I don't remember Jesus telling his disciples to police the world's morality. I don't remember Him telling His followers to express what they believed to be right & wrong (the tree of the knowledge of good & evil is what got us into this mess). I do remember Him telling them to spread the good news about what He has done & the good news that God is not counting people's sins against them (2 Corinthians 5:19).
It is no wonder why people lash out at Christians. Countless people have been hurt by religious people (many of those that were hurt were even Christians). I know of countless people that were hurt by the "Christian religion" yet I can count zero people I know of that were hurt by homosexuals (a group Christians are very interested in policing).
So when people mock Christianity they aren't mocking the real Jesus, they are mocking the false idea of God that religion has put out there. They are lashing back at the preachers that condemned them instead of preaching God's grace. They are mocking those who were intolerant towards them by every definition of the word. Christians, from my experience, are the least tolerant people on earth. I don't know of any other group of people (not even teenagers) that would abandon long friendships over intellectual disagreements, club (church) membership, or loyalty to human leaders.
Most people mock Christianity, not because they are wicked, but because what people know of as Christianity is wicked. The world criticizes Christians for being unloving.. the "Christian religion" is so wicked that many atheists know more about what love is than many professing Christians. The majority of atheists I've come across don't reject God based on science, they reject Him based on the picture churches & the bible (yes the bible) have painted of Him. They reject that god because to them, he is not loving enough!
And that's what churchianity, religion, Satan's substitute, the institutional church, the whore of Babylon, or whatever you want to call it, amounts to. People's reaction is "No thanks, your God isn't loving enough(!)"
"God is love" is such a universal truth that one of these three things are what happen most often:
1. When people don't see love they don't see God so they reject His existence.
2. People are lied to about what love is so they accept the existence of God yet embrace religions that misrepresent Him & His love.
3. People see His love & embrace it & live the abundant life Jesus promised.
Look at why Jesus said He came, "I made The Father known so that the love with which the Father has loved Me might be in people" (John 17:26). The reality is that God saves people so He can "forever show us the exceedingly abundant riches of His love for us, & the immensely extravagant riches of His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:7).
Showing posts with label churchianity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label churchianity. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Jesus or Traditions?
That's strange... I don't remember Jesus ever talking about pastors, preachers, reverends, sermons, or seminaries.
But I do remember Him saying, "Do not be called leaders because Christ is your only leader & you are all brothers." (Matthew 23:10)
Hmmm.. I don't remember Jesus ever saying anything about church services, church buildings, offering plates, classes, or sunday school. I don't even remember Him telling anyone to read the bible.
But I do remember Him saying, "The traditions of men stop the truth of God." (Mark 7:13)
I know Christians today talk about these things all the time. It seems like if these things were essential Jesus would have talked about them ALL the time too. It seems like if these things were important Jesus would have said SOMETHING.
See our Leadership page for related posts
But I do remember Him saying, "Do not be called leaders because Christ is your only leader & you are all brothers." (Matthew 23:10)
Hmmm.. I don't remember Jesus ever saying anything about church services, church buildings, offering plates, classes, or sunday school. I don't even remember Him telling anyone to read the bible.
But I do remember Him saying, "The traditions of men stop the truth of God." (Mark 7:13)
I know Christians today talk about these things all the time. It seems like if these things were essential Jesus would have talked about them ALL the time too. It seems like if these things were important Jesus would have said SOMETHING.
See our Leadership page for related posts
Friday, March 8, 2013
Reality check: Is sin your god?
Sin is the focal point & primary topic of the religion of Christianity. Sin is the god of Christianity. Sin is the ultimate false god that people will do anything they can to hold onto. By "hold onto sin" I don't mean they'll keep doing immoral things. I mean they'll keep condemning themselves & others for sin as if Jesus never existed.
The church loves sin more than it loves Christ. But not sin in the sense that they love to steal & covet. What they love is the power of sin. They love to believe that it has power over them & God holds it against them. They will ignore & outright deny everything Christ accomplished on the cross & every drop of God's blood & loving character, if necessary, to hold onto the idea that sin has power over them & God charges them with sin. They will paint God as weak, petty, & immature all to desperately clutch onto the very idea that is destroying them. Hanging onto the concept of sin having power over you & being charged against you is the equivalent to hanging onto cancer in the face of being offered a cure. It is rejoicing over the destructive radiation treatment while refusing to be free from cancer by the true cure. I've seen it time & time again over the past 2 years.
What kind of mindset must a child have to defend & rejoice over the idea that their father holds every conceivably wrong thing against them, that he guilt trips them by pointing out every one of their faults repeatedly, that he punishes them because of his anger over what they've done, that he takes what he has freely given away from them, that he refuses to relate to them whenever they do a single thing he doesn't like? Your average child of God has that mindset because they believe so many lies about their Father. They believe that sin is more powerful than His love.
What would your child have to do for you to stop talking to them & utterly ignore them until they apologize? According to the doctrine of "broken fellowship" God will do that to you if you so much as have a crude thought enter into your head. Thus it is taught that God cares more about how you behave than who you are as a person, than who you are as His child. But the complete opposite is true!
The power of sin is the law. The law brings consciousness of sin. Sin is powerless against those who are not under the law, those who are under grace & know they are cleansed thus they no longer have a consciousness of sins. They are simply alive to God in Christ Jesus, they are LOVE conscious.
The real God has already taken care of sin to where we need not think about it ever again. If we just live loved by Him in this world His love will flow out to this world.
The church loves sin more than it loves Christ. But not sin in the sense that they love to steal & covet. What they love is the power of sin. They love to believe that it has power over them & God holds it against them. They will ignore & outright deny everything Christ accomplished on the cross & every drop of God's blood & loving character, if necessary, to hold onto the idea that sin has power over them & God charges them with sin. They will paint God as weak, petty, & immature all to desperately clutch onto the very idea that is destroying them. Hanging onto the concept of sin having power over you & being charged against you is the equivalent to hanging onto cancer in the face of being offered a cure. It is rejoicing over the destructive radiation treatment while refusing to be free from cancer by the true cure. I've seen it time & time again over the past 2 years.
What kind of mindset must a child have to defend & rejoice over the idea that their father holds every conceivably wrong thing against them, that he guilt trips them by pointing out every one of their faults repeatedly, that he punishes them because of his anger over what they've done, that he takes what he has freely given away from them, that he refuses to relate to them whenever they do a single thing he doesn't like? Your average child of God has that mindset because they believe so many lies about their Father. They believe that sin is more powerful than His love.
What would your child have to do for you to stop talking to them & utterly ignore them until they apologize? According to the doctrine of "broken fellowship" God will do that to you if you so much as have a crude thought enter into your head. Thus it is taught that God cares more about how you behave than who you are as a person, than who you are as His child. But the complete opposite is true!
The power of sin is the law. The law brings consciousness of sin. Sin is powerless against those who are not under the law, those who are under grace & know they are cleansed thus they no longer have a consciousness of sins. They are simply alive to God in Christ Jesus, they are LOVE conscious.
The real God has already taken care of sin to where we need not think about it ever again. If we just live loved by Him in this world His love will flow out to this world.
Monday, January 28, 2013
Satan Wants You to Make Promises to God
You won't see anyone being told to "make a commitment to God" in the New Testament. A commitment is basically a promise or set of promises. Jesus essentially said in Matthew 5:33-37, "Don't make promises to God. If He approaches you with something just give Him an honest yes or no. The idea that you should make promises to God actually comes from Satan."
Jesus wanted to take us away from the paradigm of failure but to retain the paradigm of willingness. Jesus knew we couldn't keep promises so He told us to not make them thus resulting in us not having to experience the shame of failure.
One of Satan's goals is to make us feel guilty & feel like failures. Jesus said anything outside of an honest yes or no come from evil. Why? Because it is Satan setting you up to condemn yourself by convincing you to make promises you cannot keep & had no business making.
Very sad is the fact that most of Christianity is based on making commitments & promises to God. They even say we are saved by making a commitment to God or by making Him our Lord. By that teaching alone (& there are many others I won't go into here) it is obvious that most of Christianity is based on something Jesus calls Satanic.
Jesus wanted to take us away from the paradigm of failure but to retain the paradigm of willingness. Jesus knew we couldn't keep promises so He told us to not make them thus resulting in us not having to experience the shame of failure.
One of Satan's goals is to make us feel guilty & feel like failures. Jesus said anything outside of an honest yes or no come from evil. Why? Because it is Satan setting you up to condemn yourself by convincing you to make promises you cannot keep & had no business making.
Very sad is the fact that most of Christianity is based on making commitments & promises to God. They even say we are saved by making a commitment to God or by making Him our Lord. By that teaching alone (& there are many others I won't go into here) it is obvious that most of Christianity is based on something Jesus calls Satanic.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Religion Does Not Need A Living God
When you talk about the possibility of people not being a part of a denomination or a religious institution but just seeking God purely on their own in the midst of life many Christians, pastors, & people in the church world think that there will be total mayhem & chaos & that everyone will go off in different directions. When they express that concern, basically what they are saying is, "I don't really believe there is a God." -Darin Hufford
Jesus said, "the traditions of men stop the Word of God." Jesus is the word of God. If everything hinges on human leaders, institutions, & doctrines you don't need God to be real, alive, or present. Much of visible Christianity, though labeled as under God, is atheistic in practice. This religion, while not always as strict, is just as self-righteous as that of the Pharisees. The main difference is that a frowning or angry picture of Jesus is placed next to the law. So now even the humble, who wouldn't dream of trying to be righteous in the same prideful ways the Pharisees tried, are shamed into living a life of self-righteousness.
