When I listen to K-Love, it seems the majority of songs have a theme of “I’m sorry Lord, I’ve failed again, forgive me and lift me up!” There is room in the Christian life for such ballads and hymns. But where are the victory songs? Why so few?  We certainly can get behind someone who mopes and whines and does nothing but. There is a simple, obvious explanation to this condition: lack of victory. Jesus came so that we would be “more than conquerors” (Rom. 8:37) and that we could bring “every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor 10:5). He didn’t come so we could keep on sinning and keep saying sorry. Paul addressed his letters to the “saints of the church of ____” not the “sinners in ____ who are saved by grace, even though they continue on in their exact same sins, over and over and over again for years, and writing beautiful lamenting songs about it.” The New Testament as well as the writings of the early church fathers (the students of the apostles, and the students of the students of the apostles) all present the same scenario: a church victoriously rising out of sin, changing continuously to be “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).

One good reason we see so little victory in our personal Christianity is because we see so little challenge to our spiritual walk and therefore so little change in our lives. Church standards of conduct for believers are so low, that concepts of making our “calling and election sure” (2 Pet 1:10) by changing our behaviour to fit Scripture is a historical part of the “church” and not a contemporary fact. Let us be honest, any church pastor speaking forcefully from the pulpit to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling”(Phillipians 2:12) would be charged with legalism, not biblical accuracy! How would the modern, average church goer react to Tertullian, a 2^nd and 3^rd century church father who forced actors to quit their jobs because acting was part and parcel of leud, Pagan festivals:

“Why is it right to look on what it is disgraceful to do? How is it that the things which defile a man in going out of his mouth, are not regarded as doing so when they go in at his eyes and ears—when eyes and ears are the immediate attendants of the spirit? If you are going to forbid immorality, you’d better forbid the theater. What you reject in deed, you are not to bid welcome in word” (Tertullian, De Spectaculis, 17).

How would our MySpace, YouTube, T.V. saturated christian culture fair under Tertullian's or Paul's scrutiny?

There is no cost to conversion in the West. Christians are not asked to alter their lives or give up their sin. We have more freedom in our age and country to preach boldly about “sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment” (John 16:8) but we silently prosper and consume exactly like the world and seek to befriend it and never to speak audibly about the coming judgement. If you don't believe me, write down the last time you entered into a conversation with someone with the simple and only goal of clearly telling them about their guilt before God and their coming judgment? In the Gospel Mission for Asia, asian preachers are taught the basics of Scripture and sent right back to their home villages. The first thing they do is go into their own backyards, dig their own grave and kneel before it praying “Father, either a church in this town or me in this grave.” And they are not kidding. Surprise, the Asian Church is now God’s fastest, liveliest movement on the entire planet’s surface. I don't think our Lord is impressed with "40 days of purpose" or even the average, modern youth groups and college or young adult fellowships which are essentially internally oriented entertainment seeking movements. Are we even willing to be ostracized from our own families? Are we willing to endanger our employment? Where is the real, palpable sacrifice?

I’m not calling for legalism but a revival. A revival of historic, authentic, classic Christianity. The beauty of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that it works! It perfectly combines grace, personal freedom and victory. We retain our free agency even post-conversion. Much like a person healed of paralysis is now a healthy person who will gain strength and muscle from exercise. Similarly, a born again spirit will obtain increasing purity through the discipline of prayer, Scritpure study and obedience. Obedience of the old school variety. "Just Do It."

Listen, I'm guilty of this as much as you are. But I'm done listening to K-Love and feeling "positively encouraged" about my failures. Let us make absolutely sure that when death knocks and barges into our lives (and it will for ALL of us) that we are not caught off guard or dismayed, but anticipating our joyous reunion with our Lord, without the slightest worry about Him saying something frightening. Something along the lines of “I never knew you, depart from Me”