Only you can determine whether you will be a “sold out 24 hour per day Christian” or a “nominal follower.” For my money, churches already have more than enough “nominal followers who treat attendance in their activities as their evidence that they are Jesus people!” Indeed, it is probably our “comfortable religious practices” that leave a gap between the church and those outside our circle who never come in contact with a relevant and vibrant faith. Perhaps our church “issues” become the excuse for why many nominal Christians remain uncommitted and refuse to openly identify with a specific church body where they live? When I think of Jesus, I see a man of commitment as he did nothing with only 1/2 of his heart! I seldom think of him inside a religious building for he was too busy being with the people where they lived as he focused on the lost! Jesus loved and committed himself to the church, God’s people, even with its limitations and issues.
Does a person being baptized guarantee a relationship with God? Not even close! Just because I can swim doesn’t mean that I am a fish. Yet, the Scripture says that God was proud of His son for choosing to be baptized so it appears that modeling humility and showing a positive testimony are on God’s list of important things to do with our lives. In Matthew 28: 19-20, it says that one of the responsibilities of Christians is to share the great news that Jesus loves them and then baptize the believers! Baptism was, and is today, a contract of commitment for a believer who proudly says, I want to identify with Jesus! Let us not talk a talk that we are not willing to walk. May we see life as a one way path that leads us to be committed beyond our own comforts and nominal habits.
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有你可以決定你是否是一個”每天24小時的基督徒”或是”名義上的的基督徒”。 對我來說，教會已經有過多“名義上的基督徒”，他們把參與教會活動當作證明自己是 耶穌的人。 實在上，這可能是我們“舒服的宗教儀式”造成教會及教會以外的人中間一個很大的隔閡，使他們無法接觸到與生活相應及活潑的信仰。 或許是我們教會許多的“事情”成為藉口，讓許多名義上的基督徒仍是不願委身或拒絕公開表明和他所在教會的關係。當我想到 耶穌，我看到一個不只是委身一半而是全然委身的人！我很少想到 祂在宗教建築物內，因為 祂忙於去到失喪人的地方專注服事他們。 即使教會有各樣限制及煩擾， 耶穌愛並委身教會—祂的子民。
浸礼就保證一個人和 神的關係嗎？ 決不！ 不會因為我會游水就說我是一條魚。 但是聖經說 神引以為傲，祂的兒子選擇受浸以表明 祂謙卑及積極見證的模範，這是 上帝要我們在生命中需做的重要事。馬太福音28：19－20節說基督徒的責任之一就是要分享 耶穌愛他們的大好信息，並為他們施浸！以往及現在，浸禮都是一個委身立約，能使基督徒驕傲地說：我是 耶穌的！讓我們不要只是光說不做。讓我們把生命看為一条單行道，引領我們承諾委身走向超越自己舒適及有名無實的習慣。