A religion that doesn't need God to run has replaced Him in every aspect. Churches have preachers & the misapplication or twisting of scripture to replace the living Holy Spirit to teach us. In churches people sit next to one another & have a two minute greeting to create the illusion of fellowship. The seminaries & theologians have already formulated all information into denominational doctrines to where you never need to consult God, just consult those trained in the seminaries & the people who study the theologians because you are told that you can't trust yourself to hear God anyway. Preachers dare tell you in numbered lists how to talk to your own Father. All of God's gifts through Christ except for heaven are taken off of the table & are taught to only be earned through performance based self-righteousness.
While there is false teaching involved I am aiming at the man made structure that churches pattern themselves after & operate by. Unbiblical traditions replace God. Preachers identified as leaders take the place of Jesus/The Holy Spirit in practicality. Jesus Himself said in Matthew 23:10, "Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ." He also says there that we are all brothers & sisters. Having men as leaders in place of our sole leader, Christ, is "antichrist" by definition because antichrist literally means "instead of Christ." So all the churches that include the hierarchical authority of men over other men are antichrist because they replace Christ in practicality & usurp His sole authority. If false teachers didn't have false authority then people would be much less likely to believe their lies. But false authority with accurate teaching is still detrimental. The hierarchy itself creates false perceptions & unhealthy dependencies. Even with accurate preaching/teaching it still does this & has negative effects on people.
Preachers love to throw around the term "idol" to shame people but the truth is preachers & pastors are idols, churches are idols, not just tangentially but often officially, though not utterly blatant to some. What a miracle it is that God & His love has ever gotten to any of us!
Jesus said, "the traditions of men stop the Word of God." Jesus is the word of God. If everything hinges on human leaders, institutions, & doctrines you don't need God to be real, alive, or present. Much of visible Christianity, though labeled as under God, is atheistic in practice. This religion, while not always as strict, is just as self-righteous as that of the Pharisees. The main difference is that a frowning or angry picture of Jesus is placed next to the law. So now even the humble, who wouldn't dream of trying to be righteous in the same prideful ways the Pharisees tried, are shamed into living a life of self-righteousness.
A religion that doesn't need God to run has replaced Him in every aspect. Churches have preachers & the misapplication or twisting of scripture to replace the living Holy Spirit to teach us. In churches people sit next to one another & have a two minute greeting to create the illusion of fellowship. The seminaries & theologians have already formulated all information into denominational doctrines to where you never need to consult God, just consult those trained in the seminaries & the people who study the theologians because you are told that you can't trust yourself to hear God anyway. Preachers dare tell you in numbered lists how to talk to your own Father. All of God's gifts through Christ except for heaven are taken off of the table & are taught to only be earned through performance based self-righteousness.
While there is false teaching involved I am aiming at the man made structure that churches pattern themselves after & operate by. Unbiblical traditions replace God. Preachers identified as leaders take the place of Jesus/The Holy Spirit in practicality. Jesus Himself said in Matthew 23:10, "Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ." He also says there that we are all brothers & sisters. Having men as leaders in place of our sole leader, Christ, is "antichrist" by definition because antichrist literally means "instead of Christ." So all the churches that include the hierarchical authority of men over other men are antichrist because they replace Christ in practicality & usurp His sole authority. If false teachers didn't have false authority then people would be much less likely to believe their lies. But false authority with accurate teaching is still detrimental. The hierarchy itself creates false perceptions & unhealthy dependencies. Even with accurate preaching/teaching it still does this & has negative effects on people.
Preachers love to throw around the term "idol" to shame people but the truth is preachers & pastors are idols, churches are idols, not just tangentially but often officially, though not utterly blatant to some. What a miracle it is that God & His love has ever gotten to any of us!
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
A Brick Wall at the Starting Line
Jesus only told us one thing that could ever render his word, his truth, ineffective. Most would readily say, "Well it must be sin" or "It must be disobedience." No, Jesus said the one thing that could render his truth ineffective is the traditions of men (Mark 7:13).
Every church has been based on the traditions of men for nearly 2,000 years. The entire church system is based on the traditions of men. Men took what Jesus said "stops the truth of God" & used it to create what is supposed to be the main place where people get the truth of God. That is like designing a race track with a brick wall at the starting line. Either people go nowhere or they crash. God is with His people whether there is a brick wall or not so people can connect with God & learn from Him no matter where they are or what they are doing. Still every building that people go to supposedly get closer to God in is already stopping at least some truth of God based on their mere existence.
Jesus wants to teach you all truth but your belief in traditions of men stop His truth from clinging to your heart. Even if you don't rely on or believe in them very much the fact that they are practiced in your presence stops the truth of God & gives you certain perceptions about yourself, others, & God.
Every church has been based on the traditions of men for nearly 2,000 years. The entire church system is based on the traditions of men. Men took what Jesus said "stops the truth of God" & used it to create what is supposed to be the main place where people get the truth of God. That is like designing a race track with a brick wall at the starting line. Either people go nowhere or they crash. God is with His people whether there is a brick wall or not so people can connect with God & learn from Him no matter where they are or what they are doing. Still every building that people go to supposedly get closer to God in is already stopping at least some truth of God based on their mere existence.
Jesus wants to teach you all truth but your belief in traditions of men stop His truth from clinging to your heart. Even if you don't rely on or believe in them very much the fact that they are practiced in your presence stops the truth of God & gives you certain perceptions about yourself, others, & God.
Monday, December 10, 2012
Why so few Believe John 3:16
It is amazing how John 3:16 is the most well known verse from all of the bible yet so few people, Christian & Non-Christian alike, believe that God loves them or that God loves the world.
It takes a TON of unloving religious garbage to distort & invalidate something so simple for so many people. Visible Christianity, historically & presently, has not only misrepresented God.. it has presented Him with the very character of Satan. It says Jesus only saves you to "use you" as His "slave" for "His own glory." It pictures God the Father as the most double minded, demanding, immature, & offendable being to have ever existed. To be honest, most atheists have a better idea of who God should be than Christians do. Many atheists don't believe in God because the "Christian god" they are presented with is not loving. You see "God is love" is so universally true that those who don't see God's love reject His existence. Where they see no love they see no God.
Christians saw God's love at least the day they were saved but every day after that their religion has condemned them by teaching them that sin is the focal point of the Christian life & is something powerful enough to separate us from every aspect of the love of God. Therefore Christians ultimately believe the lie that God is not love or that His love is conditional to our obedience & lack of sinning. So to the Christian God couldn't possibly love the world because He barely loves His own children thus they go on threatening nations & individuals with God's wrathful judgment.
Without God's love for the world there is no good news. When the world doesn't see love & Christians don't feel loved what kind of news is that?
Related Posts
The God & The World of John 3:16
It takes a TON of unloving religious garbage to distort & invalidate something so simple for so many people. Visible Christianity, historically & presently, has not only misrepresented God.. it has presented Him with the very character of Satan. It says Jesus only saves you to "use you" as His "slave" for "His own glory." It pictures God the Father as the most double minded, demanding, immature, & offendable being to have ever existed. To be honest, most atheists have a better idea of who God should be than Christians do. Many atheists don't believe in God because the "Christian god" they are presented with is not loving. You see "God is love" is so universally true that those who don't see God's love reject His existence. Where they see no love they see no God.
Christians saw God's love at least the day they were saved but every day after that their religion has condemned them by teaching them that sin is the focal point of the Christian life & is something powerful enough to separate us from every aspect of the love of God. Therefore Christians ultimately believe the lie that God is not love or that His love is conditional to our obedience & lack of sinning. So to the Christian God couldn't possibly love the world because He barely loves His own children thus they go on threatening nations & individuals with God's wrathful judgment.
Without God's love for the world there is no good news. When the world doesn't see love & Christians don't feel loved what kind of news is that?
