Convinced But Not Committed

For those of you who don’t know me very well – I am a HUGE baseball fan.  Baseball is my sport and the love of it has been a part of me since I was in the 5^th grade.  At the Major League level, baseball is a sport with coaches that can and will help with almost any aspect of a player’s game.  The “Hitting Coach” has his own ideas of what will make a hitter more successful at the plate.  Many of them through the years have become famous for coming up with hitting techniques that have been adopted by many players.  A lot of those players have improved dramatically by using a particular coach’s technique.  Charlie Lau was one of the most famous – he was never a good hitter himself, but he came up with techniques that made many players considerably better when they started using them.  Five players that come to mind are George Brett, Greg Luzinski, Mark McGwire, Harold Baines and Carlton Fisk.  Brett and Fisk have both been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Consider this: what if Lau’s hitting style was “guaranteed” to make any hitter considerably better if they used them?  If that was true, then I would say that almost 100% of the Major League hitters today would be a Lau Disciple at the plate.  But what if there was a player that really believes what is said about Lau’s hitting discipline: he knows exactly how to do it, knows that it will help him, has seen the success that other players are having – but still does not want to make the commitment to using it himself.  Wouldn’t that be crazy?

This illustration reminds me of the study that I went through with a college student that I was mentoring a few years ago.  We studied through the book of Hebrews.  Hebrews was written to a Jewish community perhaps somewhere near Greece that had been evangelized by New Testament apostles and prophets.  The overall theme of Hebrews is the superiority or preeminence of Christ: He is better than anything in the Old Testament – any prophet, priest, king, or ritual.  He is better than anyone and everything else.

This book was mainly written to Hebrew Christians – those who had come out of Judaism and received Jesus Christ as their personal Messiah and Savior.  Because of their belief, they suffered persecution from their families and were tempted to go back into some of the old patterns and practices of Judaism.  The book was written to give them confidence as they floundered in their commitment, and to encourage them to courageously live out their new relationship in Christ.  The primary message of the book was written to these Hebrew Christians.

But, weaved in and out of the book of Hebrews are warnings to two other groups of people in the same location.  One of those groups was Hebrew non-Christians, those not convinced of the Gospel or of Jesus being the Messiah.  This book was written to show them the truth of Jesus being the Messiah and that salvation was only through Him. 

 

The last group reminds me of my illustration about the ballplayer who knew what Lau taught, believed it, knew there was a guarantee with it, but didn’t commit to it.  They were Hebrew non-Christians who were intellectually convinced that Jesus is who He claimed to be, but were not willing to make the commitment of faith in Him – even though they knew that Jesus Christ gives a real “guarantee” of salvation, forgiveness of sins, and eternal life.

A real-life illustration of this concerns my brother Norm and myself back when we both still lived in Southern California in the 1970’s. We were raised in a wonderful Christian home by two loving parents who loved the Lord and taught us His love.  We went to church all our lives and were very involved in church in many different ways as kids and teenagers.  My brother was the president of our high school youth group at the church we attended in Spokane, Washington.  

Later on, we were both married to wonderful Christian ladies and lived in the Los Angeles area. Norm and his wife attended Grace Community Church where John MacArthur was and still is the pastor.  Cathy and I were still attending a smaller church where we were married. 

One Sunday afternoon my brother called and asked if we wanted to come with them to Grace Community that evening for a baptismal service.  I said “Sure… is anyone we know getting baptized?”  He said “Yeah, I am.”  I was shocked – I had accepted the Lord at the age of 10 at a summer camp in Arizona.  I assumed my brother had made a decision at some other time in our youth.  He and I were even both baptized at that church at the same time.  But he said – “No, I have been sitting under MacArthur’s teaching through Hebrews and realized that I had been a fake all these years.”  He said he was convicted by MacArthur’s sermon on “The Tragedy of Rejecting Full Revelation” from the sixth chapter of Hebrews.

Here is part of what my brother heard that convinced him:

“… (Those) who have, on the outside, made a profession of faith in Christ, but who are not real believers...They know the truth. They believe it. They even follow some of the patterns of Christians, but they aren't for real; and they are warned periodically through the Book of Hebrews that they better be for real lest having heard the Gospel so much and become so familiar with it, they find themselves falling away into an evil heart of unbelief, and it is impossible for them to be saved.” 

Let this be a warning to all of us to search our hearts and ask ourselves if we are really convinced and committed to Christ as Lord and Savior.  Or, are we one of those who are “intellectually convinced” but not willing or ready to make that step of “commitment.”  

Are You Really?

I became a baseball fan at about the age of 10 when my Dad was transferred to Tucson, AZ. The Cleveland Indians had their spring training camp there in Tucson (’45 to ’92) and the games took place at Hi Corbett Field. My brother and I rode our bikes after school to many of the games and were able to see lots of future Hall of Fame players like Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, Stan Musial and Ted Williams. Going to these games is where I developed my “love” for the sport of baseball.

Baseball is a sport that elicits many different kinds of responses by those that take the time to watch the game.  If you are not an “aficionado” like me, those emotions can range from excitement to complete boredom.  

