Shame is when you have a self-pity party after you've done something bad to someone instead of caring about that person's heart. If you make your negative behavior more about how good of a person you think you are, about your growth or lack of it, or about how much you sin you have utterly missed love. The very concept of having sin & sinning causes you to look at yourself more than you look at those your actions affect. That is why sin consciousness (counting your sins, counting other people's sins, labeling actions as sins) is a terrible thing. It makes you beat yourself up, beat others up, & believe that God wants to beat everybody up.
Sin consciousness is living by the knowledge of good & evil. If you live that way you beat yourself up with guilt, shame, hatred, & fear for what you think is wrong. You abuse others verbally, you dehumanize them & maybe even demonize them because you think they are "wrong" & anything that is "wrong" is evil regardless of how small or unimpactful it is. You believe God does the same thing. You, whether you'd admit it aloud or not, believe God wants you to hate yourself & hate others for doing wrong & believing wrong things. Here's a Good News Flash for you! God doesn't count anyone's sins on this entire planet, He doesn't charge a single one of us with sin. He does however, like a loving father with his child sitting on his lap, count every hair on our heads.
Yes there are still harmful things out there, of course it is still possible to be wrong about things & do wrong things. Go to Jesus, the tree of life, to know what to believe & do. Most of the correction that people offer is based either in pride or in fear. If you're angry at a person you're correcting in pride. If you're angry at what is harming the person, hoping to free them from it you're correcting in love. Just because someone is wrong doesn't mean now is the right time to correct them. Ask God what to do. Better yet start off by asking God if you are wrong.
Father's want their children to know how to live life, to be safe, successful, & satisfied. Look through the lens of life, the spiritual lens of Jesus. You can be wrong about what is wrong & even wrong about what is right. Throw out your piece of paper that lists everything that is good & bad. Ask your Father to teach you the truth about life. We love playing genius & idiot at the same time. Playing the genius who needs to teach everyone else how to live then playing the self-pitying idiot when we screw up. Throw away all of your labels for yourself & others & just BE a son or a daughter. Trust that your Father is awesome. Not the religiously scary awesome that has been shoved down our throats, or get real, willingly chugged by ourselves. No, I'm talking true awesomeness. Trust that your Father is awesome at being YOUR Father.
Showing posts with label behavior. Show all posts
Showing posts with label behavior. Show all posts
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Why It is Unhealthy to Tie Your Behavior to Your Identity, Part 1
Tying behavior to identity.. makes God's love seem utterly conditional
Conditional love is based either on the behavior of the one loved or the whims of the lover. God is consistent & trustworthy. He is FAITHFUL. Faithful means He is loyal to love you. "The Lord’s lovingkindnesses certainly never cease because His compassions never fail. His love, kindness, and compassion are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness O Lord" (Lamentations 3:22-23). So God doesn't love based on whims or moods. "His love endures forever" (1 Chronicles 16:34). Don't forget that His love is aimed at you. Many will agree that God is loving but they will also feel like they are the exception to His enduring love. Why? Because they think His love is conditional based on their behavior.
Tying behavior to identity makes you see your identity as conditional to your behavior, you are only good if you act good, etc. God does not see you this way. He has made a new you, an eternal you that is perfect as He is perfect. He has no reason to not love you. He has taken all of your sins away & has given you a perfect spirit. But His love is so much better than that, He didn't start loving you when you were reborn & perfected. "Christ died for the ungodly. He demonstrated His love for us by dying for us while we were still sinners" (Romans 5:6-8). Knowing the worst behavior of your life He still loved you enough to suffer & die for you. What room is there left to think that His love is now conditional depending upon your behavior? There is no room. His love doesn't depend on your behavior or your identity. His love is His choice & He loves you for you, not for what you've done or can do, not for what you have been, are, or will become. You cannot be separated from His love (Romans 8:33-39). That means you are already in & next to His love. "The love of Christ surrounds us & completely holds us" (2 Corinthians 5:14).
Tying behavior to identity.. sees righteousness, holiness, worthiness, etc. as things that come and go
“Righteousness from God comes through trust in Jesus Christ to all who trust. All are justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:22,24). “Righteousness is a gift” (Romans 5:17). "The gifts of God are irrevocable" (Romans 11:29). Righteousness is His gift to us. "It is God that justifies (makes people righteous)" not our own behavior (Romans 8:33). Identity comes from birth not from behavior. Ephesians 4:24 says, "When your new man (spirit) is born you are created in the likeness of God as truly righteous and truly holy."
