The Almost Christian
“Then Agrippa said to Paul, ‘You almost persuade me to become a Christian.’”~Acts 26:28
The word almost is an interesting word. It is a word that we sometimes use when we are delaying something. When we are not quite ready to commit. When we are procrastinating. When we can’t make up our minds at a restaurant, we will tell the waitress, “I am almost ready to decide, but not quite yet.”
Today there are a lot of people who see themselves as almost Christian.
Now, let’s be clear: either you are a Christian or you are not a Christian. You may be well on your way to becoming a Christian. You may be looking into the claims of Christ and investigating them. You may be highly interested in Christianity. But either you are or you are not a believer. And I bring this up because in Acts 26 we read of Herod Agrippa. He was so moved by Paul’s powerful and persuasive presentation of the gospel, that he said, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.”
According to polls, most Americans today would say they believe in God, in heaven, in miracles. They would say that Jesus is the Son of God and that He rose from the dead. But many of these same people don’t believe that the Bible is completely accurate. They are not convinced that Jesus was sinless. Or they deny the existence of Satan. They approach Christianity like a salad bar, saying, “I will have a little forgiveness and a little mercy, but I am going to pass on the conviction and the guilt.”
Listen: Christianity is a package deal. The Bible is the source of truth, and it is not for us to pick and choose which portions we will agree with.
At the end of the day, Herod Agrippa turned and walked away from the gospel; his eternal destination did not change.
When it comes to being a Christian, almost doesn’t cut it.
Copyright © 2016 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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