The average viewer is excited if it’s a close game with lots of hitting and runs scored.  In other words, action on the field that keeps you interested.  This person is normally a basketball or football fan – action oriented folks out of their element at a baseball game.  This same viewer will be bored out of their skull if it’s a pitcher’s duel – two starting pitchers dominating the hitters with hardly any scoring and a few great defensive plays throw in here or there.

Are you really a baseball fan?  If you are curious, here is a little test of several questions you can ask yourself to see if you really are a fan.    

#1 – Does a well executed “drag bunt” excite you as much as a home run? (Do you even know what a “drag bunt” is?)

#2 – Does a diving catch off the center fielder’s shoelaces thrill you as much as a double off the wall in right field?

#3 – Are you still enthralled with the game in the 8^th inning if there is no score and each pitcher is working on a 2-hit shutout?

#4 – Can you keep watching the game if your team is down 8-0 in the 4^th inning?

And, finally…

#5 – If the World Series involves two of your least favorite teams, do you still watch?

There is another “Are you really” that you may have never thought about?  Are you really a Christian?  Have you ever thought about that?  How do you know?  What are the signs in your life?

A few years ago I read a small paperback book called “Marks of the Messenger” by Mack Stiles.  One of the chapters is about true Biblical conversion.  What marks does a true Christian have?  It is not as simple as you think.  Mack lists five signs of a truly converted person:

#1 – Conversion Is Required:  Many people think it is unnecessary – even derogatory.  But in the New Testament, Jesus made it clear to Nicodemus that he must be born again to be a Christian (John 3:3).  People are not Christians because they were baptized in a certain church, or were born into a Christian family.  There is a saying: “God has no grandchildren.”  John MacArthur said going to church does not make you a Christian anymore than standing in a garage makes you a car. Jesus says we need the spiritual equivalent of a heart transplant.  “It is only the work of God in hearts that brings people to repent and believe the work of Christ on the cross.” (Mack Stiles)

#2 – Conversion Requires Understanding:  True converts understand that they are sinners.  They know they must repent of their sins and their “old life” and put their faith in Christ’s work on the cross.  But, they also need to understand what Christ did for them – they may not know the terms “justification” or “atonement” - but they need to understand that their sins were placed on Christ and He paid the price to bring us back into a right relationship and standing with God. (I Cor. 2:12)

#3 – True Conversion Requires Genuine Faith:  There must be genuine faith and trust in what Jesus did for them on the cross.  This is a deep faith “…that one might have when you step on a 747 and believe that a massive hunk of metal will hurtle you through the air safely.” (Mack Stiles)  It is the strong and personal faith that entrusts our lives to another – Jesus Christ.

#4 – A Radically Changed Life Attests To True Conversion:   “On the deepest level you cannot be truly converted and avoid a radically changed life, for you have moved from death to life.” (Mack Stiles)  A true believer will have a deep desire to obey God and do His will.  This requirement keeps us separate from what is called “easy believism” – a mental assent to the facts about Jesus, but with unmoved hearts.  Mark Dever says “The ultimate mark of conversion is not walking an aisle, but picking up a cross.” This does not mean that a true believer does not sin – they do and sometimes they temporarily get in a rut when they are not living the way they know they should. But a true believer always comes back to what he knows by the conviction of the Holy Spirit living in them. If they don’t then they were never really saved. 1 John 2:19 says “They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.”

#5 – Conversion Results From God’s Action:  Jesus states in John 15:16 that we didn’t choose Him – He chose us.  2 Thessalonians 2:13b – “…because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.” Modern Christianity is hung up on “free will” – but that phrase is not found in the Bible.  People come to faith because God draws them. Knowing this will make sure that we give the glory to the right person – Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

Did you take either of the tests?  Are you really a Baseball Fan?  But more importantly, are you really a Christian? 

Bob Eddy Answers

Every now and then I get something that the Lord lays heavy on my heart or something that I think needs to be said, so I decided to start my own blog so that I have a place to express my thoughts.  A blog is the perfect place to do that – whether anyone reads it or not – at least I was able to get it off my chest.

But where did I come up with the title “Bob Eddy Answers”? I’m glad you asked…

About 20 years ago, when my wife (Cathy) and I lived in California, we were involved in a Bible study with several other couples from the church we attended.  We met once a week and got together to go over the answers for the questions that were asked to help us understand that particular portion of the Scripture we were studying. My answers would always be 3 or 4 paragraphs while the others in the study would be 3 or 4 sentences. So when everyone else had given their answer, they would look at me and say “OK, now let’s have the Bob Eddy answer.”

So when I decided to start this blog, I needed to come up with a name for it. As I racked my brain to come up with something unique, I kept getting told by “Blogger” that it was already in use. Then Cathy said “Why don’t you call it ‘Bob Eddy Answers’ like they used to say back in our Bible study in CA. I thought that was a great idea – and nobody else was using it!!  

So here we go… some of them will be blogs that I wrote a few years ago. And, some will be NEW ones. I just hope they aren’t so long you don’t want to read them. And if they are, hopefully they will have peaked your interest enough to keep you going to the end. Thanks for reading!!