Related Posts
The God & The World of John 3:16
Monday, December 3, 2012
Great Scriptures for All Christians & Christian Groups
God is Love. God is not self seeking. (1 Corinthians 13:5/1 John 4:8)
Jesus says, "I reveal Myself to you so that in knowing Me you may have peace." (John 16:33)
God has stopped counting people's sins against them. (2 Corinthians 5:19)
God the Father loves you as much as He loves Jesus. Jesus loves you as much as the Father loves Him. (John 17:23,15:9)
Since God is for us God cannot also be against us. (Romans 8:31)
The Lord says, “I promise to never be angry with you or offended at you.“ (Isaiah 54:9)
Jesus says, “I do not call you my servants. I call you my friends. You are not God's servants. You are God's children.” (John 15:15/Galatians 4:7)
Nothing, including yourself, can separate you from the love of God. (Romans 8:35)
Jesus says, "I will never leave or forsake you. Look for me in your life because I will always be with you." (Hebrews 13:5/Matthew 28:20)
There is no fear in love. Love gets rid of fears. Fear involves punishment. Love does not punish. (1 John 4:18)
Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and He knows He has made us innocent. (1 John 3:20)
Jesus says, "I will treat you with gentleness & humility. I will not make you feel like a slave & I will not make you fearful. I want to give you rest, wisdom, & ease." (Matthew 11:28-30/Romans 8:15)
Whoever trusts that Jesus is the Christ is born of God & is one spirit with Him. (1 John 5:1/1 Corinthians 6:17)
Because we have trusted in Christ Jesus who rose from the dead we are not in our sins, we are in Christ instead! He has perfected our spirits forever & is purifying our flesh by renewing our minds with His kindness. (1 Corinthians 15:17/Hebrews 10:14/Romans 12:2,2:4)
Because the Spirit of God lives in you, you are never in the flesh, instead you are always in the spirit. God will never identify you by the flesh. (Romans 8:9/2 Corinthians 5:16)
Your new spirit has been created in the likeness of God. You truly are right with God. You were made righteous, pure, guiltless, innocent, faultless, and holy. (Ephesians 4:24)
By his divine power, God has already given us everything we need for life and godliness. All we have to do is discover and enjoy those things. (2 Peter 1:3-4)
God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. (Ephesians 1:3)
Do you want the riches of God's glory? Well the riches of God's glory is Christ in you! Jesus fills us with the hope of seeing God's glory unfolding throughout our lives. (Colossians 1:27)
Jesus abolished the Law of commandments contained in written rules. Those commands were against us & stood opposed to us. He took them away and nailed them to the cross (Colossians 2:14, Ephesians 2:15)
You cannot become righteous by keeping the commands in the scriptures. If you could then Christ died for nothing. Righteousness instead comes as a gift you receive from God by trusting in Christ. (Galatians 2:21/Philippians 3:9)
Trying to keep the law is like slavery & it is a burden too great for any person to bear, even the apostles & prophets of old. Christ set you free so you could stay free. Don't make yourselves slaves of the law by trying to keep the law. (Romans 7:6/Acts 15:10/Galatians 5:1)
You cannot be trying to keep the Law & be led by the Spirit of God at the same time. (Galatians 5:18)
Jesus says, "This is the will of God, that you trust Me so you can know Me forever." (John 6:40)
Jesus says, "The only work God wants from you is to trust in Me. Everything else flows from that." (John 6:28-29)
Love doesn't happen by us trying to love God. Love starts with God loving us & ends with us loving one another. (1 John 4:7-11)
Listen to God & value Him. You can be secure if you stop trying to make yourself feel secure. Instead of trusting yourself to bring about your own security know that it is God who works in you to desire & to act according to His heart's desire. His heart desires the best for you. (Philippians 2:12-13)
Do not let anyone condemn you by insisting on self-denial in the name of humility. (Colossians 2:18)
Rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, strict self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in stopping the harmful desires of the flesh. (Colossians 2:23)
You'll be happy if you don't condemn yourself by choosing what you think is good to do & bad to do. Trust God & then don't doubt yourself. If you doubt yourself you'll feel guilty. (Romans 14:22-23)
God's kingdom is not a place of demanding & forcing. God is a giver who rules over us by giving to us. He gives us freedom, purity, peace, & joy in the Holy Spirit. (Romans 14:17)
Satan cannot touch someone who is born of God. (1 John 5:18)
God does not live in buildings made by people (Acts 17:24)
We are God's House (Hebrews 3:6)
Jesus says, "You do not need to go anywhere to worship. If you do go somewhere to worship it is irrelevant because true worship is done in spirit and truth." (John 4:23)
Each person should give what he has decided in his own heart to give. He should neither give reluctantly nor give because he feels forced. (2 Corinthians 9:7)
The Lord God declares, "I myself will shepherd my sheep and give them rest." (Ezekiel 34:15)
Jesus says, "Do not be called leaders because you only have one leader, Christ." (Matthew 23:10)
Jesus says, "You shall not have authority over one another. You are all equal brothers." (Luke 22:25-26/Matthew 23:8)
Do nothing to seek an office for yourself but with humility of mind regard others as more important than yourselves. (Philippians 2:3)
All who are in Christ are equally in Him. (2 Corinthians 10:7)
You do not need anyone to teach you. The Spirit teaches you about all things. (1 John 2:27/John 16:13)
No person is to act as your judge in regards to what you do. God accepts all of His children. He died for all of them. Don't judge your brother, only be careful not to stand in his way or cause him to stumble. All of you have been made complete in Christ. (Colossians 2:10,17/Romans 14:13,15)
Jesus says, "I reveal Myself to you so that in knowing Me you may have peace." (John 16:33)
God has stopped counting people's sins against them. (2 Corinthians 5:19)
God the Father loves you as much as He loves Jesus. Jesus loves you as much as the Father loves Him. (John 17:23,15:9)
Since God is for us God cannot also be against us. (Romans 8:31)
The Lord says, “I promise to never be angry with you or offended at you.“ (Isaiah 54:9)
Jesus says, “I do not call you my servants. I call you my friends. You are not God's servants. You are God's children.” (John 15:15/Galatians 4:7)
Nothing, including yourself, can separate you from the love of God. (Romans 8:35)
Jesus says, "I will never leave or forsake you. Look for me in your life because I will always be with you." (Hebrews 13:5/Matthew 28:20)
There is no fear in love. Love gets rid of fears. Fear involves punishment. Love does not punish. (1 John 4:18)
Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and He knows He has made us innocent. (1 John 3:20)
Jesus says, "I will treat you with gentleness & humility. I will not make you feel like a slave & I will not make you fearful. I want to give you rest, wisdom, & ease." (Matthew 11:28-30/Romans 8:15)
Whoever trusts that Jesus is the Christ is born of God & is one spirit with Him. (1 John 5:1/1 Corinthians 6:17)
Because we have trusted in Christ Jesus who rose from the dead we are not in our sins, we are in Christ instead! He has perfected our spirits forever & is purifying our flesh by renewing our minds with His kindness. (1 Corinthians 15:17/Hebrews 10:14/Romans 12:2,2:4)
Because the Spirit of God lives in you, you are never in the flesh, instead you are always in the spirit. God will never identify you by the flesh. (Romans 8:9/2 Corinthians 5:16)
Your new spirit has been created in the likeness of God. You truly are right with God. You were made righteous, pure, guiltless, innocent, faultless, and holy. (Ephesians 4:24)
By his divine power, God has already given us everything we need for life and godliness. All we have to do is discover and enjoy those things. (2 Peter 1:3-4)
God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. (Ephesians 1:3)
Do you want the riches of God's glory? Well the riches of God's glory is Christ in you! Jesus fills us with the hope of seeing God's glory unfolding throughout our lives. (Colossians 1:27)
Jesus abolished the Law of commandments contained in written rules. Those commands were against us & stood opposed to us. He took them away and nailed them to the cross (Colossians 2:14, Ephesians 2:15)
You cannot become righteous by keeping the commands in the scriptures. If you could then Christ died for nothing. Righteousness instead comes as a gift you receive from God by trusting in Christ. (Galatians 2:21/Philippians 3:9)
Trying to keep the law is like slavery & it is a burden too great for any person to bear, even the apostles & prophets of old. Christ set you free so you could stay free. Don't make yourselves slaves of the law by trying to keep the law. (Romans 7:6/Acts 15:10/Galatians 5:1)
You cannot be trying to keep the Law & be led by the Spirit of God at the same time. (Galatians 5:18)
Jesus says, "This is the will of God, that you trust Me so you can know Me forever." (John 6:40)
Jesus says, "The only work God wants from you is to trust in Me. Everything else flows from that." (John 6:28-29)
Love doesn't happen by us trying to love God. Love starts with God loving us & ends with us loving one another. (1 John 4:7-11)
Listen to God & value Him. You can be secure if you stop trying to make yourself feel secure. Instead of trusting yourself to bring about your own security know that it is God who works in you to desire & to act according to His heart's desire. His heart desires the best for you. (Philippians 2:12-13)
Do not let anyone condemn you by insisting on self-denial in the name of humility. (Colossians 2:18)
Rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, strict self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in stopping the harmful desires of the flesh. (Colossians 2:23)
You'll be happy if you don't condemn yourself by choosing what you think is good to do & bad to do. Trust God & then don't doubt yourself. If you doubt yourself you'll feel guilty. (Romans 14:22-23)
God's kingdom is not a place of demanding & forcing. God is a giver who rules over us by giving to us. He gives us freedom, purity, peace, & joy in the Holy Spirit. (Romans 14:17)
Satan cannot touch someone who is born of God. (1 John 5:18)
God does not live in buildings made by people (Acts 17:24)
We are God's House (Hebrews 3:6)
Jesus says, "You do not need to go anywhere to worship. If you do go somewhere to worship it is irrelevant because true worship is done in spirit and truth." (John 4:23)
Each person should give what he has decided in his own heart to give. He should neither give reluctantly nor give because he feels forced. (2 Corinthians 9:7)
The Lord God declares, "I myself will shepherd my sheep and give them rest." (Ezekiel 34:15)
Jesus says, "Do not be called leaders because you only have one leader, Christ." (Matthew 23:10)
Jesus says, "You shall not have authority over one another. You are all equal brothers." (Luke 22:25-26/Matthew 23:8)
Do nothing to seek an office for yourself but with humility of mind regard others as more important than yourselves. (Philippians 2:3)
All who are in Christ are equally in Him. (2 Corinthians 10:7)
You do not need anyone to teach you. The Spirit teaches you about all things. (1 John 2:27/John 16:13)
No person is to act as your judge in regards to what you do. God accepts all of His children. He died for all of them. Don't judge your brother, only be careful not to stand in his way or cause him to stumble. All of you have been made complete in Christ. (Colossians 2:10,17/Romans 14:13,15)
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Ignore the Poison?
There is a mentality with sermons that a person shouldn't point out the bad/untrue/fear-based things the preacher said. People will say, "Oh don't worry about those things just focus on the good things he said."
If you & I were going to a coffee shop every week and they added, let's say, 3 drops of poison to every cup of coffee they serve would you say to me, "Oh don't worry about the poison just focus on the good coffee" & encourage me to come back to the coffee shop every week with you? Would you say this to yourself, "I'm not worried about the poison. I just focus on the good coffee" & keep going every week?
Falsehoods spoken confidently are poison. Things that make you fear are poison. Sin consciousness is poison. There are far more than 3 drops of poison in an average sermon (I dare say many are cups of poison with drops of truth). Why would someone want to keep getting poisoned every week? Any poison will harm you. Frequent poisoning will make you sick. Embracing poison as good & useful is a tragedy. Feeling obligated to knowingly drink poison is imprisonment.
Related Posts
Is Eating Poison Worth Your While?
