Be Careful!

A dear friend recently posted a meme about how Christians aren't perfect, just forgiven; that is, how it is normal to expect them to fail, be hypocrites, and just be human. The thrust of the meme was that the point of being a Christian is being forgiven, not a change in behavior. As much as I love my dear friend, and I know he posted it with the best of intentions, this sentiment is demonstrative of the pernicious falsehood which permeates modern "Christianity" masquerading as the Gospel. As Paul wrote, "What then? Do we continue to error so that God's charity might overflow? God forbid!"
     Among the ancient Christians, it was understood that if you did not live as Jesus Christ taught, and walked as He walked, you were not considered a Christian and you were expelled from the congregation until you came to your senses. This of course was after being approached and confronted with your error, and that you were in submission to your own malfunctioning flesh rather than the Spirit of Christ. Mistakes are one thing, outright refusal to practice what He taught, or making excuses for not practicing what He taught while calling yourself a disciple was worse than non-belief. As Paul described such a person, "Their god is their belly, their glory is their shame, who set their minds on earthly things."
      All throughout the Scriptures, forgiveness by God is given freely upon a person's coming to their senses, returning home, and doing what is right. Believing Jesus Christ and following Him, living as He taught by submitting to the Spirit of Christ so that it is He who acts and speaks through you, clearly falls under this and forgiveness is given freely. But claiming His forgiveness while continuing to operate from your own malfunctioning responses of fear, aggression, and bodily cravings is not "changing your mind." It is not coming to your senses. It is making a mockery of Jesus Christ and giving cause to others to speak evil of Him, His Gospel, and God the Father Himself. Will God be pleased with the person who does this? Who, as the the Scripture describes, treats the blood of Jesus Christ as worthless and tramples it underfoot?
     To make one's home in Jesus Christ, to remain in Him, is like a wild branch being grafted into a domesticated plant, as Paul wrote, drawing its life and abilities from the trunk of the plant. But as he also wrote, if God pruned off other branches that weren't producing fruit in order that you might be grafted in, be careful. Pay attention. Because if you don't produce the fruit He's looking for, or worse, if you produce bad or toxic fruit, He may not spare you either.
     Modern Christianity needs to stop camping on His forgiving freely, using it as an excuse for all manner of erroneous behavior, and start camping on what the Path of Jesus Christ was about to begin with, submitting to and cooperating with the Spirit of Christ so that it is He who acts and speaks through you, and through Him, God the Father Himself. When this happens, then we will begin to see the Christianity which was described in the book of Acts and the Epistles in this day and age. When the sap from the trunk of the plant is finally allowed to start flowing through the branches to produce the fruit which God wants.