I always wondered about people who were so sure Jesus was the only way to heaven. I used to think those people were arrogant, misguided wack-jobs who had nothing better to do than read their bibles and go to church.Now I'm one of them. In the past, when I've observed the process from afar of gradual conversion of an individual, I used to think that they had been indoctrinated, sucked in, absorbed.
Now I understand.
When a person accepts Christ, in the manner outlined in Romans 10:9 "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved" then what you are doing is agreeing that God in His supernatural, unknowable sovereignty raised His son from the dead. The word 'Lord' means you understand that you are a subject under that sovereignty and will follow His teachings and Law. The Holy Spirit then comes upon you.
The gulf then widens between the believer and the unbeliever, because the Holy Spirit is knowable to the person in whom He dwells, and unknowable to the person in whom He does not dwell. As the new Christian disciple grows in Christ, the Holy Spirit leads them more strongly and more lovingly, and the new believer naturally drifts farther from the paths trod by the unbeliever. The gap widens. Eventually, those left behind will look upon the new Christian as one who has been sucked in, they not being able to see, know, or understand the power of our Lord who now dwells within the follower.
But, O! it is so simple. And in its simplicity, it is so devastating. First, the love bestowed on us by God through His son Jesus Christ is deep and abiding. That the very creator of the worlds would care so much about us, who are ridiculous humans fumbling around the world, is amazing. It is also devastating because the more fervently the Holy Spirit dwells within a person (which in my opinion depends upon how fervently the believer seeks it, asks for it, and obeys it) the more one wants to bring all this amazingness to others.
Who do not always appreciate the message.
So there you have it, the life of a Christian.
