Unbuckling The Bible Belt

Unbuckling the Bible Belt

Before I start tonight, I want to point out that I’m going to be talking about politics and two candidates in particular, but this message is not really about politics. This message is about the Bible Belt and more importantly it is about you; where you will spend eternity and there are only two places: either Heaven or Hell. We were witnessing downtown one Friday night and toward the end of the night a really foul-mouthed atheist was cussing up a storm. We tried to engage him in conversation, but he didn’t want to talk. So I asked him about his t-shirt that he was wearing. It had the outline of the state of Missouri on it as well as marijuana in the picture and it said “Unbuckling the Bible Belt.” 

I was trying to engage the young man in a spiritual conversation so I asked him about his shirt. He said that his goal was to unbuckle the Bible Belt and then he laughed and said that he’s not the only one with that goal. Sadly, I have to agree with his assessment. I agree with him because evidently many professing Christians who live in the Bible Belt are also unbuckling the Bible Belt. I say this because Donald Trump is leading the Republican Party in the number of delegates so far. He lost to Ted Cruz in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas (all part of the Bible Belt), but Donald Trump won the rest of the Bible Belt states. This is sad and this is discouraging. Not only are devout atheists unbuckling the Bible Belt, but so are professing Christians.

I call them professing Christians because I don’t see how any true born-again believer; how a true follower of Jesus Christ could choose Trump over Cruz. Is Cruz perfect? Of course not! Do I agree with him completely? No. Does he lack discernment in allowing some weak Christians and false believers endorse him? Yes he lacks discernment. But he is head and shoulders the better choice for President than Donald Trump.

Ted Cruz appears to be a genuine Christian. He stands up for the rights of Christians. He stands up for the Constitution of the United States of America. He stands against Planned Parenthood and abortion. He is the candidate that true followers of Jesus should support.

Christian Characteristic

Earlier this month on social media I asked my Christian friends who voted for Trump to give me one Christian characteristic that Trump exhibits. I only asked for one. I even gave my friends the opportunity to send me a private message if they wanted to. Not a single person took me up on the offer. Why? Because to date, I still can’t find one single Christian value that describes Donald Trump.

He has been divorced three times, he has filed business bankruptcy four different times, he owns several gambling casinos and he even put a strip club in one of them!  What disciple of Jesus would do such a thing? No real follower of Christ would do such a thing. We are to shun evil and cling to the Lord. We came out of the darkness and into the light. We don’t go slithering back into darkness. Donald Trump is arrogant, greedy, proud, selfish, self-centered and he’s a bully. Every single one of these traits goes against Jesus. They are not Christ-like qualities.

Ted Cruz is the opposite of these qualities. He is humble, selfless, generous and principled. He’s not afraid to talk about his faith in Jesus. He is against Planned Parenthood. He doesn’t naively say (like Trump) that Planned Parenthood does some good. He doesn’t try to pacify the LGBT community. He hasn’t given thousands and thousands of dollars over the years to liberal Democrats –like Trump has done.

No, Ted Cruz is the exact opposite of Donald Trump. Yet, he lost every single Bible Belt state except for Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. Every single other Bible Belt state voted for Trump over Cruz, including Missouri. I am grieved over this. The Bible Belt is unbuckled. Apparently the Bible Belt is no more. We have a lot of wishy-washy, nilly-willy professing Christians in these states. A lot of people are counting on a little one time prayer for their Christianity and that little prayer will not save them.

Hell is Full Of…

Many of the old great preachers of the past used to say that Hell is full of people who said the sinner’s prayer and I believe them. Oh I have no doubt that some people have been genuinely saved who uttered this prayer. But I dare say the vast majority were never really converted. They weren’t really under Holy Ghost conviction. Somebody just manipulated them into repeating a prayer, maybe to keep from going to Hell after they die (nobody in their right mind would want to suffer the torments of Hell for all of eternity). Whatever their reason for saying the sinner’s prayer, way too many people are counting on that one-time religious experience to save them. I used to be one – I was a false convert. But there is no magical little prayer that gets you into Heaven.

This is why so many professing Christians leave the faith when they get to high school or college. They said a little prayer without God drawing them to Himself and when trials or temptations come their way, they fall away because they were never really converted. You could never convince me that my faith in Jesus is not real. You could never talk me out of my salvation. I am gloriously saved and that’s why I tell others about Jesus. I want to see others saved too.

But the Bible Belt is unbuckling because too many people have never been truly converted. They are merely counting on that one-time prayer or one-time religious experience. I was thinking the other day about Matthew 7:21-23 when Jesus said many will say in that day, Lord, Lord.

