Cause & Effect
"Why Do You Do That?"
Adapted from the inspiration of the Holy Spirit
A Goodsoil Discipleship Lesson - Bro. A. Madonio
Lesson Introduction
What this lesson teaches:
* One of the objects of this lesson is to cause all of us to look deep within ourselves at the motivation inside us for the things we say and do and how we act. This is not a lesson on how to view others!
* It is hoped that this lesson will induce a constructive soul-search, and to keep "pure" in all our ways by regular cleansing.
* This lesson will, hopefully, induce a passion for Jesus, and a true "fear" of falling. To work out our salvation with "fear and trembling" is very healthy.
Scripture references used:
* Philippians 2:13, Matthew 7:13-14; 21-23, 2 Peter 2:19, James 2:26, John 2:23-25; 5:24, Jeremiah 17:9, Isaiah 29:13, 1 John 2:3-7, 1 Corinthians 15:54-55
Other scripture that may be helpful:
* Ephesians 2:8-9; 4:24, 1 Corinthians 5:7, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Galatians 6:15, Colossians 3:10
Discussion questions for study:
1. Did you read this lesson in preparation for this week's discussion?
2. Can you really tell, by external appearances, if someone is a Christian? Can you tell by the way they conduct themselves on a daily basis? Explain your answer.
3. Do you know if you yourself are a Christian? If you died today, would you be completely assured of going to Heaven? How do you know? Tell your reason right now.
4. Can you see why motivation is the key, why motivation is the "WHY"? A "fake Christian's" motivation is selfish not selfless, while a real Christian's motivation is a passion to be "Bananas for Jesus"!
5. Do you understand the error in the "cookbook" method of salvation? Is it really salvation? Does it make sense to say that Christianity is NOT a "contractual" obligation? The words of Romans 10:9 are not a "magic spell" that automatically results in salvation, because you must "believe in your heart".
6. The next time you're in church during praise and worship, ask your self something: Why am I doing all this? Is it for my wife? My Husband? The kids? Is it for me? Or is it for Jesus? Ask Him to be the Lord in your life.
For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
Philippians 2:13
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven,
but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
Matthew 7:21
Q: Are all who profess to be "Christians" really as they claim?
A: Unfortunately NO.
Q: Then how can you tell if someone is really and truly a fur-sure-dude Christian?
A: They will be TRULY CHANGED, a NEW PERSON, they will have passionately made Jesus their LORD. To know this fur-sure-dude, we need to see the "WHY" behind everyone's "DO THAT".
CAUSE & EFFECT:
Understanding this principle will help to determine someone's MOTIVATION. "For a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him," 2 Peter 2:19. A Christian is someone who is mastered/motivated by Jesus, and ONLY JESUS! Why? Because He is the LORD of their life. They have given up all of their rights to Him in order to have perfect freedom in Him. Someone who is not a Christian is mastered/motivated by anything BUT Jesus: desires of many kinds, greed, lust, power, money, popularity, fear of embarrassment, fear of the unknown, intellectual pride, good ol' fashioned pride, etc. As Revand D. Niforatos once said, "You either deny yourself, or you deny the Lord."
GET TO THE POINT - CAUSE & EFFECT:
If I am hungry, I eat a cookie. The "cause" is being hungry, and the "effect" is eating a cookie. Get it? Some people call this "Action - Reaction" or "Cause - Symptom". Let's look at a few examples:
"CAUSE" -
Blow out in car tire -
Eating cookies & ice cream every night around midnight -
A teenager with a loud stereo -
- "EFFECT"
- Skidding into the ditch.
- You grow as big as a house and have heart problems.
- Parents with a headache.
OK - NOW LET'S APPLY THIS TO THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN AMERICA:
Q: Are we saved by works?
A: Of course not! (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Q: Can you tell if someone is a Christian by what they do in the flesh - by their "works"?
A: Only if you truly know what you are observing is a "cause" or an "effect".
