Many of us Christians are walking a spiritual fence.

We walk the fence when we are not one hundred percent convinced that God is God. We are torn between believing what the Bible says and what the world says.

And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word.  (2 Kings 18:21)

We walk the fence when we are lukewarm in our faith.  We may love God, but we equally love the world. We are not on fire for either side. Love for God keeps us from fully entering the world and love for the world keeps us from fully committing ourselves to God.

You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. (James 4:4)

We walk the fence when we want it all. We want the blessings, protection, and love that God offers, and we also want all the pleasures and self-rule the world offers.

For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,  having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.  (2 Timothy 3:3-5)

We walk the fence when we are delusional or misinformed. Maybe we think God doesn’t see us or that He won’t hold us accountable for our decisions. Maybe we think a loving God wouldn’t send anyone to hell, or maybe we think hell doesn’t exist at all. Maybe we think God is a cruel tyrant who loves to kill and not worthy of our full devotion.  Maybe we base our beliefs about God on the behavior of those who claim to follow Him. Or maybe we base our faith on ‘once saved always saved’.

For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. (1 Timothy 4:3)

We may have just gotten on the fence, or we may have been walking it for years. We may even get up and down depending on circumstances.

But walking the fence for any length of time is dangerous.

If we are not committed to one side or the other or if we are lukewarm about our faith, we are in danger of the deception Satan is unleashing on the world today.  We can be easily fooled by the half-truths and shows of power Satan uses. And once he has us fooled, it’s not too hard to lead us to the wide gate where we will have plenty of company making that entrance seem the right way.

 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. (Revelation 12:9)

The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.  Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12)

“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter it are many.” (Matthew 7:13)

I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. (John 10:9)

If we are lukewarm, we are also in danger of being rejected by Jesus.

So, because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. (Revelation 3:16)

If we want it all, we are in danger of losing salvation. We say we are Christ-followers, but we pick and choose which of His ways we will follow, rationalizing why we reject the rest. We sing about living holy lives on Sunday, then lie, cheat, and spread hate the rest of the week. We say we love God, but we hate those who are different than us and we support the things He hates.

They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work. (Titus 1:16)

There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer  or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you. You shall be blameless before the Lord your God, for these nations, which you are about to dispossess, listen to fortune-tellers and to diviners. But as for you, the Lord your God has not allowed you to do this. (Deut 18:10-14)

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ (Matthew 7:21-23)

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:15-17)

If we are delusional or misinformed, we are in danger of judgment.

If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. (John 15:22)

If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. (1 John 4:29)

The Israelites frequently walked the fence. They wanted what God offered, sacrificing to Him and declaring Him LORD, but they also wanted what the other nation’s gods were said to offer and made sacrifices to them. (2 Kings 17:41)

It didn’t end well for them.

And, according to the Bible, it’s not going to end well for the multitude of people who choose the world.

But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” (Revelation 21:8)

It’s time to get off the fence.

It’s time to decide if we want God or the world. And by the world, I mean Satan, who is currently the god of this world. (2 Corinthians 4:4)

It’s time to decide, with eyes fully open, who we will worship and serve: The Most High God who created and loves us or Satan who is out to destroy us.

but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. (John 10:10)

It’s time to get off the fence.

Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, and the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:14-15)