In today's post-Christian culture of liberalism, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that to be Christian means to be called out of the world and be set aside unto the Lord Jesus Christ. As we approach the end of the age and of the world, as we know it, the Lord continues to give numerous heavenly visitations and dreams about him to take Christians home in what we call the rapture of the church. One recurring theme in many of these supposedly spiritual experiences is the number of professing Christians that could be going to hell. Well, it is easy to dismiss these as figments of hallucinations and fertile imaginations gone wild. But a cursory glance at the church scene clearly shows that something is not right with many of professing believers. This book seeks to jolt Christians into rediscovering their first love and awake from their slumber to ensure that their lives match their profession.
Christianity is one of the most liberal of all religions. In Christian theology, it is God who takes the initiative to reconcile mankind to himself (John 3:16). He make total and full provision for man to receive forgiveness of sins and come into a personal relationship with God without any expenditure or effort on his/her part. In that sense, Christianity is an easy religion. That is the essence of grace. But that could be deceptive because it is easy for the Christian adherent to fall into the false notion that grace means anything goes.
This Christian discipleship book attempts to wake Christians to the fact that like an athlete, there is a right lifestyle and a way to compete that will guarantee you a medal at the Olympics and a wrong lifestyle and a way to compete that could lead to disqualification and a loss of potential medal. Much illustration is made of the Old Testament saints who started their journey with the Lord with optimistic enthusiasm but whose faith was made shipwreck along the way. This is true of the Israelites who were delivered from Egyptian bondage and servitude and journeyed to the Promised Land, but the text says, With most of them, God was not well pleased, and their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. The text clearly says these experiences were written as warnings and examples to us because if we make the same mistakes they did, a similar fate awaits us (1 Corinthians 10:113). Wisdom gives away what you cannot keep to gain what you cannot lose.
In our day and age, the greatest snares are relational issues of unforgiveness, bitterness, and strife. We are also warned against such moral weaknesses as fornication, adultery, and other aberrant sexual behavior. The Bible clearly warns that those who practice these would not inherit the kingdom of God. This is a major theme of most of the New Testament Epistles. This book is also evangelistic because at its heart, it seeks to showcase the love of God and his eternal invitation to all mankind to be reconciled to him.
