car in the garage)
- Will you NOT read the manual (The Bible) and not make use of all the capabilities of the car? (Gifts of the Spirit)
- Will you not care for the car with good maintenance (Spending time with the Lord) doing what the manual says? (Growing in the Lord, allowing Him to sanctify you)
- Will you forget to put gas in the car and find yourself stranded in enemy territory? (Be constantly filled with the Holy Spirit)
- Will you make use of the Navigational System in the car to get you on the right road? (The Holy Spirit and the Bible) or will you ignore it and get lost?
- Will you ignore the clanking sounds coming from your engine? (The Holy Spirit convicting you of sin and a wayward lifestyle)
You get the point. The thing is, yes, salvation is a free gift, but taking care of that salvation and growing in your walk with the Lord takes work. If we don't put in the work, we may end up lost, in enemy territory, unable to find our way back on the right road. Even worse, our car may be in such neglect that the tow truck comes to haul it away.
This is why I speak so boldly here on this blog against Once Saved Always Saved. Jesus does expect us to change, to work, to submit to Him after our salvation. He tells us to take up our cross and follow Him, to walk in obedience and love for Him. If a person receives that shiny new car and just puts it in the garage and never drives it, is he still saved? Probably. But he has lost any rewards. But if that person purposely runs the car into the dirt, ignores maintenance, never puts gas in it, and ends up losing it, only God knows his fate. The Scriptures say it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Hebrews 10:31
So, I encourage you to take that new shiny car, read the instruction manual, fill it with the best gas, make use of all its wonderful capabilities, including the navigation system, shine and buff it, and take it out for a spin every day so that everyone can see how wonderful it is!
Our pastor reminded us that the devil is in church with us every Sunday.
ReplyDeleteSo true! Why wouldn't he invade the church and try to do as much damage as he could!
DeleteI love that comparison. I may use this with my nephew. What man can't relate to cars.
ReplyDeleteExactly! That's my hope!
DeleteGood morning favored Sister of the King of Kings,
ReplyDeleteI gasped when I saw that very expensive car !!! I thought maybe you gotthaat off of a propriety gospel preachers site !!! :) My EX pastor is is such is about 62, and he just bought himself a brand new, decked out Mustang, seriously !
Yes this is a great analogy for " us men" :) I drive on old 2005 Ford Escape, with over 230,000 miles on it. And just like me, it aint as pretty as it once was, but it sure is dependable ! And with the Lords help, I take good care of it. It's one of the first Hybrids using both gas engine and battery, and gets over 30 mpg. And I dont travel like I used to, so it seems to run forever on a tank of gas ! But I top it off any way, just to keep it full.
So about the post at the end, The Lord had put a word on my heart this week about the evil men do come out from with in the church more than that which is outside the church. The lack of Holiness is being replaced by the buddy system, the thinking that we are co god's with the I AM ! Psalm 36:1 An oracle is within my heart concerning the wicked.There is no fear of God before his eyes'. For in his own eye's he flatters himself too much to detect or hate his sin.
We have lost fear of the Lord, which brings the knowledge of just how big and righteous and Holy God is. Remembering this does not deminsh the love of God at all. In fact it enhances His love for us. That we see there is nothing He is note capable of and will not do to save those who love Him.
Be Blessed Prescious Sister.
I just read an article from the NAR New Apostolic Reformation group and truly they are starting to sound like they think they are gods. They can take over the world for Jesus.. They will change society for the Kingdom of God. Good grief! Also this AI stuff coming up. Heard that AI now is saying it is god. So, I'm not surprised that many pastors feel that way. The devil knows the one LIE that entices mankind the most. It worked with Eve. It's the lie that we can become like God.
DeleteBlessings, Brother!