YOUR RAP SHEET

                                                                          YOUR RAP SHEET

    Christian friend or non Christian friend, have you ever thought about your rap sheet? Christ died to erase and cover your sins, but  that doesn't mean you didn't have a rap sheet before you were  saved. It may have been torn up by God when you accepted Christ as Savior, but that doesn't mean you should now act superior to others you consider unsaved. Salvation does not give you a special standing or privilege, but rather makes you a servant.

    Salvation erases your sins and gives you the presence of the Holy Spirit, but that only gives you the option to be Christ-like with the assistance of the Holy Spirit. Salvation enables you to cross the threshold to eternal life. The original price tag was free, but that isn't the end of the story. If you really act Christ-like, you will begin to start another rap sheet, but it will be a works sheet. Your call to duty is given in James 2:17, "Thus also faith by itself, if it does
not have works, is dead."

    People talk about their faith all the time, but frequently their faith is exhibited as a special free pass to eternal life. They may have said a few words to accept Christ's offer, but their heart wasn't really committed. If you are committed, the Holy Spirit will "nudge" you frequently when there is an opportunity for you to do "good works." James spells it out in chapter 2, verse 15. This admonition is a repetition of Christ's instructions in the gospels, Matt. 25:31-46.
Don't think that these passages are only for nations. God judges each person individually as well. James found it necessary to repeat the admonition about good works because many people
thought the free pass from Christ also entitled them to loaf and ignore Christ's gospel teaching.

    There are many ways Christians influence others by their actions and words. The most serious mistake I usually encounter is that by leaders, religious or otherwise. This non-Christian mistake seems to be an immediate turnoff. It's a smug look of self satisfaction. The
bible explains it as self righteousness. Frequently, such judgment is made based on appearance or looks. Remember, Christ treated each person as a friend and companion. If you are a Christian, and especially if you hold a leadership position, do not let your station lead you to believe you are special. One of my boyhood examples of a real man of the cloth was a priest who did his ministry work on the waterfront. By waterfront, I mean the harbor area such as
San Francisco. His beat wasn't a church, but bars and dives that populate such areas. It was a tough venue that catered to a wide variety of tough guys, sailors, crooks, scarlet women and booze. Like Christ, this priest had the Holy Spirit power, and his presence was to spread the Word, but also to practice Christian principles to help those in need. He prayed for them, but he also provided other help and guidance. 

    Self righteousness is a bigger turnoff than drunkenness to many people. Drunks don't usually act as though they're superior to you. Most self righteous people treat others as inferior, especially if you are not well dressed or unkempt. When I come out of the barn sometimes, I'm not exactly spot clean. Some visitors have a mindset that my looks place me as a manure caddy. This amuses me, because I have the advantage of knowing a great deal about them from their
actions, and they are misguided by my looks. Most people don't expect a minister to fork manure, dig potatoes or milk a cow. When they engage me in conversation, they sometimes have a difficult time figuring out what I am.

    Many self righteous people wear their "look" for others to see. My wife and I were in a parking lot recently, and we were parked next to a car that had "clergy" on a window and several slogans on the bumper and elsewhere. I waited in the car while she went inside a
store. In a few minutes an older couple emerged from the store. I watched them approach down the aisle and noted their body language and dress. I bet myself these were the people from the
religious car. I was correct. The couple left, and a short time later my wife returned to the car. She asked me if I saw the people who were from the religious car. I replied yes, and I knew who they were when they entered the aisle. She said she thought she knew who they were, too, because of their manner and the way they were dressed. She described their clothing, and was correct. The  giveaway wasn't really their clothing, it was the smug look on their faces.

    Christ believed this subject was so important, He devoted 36 of 38 verses of Matt. chapter 23 to the self righteousness and false teaching of the scribes and Pharisees. Christ adapted Himself to the people surrounding Him. He was not an "elite", and He shunned the places reserved for VIPs at gatherings. He broke bread with saints and sinners. How can you "save" people if you exclude them from church? Church is where you are supposed to learn about God and His Word. It is not the place to go to show how "religious" you are.

    Our ministry is not housed in a traditional church "building," and we have no set congregation that supports our work. We reach out to people in several states and work one on one in our local community. People locally are in the poor to modest range, and work together in sharing food and labor. Only part of the neighborhood is saved, but most work together. We supply messages on a regular basis, and much of our time is spent counseling. The Holy Spirit
guides us in our work, and we expect the Holy Spirit to "touch" those He wants to contribute to the ministry. We put out one call for financial support, and it was answered by an anonymous donor who paid our taxes. People who are righteous don't have to assume a position of self righteousness. Only God needs to know you are following His direction.

    Good works is not just supporting a ministry or charity. It is  providing for a specific need. If you look at the explanation of works in the first part of this message, you see how Christ identifies the term. So now we get to your Christian rap sheet. And yes, you do have a Christian rap sheet. God awards crowns to people in Heaven. If you doubt this, check the following passages in scripture: 1 Cor. 9:25; Phil. 4:1; 1 Thess. 2:19; 2 Tim. 4:8; James 1:12; 1 Peter 5:4,
and Rev. 2:10. These are heavenly crowns, nothing like earthly crowns that eventually disintegrate. These are eternal awards, crowns of glory, earned through obedience to Christ and His teaching. They may mean nothing on earth, but in heaven, awards are eternal.

    Many times people think support and tithing is represented mainly through donations or other financial means. When it is used as a tax break, it violates Matt. 22:17-21. The entire story of Christ begins with scripture giving the reason Mary was going to Bethlehem. Christ spent His entire lifetime from birth to death paying taxes. It is not wrong to be generous financially to a ministry, but God examines the reason for generosity. You may not like this explanation, but it is the simple truth in how God assesses the donation: does it appear on your rap sheet? If the donation was to reduce taxes to any government, the purpose was to YOUR benefit as well as God's. If it was not to reduce taxes, it was to God's benefit. Before you delete this message, please have the patience to read a bit more about giving. If you give, give
anonymously. All money belongs to God, it's really not yours,

    The difference is explained in Luke 21:1-4. "And He looked up and  saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. (These were small copper coins, the smallest currency) So He said, '"Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood  that she had.'" This explanation makes it tough on generous givers and ministry workers. Serving God and Christ isn't easy. Look at scripture history. We name buildings and sports stadiums for the donors--people, and now corporations (who are considered a person, but don't resemble Christ as a likeness of God and the Son).  The glory goes not to God, but to a person with lots of money. 

    If you are a Christian, you do have a rap sheet in heaven. For the unsaved, there is also a rap sheet. There is a final judgment for them, so no one escapes a rap sheet. Your history is recorded, and that should tell us we need to study history to learn from mistakes. Your history on earth is recorded on earth and may be lost, but your history in Heaven is eternal.

Rev. Walbear