Keep It Up, You’re Gonna Get Burned!

As a very young boy, I had often watched my dad fix our flat bike tires by heating the area to be patched with a quick burst of fire. It made the patch stick better. One day my dad wasn’t around and I needed my tire fixed and I couldn’t get the area to be patched to catch fire so I poured a little gasoline on it. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! It burst into flames and I slung it and the burning rubber stuck to the wall of the garage. Thankfully, a man was repairing the roof of the home next door and saw what was happening and came down and put the fire out. Learned my lesson quick from that one!

The problem with sin in our lives is we often DON’T learn our lesson and continue dabbling in it. As the saying goes, “You play with fire, sooner or later you’re gonna get burned!” We press it just a little further each time trying to see just how far we can go. Nothing new about this. Jesus addressed it often in various ways. On one occasion He asked this question: “Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do the things I say?“ (Luke 6:46). He is asking many in the church this same question today!

As “Christians,” we often have this idea that we walked the aisle and gave our hearts to Jesus, now we are alright to continue living on the edge—like salvation is some kind of insurance policy that guarantees us eternal life simply because we walked the aisle and repeated the words after the preacher—like I can go right on living the way of the world cuz I got Jesus now! Hmmm!!!

Salvation is a guarantee of eternal life for those whose lives are lived in accordance with GOD’s Word. When Jesus asked that question, He was trying to get the listeners, including you and I, to wake up to reality—to live in accordance to His Word in order to reap the promises of eternal life found in His Word.

Carefully consider what Paul said in Romans 2:6-8: “He will repay each one according to his works: eternal life to those who by patiently doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; but wrath and indignation to those who are self-seeking and disobey the truth, but are obeying unrighteousness” (HCSB).

Don’t get so caught up in your idea of eternal security that you think you can go right on living like the world and its ok. God’s righteous judgment is coming! He will repay those who have lived righteously with eternal life. But for those who have lived in disobedience to His laws and commands, His wrath will fall harshly. A simple word of warning: You keep it up, sooner or later you’re gonna get burned!