Stay in Class and Keep the Faith

Just because you sign up for a class, it doesn’t mean you automatically get credit for it. I had a friend in college who signed up for five classes one semester, a fairly typical 15 hour load. But Rodney wasn’t real interested in going to class. 

We had one class together, Economics 101. Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 9:00 a.m. with Prof. Ostrosky. We met in Edwards Hall, in Capen Auditorium on the campus of Illinois State University. There were more students in that class than in my entire high school. So if you missed a class now and then, it’s not like anyone noticed. But you kind of need to show up once in a while to know what’s going on. Like when the tests will be, and what information you’ll need to know for the tests. That kind of thing. 

Well, we had a test coming up and Rodney wasn’t exactly prepared for it. The night before as I was fervently studying (at least the way I recall it), Rodney was at a loss. It was just too late to cram for what he didn’t even know he needed to know. The tests were always multiple choice, so Rodney made a choice to go all “C.” That’s right, figuring he would at least get a few correct, Rodney decided to mark every answer “C.” 

As it turned out, he did get some right. When I told this story Sunday morning, I said he got six right. But I think it may have only been four. Either way, you can’t really expect much more. However, when Rodney found out that 12 of the answers on that test were “B,” you can imagine his frustration. Even 12 out of 20 is still a failing grade, but he was upset that he went with all C’s instead of B’s. 

Mind you, he wasn’t thinking, “You know, I really should have gone to class more. I really should have read the book. I really should have studied for this test.” No, he was mad because he picked “C” instead of “B.” 

It wasn’t long after this that Rodney dropped Economics 101. In fact, it wasn’t long before Rodney dropped three other classes, as well. By the end of the semester, Rodney was carrying just three credit hours. And it seems like one of those was bowling. He was a good guy, but not surprisingly, that was Rodney’s last semester at ISU. 

He signed up for the class, but he didn’t get credit for the class. 

Many “good” people sign up for salvation, too, but not all get credit for it. Just because you raised your hand at the end of a sermon or walked an aisle and shook a preacher’s hand, signed your name on a card or even got wet in a baptistery at some point in your life, it doesn’t automatically mean you’re saved. 

On the day of judgment there will be many people standing before God who think they’re good and going to heaven. They’ll have their church attendance records in hand, their contribution statements on file and many of their good deeds accounted for. But instead of hearing, “Well done, my good and faithful servant,” they will be shocked and mortified to hear, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness” (Matthew 7:23). It will not just be a few and not just some. The Bible says “many.” 

You may be able to keep up religious appearances for a long time. You may have fooled everyone around you and even deceived yourself. But the Lord knows your heart. He knows whether you’ve truly repented of your sins and surrendered your life in faith and obedience to Jesus as Savior and Lord. He knows if you’re walking faithfully in His ways and His will, according to His Word, or not. He knows those who are truly His. 

And those who do belong to Him will endure to the end because He will keep them from stumbling. They won’t give up, drop out or fall away. 

If you’ve wandered from the Lord, or never really knew Him, the time to come back is now. Run to Him while the day of His favor and salvation remains.