Spectator or Active Christian?

February 18

Spectator or Active Christian?  By Dr. D. James Kennedy

Truly I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, will not lose his reward.—Mark 9:41 Christianity is not a spectator sport.  Christ does not call us to be “spectator Christians.”  There are some people in our churches, however, who, to my knowledge, have never done any work at all. They have merely seen themselves as spectators.  They come to watch on Sunday morning, and that is the extent of what they do.  They never put their shoulder to the wheel. They never dirty their hands.  They never exert themselves in any work. But Christ says in His letter to the church in Thyatira in Revelation 2:19, “I know you works, love, service, faith, and your patience and that your last works are more than the first.”  Christ had not forgotten their good works. I am glad that many Christians are always working and serving the Lord with love and patience.  Christ calls us to get into the arena and glorify Him by our good works.  Any deed done in Jesus’ name is precious to Him and has its reward, whether in this life or the next.  If we are indeed, saved, not by works, but saved unto good works—how do these truths connect?  It seems that our Lord wants us to know that even though salvation is free, we will work to further His Kingdom among men if we truly love Him and recognize that apart from Him, men are eternally lost.  Because Jesus loves them, we will work toward the end that they desire salvation because they see the beauty of His “unspeakable    gift” in us.