Righteous means "right with God." The mindset that sees behavior tied to identity believes in & endorses paradigms not found in scripture such as, "You're only right with God when you confess your sins to Him," & "You are only right with God if you have repented of recent sins" & "You have to ask God for forgiveness to be right with Him." No such ideas or relative language appears in scripture. Those ideas are all based on false doctrines, twists of scripture, out of context scripture, & mistranslations that are centuries old. God does not revoke your standing with Him. He doesn't revoke His feelings of favor (grace) for you when you don't behave well. All of God's gifts are irrevocable because they are born into who you are when your spirit is reborn. In rebirth you have become one spirit with Him (1 Corinthians 6:17, Ephesians 4:4, 1 John 4:17). He cannot deny Himself (2 Timothy 2:13) & you are now a part of Him. He isn't going to deny you of any of the gifts He has given you. His gifts are righteousness (justification), holiness, worthiness, & so much more. Sinful behavior cannot remove any of these things from you even for a moment. If you believe it can please stop believing that lie, it is destroying you & will continue to do so.
Tying behavior to identity.. limits how we see our righteousness
The number one thing I've heard from people against our spiritual identity being a reality is that our righteousness/justification is only "legal righteousness." Another way of saying this is that we are only "positionally righteous." This is a very harmful mindset. While legal righteousness is a part of our righteousness to have it stop there leaves room for us to make excuses to devalue ourselves based on our behavior. It does not recognize the beauty of what it means to be born again. People who see themselves as only legally righteous say things like, "We are righteous because God calls us righteous but for no other reason" & think "We aren't really righteous."
However most who believe in this still say, "When God sees us He sees Christ." Sadly limiting our righteousness as legal or positional makes that statement merely lip service because these people believe God sees sin in us. They believe we are sinners who sin & flesh is part of our identity. God does not see Christ as sinful or in sin. They may even go so far as to say "Christ is our identity" but in practice they hold no such belief. If you actually believe Christ is our new identity how then do you believe we can sin with that identity? How can you believe your identity is still a sinner? If God sees us as He sees Christ why should we see ourselves any different? Why should I not see myself with God's perfect eyes?
Those who hold to positional identity without recognizing spiritual identity ultimately believe, "God declared me righteous (justified me) but I'm not really righteous. God only loves me enough to pretend that I am righteous. I cannot be righteous unless I behave righteously all the time. God is lying to Himself & to me when He calls me righteous & holy." So for some positional identity/legal righteousness is a cop out just so you can say, "I believe the Bible" without actually having to change your mind about yourself or the bulk of how God sees you.
Tying behavior to identity.. centers life on sin instead of Christ & empowers sin
Actions of sin have been taught to be the deciding factor of whether or not you have right standing with God or fellowship with God. It is taught that your behavior can change how God feels about you, that you can lose favor with Him or even that He can love you less based on your actions. When you believe that you put the ball in sin's court & essentially say, "rule me sin." If you think sinful behavior can separate you from God's love, approval, forgiveness, blessings, etc you have had the white flag thrown up to sin nearly your whole life. You see sin as more powerful than the cross, the blood, the resurrection, the Spirit, & God Himself. There is no talking your way out of this because if you believe sin can separate you from God in any way you believe your behavior is more powerful than God Himself!! Nothing can separate you from God's love (Romans 8:33-39). God is love. If we cannot be separated from His love we cannot be separated from Him!!
Those who fear that sin is detrimental to God's view of them will end up focusing on sin most of the time. Instead of enjoying and sharing the love of Christ the goal of their life is to "sin less." Sin, flesh, & the law (which empowers sin) is the triune god of religion. They are focused on, preached on, prayed about. The mind keeps sin, confession, & repentance logs. Christ and all He has given us is ignored in practice. Is your thought life consumed with whether or not you sin or is it consumed with the love, peace, & joy of our Lord?
Conditional love is based either on the behavior of the one loved or the whims of the lover. God is consistent & trustworthy. He is FAITHFUL. Faithful means He is loyal to love you. "The Lord’s lovingkindnesses certainly never cease because His compassions never fail. His love, kindness, and compassion are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness O Lord" (Lamentations 3:22-23). So God doesn't love based on whims or moods. "His love endures forever" (1 Chronicles 16:34). Don't forget that His love is aimed at you. Many will agree that God is loving but they will also feel like they are the exception to His enduring love. Why? Because they think His love is conditional based on their behavior.
