What would you say is the greatest enemy of the Christian faith? Many of us would point to Satan, or to the moral decline of our nation, or to society's influences that diminish the role of God, as our greatest enemies. However, I believe that our most dangerous threat doesn't come from outside the faith. Instead, our greatest enemy is complacency and apathy in the hearts of believers. Apathy is the enemy that is destroying the church.

What is apathy? The dictionary defines apathy as "lack of feeling or emotion; impassiveness; lack of interest or concern; indifference." Do you believe that some Christians are living apathetic spiritual lives? I do. Although lost people are living all around us, some of us don't care enough to go out and help bring them to the Lord. Although people are in poor physical health, some of us don't care enough to call them, visit them, or pray for them.

Why do you suppose there are close to one hundred million church members in America, and yet they are not making the moral and spiritual impact they should? Why is it that on Sunday morning thousands of churches have more empty pews than full? If God is really a prayer-answering God, and if He meant for us to ask, seek, and knock, why is there so little genuine praying going on? If you and I believe there is a heaven and a hell, why do we keep so quiet about the gospel of Jesus Christ? If "there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved," then why are we not sharing the message of His amazing grace? Why are we keeping the Good News to ourselves?

There is a common answer to all of those questions. And the answer is that God's people, most of them, have made a decision about Jesus…but have never made a commitment to Him. There is a vast difference between a decision to do something and a commitment. Many people who are saved were convicted by the Holy Spirit, and the Word of God and made these kinds of decisions: a. "I don't want to go to hell." b. "I want to go to heaven when I die." c. "I'm sick and tired of this mess I'm in." d. "I'm upset about the way I've been living." e. "I want help, and I want a new life."

They made a decision to receive the Lord as their Savior. They did not want to spend eternity in hell. They wanted to enter heaven; they wanted to leave that disgusting old life. They desired God's forgiveness, so they received it. They were baptized for the forgiveness of their sins, and that was a definite decision. But yet, many of these Christians are not living fruitful and devoted lives. Why So?

Because no one explained to them the difference between a decision to do something and a commitment to Christ. As Christians, we must not only make a decision to follow Jesus, we must commit our lives to Him. Read Luke 14:28-33;In this passage, Jesus is talking about commitment. He is saying that we must count the cost before we become His disciples. In other words, He is saying, if we are not willing to give up everything we have for Him, then we might as well not even start. Commitment is vitally important to Jesus.

What does commitment mean? There are about ten different Greek words that are translated commitment in the New Testament. Without going into much detail, commitment means, "to turn something over to someone." It implied committing it to them, yielding to them, surrendering to them, entrusting it to them, and placing it at their disposal. When a person makes a commitment in the New Testament, it is a fully devoted commitment. We cannot be partially committed, or sort of committed. We are either committed or not committed. My friends, many of us have already made the decision to follow Jesus, now it is time for us to commit our lives to Him. Part Two Tomorrow, Lord willing.