You can listen to the full audio of the message here: Lives Hidden With Christ - Appearance
How do you really know that you are walking with Jesus? How do you know that you are truly saved and following the narrow path? This is a hard, essential question.
For many of us, the answer we grew up with was a list of rules—explicit or implied. Don’t dance, don’t drink, don’t chew, and definitely don’t associate with those who do. We internalize these boundaries, believing that obedience to the rules equals authentic Christianity.
My father-in-law often tells a story about a preacher who made him feel that everything he enjoyed—playing cards, having an occasional drink, even slipping up and saying a bad word—was a sin. The message was clear: if you were having any fun, you couldn’t be a true Christian.
We crave assurance. We want to know that we are following Christ’s way, and to get that feeling of security, we create rules.
