The Ifs

There are many ifs in the Bible. The ifs usually require some action on our part. If you do this, then God will do that. If you do this then this next thing will happen to you, for good or bad. Why do you think all of these ifs are in the Bible? My concern for the Church is that we quite possibly have errored in our judgment of what kind of ifs we should be doing. Let’s explore a few.

Deuteronomy 4:29 (NASB) “But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul.”

I think the key word in this scripture is the word all. We think we are doing a good job at being a Christian, but unless we are all in there is a lack of commitment and therefore a lack of strength. We see ourselves as good people on the right track. Here’s how God sees us, Psalm 53:2-3 (NASB) “God has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if there is anyone who understands, who seeks after God. Everyone of them has turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.” A little different point of view from our own. So why don’t we give God our all? Do we even know of anyone who is doing that? I never hear that challenge being made in church on a Sunday morning. We seem to be settling for a lesser calling than the one we have been offered. We might want to rethink this!

11 Chronicles 7:14 (KJV) “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

We are not talking about Americans here. Sometimes we use this scripture to describe our country’s condition. But this scripture is referring to God’s people, Christians. Our first response is hey, we are humble and we don’t have any wicked ways. But here I believe our sin is one of omission and maybe not commission. We are guilty of neglecting the Holy Spirit in almost all Church matters. We have usurped His authority and placed ourselves in charge. That qualifies as a wicked way! And by placing ourselves in charge it is a sign of conceit. We must humble ourselves, pray, seek, and turn. Or else we are simply wasting our time.

Romans 10:9-10 (ESV) “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”

We say, “You must ask Jesus to come into your heart and be your personal Lord and savior.” Sounds like a sales pitch to me. I still can’t find that anywhere in scripture. Salvation is by belief and confession. Period! Why do we make such stuff up? It is important that we get this if right. Do we actually think we can squeeze the King of Glory into our heart? That’s not His job. He’s on His throne and in charge. Let’s live that way.

John 14:23 (NASB) “…If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.”

That’s the Holy Spirit. He’s the one that works with our spirit. He teaches, He convicts, He reminds, He brings peace, He brings truth. But we must keep Christ’s word for any of this to happen. Otherwise we face things alone. The Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives is a big if!

One more example:

Philippians 2:1-3 (NASB) “Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves.”

Being of the same mind is not talking about agreement here. It has nothing to do with working together in a ministry either. It means unity of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit and your spirit and your fellow believer’s spirits. Together we can learn to become Christlike. This is exactly what Jesus intends for us. Be like Him and treat others better than yourself.

So as you read the Bible stop when you get to the ifs. There will always be something special for you hidden in that little word. If you do right then good will happen. If you do wrong then bad will happen. Which would you prefer?