If you & I were going to a coffee shop every week and they added, let's say, 3 drops of poison to every cup of coffee they serve would you say to me, "Oh don't worry about the poison just focus on the good coffee" & encourage me to come back to the coffee shop every week with you? Would you say this to yourself, "I'm not worried about the poison. I just focus on the good coffee" & keep going every week?
Falsehoods spoken confidently are poison. Things that make you fear are poison. Sin consciousness is poison. There are far more than 3 drops of poison in an average sermon (I dare say many are cups of poison with drops of truth). Why would someone want to keep getting poisoned every week? Any poison will harm you. Frequent poisoning will make you sick. Embracing poison as good & useful is a tragedy. Feeling obligated to knowingly drink poison is imprisonment.
Related Posts
Is Eating Poison Worth Your While?
Friday, November 9, 2012
Wind in a Box
It is not mankind's crumminess that makes the majority choose to "feel good" by the flesh, it is the ignorance of what good really is. First century Christians used to eat, drink, and have orgies but then they heard the truth of what good really is. The odd thing is, is that there is nothing in all of existence that will
make us feel better about ourselves than the message of the Cross!
The problem the church has is that the message of the cross doesn't fit in a box. Its genuine truth can't be used to manipulate people. The church's goal isn't to set people free, it is to get everyone to come into the correct denominational box week after week. Most churches and freedom can't co-exist. Churches try to define everything, every minute of the meeting is accounted for, every doctrine already marked as true or false. Jesus said, "The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8). When you put wind between four walls there isn't much it can do. Even if you open the windows not much is going to happen. Christians are always coming from church and going to church. Almost no one knows what it means to be born of the Spirit. With birth comes a new identity. With praying a sinner's prayer in church all you get is a new point C on weekends.
While everything does come down to personal choice, when you are deceived you don't even know you have another option. Ultimately if you choose to be open to God, no matter how wrong He shows your beliefs to be, you will find freedom.
You will stay in the dark and defend the very things that destroy you..
• If you are more concerned with certainty or confidence than truth
• If you are somehow endeared to holding onto a belief you've held for a long time
• If you trust in men (including yourself, leaders, theologians) more than you trust in the living God inside of you.
For those reasons I've seen people deliberately choose the "god" who gets offended & angry at almost everything they do over the true God who hold nothing against them.
Why do people love their bondage?
I think it comes down to a false sense of security. That is why people like the law (or what they think the law is), it has a list of things for them to do where they can evaluate themselves. They think as long as they have the rules they will always know what to do. It is not true, it often doesn't even feel that way but its "supposed to be true" IF "you can keep the law." Since people can't keep the law they believe they are the problem thus the false sense of security breeds greater insecurity in them. Hopefully that insecurity leads to them abandoning self-effort & entrusting theirself to God. But if the people are infected by one of the three reasons above it is a lot less likely.
Walking by the Spirit is a journey with God into the unknown where your security must be found in Him being with you, not in your control, not in predictability, not in rules, not in self-evaluation. You don't know where you are coming from & you don't know where you are going but you know who you are with.
Imagine two people standing before you. One is saying "Come with me." The other is holding up a list of laws, commands, & principles from the bible. Most Christians pay attention to the man holding the rules. They've also been taught to be afraid of "being led astray," so they refuse to go with the man saying, "Come with me." The truth however is that Satan is the man holding up the laws & Jesus is the man saying, "Come with me." 1 Corinthians 15:56 says, "The power of sin (the enemy, Satan) is the law." When you sit in front of a list of rules you aren't like the wind because you aren't walking with the Spirit of God. When you live by laws your life doesn't blow, it just sucks!
Related Posts
Satan and the Sign or Jesus and the Journey?
The problem the church has is that the message of the cross doesn't fit in a box. Its genuine truth can't be used to manipulate people. The church's goal isn't to set people free, it is to get everyone to come into the correct denominational box week after week. Most churches and freedom can't co-exist. Churches try to define everything, every minute of the meeting is accounted for, every doctrine already marked as true or false. Jesus said, "The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8). When you put wind between four walls there isn't much it can do. Even if you open the windows not much is going to happen. Christians are always coming from church and going to church. Almost no one knows what it means to be born of the Spirit. With birth comes a new identity. With praying a sinner's prayer in church all you get is a new point C on weekends.
While everything does come down to personal choice, when you are deceived you don't even know you have another option. Ultimately if you choose to be open to God, no matter how wrong He shows your beliefs to be, you will find freedom.
You will stay in the dark and defend the very things that destroy you..
• If you are more concerned with certainty or confidence than truth
• If you are somehow endeared to holding onto a belief you've held for a long time
• If you trust in men (including yourself, leaders, theologians) more than you trust in the living God inside of you.
For those reasons I've seen people deliberately choose the "god" who gets offended & angry at almost everything they do over the true God who hold nothing against them.
Why do people love their bondage?
I think it comes down to a false sense of security. That is why people like the law (or what they think the law is), it has a list of things for them to do where they can evaluate themselves. They think as long as they have the rules they will always know what to do. It is not true, it often doesn't even feel that way but its "supposed to be true" IF "you can keep the law." Since people can't keep the law they believe they are the problem thus the false sense of security breeds greater insecurity in them. Hopefully that insecurity leads to them abandoning self-effort & entrusting theirself to God. But if the people are infected by one of the three reasons above it is a lot less likely.
Walking by the Spirit is a journey with God into the unknown where your security must be found in Him being with you, not in your control, not in predictability, not in rules, not in self-evaluation. You don't know where you are coming from & you don't know where you are going but you know who you are with.
Imagine two people standing before you. One is saying "Come with me." The other is holding up a list of laws, commands, & principles from the bible. Most Christians pay attention to the man holding the rules. They've also been taught to be afraid of "being led astray," so they refuse to go with the man saying, "Come with me." The truth however is that Satan is the man holding up the laws & Jesus is the man saying, "Come with me." 1 Corinthians 15:56 says, "The power of sin (the enemy, Satan) is the law." When you sit in front of a list of rules you aren't like the wind because you aren't walking with the Spirit of God. When you live by laws your life doesn't blow, it just sucks!
Related Posts
Satan and the Sign or Jesus and the Journey?
Monday, August 27, 2012
Is Eating Poison Worth Your While?
As good as institutional churches can be they almost always have these 3 major faults
#1 The church service is a Non-relational performance (show) to an audience by professionals
#2 It is led by men instead of Christ
#3 It promotes (forces down your throat) sin consciousness
#1 destroys the purpose of Christ's body, to love one another and build one another up, to share Christ in them with one another. One another means every person is involved. If its non-relational it is not a biblical meeting of the body.
#2 is set up to sucker people into believing lies because an unquestionable expert is presenting all of the information. It also makes it very hard for people to hear the real voice of God.
#3 is the worst of all, it kills the experience of the gospel in your life & leads you to shame yourself & condemn others.
I see churches like a restaurant that serves a 3 course meal. Two of the courses may be the best food you've ever had but one of the courses is poisoned & you don't know which one. I'm not going to a restaurant that serves up poison nor will I recommend it to anyone. So to me this isn't an issue of "I disagree with the menu selection." It is a case of "This place serves poison! No one should be eating poison! Please don't eat their poison!" Saying "no church is perfect" can be a rationalization to eat poison because you love the other things that are served up.
Making mistakes is one thing but having institutions/traditions/practices that are intentionally present all the time is another. Mistakes are like a cook accidentally spilling soap in your food. Traditions (etc.) are like poison being listed in the recipe.
Churches as people can make mistakes and be loved in spite of them because they are our brothers & sisters in Christ. Churches as institutions are like faulty built machines. The blueprints are wrong and the machine will harm people because of it. I'm not promoting being "against them." I am stating why I am against an "it." While what I wrote is based on my observance it is also evident from scripture what is poison and what is not.
No matter how someone spins it I am not going to condone or promote poisoning the body. I am not saying, "Don't go to a church." At most I was saying, "Watch out, the church you are going to is very likely to be poisoned." I don't "support" eating poison, poison that I've seen harm people in countless ways. I don't want my brother to be harmed.
Thoughts from My Wise & Wonderful Wife
We have seen and experienced the bondage that people have been under unknowingly. There are some churches that may not have all three things going on that are listed but anyone of those things is a poison. We have seen a church to have true loving relationships. But even that is few and far between. Sin consciousness is for sure forced down your throat almost weekly. That's what the vast majority of sermons are. They are about a particular sin geared toward making you feel guilty about it. People call that conviction and pass it off as from God yet the only place in scripture that uses the word "convict" in reference to a Christian says that "He will convict them of their righteousness" not of their sin. We are dead to sin and alive to Christ and His righteousness because of His death on the cross and resurrection. Yet Christians walk around with so much guilt and shame that Christ died to take away.
When a sermon is nice and neatly put into a package and delivered to a vast group of people all of differing places in their walk with God it is very difficult to think through, "Could he be getting this wrong?" I've even experienced feeling guilty for daring to question whether what a preacher is saying is true!! I know they say study it out for yourself but in all honesty most do not. They assume the studied pastor must know what he is talking about. Plus we are not taught how to study. The bible is a very daunting book and we are made to feel like a true Christian will simply know how to study. So we keep quiet and hope the pastor is right.
We most certainly do promote meeting together with other Christians in a setting where all are free to contribute and growing and learning and discussing are present. These types of meetings can be difficult because we are so used to one man doing most of the talking but it is possible. We have seen people living in such guilt who feel that guilt is what God wants for us, to be down on ourselves and beating ourselves up.
Further Thoughts from Me
"Sin consciousness" refers to Hebrews 10:1-2 which says that the sacrifice of Christ has purified us for all time & our consciousness of sin can now disappear.
