The almost Christian
Ariana Grande has a catchy yet melancholic song that sums up this Sunday’s sermon. The song: Almost is Never Enough. While Ariana was singing about love, this Sunday pastor Febby shared that almost is never enough for Christians too.
In Acts 26:24-29, there are three men who represent three totally different types of people: Festus, a treasury officer, who represents those who resent Jesus; Paul who represents those who are altogether for Jesus; and finally, representing the almost Christian: King Agrippa.
The reality of the almost Christian
The almost Christian is a great tragedy and I’m sure we know at least one almost Christian in our lives. They may have started off as an unbeliever who longs to know more about the purpose or their Creator. And when they faced these kinds of moral dilemmas, they might have turned to a trusted Christian friend who used two of the most persuasive tools in our arsenal:
the Bible - it’s God’s wise words that persuade us (2 Timothy 3:15) and we know that the Bible’s fundamental design is to reveal the glory and love of our good God (John 20:31) so that man would recognise his own sin and turn to God’s loveliness.
personal testimony - there is power in your testimony as there was in Paul’s testimony; knowing what God is like means that we need to share this information with others (2 Corinthians 5:11).
The reasons for the almost Christian
Yet despite hearing personal testimonies or reading Scripture, the almost Christian always finds reasons to never fully take that leap of faith. From Acts 26, we can assume there were at least four universal reasons King Agrippa was never fully persuaded to be a Christian.
The fear of giving up sin - the love of sin causes a lot of people to be an almost Christian, but we know that to be a believer, we must fully repent of our sins (Luke 13:3).
The fear of man - like Agrippa after hearing Festes thoughts on Paul and Christianity (or the Way as it was known then), the almost Christian allows the opinions of others to dictate their beliefs.
The fear of paying the price - as believers, we know that there is a cost to giving up your life (Luke 9:23); the almost Christian may not be willing to pay the price .
The unwillingness to have faith in Christ - in the end, there is only one person Agrippa can blame for not being saved… himself; salvation is our own responsibility that takes an emotional decision, a mental decision and a willingness to do.
The results of the almost Christian
As believers we truly do believe that almost is never enough when it comes to knowing our God. As Paul says in Acts 26:2, he is happy despite all the trials and challenges he faced as a Christian (and trust us, he saw plenty of those). He had an unexplainable joy that was beyond compare. Don’t miss this same joy of being saved. Ask yourself today, do you know you need Jesus? Do you have a desire to be saved? Don’t settle for almost.
Dear our Father in Heaven,
Thank You that You are good and that You send the Holy Spirit to us so we can know these things. I pray that I would no longer be an almost Christian; that I would embrace and know more of You. I pray for all the almost Christians in my life; that the Spirit would do its work through me for their salvation.
In Jesus’ name I pray,
Amen.