Tying behavior to identity makes you see your identity as conditional to your behavior, you are only good if you act good, etc. God does not see you this way. He has made a new you, an eternal you that is perfect as He is perfect. He has no reason to not love you. He has taken all of your sins away & has given you a perfect spirit. But His love is so much better than that, He didn't start loving you when you were reborn & perfected. "Christ died for the ungodly. He demonstrated His love for us by dying for us while we were still sinners" (Romans 5:6-8). Knowing the worst behavior of your life He still loved you enough to suffer & die for you. What room is there left to think that His love is now conditional depending upon your behavior? There is no room. His love doesn't depend on your behavior or your identity. His love is His choice & He loves you for you, not for what you've done or can do, not for what you have been, are, or will become. You cannot be separated from His love (Romans 8:33-39). That means you are already in & next to His love. "The love of Christ surrounds us & completely holds us" (2 Corinthians 5:14).
Tying behavior to identity.. sees righteousness, holiness, worthiness, etc. as things that come and go
“Righteousness from God comes through trust in Jesus Christ to all who trust. All are justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:22,24). “Righteousness is a gift” (Romans 5:17). "The gifts of God are irrevocable" (Romans 11:29). Righteousness is His gift to us. "It is God that justifies (makes people righteous)" not our own behavior (Romans 8:33). Identity comes from birth not from behavior. Ephesians 4:24 says, "When your new man (spirit) is born you are created in the likeness of God as truly righteous and truly holy."
Righteous means "right with God." The mindset that sees behavior tied to identity believes in & endorses paradigms not found in scripture such as, "You're only right with God when you confess your sins to Him," & "You are only right with God if you have repented of recent sins" & "You have to ask God for forgiveness to be right with Him." No such ideas or relative language appears in scripture. Those ideas are all based on false doctrines, twists of scripture, out of context scripture, & mistranslations that are centuries old. God does not revoke your standing with Him. He doesn't revoke His feelings of favor (grace) for you when you don't behave well. All of God's gifts are irrevocable because they are born into who you are when your spirit is reborn. In rebirth you have become one spirit with Him (1 Corinthians 6:17, Ephesians 4:4, 1 John 4:17). He cannot deny Himself (2 Timothy 2:13) & you are now a part of Him. He isn't going to deny you of any of the gifts He has given you. His gifts are righteousness (justification), holiness, worthiness, & so much more. Sinful behavior cannot remove any of these things from you even for a moment. If you believe it can please stop believing that lie, it is destroying you & will continue to do so.
Tying behavior to identity.. limits how we see our righteousness
The number one thing I've heard from people against our spiritual identity being a reality is that our righteousness/justification is only "legal righteousness." Another way of saying this is that we are only "positionally righteous." This is a very harmful mindset. While legal righteousness is a part of our righteousness to have it stop there leaves room for us to make excuses to devalue ourselves based on our behavior. It does not recognize the beauty of what it means to be born again. People who see themselves as only legally righteous say things like, "We are righteous because God calls us righteous but for no other reason" & think "We aren't really righteous."
However most who believe in this still say, "When God sees us He sees Christ." Sadly limiting our righteousness as legal or positional makes that statement merely lip service because these people believe God sees sin in us. They believe we are sinners who sin & flesh is part of our identity. God does not see Christ as sinful or in sin. They may even go so far as to say "Christ is our identity" but in practice they hold no such belief. If you actually believe Christ is our new identity how then do you believe we can sin with that identity? How can you believe your identity is still a sinner? If God sees us as He sees Christ why should we see ourselves any different? Why should I not see myself with God's perfect eyes?
Those who hold to positional identity without recognizing spiritual identity ultimately believe, "God declared me righteous (justified me) but I'm not really righteous. God only loves me enough to pretend that I am righteous. I cannot be righteous unless I behave righteously all the time. God is lying to Himself & to me when He calls me righteous & holy." So for some positional identity/legal righteousness is a cop out just so you can say, "I believe the Bible" without actually having to change your mind about yourself or the bulk of how God sees you.