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity (Matthew 7:21-23).

Many, many people will call Jesus Lord on Judgment Day. Many people will die thinking that they are saved and they are not. Jesus said many will say Lord, Lord. But they don’t know the Lord. They have never surrendered their life to the LORD Jesus.  They call Him Lord, but they do not the things that He says. And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? (Luke 6:46)

Many will say Lord, Lord; but not only did they not surrender to the Lordship of Jesus, they also didn’t do the will of God the Father. What is His will? God’s will is that we repent and put our faith in Jesus. His will is that we submit to the Lordship of Jesus. His will is that we flee from sin and cling to Jesus. His will is that we deny ourselves and surrender our lives to Jesus. His will is that we empty ourselves of ourselves and that we are filled with the Holy Spirit.

But darkness and light don’t reside together. I’m not talking about sinless perfectionism; no, I’m talking about a desire to be holy because God is Holy. I’m talking about a desire to deny ourselves, pick up our cross and follow Jesus. I’m talking about a desire to have clean hands and a clean heart. I’m talking about a desire to be more Christ-like; a desire to live a godly life. I’m talking about how it grieves us when we sin. We don’t brag about sin. We aren’t proud of our sins. No we grieve over sin. We cry out for God to forgive us of our sins. It breaks our hearts when we sin against our Holy and righteous God.

Many people are going to be surprised when they die and end up in Hell. They call Jesus Lord, Lord, but they don’t follow Him. They have never repented and believed on the Lord Jesus. Many others are going to be surprised because they do good works. They are going to say Lord, Lord, but we fed the homeless. We donated money to charity. We volunteered at the local food bank. We did all these wonderful things. This just can’t be that we end up in Hell. We did so much for You, Jesus!

But the many described in Matthew 7:22 who are counting on their good works to save them will join the many Jesus described in Matthew 7:21 who were disobedient and never bowed the knee (oh the confessed with their tongue, but their hearts were far from Him), yes, they will join this other group in Hell after they die in their sins. You can’t be saved except through repentance and faith in the LORD Jesus. It is utter and complete surrender to the King of kings and the LORD of Lords.

What Are You Doing Tonight?

Oh, I’m pleading with you tonight to examine yourself. Are you saved? Have you turned from your sins and turned to Jesus? Yes you say? Then what are you doing out here tonight? Are you going to the bars? Are you living in sin? Are you a fornicator? Are you a liar? Are you a thief? Are you an idolater? Have you placed yourself above God? Are you a blasphemer? Are you self-righteous? Are you a covetous person? Do you lust? Are you counting on being as good as the next person to get you to Heaven? What sin is dragging you to Hell right now? If you die tonight, what sin are you hanging onto that would drag you straight to Hell?

Oh, don’t die in your sins as an unrepentant sinner. Don’t continue running down the broad road to Hell. Don’t wake up after you die and stand in front of the Lord Jesus and have Him look you right in the eyes and say  “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Stop working iniquity. Stop disobeying God. Stop giving Jesus lip service. Truly repent, turn from your sins and turn to Jesus. Confess and forsake your sins.

Surrender your life completely to Jesus tonight. Stop rebelling against Him. Put up the white flag of surrender tonight. Receive everlasting life. Your sins can be forgiven. You can receive the peace that surpasses all understanding. You can quit being an enemy of God and become His friend. Oh, trust in the only Savior. Trust in the Risen One. Come to Jesus tonight and be saved. Be saved. Today is the day of salvation. Repent and put your trust in Jesus. Only trust Him. Only trust Him, now. He will save you. He will save you. He will save you now.

A Fox News poll published March 23, 2016 shows that Cruz tops Trump by a 48-35 percent margin among “very” conservative voters. But the same poll shows that white evangelical Christians pick Trump over Cruz 43-39 percent. I don’t agree with this because true born-again believers shouldn’t pick an unrepentant sinner like Trump over a godly man like Cruz. There are way too many professing Christians that are saying Lord, Lord, but they do not know Jesus and He doesn’t know them. In other words, He is not their Lord and Savior. These statistics back up the unbuckling of the Bible Belt. The Bible Belt is broken because there are more professing Christians than real Bible believing Christians in these Midwestern and Southern states. There are many atheists in these states too. Are you a non-believer? Are you merely a professing Christian or are you a blood bought child of God? Are you saved? Have you  surrendered your life to the Lord Jesus Christ? I ask you tonight: where will you spend eternity?

(This message was lifted up in downtown Springfield, MO on March 25, 2016)