The late Keith Green said, "Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than going to McDonalds makes you a hamburger." The "cause" is hunger, the "effect" is a visit to McDonalds. Keith Green then said, "How can you tell if someone is a Christian? A Christian is someone who is 'Bananas for Jesus' !" The "cause" is an unbelievable, supernatural passion for Jesus. The "effects" are worship, praise, giving, service, and prayer.
Q: Are these "effects" of a true Christian always externally visible?
A: Usually yes. There are some exceptional saints who are on FIRE for Jesus, but who appear to those around them as quite docile and harmless. Rest assured however, that God knows them - and Satan probably does too!
Faith without works ("effects') is dead.
James 2:26
"CAUSE" -
Pastor "A" is passionately "Bananas for Jesus" -
Pastor "B" is passionately "Bananas for Jesus" -
- "EFFECT"
- Pastor "A" preaches and prays very loudly, he exhorts the congregation onward, and he lives his life in imitation of Jesus.
- Pastor "B" lovingly shepherds his flock on, just as if they were his own small children. He speaks anointed messages and weeps for the souls of the lost.
BUT, many in the church today are pulling a "fast one". their motivation is not the Lord Jesus! Their "cause & effect" are entirely different than a true Christian. Look at the comparison below:
"CAUSE - Fake Christian" -
Public "prayer", "worship", "praise", "giving", involvement in church activities, and even involved in leadership -
"CAUSE - True Christian" -
This person is passionately "Bananas for Jesus" -
- "EFFECT"
- They desire public acknowledgment of their "faith" in order to look like a "Christian". (But Jesus is not their Lord, someone or something else is.)
- "EFFECT"
- Public "prayer", "worship", "praise", "giving", involvement in church activities, and even involved in leadership.
DO YOU "C" THE DIFFERENCE?:
External "signs" that are "causes" (see previous page) are the mark of a "fake" Christian.
* We need to make sure we are "real", "true", and "genuine".
* We need to perform a self-test on our "passion level".
* Look deep within yourself. Are you acting as a Christian as a "cause," or as an "effect"?
THIS IS NO TIME TO BE PLAYING AROUND!!
Are you "saved" by following a "cookbook" method of simply voicing some words that say, in effect, "I believe Jesus died for my sins," and that is all you have to do? A. W. Tozer calls this "Instant Christianity". As he explains, "the true Christian has met God. Instant Christianity . . . smothers the desire for spiritual advance. It fails to understand the true nature of the Christian life . . . it does not consider that the act of faith in Christ sets up a personal relationship . . . and no single encounter between God and a creature made in His image could ever be sufficient to establish an intimate friendship between them."
Is Christianity like a contractual obligation? -- "NO!"
Many (most ?) "Christians" "believe" in Jesus. That is, they know - intellectually - that He is all they have heard He is. Have any of them fooled our Lord? -- "NO!"
Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name. {24} But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men. {25} He did not need man's testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man. John 2:23-25
The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? Jeremiah 17:9
The Lord says: "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men. Isaiah 29:13
. . . AND THE RESULT IS . . .
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. {22} Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' {23} Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' Matthew 7:21-23
WHAT IS ONE WAY TO KNOW? - HOW DO WE KNOW?:
We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. {4} The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. {5} But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: {6} Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. {7} Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. 1 John 2:3-7
Do "U" "C" It Now?:
You see, real genuine salvation results in "Obedience", a "New Creation", and a "Jesus-Like walk". Is this your walk? (1 Corinthians 5:7, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Galatians 6:15, Ephesians 4:24, Colossians 3:10). After all, passing from "death to life" is no small thing!
"I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. John 5:24
When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." {55} "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" 1 Corinthians 15:54-55
If everyone really knew this and accepted it as truth in their hearts, their "fake causes" would become "real effects", and the real cause in their lives would become a true love of Jesus and a knowledge of what He has done for you. You will truly be "Bananas for Jesus".
Many people have been fooled by "modern salvation". They haven't received the New Testament salvation - true salvation. Christianity is basically SIMPLE, but it has never been professed in the Bible as EASY. The Bible hasn't changed after all . . . .
"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. {14} But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." Matthew 7:13-14
