A Christian is an epistle, a letter, the word made flesh known and read of all men.  If we are truly Christians, anointed ones, Spirit-filled and Spirit driven, then people know it and they read you.  As Christians, we are doers of the word and not hearers only.  It is because we embody the word, live it, speak it, act upon it, that people intuit the presence of God in our lives and when we fail to live the word people know that too.  God has placed great responsibility in our lives by making us the elect.  As the elect we are called to be a witness for Christ and to usher others into the kingdom.  When we fail to live the gospel we may indeed hinder, if not prevent, others from experiencing the good news of salvation.  But if we are living the gospel then it creates the opportunity for others to desire the fruit of salvation.  Alternatively, if we are a living word and people reject us, they also reject him who sent us.  Jesus said quite clearly, “If you reject me, you reject him who sent me.”  What is true of Jesus is true of his church.  So there are consequences for becoming a Christian, not only for ourselves, but for those God has placed in our lives. 

            Imagine being like Judas Iscariot and being with Jesus for three years and betraying him to crucifixion.  Imagine being a living epistle in your home for ten, twenty, or thirty years, and being rejected by family members, husband, wife, children, in-laws, cousins, and grandchildren all the time wanting them to embrace and receive this Jesus who gives you love, joy, and peace.  The consequence for them in rejecting you may mean they reject him who sent you.  Not only that, by rejecting to live a Christian life, they become increasingly susceptible to the attacks of the evil one.  Unless a person works out his or her salvation and comes under the umbrella of God's protection, they may experience great suffering and sickness at the hands of the devil and your prayers will be of little or no avail.              People who know the truth but refuse to live the truth are in a very serious situation.  Unless you are a doer of the word and not a hearer only, you deceive yourself by not putting God's word into practice.  God is very demanding.  He expects us to live by his word, to trust him, and to obey him.  When a person knows what God is requiring of them and they choose to reject or ignore what God is asking of them because they esteem the cost too great, they seal their own verdict and they suffer the consequences of their choice.  Poverty, sickness, suffering and ultimately death, apart from God, is their reward for lack of obedience to God.  This was the fate of many in scripture who disobeyed God.   God is the same.  He doesn't change.  God gives people a great opportunity when they see people living the gospel to either accept his Son or reject him.  They are given a real choice. 

            There are Christian consequences, not only for the believer, but for those people God places in their lives.  It behooves the Christian to work out his or her salvation and to pray for the unredeemed.  These are sobering consequences whether people like it or not: one of the costs of discipleship.

amen       .