Jesus Café Ministries - Scripture Squad - Why are some non-Christians better than Christians?

From: Lina
I have found that some nonbelievers are better than some christians, so how will they be judged?? In personality, in doing good works, etc.. they're much more of a doer than a talker. I've met christians who talk a lot but do nothing, like to preach to me etc... but it seems that they themselves are not doing much. In the end, I prefer the company of my non-christian friends... how?? What does God mean what He says: "Do not yoke with the unyoke"?? : ) Thank you very much.

Greetings to you also Lina!
When it's all said and done, when each of us stands before God, it will all boil down to our individual acceptance of His Son as Savior during our lifetime. Our access to God and eternal life is not based on how many good deeds we do, how much we give to charity, etc.

Lina, Romans 3:23 says, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Even the most wonderful, kind, giving person you can think of has sinned and does not meet the standard of a holy God: perfection.

Great, huh? Looks like no one stands a chance! That's not the plan of our God who loves us immeasurably though! He had a Redeemer lined up before the foundation of the world! Read on for the good stuff!

His Son Jesus Christ met this standard and Himself said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." (John 14:4) On the cross, Jesus bridged the gap between God and man caused by sin.

Ephesians 2:1-9 says,

"And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast."

So Lina, God offers salvation (eternal life, relationship with Him) on a silver platter as a gift! Just like when it's your birthday and someone offers you a gift, you must choose whether to accept the gift. You didn't earn the gift and you wouldn't think of asking the person how much they owed you for payment of the gift, but it is up to you to accept it or reject it. It's up to EACH one of us; it's the one decision we must make in this lifetime.

John 1:12 says, "As many as received Him [Jesus Christ], to them He gave the right to become children of God, evento those who believe in His name." John 3:1-8 tells us that when we receive Christ, we experience a new birth! We will be born again!

We receive Christ through personal invitation; acceptance of Him as Savior. It involved turning to God from our own self and trusting Christ to come into our lives to forgive our sins and make us what He wants us to be. Just to agree intellectually that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He died on the cross for our sins is not enough. Nor is it enough to have an emotional experience. We receive Jesus Christ by faith, as an act of our will. Christ takes the throne in our hearts, instead of ourselves.

Now that we've discussed what it means to become a Christian, let's discuss some common misconceptions. One day when we stand before God, let's imagine He asks us why He should let us into His heaven. Many people might say:

* My mama was Christian, I must be a Christian too. * I'm a good person, for the most part. * I attend church every Sunday. * I give to the poor and help the sick. * I've been going to this church all my life. * I know lots of Bible facts. * I pray. * I try to follow the Ten Commandments.

In fact, all God will want to hear is, "I confessed with my mouth Jesus as Lord, and believed in my heart that God raised Him from the dead, and I was saved; for with the heart I believed, resulting in righteousness, and with my mouth I confessed, resulting in salvation." (Romans 10:9)

We can SAY anything to others, you're right, but how do we KNOW we are born again, that we are new creations in Christ as the Bible teaches? 1 John 2:6 says, "the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked."

Check that last line out again..."same manner as *He* walked." Let's be careful about letting fallible human beings be our guide. Those who know Christ are new creations, but we still are faced with temptation, we still might stumble. The difference is, we don't *practice* sin as a course of life. Jesus is faithful to complete the good work He begins in us, but it's not an overnight deal. : )

Now for your next question. 2 Corinthians 6:14 reads, "Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousnees and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?" (NASB)

The picture we should get is two oxen, yoked together with an uneven yoke (one ox ahead of the other), trying to accomplish a job. There is continual struggle between the two oxen because they are not yoked evenly. It's probably painful also! Some scholars believe this particularly applies to believers knowingly marrying unbelievers; some believe it applies to believers' involvement with unbelievers in business, church and personal relationships also.

In short, we should be careful about the alliances we make. We are to be light to a dark world by showing the love of Christ in all circumstances. However, we should be careful about saying we are entering surroundings overflowing with temptation in the name of "being light." For example, God might place us in a workplace with unbelievers to be a witness for Him. However, if we go to happy hour and get drunk and act wild, what makes us different from anyone else?

- The Scripture Squad :
TCCaleb, TCCaff, RuthCCC & DawnCCC