Spiritually Double-Minded

John 5:24  “Truly, truly, I
say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal
life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.”

For those
of us who have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, it can be tempting
at times to revert to a lifestyle of striving to earn His favor or love. How
can we tell if this is the case? If you feel a pressure to do good for
acceptance—instead of from a place of
acceptance—you’re probably headed in that direction.

But if
we’re already saved, why do we fall back into this pattern?

This is one
of the biggest challenges right now, particularly for those who may have grown
up in a traditional spiritual environment. We’ve got one foot in the new
covenant, which is salvation in Jesus Christ through grace by faith (Ephesians
2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved
through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works,
lest anyone should boast”); but we’ve got another foot in the old covenant that
God established with the nation of Israel, which was based on works. This
leaves us struggling to adequately understand the heart of God—let alone being
able to teach somebody else about His love and salvation. Without meaning to do
so, we become spiritually double-minded.

How does
this play out in our relationships? If we’re hard on ourselves, we’re equally
hard on other people. We talk about Jesus’s finished work, but deep down, we’re
striving to earn God’s favor; therefore, we try to make others adhere to all
kinds of laws to earn God’s favor, as well.

This is a
large part of the reason that the church has acquired the reputation for being
judgmental that it has in many parts of the world today. We’ve taken the gospel
and wrapped it in all of these laws. We go preaching that Jesus loves people; but
then, we put all of these burdens on them: “He loves you, but you can’t dress that
way. You can’t look that way. You can’t say that. I don’t know about you—you’re
disqualified.”

That’s not
the gospel! The pure, unadulterated gospel is John 3:16: “For God so loved the
world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever…” Here’s the question:
Is there anything excluded in the whosoever? No. That means everyone. Romans
9:15-16 reads, “For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have
mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it
depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.”

Once we
fully accept the unconditional love and salvation of God in our own hearts,
we’ll be able to live from a place of acceptance. This will affect our lives,
and the lives of those we share Jesus with—instead of requiring a certain set
of behaviors from them, we’ll be able to share the good news that, no matter
who they are or what they’ve done, God loves them and made a way for them to be
with Him for eternity.

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