Christianity is Exclusive!

     It is one thing to call yourself a christian; to attend a Church and to say you believe in God. However, it is quite another matter to actually be a Christian.

     So many people want to be included in everything. It is no longer politically correct to be exclusive, but there are some things that must be exclusive. Take the Boy Scouts for example. The Boy Scouts are made up of boys. If girls were allowed in so that no one would feel left out, they would cease to be the boy scouts. That is why we also have Girl Scouts; so that there is a similar group for girls. This is only common sense, but we are fast throwing common sense away these days.

     This is an issue that has permeated the Church as well. Multitudes do not wish to be excluded from the fellowship of the Church. They desire to be included, which on the surface would seem like a good and loving thing for the Church to do. The problem is sin. Man's issue is that he is in rebellion towards God (Romans 8:7; James 4:2). This is sin, and it separates one from God. This is the issue that first and foremost of all must be dealt with. To become a member of the true Church of the living God, one must repent, that is, put away all sin, and surrender their lives to Jesus Christ. 

     The Bible makes the distinction between those who have been born again; the true follower of Jesus Christ, and those who are dead in trespasses and sin. The church is made up of those who have been redeemed with the blood of Christ. They are a new creation in Christ Jesus (2 Cor 5:17). They at one time lived in the very same sins that the world lives in, but they have given them up, and been transformed by Christ's death and resurrection (1 Cor 6:9-11). They have a living faith, and worship God in spirit and truth (John 4:23-24). They have a fellowship with God, and each other, through Jesus Christ, that the world cannot have. 

     But if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

                                     1 John 1:7 NASB

     This fellowship with God, and with true believers in Christ, is only possible as one turns from sin, and follows Christ in faith; a faith that obeys the commandments of Jesus Christ (John 14:23-24). You see, the Church is made up of saints; people who are set apart, devoted to God. If you are not set apart from your sin, and devoted to living for God, it is not possible to fellowship in the biblical sense of the word. There is no fellowship between light and darkness, nor partnership between believers and unbelievers (2 Cor 6:14-16).

     People may attend a Church without giving up any sin at all, and call themselves a Christian, without actually being one. They are only deceiving themselves, as God knows those who are His (2 Timothy 2:19).

     The only way in is through Christ; not a mere head knowledge, but a radical change of heart and life, through the new birth.