Tying behavior to identity.. centers life on sin instead of Christ & empowers sin
Actions of sin have been taught to be the deciding factor of whether or not you have right standing with God or fellowship with God. It is taught that your behavior can change how God feels about you, that you can lose favor with Him or even that He can love you less based on your actions. When you believe that you put the ball in sin's court & essentially say, "rule me sin." If you think sinful behavior can separate you from God's love, approval, forgiveness, blessings, etc you have had the white flag thrown up to sin nearly your whole life. You see sin as more powerful than the cross, the blood, the resurrection, the Spirit, & God Himself. There is no talking your way out of this because if you believe sin can separate you from God in any way you believe your behavior is more powerful than God Himself!! Nothing can separate you from God's love (Romans 8:33-39). God is love. If we cannot be separated from His love we cannot be separated from Him!!
Those who fear that sin is detrimental to God's view of them will end up focusing on sin most of the time. Instead of enjoying and sharing the love of Christ the goal of their life is to "sin less." Sin, flesh, & the law (which empowers sin) is the triune god of religion. They are focused on, preached on, prayed about. The mind keeps sin, confession, & repentance logs. Christ and all He has given us is ignored in practice. Is your thought life consumed with whether or not you sin or is it consumed with the love, peace, & joy of our Lord?
Friday, May 18, 2012
Our True Identity & True Victory
As a Christian God does not identify you by your behavior but by
the fact that you have a reborn spirit, that you are His child. God's
children have been "perfected for all time" (Hebrews 10:14). You are
perfect in God's eyes and God's eyes are the ones that count not our
human eyes that judge everything based on behavior.
Romans 10:4 tells us, "Jesus Christ is the end of the law for everyone who trusts Him." Romans 4:15 says, "Where there is no law there is no sin." Romans 5:13 says, "Sin is not charged when there is no law." We still do harmful things but Jesus took sin away, He nailed it to the cross with the law.
"Jesus was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. Everyone who resides in him does not sin; everyone who sins has neither seen him nor known him. Everyone who has been born of God does not practice sin, because God’s seed resides in him, and thus he is not able to sin, because he has been fathered by God. We know that no one who is born of God sins; but Jesus who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him." (1 John 3:5-6,9; 5:18)
That is talking about you Christians, your spirit (the only part of you that is born of God) is perfect and sinless. That is what it means to be a child of God. The bible says to not regard anyone, including yourself, according to the flesh (2 Corinthians 5:16). While my flesh still produces harmful actions I am perfect. I am sinless. Just like Jesus prayed for me to be in John 17:11 I am one with God. If you are a child of God you are too. 1 Corinthians 15:17 says, "Because Jesus rose from the dead we are not in our sins!!" We are IN CHRIST.
Your victory is Christ's victory. He has already won. You just need to grow in understanding of His love so you can join in His victory party. Your mind doesn't have to be fully straight & your heart doesn't have to be strong. He won for the harassed and helpless. Join me & celebrate in Jesus's victory party!
Related Posts:
God's Old Target, Our Own Targets, Jesus's Victory Party
Sin? Forgetaboutit!
Romans 10:4 tells us, "Jesus Christ is the end of the law for everyone who trusts Him." Romans 4:15 says, "Where there is no law there is no sin." Romans 5:13 says, "Sin is not charged when there is no law." We still do harmful things but Jesus took sin away, He nailed it to the cross with the law.
"Jesus was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. Everyone who resides in him does not sin; everyone who sins has neither seen him nor known him. Everyone who has been born of God does not practice sin, because God’s seed resides in him, and thus he is not able to sin, because he has been fathered by God. We know that no one who is born of God sins; but Jesus who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him." (1 John 3:5-6,9; 5:18)
That is talking about you Christians, your spirit (the only part of you that is born of God) is perfect and sinless. That is what it means to be a child of God. The bible says to not regard anyone, including yourself, according to the flesh (2 Corinthians 5:16). While my flesh still produces harmful actions I am perfect. I am sinless. Just like Jesus prayed for me to be in John 17:11 I am one with God. If you are a child of God you are too. 1 Corinthians 15:17 says, "Because Jesus rose from the dead we are not in our sins!!" We are IN CHRIST.
Your victory is Christ's victory. He has already won. You just need to grow in understanding of His love so you can join in His victory party. Your mind doesn't have to be fully straight & your heart doesn't have to be strong. He won for the harassed and helpless. Join me & celebrate in Jesus's victory party!
Related Posts:
God's Old Target, Our Own Targets, Jesus's Victory Party
Sin? Forgetaboutit!
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