What Chair are You in?

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I would like to begin with saying I recommend that you visit the “My Testimony” link to the right and watch video #3 which will cover this topic of a “Chair 3 Christian” in more detail.  It is roughly 6 minutes long.

In many of my blog entries I have openly discussed that I grew up in a Christian home. I thought I was a Christian only to realize later that I did not have a personal relationship with God.  I have a passion to share my story, because I believe it is much more common than others care to acknowledge.  A majority of those people do not realize they may not have the relationship with Jesus they claim to have, just as I was unaware for years.  I am certainly not casting judgment. However, if I can grow up in a Christian home, attend and graduate from an evangelical university, work for that same evangelical university, closely with a great leader, Dr. Jerry Falwell, and not have a personal relationship with God, then it can happen to anyone.   In the book of Matthew, Matthew spent a lot of time on this subject of alerting individuals to the danger of thinking we are saved when we are not.  (Matt 5:20, 7:21-23, 13:20-21, 13:47-50, 22:10-14)

I heard a message one time about a “4 Chair” analogy.  The speaker started off by saying “the good news is, that all of us in this room sit in one of these four chairs. The bad news is, not all of these chairs are desirable positions to be in.” He then went on to explain each chair in detail. 

Chair 1: was a Christ follower who has a very passionate relationship with God, believed in heaven and hell, and did not want others to go there. They shared their faith openly and were passionate about God and loving others. The speaker made the analogy that this relationship was like a human relationship, when you first met your spouse and over those first few months and years how you were just crazy in love with them and you would do silly things for them, no matter how dumb it may have looked to your buddies etc. Chair one is the same way with God, they do not care what the world thinks of them, all they care about is their relationship with Him and wanting others to experience that same relationship.

Chair 2: was also a Christ follower, however, this chair had grown accustomed to God. Individuals in chair one make people in chair two uncomfortable. Chair two would love for chair one to compromise and tone down the enthusiasm. Chair two’s idea of being a “Christian” is being a good citizen on a daily basis. The speaker also went on to say how chair two is a picture of the church today…a group of “Christians” that have gotten used to God and forgotten their first love. Chair two should not even exist in the church today. There should only be chair one Christians.

Chair 4: was a non-believer, someone who knew they did not have a relationship with God and at this point did not want one. Why? A large part of this is because they are looking down at chair two, which is a picture of the church today. They see a group of people that have grown accustomed to God and are hypocrites. Now that is not the only reason chair four exists, but the picture of the church today in chair two is not radically changing lives today. My mother sits in chair four, and one of her biggest hurdles is the idea that she knows other Christians and she thinks they are a group of hypocrites. I politely tried to explain to my mother, that she could not look to an earthly example because Romans 3:23 says “ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. I went on to explain that she was not being very wise, because she was allowing the actions of others to determine where she will spend eternity.

Chair 3: was the most dangerous chair of all four chairs. Why? Because Chair 3 thinks they are Christ followers (saved), but they are not. This was me up until 2 ½ years ago. On the outside Chair 2 and Chair 3 look identical. They both act religious, do the right things, maybe pray or possibly even walked down an aisle and said a prayer with no change in their life. The bible is clear that there is a chair like this:

Matthew 7:22-24
22 On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ 23 But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws

Romans 8:18-19
  18 Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. 19 For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are

2 Timothy 3: 1-5 (especially verse 5)
 1 You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. 2 For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. 3 They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. 4 They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. 5 They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that

I read a statistic that said 77% of Americans would classify themselves as “Christian”, but only 43% attend church on a regular basis. The word “Christian” has become such a generic term that it is hard to determine if someone calls themselves a “Christian”. Does that mean they really have a personal relationship with God? I believe we have an epidemic problem in America of individuals who do not understand the true meaning of what it means to be a “Christian” or a Child of God. I believe we have a large population in the church today of Chair 3 Christians. It is not religion, it is a relationship. In my posting called “Symptoms are misleading, when will you find the root cause?”, I said “ I truly believe one of Satan’s most successful lies is to persuade church attendees and “religious” people or “Christians” to believe they are God’s children and have a personal relationship with God when in fact they truly do not.”

The Devil is not threatened by us going to church, acting religious, following a set of rules, spending time with other Christians, or even serving in the church. What he is threatened by is when we have a “real” relationship with Jesus Christ. Therefore, if he could get us to believe we truly are a child of God’s when we are not (Chair 3), then he successfully accomplished his goal.” I would say, based on the 77% statistic of so-called “Christians” who are not in church, that Satan is accomplishing his goal.

What a serious topic, this matter of an authentic Christian life. A decision for Jesus is not nearly so crucial as a life for Jesus!

The bible is also clear in stating that you can know who God’s children really are.

1 John 2 says “We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands.”

John 15:5 says “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

John 13:35 says :” By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another”

You need to become an internal fruit inspector of yourself (Matt: 7:15-20), which means: is there daily evidence in your life that show the fruits of the spirit that would lend us to know that we belong to God? (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, Galatians 5:22-23) My firm belief is that just like myself, there are many who walk around knowing what to say, when to say it, and acting how people expect a Christian to act, who are not even close to having a personal relationship with God. The reason I can talk so boldly about this is because it was me. If I can grow up in a Christian home, attend and graduate from an evangelical university, and work for that same evangelical university and not have a personal relationship with God, then it can happen to anyone.

Next Steps:
1. Test yourself and examine yourself (2 Cor. 13:5)
2. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few. (Matt 7:13-14)
3. You will know them by their fruits. (Matt 7:16)

I urge you to pray about this, if you have ever doubted your relationship, just ask God where you stand with Him. I assure you He will be more then willing to show you.