From a pulpit it comes out as a focus on "not sinning" usually through flesh based efforts or it comes out as guilt tripping, rebuking, or shaming the audience. Blanket statements of shame are made towards people who are not only undeserving in Christ (as all Christians are) but perhaps even undeserving in their behavior.
If you look carefully at the new testament you'll never see the word sin & the word repent in the same context unless it is talking about receiving the forgiveness of sins. The word repent is never aimed at Christians either.
Essentially to me sin consciousness is counting sin against yourself or others. 2 Corinthians 5:19 says God no longer counts sins against people thus neither should we.
God has similar feelings in Amos 5:21-24 regarding old testament assemblies which placed obstacles between men & God as I do about present assemblies.
“I hate, I reject your festivals, Nor do I delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer up to Me offerings, I will not accept them; And I will not even look at your peace offerings. Take away from Me the noise of your songs; I will not even listen to the sound of your harps. But let justice roll down like waters And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream."
Note that God never says He hates the people but the pretentious things, even the things He once commanded, which they do. That is how I feel too.
Now it is the righteousness of Christ that we need to flow not our own righteousness. Sin consciousness does not allow it but denies the righteousness He has given us. Putting on a show & having professional leaders denies the body the ability to flow out the righteousness of Christ because they are a silenced audience.
Related Posts
Ignore the Poison?
#1 The church service is a Non-relational performance (show) to an audience by professionals
#2 It is led by men instead of Christ
#3 It promotes (forces down your throat) sin consciousness
#1 destroys the purpose of Christ's body, to love one another and build one another up, to share Christ in them with one another. One another means every person is involved. If its non-relational it is not a biblical meeting of the body.
#2 is set up to sucker people into believing lies because an unquestionable expert is presenting all of the information. It also makes it very hard for people to hear the real voice of God.
#3 is the worst of all, it kills the experience of the gospel in your life & leads you to shame yourself & condemn others.
I see churches like a restaurant that serves a 3 course meal. Two of the courses may be the best food you've ever had but one of the courses is poisoned & you don't know which one. I'm not going to a restaurant that serves up poison nor will I recommend it to anyone. So to me this isn't an issue of "I disagree with the menu selection." It is a case of "This place serves poison! No one should be eating poison! Please don't eat their poison!" Saying "no church is perfect" can be a rationalization to eat poison because you love the other things that are served up.
Making mistakes is one thing but having institutions/traditions/practices that are intentionally present all the time is another. Mistakes are like a cook accidentally spilling soap in your food. Traditions (etc.) are like poison being listed in the recipe.
Churches as people can make mistakes and be loved in spite of them because they are our brothers & sisters in Christ. Churches as institutions are like faulty built machines. The blueprints are wrong and the machine will harm people because of it. I'm not promoting being "against them." I am stating why I am against an "it." While what I wrote is based on my observance it is also evident from scripture what is poison and what is not.
No matter how someone spins it I am not going to condone or promote poisoning the body. I am not saying, "Don't go to a church." At most I was saying, "Watch out, the church you are going to is very likely to be poisoned." I don't "support" eating poison, poison that I've seen harm people in countless ways. I don't want my brother to be harmed.
Thoughts from My Wise & Wonderful Wife
We have seen and experienced the bondage that people have been under unknowingly. There are some churches that may not have all three things going on that are listed but anyone of those things is a poison. We have seen a church to have true loving relationships. But even that is few and far between. Sin consciousness is for sure forced down your throat almost weekly. That's what the vast majority of sermons are. They are about a particular sin geared toward making you feel guilty about it. People call that conviction and pass it off as from God yet the only place in scripture that uses the word "convict" in reference to a Christian says that "He will convict them of their righteousness" not of their sin. We are dead to sin and alive to Christ and His righteousness because of His death on the cross and resurrection. Yet Christians walk around with so much guilt and shame that Christ died to take away.
When a sermon is nice and neatly put into a package and delivered to a vast group of people all of differing places in their walk with God it is very difficult to think through, "Could he be getting this wrong?" I've even experienced feeling guilty for daring to question whether what a preacher is saying is true!! I know they say study it out for yourself but in all honesty most do not. They assume the studied pastor must know what he is talking about. Plus we are not taught how to study. The bible is a very daunting book and we are made to feel like a true Christian will simply know how to study. So we keep quiet and hope the pastor is right.
We most certainly do promote meeting together with other Christians in a setting where all are free to contribute and growing and learning and discussing are present. These types of meetings can be difficult because we are so used to one man doing most of the talking but it is possible. We have seen people living in such guilt who feel that guilt is what God wants for us, to be down on ourselves and beating ourselves up.
Further Thoughts from Me
"Sin consciousness" refers to Hebrews 10:1-2 which says that the sacrifice of Christ has purified us for all time & our consciousness of sin can now disappear.
From a pulpit it comes out as a focus on "not sinning" usually through flesh based efforts or it comes out as guilt tripping, rebuking, or shaming the audience. Blanket statements of shame are made towards people who are not only undeserving in Christ (as all Christians are) but perhaps even undeserving in their behavior.
If you look carefully at the new testament you'll never see the word sin & the word repent in the same context unless it is talking about receiving the forgiveness of sins. The word repent is never aimed at Christians either.
Essentially to me sin consciousness is counting sin against yourself or others. 2 Corinthians 5:19 says God no longer counts sins against people thus neither should we.
God has similar feelings in Amos 5:21-24 regarding old testament assemblies which placed obstacles between men & God as I do about present assemblies.
“I hate, I reject your festivals, Nor do I delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer up to Me offerings, I will not accept them; And I will not even look at your peace offerings. Take away from Me the noise of your songs; I will not even listen to the sound of your harps. But let justice roll down like waters And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream."
Note that God never says He hates the people but the pretentious things, even the things He once commanded, which they do. That is how I feel too.
Now it is the righteousness of Christ that we need to flow not our own righteousness. Sin consciousness does not allow it but denies the righteousness He has given us. Putting on a show & having professional leaders denies the body the ability to flow out the righteousness of Christ because they are a silenced audience.
Related Posts
Ignore the Poison?
Monday, August 20, 2012
How Sermonizing is Not Shepherding & More..
There is no biblical evidence of a sermon (non-interactive monologue)
being "preached" to a group of Christians in the New Testament. What we
do see is open participatory meetings where "each one" has songs,
teachings, revelations, etc (1 Corinthians 14:26). Thinking every time
the word "preach" is used in translation of scripture it means "preach a
sermon" is making an assumption not based on study. There is no such
thing as a "pulpit" in the New Testament. Today's type of "preaching" is
based on the traditions of men & misapplications of old covenant
scripture.
I don't think the Word of God "should be preached" among Christians as most people understand preaching (sermonizing). The traditions of men are an inferior substitute to the ways of God. I've heard preachers admit in sermons that sermons/monologues/lectures are the least effective form of communication/teaching but then blame the audience for not remembering sermon material. That would be like a coach intentionally training his team in the least effective way possible & blaming the team for being lousy.
To me there is a big difference between preaching & teaching. I don't consider an impersonal, non-interactive relay of information to be teaching. If you research the uses of the word preach & teach in scripture you'll see that preaching (usually meaning proclaiming or announcing) is something done for Non-Christians to make them aware of the gospel. You'll see that there are times that "preaching and teaching" are mentioned together hinting that they are separate things.
While I am aware that teaching does happen in churches, the sermon is something that falls short of the biblical idea of teaching (you could call biblical teaching discipling). While it could be called preaching (proclaiming) it is something we never see done in a Christian assembly in scripture. There are countless ways that sermonizing is harmful to the body. The message that always points back to the love of God & the finished work of Christ (the true gospel) will prevent most of that harm from occurring. The sermon, in most churches, is touted as the essential "main-event" of the normal Christian life. When it is touted as such that is one of its most harmful elements because its non-interactive & impersonal nature actually stops people from relating to & loving one another, instead it forces them into silence.
Sermonizing is Not Shepherding
We never see "preaching" associated with "shepherds/pastors" in scripture either. We hear that shepherds "feed the flock." What is feeding? Is feeding throwing food into a large crowd & never knowing if anyone in the crowd catches and eats anything? Where is the evidence that someone was fed? It is assumed that because you spread the seed that people are fed. Sermons don't accomplish feeding. The only type of feeding I would say a sermon does is like that of a grocery store. If people come in and appropriate the food they can feed themselves from it. Throwing food at people's mouths (ears) to me is not feeding. When I think "feeding" I think of how one would feed a baby or a small motherless animal. I would consider The Great Shepherd Jesus' interactive & personal discipling to be feeding.
Seeing-over a crowd when you preach is not the same as overseeing (teaching & guarding). Hebrews 13:17 says that overseers (the same thing as pastors/elders) are "those who are alert to the condition of your lives." You can't be alert to some one's condition when you aren't even relating to them. Sermons are non-relational. Sermons don't accomplish shepherding in any sense. The sermon itself does not accomplish biblical shepherding. When something is preached to a passive crowd it is all on the crowd to pay attention and feed themselves. It is no different than watching a sermon on television. People can learn from those but that doesn't mean "Televangelist Whoever" is shepherding them. There isn't shepherding it is just a relay of information.
In Ephesians 4:11, the only time shepherds is used for people other than Jesus and literal shepherds, it calls them shepherd-teachers. Shepherding does involve teaching & fellowshipping is essential to shepherding. If there is no relationship between someone & their pastor/shepherd it is impossible to be shepherded. Shepherding is personal & relational. Sermons are just as personal on TV as they are in person. Based on my study of scripture I would say that sermons do not accomplish shepherding in any sense from the shepherd's standpoint. While people can and do learn from sermons, preaching a sermon is not shepherding at all.
Church Service is Extra-Biblical
While the preacher speaks people have to be quiet & listen. It literally stops people from relating to one another for that time frame, which is the majority of the time they spend assembled together. One another relating cannot be done during a sermon. To share Christ in us with one another is the most important part of the Christian life, it is what scripture calls God's eternal purpose. So if the sermon is the "main event," building one another up etc. is less important & to most not even part of the normal "church experience."
Announcing testimonies, praises, & prayer requests does not accomplish most of the one anothering spoken of in scripture. Announcing good things (you could biblically call this "preaching") is beneficial but it is still not relational.
Typical Sunday morning church meetings go something like this,
Greet each other very briefly (usually with cliché greetings); Announce your testimonies, praises, & prayer requests to the congregation; Sing and don't talk to each other; Listen to the sermon and don't talk to each other; meeting over.
The elements & time managed structure of the meeting "actually stops people from relating to & loving one another." When the church comes together it has "better things to do" than sharing Christ in us with one another. You can hope that somehow the sermon or another element has inspired people to love & relate but overall the meeting itself does not even allow it to happen during its duration.
Example overrides information. What you do in practice is what people take as truth more so than your words. This is one of the things I mean when I said, "the gospel stops most of that harm from occurring" because in practice information from a sermon is touted as more important than relationships. Why? Because relating is something you are supposed to do outside of the meeting. 40 minutes or so is given to a sermon & maybe 2 minutes given to a meet & greet.
So the "church service" is an event to attend like a concert. The modern church service is something extra-biblical. This type of meeting, including the sermon, is not endorsed or even found in scripture. It bears almost no resemblance to the assembling talked about in 1 Corinthians 14 & Hebrews 10. Sure it can be beneficial but the traditions of men are still an inferior substitute to the ways of God. This Sunday morning church service is touted as the main event of the normal Christian life (often with the sermon as the primary portion of the service) but it is an extra-biblical substitute for genuine relationships & relational meetings where everyone can contribute. Meetings that are led by Christ the Head instead of led by programs, preparations, & preachers.
Related Posts
Community vs. Prescriptions
How "Preach" is Used with Bias in Translating the Bible
Love One Another
In Context: "Forsake not the assembling.."
In Context: "Forsake not.." & "I can do all things.." Revisited
Growth in Christ Through Relationships
Mistranslation of Words in The Bible
I don't think the Word of God "should be preached" among Christians as most people understand preaching (sermonizing). The traditions of men are an inferior substitute to the ways of God. I've heard preachers admit in sermons that sermons/monologues/lectures are the least effective form of communication/teaching but then blame the audience for not remembering sermon material. That would be like a coach intentionally training his team in the least effective way possible & blaming the team for being lousy.
To me there is a big difference between preaching & teaching. I don't consider an impersonal, non-interactive relay of information to be teaching. If you research the uses of the word preach & teach in scripture you'll see that preaching (usually meaning proclaiming or announcing) is something done for Non-Christians to make them aware of the gospel. You'll see that there are times that "preaching and teaching" are mentioned together hinting that they are separate things.
While I am aware that teaching does happen in churches, the sermon is something that falls short of the biblical idea of teaching (you could call biblical teaching discipling). While it could be called preaching (proclaiming) it is something we never see done in a Christian assembly in scripture. There are countless ways that sermonizing is harmful to the body. The message that always points back to the love of God & the finished work of Christ (the true gospel) will prevent most of that harm from occurring. The sermon, in most churches, is touted as the essential "main-event" of the normal Christian life. When it is touted as such that is one of its most harmful elements because its non-interactive & impersonal nature actually stops people from relating to & loving one another, instead it forces them into silence.
Sermonizing is Not Shepherding
We never see "preaching" associated with "shepherds/pastors" in scripture either. We hear that shepherds "feed the flock." What is feeding? Is feeding throwing food into a large crowd & never knowing if anyone in the crowd catches and eats anything? Where is the evidence that someone was fed? It is assumed that because you spread the seed that people are fed. Sermons don't accomplish feeding. The only type of feeding I would say a sermon does is like that of a grocery store. If people come in and appropriate the food they can feed themselves from it. Throwing food at people's mouths (ears) to me is not feeding. When I think "feeding" I think of how one would feed a baby or a small motherless animal. I would consider The Great Shepherd Jesus' interactive & personal discipling to be feeding.
Seeing-over a crowd when you preach is not the same as overseeing (teaching & guarding). Hebrews 13:17 says that overseers (the same thing as pastors/elders) are "those who are alert to the condition of your lives." You can't be alert to some one's condition when you aren't even relating to them. Sermons are non-relational. Sermons don't accomplish shepherding in any sense. The sermon itself does not accomplish biblical shepherding. When something is preached to a passive crowd it is all on the crowd to pay attention and feed themselves. It is no different than watching a sermon on television. People can learn from those but that doesn't mean "Televangelist Whoever" is shepherding them. There isn't shepherding it is just a relay of information.
In Ephesians 4:11, the only time shepherds is used for people other than Jesus and literal shepherds, it calls them shepherd-teachers. Shepherding does involve teaching & fellowshipping is essential to shepherding. If there is no relationship between someone & their pastor/shepherd it is impossible to be shepherded. Shepherding is personal & relational. Sermons are just as personal on TV as they are in person. Based on my study of scripture I would say that sermons do not accomplish shepherding in any sense from the shepherd's standpoint. While people can and do learn from sermons, preaching a sermon is not shepherding at all.
Church Service is Extra-Biblical
While the preacher speaks people have to be quiet & listen. It literally stops people from relating to one another for that time frame, which is the majority of the time they spend assembled together. One another relating cannot be done during a sermon. To share Christ in us with one another is the most important part of the Christian life, it is what scripture calls God's eternal purpose. So if the sermon is the "main event," building one another up etc. is less important & to most not even part of the normal "church experience."
Announcing testimonies, praises, & prayer requests does not accomplish most of the one anothering spoken of in scripture. Announcing good things (you could biblically call this "preaching") is beneficial but it is still not relational.
Typical Sunday morning church meetings go something like this,
Greet each other very briefly (usually with cliché greetings); Announce your testimonies, praises, & prayer requests to the congregation; Sing and don't talk to each other; Listen to the sermon and don't talk to each other; meeting over.
The elements & time managed structure of the meeting "actually stops people from relating to & loving one another." When the church comes together it has "better things to do" than sharing Christ in us with one another. You can hope that somehow the sermon or another element has inspired people to love & relate but overall the meeting itself does not even allow it to happen during its duration.
Example overrides information. What you do in practice is what people take as truth more so than your words. This is one of the things I mean when I said, "the gospel stops most of that harm from occurring" because in practice information from a sermon is touted as more important than relationships. Why? Because relating is something you are supposed to do outside of the meeting. 40 minutes or so is given to a sermon & maybe 2 minutes given to a meet & greet.
So the "church service" is an event to attend like a concert. The modern church service is something extra-biblical. This type of meeting, including the sermon, is not endorsed or even found in scripture. It bears almost no resemblance to the assembling talked about in 1 Corinthians 14 & Hebrews 10. Sure it can be beneficial but the traditions of men are still an inferior substitute to the ways of God. This Sunday morning church service is touted as the main event of the normal Christian life (often with the sermon as the primary portion of the service) but it is an extra-biblical substitute for genuine relationships & relational meetings where everyone can contribute. Meetings that are led by Christ the Head instead of led by programs, preparations, & preachers.
Related Posts
Community vs. Prescriptions
How "Preach" is Used with Bias in Translating the Bible
Love One Another
In Context: "Forsake not the assembling.."
In Context: "Forsake not.." & "I can do all things.." Revisited
Growth in Christ Through Relationships
Mistranslation of Words in The Bible
Friday, July 20, 2012
Christian Persecution & America
I've heard many American Christians sorta wish that American Christians were persecuted more & that we would suffer more. They look at the stronger faith of people in other countries where persecution & suffering is the norm. They think that if America was persecuted, Christians here would have a stronger faith. First, I wonder how many of those theorists have actually been persecuted? Secondly, I recall that this mindset is not confirmed in scripture.
"The seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away." (Mark 4:16-17)
It isn't persecution that draws you to God, It is God's love. If you don't already know His love Jesus says you will quickly fall away when persecution comes. Enduring persecution does not make you stronger, it only taps into the strength you already have. That strength to overcome is your trust in God (1 John 5:4). The more you know God loves you the more you will trust Him.
Persecution is Satan's way of stopping the gospel. When people don't know or believe the true gospel there is no need for persecution. Galatians 6:12 even suggests that those who try to live by law or by their own strength will not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. In my opinion Christianity in America would virtually end if major persecution came because people are not "rooted and grounded in God's love" (Ephesians 3:17).
One of the easiest things, knowing that God loves you and letting Him love you, has become one of the hardest things because the traditions, false teachings, & false authorities of mainstream American Christianity. Its sin focused, mixed covenant, cross-ignoring teachings already have people barely hanging onto, not God, but a false picture of God. A picture that paints God as an utterly selfish, human hating, Christian hating, nagging, shame exploiting, greedy, & abusive monster who treats them worse than probably anyone they know & is 1,000 times more easily offended than any human being to ever walk the earth.
Because people believe God exists & believe the most basic gospel they honestly want to follow and serve God. But thanks to thousands of years of scripture twisting doctrines, man made traditions, and satanic deception people are told to follow this false picture of God whose abuse and constant fault finding are taught to be His "love." Or they are taught to serve & follow the preachings of an unbiblical religious system called "church" that pictures God as a distant CEO who you have to beg to show up in a "church service" to receive any recognition from him for all of your hard work for him.
Fear not, and engage the God who longs to unravel the lies you've been told so you can experience His love as He has always wanted. God loves you enough to accept you as you are. He is big enough & has shed enough blood to never be angry with you. He is who He says He is, God is love. Love that is easily identified by anyone who has ever wanted to be loved.
"The seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away." (Mark 4:16-17)
It isn't persecution that draws you to God, It is God's love. If you don't already know His love Jesus says you will quickly fall away when persecution comes. Enduring persecution does not make you stronger, it only taps into the strength you already have. That strength to overcome is your trust in God (1 John 5:4). The more you know God loves you the more you will trust Him.
Persecution is Satan's way of stopping the gospel. When people don't know or believe the true gospel there is no need for persecution. Galatians 6:12 even suggests that those who try to live by law or by their own strength will not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. In my opinion Christianity in America would virtually end if major persecution came because people are not "rooted and grounded in God's love" (Ephesians 3:17).
One of the easiest things, knowing that God loves you and letting Him love you, has become one of the hardest things because the traditions, false teachings, & false authorities of mainstream American Christianity. Its sin focused, mixed covenant, cross-ignoring teachings already have people barely hanging onto, not God, but a false picture of God. A picture that paints God as an utterly selfish, human hating, Christian hating, nagging, shame exploiting, greedy, & abusive monster who treats them worse than probably anyone they know & is 1,000 times more easily offended than any human being to ever walk the earth.
Because people believe God exists & believe the most basic gospel they honestly want to follow and serve God. But thanks to thousands of years of scripture twisting doctrines, man made traditions, and satanic deception people are told to follow this false picture of God whose abuse and constant fault finding are taught to be His "love." Or they are taught to serve & follow the preachings of an unbiblical religious system called "church" that pictures God as a distant CEO who you have to beg to show up in a "church service" to receive any recognition from him for all of your hard work for him.
Fear not, and engage the God who longs to unravel the lies you've been told so you can experience His love as He has always wanted. God loves you enough to accept you as you are. He is big enough & has shed enough blood to never be angry with you. He is who He says He is, God is love. Love that is easily identified by anyone who has ever wanted to be loved.
Friday, April 20, 2012
What Jesus Hates & Despises
What Jesus Hates
"Yet this you do have assembly in Ephesus, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate" (Revelation 2:6).
"You assembly in Pergamum have some who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans" (Revelation 2:15).
Nico means to rule over. Laitans means laity which simply translated means "people." God hates the deeds & doctrines (teachings) that involve some people ruling over other people in His body. That means God hates hierarchical authority in the body of Christ.
Interesting that the assembly in Ephesus is the first one written to, it represents the first century body of Christ, those who had not adopted the ungodly doctrine and deeds of hierarchical authority.
The assembly in Pergamum is the third one written to. Pergamum means "mixed Marriage" or "perverted marriage." Jesus says they "have some who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans" meaning hierarchical authority. He says hierarchical authority is "a stumbling block" and it causes people to "commit acts of immorality" (Revelation 2:14-15). The assembly in Pergamum represents the beginning of the institutional church from around the third century which began to have "leaders" (bishops, priests etc) rise up over other people thus usurping the headship of Christ. Headship which of course points to marriage thus setting up a "mixed marriage." How hate worthy is the thing that causes someone to cheat in their marriage? That friends is what hierarchical authority in the body of Christ is.
Hierarchical authority is the only thing in the New Testament that Jesus personally says that He "hates." The entire institutional church is built on hierarchical authority. No church of that sort can claim to "hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans" like Jesus said those in Ephesus did because they are all doing those deeds and in fact not only approve of the deeds but highly exalt the deeds.
Jesus also spoke harshly to the self-righteous but notice that those self-righteous people were exclusively people in positions of hierarchical authority. Hierarchical authority is the fertilizer that makes self-righteousness grow.
Here are two other places where Jesus spoke against hierarchical authority:
Jesus said, "Do not be called leaders because you have one Leader, Christ and you are all brothers" (see Matthew 23:1-12). In this context Jesus speaks against accepting (allowing others to call you by) honorary titles. He also speaks against lack of humility, laying burdens on people, bossing people around, doing things to be noticed by others so you can receive acclaim, loving to be in places of honor, & being greeted as better than others based on your position.
Jesus said to His disciples, "The kings of the Gentiles have power over/exercise authority over them but it shall not be so among you" (see Luke 22:13-30). In this context Jesus speaks against exercising authority over brothers and sisters in Christ (abusive or non-abusive), seeking status over others, & using honorary titles to make yourself seem kind or superior.
What Jesus Despises
The writer of Hebrews 12:2 tells us that Jesus despised the shame of the cross, meaning He felt all the shame and disgrace that mankind has ever felt because of sin. Christ despises the shame we feel, not us but the shame that causes us to feel far from Him as it did with Adam and Eve in the garden (compare Genesis 2:25 with Genesis 3:10). Shame is disgrace, the literal opposite of grace. It is the feeling or perception of disfavor, that you've lost favor with God. God gives grace not disgrace. “Everyone who trusts in Jesus will never be put to shame” (Isaiah 28:16, Romans 9:33, 10:11, 1 Peter 2:6, Joel 2:26-27, Isaiah 45:17, 54:4). He wants us to know His love. Imagine if something made someone you love feel as if you didn't love them or that you loved them less. That is how Jesus felt on the cross when He was despising the shame. The God who loves us without measure felt how unloved we feel.
Conclusion
Sadly hierarchical authority & shame meet at the pulpit, an unbiblical place at every church institution where the so called "leader," "pastor," or "man of God" slings shame and condemnation over a subdued crowd. I have yet to hear a sermon that didn't at some point disgrace grace. I don't say this to shame anyone but to warn of the danger in it. If those on top don't suffer, those on the bottom will and in ways many can't begin to imagine. Usually both suffer but are fooled into thinking that this is "God's way." Be assured that it is not. Heed the words of Jesus. Drop your titles, leave your positions, become a brother or sister and let Christ do what He came to do, build His people.
Jesus did away with the old covenant system of hierarchical authority when He rose again and sent His Spirit. This allowed Him to be the only & perfect mediator between mankind and God (1 Timothy 2:5). He made all of God's people kings and priests, all honored but all equal. What an amazing Lord we have!
Related Posts
"Yet this you do have assembly in Ephesus, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate" (Revelation 2:6).
"You assembly in Pergamum have some who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans" (Revelation 2:15).
Nico means to rule over. Laitans means laity which simply translated means "people." God hates the deeds & doctrines (teachings) that involve some people ruling over other people in His body. That means God hates hierarchical authority in the body of Christ.
Interesting that the assembly in Ephesus is the first one written to, it represents the first century body of Christ, those who had not adopted the ungodly doctrine and deeds of hierarchical authority.
The assembly in Pergamum is the third one written to. Pergamum means "mixed Marriage" or "perverted marriage." Jesus says they "have some who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans" meaning hierarchical authority. He says hierarchical authority is "a stumbling block" and it causes people to "commit acts of immorality" (Revelation 2:14-15). The assembly in Pergamum represents the beginning of the institutional church from around the third century which began to have "leaders" (bishops, priests etc) rise up over other people thus usurping the headship of Christ. Headship which of course points to marriage thus setting up a "mixed marriage." How hate worthy is the thing that causes someone to cheat in their marriage? That friends is what hierarchical authority in the body of Christ is.
Hierarchical authority is the only thing in the New Testament that Jesus personally says that He "hates." The entire institutional church is built on hierarchical authority. No church of that sort can claim to "hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans" like Jesus said those in Ephesus did because they are all doing those deeds and in fact not only approve of the deeds but highly exalt the deeds.
Jesus also spoke harshly to the self-righteous but notice that those self-righteous people were exclusively people in positions of hierarchical authority. Hierarchical authority is the fertilizer that makes self-righteousness grow.
Here are two other places where Jesus spoke against hierarchical authority:
Jesus said, "Do not be called leaders because you have one Leader, Christ and you are all brothers" (see Matthew 23:1-12). In this context Jesus speaks against accepting (allowing others to call you by) honorary titles. He also speaks against lack of humility, laying burdens on people, bossing people around, doing things to be noticed by others so you can receive acclaim, loving to be in places of honor, & being greeted as better than others based on your position.
Jesus said to His disciples, "The kings of the Gentiles have power over/exercise authority over them but it shall not be so among you" (see Luke 22:13-30). In this context Jesus speaks against exercising authority over brothers and sisters in Christ (abusive or non-abusive), seeking status over others, & using honorary titles to make yourself seem kind or superior.
What Jesus Despises
The writer of Hebrews 12:2 tells us that Jesus despised the shame of the cross, meaning He felt all the shame and disgrace that mankind has ever felt because of sin. Christ despises the shame we feel, not us but the shame that causes us to feel far from Him as it did with Adam and Eve in the garden (compare Genesis 2:25 with Genesis 3:10). Shame is disgrace, the literal opposite of grace. It is the feeling or perception of disfavor, that you've lost favor with God. God gives grace not disgrace. “Everyone who trusts in Jesus will never be put to shame” (Isaiah 28:16, Romans 9:33, 10:11, 1 Peter 2:6, Joel 2:26-27, Isaiah 45:17, 54:4). He wants us to know His love. Imagine if something made someone you love feel as if you didn't love them or that you loved them less. That is how Jesus felt on the cross when He was despising the shame. The God who loves us without measure felt how unloved we feel.
Conclusion
Sadly hierarchical authority & shame meet at the pulpit, an unbiblical place at every church institution where the so called "leader," "pastor," or "man of God" slings shame and condemnation over a subdued crowd. I have yet to hear a sermon that didn't at some point disgrace grace. I don't say this to shame anyone but to warn of the danger in it. If those on top don't suffer, those on the bottom will and in ways many can't begin to imagine. Usually both suffer but are fooled into thinking that this is "God's way." Be assured that it is not. Heed the words of Jesus. Drop your titles, leave your positions, become a brother or sister and let Christ do what He came to do, build His people.
Jesus did away with the old covenant system of hierarchical authority when He rose again and sent His Spirit. This allowed Him to be the only & perfect mediator between mankind and God (1 Timothy 2:5). He made all of God's people kings and priests, all honored but all equal. What an amazing Lord we have!
Related Posts
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Christianity: Academic Pursuit or Love Relationships
Some don't want scripture to speak to their heart before it speaks to their head so they require a reference for every scripture quoted. They want intellectual validation rather than spiritual validation. They look to interpret something based on their established lens rather than being taught by the Spirit of God who reveals the deep truths of God. Is Christianity merely an academic pursuit or is it about full-fledged love relationships with God and others?
Study Scripture or Show Your Spirit?
"Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15)
The word "study" is an old English word used in the KJV that has changed meaning since the KJV was translated. It isn't talking about academic study. It means "make every effort" or "be diligent." Sure that could include academic study but academic study is not specifically in view here. That outdated translation has caused many to be "always learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth" (2 Timothy 3:7). This is because they trust their intellectual interpretation of scripture over trusting the interaction of God in their spirit. They ignore the red flags that God gives through their feelings and write them off as selfishness. Presuppositions rule and our spirit is treated as if it were never reborn.
People take 2 Timothy 2:15 to mean, "Study scripture so God will approve of you" but what it really means is "You are already approved by God so make every effort to act like it." It doesn't mean you have to earn God's approval. You show that you already are approved of by God rather than strive to become approved. You do whatever you can to let others know what a joy it is to have God's approval. You live by and show your perfect spirit.
Divvying the Truth
"Rightly dividing the Word of Truth" does not primarily mean "make sure your sermon or lesson is accurate." It in fact runs contrary to that. Rightly dividing means you know who to give what truth to and when. The relational disbursement of truth is in view here not the blanketing of a message to a group of people. It is like dividing up a meal. You are considerate of the portions people need, their allergies, when they've eaten, and what they've eaten in the past.
"Rightly dividing the Word of Truth" is less about relaying information correctly as it is about relaying the correct information to the correct people. Don't simply tell the truth but know who needs what truth and follow the Spirit to give it to them at the best time. Just because you know doesn't mean you should tell everyone. Not everyone is ready to hear. Jesus taught in parables for that very reason.
Jesus deeply considered who He was talking to and when. Most today don't understand that about Him. Today people tend to approach the scriptures, especially the New Testament, with the mindset "I'm the audience so I must do whatever the bible says where ever it says it." Jesus' primary audience was pre-cross, under the law Jews. All people today are post-cross, post-resurrection, and are not under the law.
2 Timothy 2:15 is about others. You make every effort to show God's approving love to others. You give out truth to others when they need it most. This isn't a passage for a professional preacher. It is a scripture for every spiritual saint.
Person Traded for Papers
The Bible is like the biography of our friend God. The book does not replace God. Jesus said the Holy Spirit was one just like Himself sent to teach us & relate to us. Jesus specifically said in John 16:8-10 that the Holy Spirit is given to convince Christians of their righteousness (right standing with God) because God is no longer visibly on earth.
Modern Christianity treats the Bible as God. It treats Jesus as a distant historical figure. It treats the Father as someone in heaven who you pray strictly ordered prayers to who never talks back. For the Christian this views God as someone you try your best to act morally for because you are afraid God will get mad at you.
The reality: The Bible is mostly a historical record of God and His people in history prior to the 2nd century AD. It contains poetry about how some people felt and letters of instruction and advice from people who knew God well. It is a trustworthy record of God making Himself known to people in the time span it was written.
Jesus died on a cross to take away the sins of the world & He came back to life 3 days later. Because of this God never gets mad at His children. Jesus then became a life-giving Spirit who lives inside of all those who trust Him (1 Corinthians 15:45). He offers an unbreakable spiritual relationship. He is not distant but closer in the present than physically possible. The Father is like the Son, He lives in you and aims to show you love and to help, teach, & relate to you all your life.
God is not angry or distant. He holds no sin against any living person. He is closer to mankind than He has ever been. How sad would my relationship with my wife be if all it consisted of was me reading her love letters to me and leaving her messages about things I want? Approach God boldly and say "I want to know & experience your love." Don't feel like you are unworthy to do so. The blood of Christ has made you worthy forever.
No Summer Vacation
The methods of teaching in churches are patterned after Ancient Greece and not the style of Christ. Churches today have lectures (sermons) by professors (pastors) & classes with progressive lessons by teachers. Secular methods of teaching will result in non-spiritual learning. Thus people speak of God abstractly, think of Him as distant (impersonal), and argue about Him academically.
Church buildings are the schools Christians are "forced" to go to every week where most people can't wait to hear the final bell ring (the closing prayer). You get dirty looks for disrupting class (talking during a sermon or asking too many questions in Sunday school). You are required to sit and listen quietly and sometimes you get assigned home work.
I am not saying going to church is universally bad but I am saying that their methods are largely ineffective, unbiblical, & unChrist-like. It is much easier to receive falsehood and shame from the unquestionable trained professional than it is from a peer whom you can converse with. While it is fine to enjoy going to church a Christian doesn't have to want to go to church because churches as we know them aren't God's way and were never God's intention. What we call church is not the community of Christ that wows the world with their love for one another but instead is an obligatory academic institution.
Many of Jesus' famous sayings were responses to people not preplanned lectures. The Lord's Prayer & "I am the way, and the truth, and the life" are two examples. Most of Jesus' teachings were to His disciples whom He had relationships with. Jesus didn't teach them "a series on faith" or "a series on prayer." Jesus didn't teach with planned prescriptions. He taught man-to-man, person-to-person. He related with people and responded to them. He taught them at the times of their greatest benefit. Feel relieved that even in God's perfect timing the disciples still didn't understand a lot of what Jesus said.
Today preachers travel around preaching prepared messages to people they don't know. That is as unrelational as it gets and it is not Christ-like. When you don't have to relate to people you don't have to think much and you can just recite your prepared message with no interruptions. The Spirit has little to no wiggle room to help people through such messages.
Jesus taught crowds because crowds followed Him. He didn't schedule meetings for people to come. He actually attempted to escape crowds from time to time. We try to draw crowds to ourselves. Jesus didn't even command His disciples to set up meetings and draw crowds He sent them out in pairs to go house to house. Jesus' strategies were personal and impactful. Jesus "rightly divided the Word of Truth" His whole life all for the benefit of those who listened.
Jesus and Children
"People were bringing some children, even their babies to Jesus, so that He might touch them, lay His hands on them, and pray. And when the disciples saw it, they began rebuking those who brought them. But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant, and called for them, saying to them, “Let the children alone. Permit the children to come to Me, and do not hinder them from coming to Me, for the kingdom of the God of Heaven belongs to such as these. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will not enter into it at all. And taking them in His arms, He was blessing them. And putting His hands on them, He departed from there." (Matthew 19:13-15, Mark 10:13-16, Luke 18:15-17)
Jesus took children into His arms. He didn't send them away to a class or force them to memorize scripture. How did Jesus treat children? He invited them, He did not push them aside, He showed affection by touch, He prayed for them, He blessed them, He healed them, and He validated them. Jesus said He only did what He saw the Father doing. Well look at what Jesus did with children. That is the Father there too! He wasn't burdening them with laws and scriptures and study. He lovingly showed them affection.
Sadly parents feel a responsibility to train their children academically in regards to God. "Family bible study is a serious time because God is serious." Christian parents still teach their children the old covenant law. The law that brings death! A self-aware teenager might view life like this, "Life sucks under the law and God is no fun to be around. He is always getting on my case!"
Jesus did not use fear, punishment, and obligation to manipulate people. Why? Because He wasn't afraid. He knew how the Father felt about Him, He knew who He was and He enjoyed working with His Father because of the love they shared. We can live like this too.
Summary
Jesus died so we could know God forever and experience and share His love. Relationships!
The Assembly (true church) is the community of Christ that wows the world with their love for one another. Relationships!
Jesus welcomed children and treated them with loving affection. Relationships!
Supplementary
"Do not argue about trivial, insignificant things. Doing so helps no one and ruins those who hear you." (2 Timothy 2:14)
Here are some interesting definitions of "academic"
Study Scripture or Show Your Spirit?
"Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15)
The word "study" is an old English word used in the KJV that has changed meaning since the KJV was translated. It isn't talking about academic study. It means "make every effort" or "be diligent." Sure that could include academic study but academic study is not specifically in view here. That outdated translation has caused many to be "always learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth" (2 Timothy 3:7). This is because they trust their intellectual interpretation of scripture over trusting the interaction of God in their spirit. They ignore the red flags that God gives through their feelings and write them off as selfishness. Presuppositions rule and our spirit is treated as if it were never reborn.
People take 2 Timothy 2:15 to mean, "Study scripture so God will approve of you" but what it really means is "You are already approved by God so make every effort to act like it." It doesn't mean you have to earn God's approval. You show that you already are approved of by God rather than strive to become approved. You do whatever you can to let others know what a joy it is to have God's approval. You live by and show your perfect spirit.
Divvying the Truth
"Rightly dividing the Word of Truth" does not primarily mean "make sure your sermon or lesson is accurate." It in fact runs contrary to that. Rightly dividing means you know who to give what truth to and when. The relational disbursement of truth is in view here not the blanketing of a message to a group of people. It is like dividing up a meal. You are considerate of the portions people need, their allergies, when they've eaten, and what they've eaten in the past.
"Rightly dividing the Word of Truth" is less about relaying information correctly as it is about relaying the correct information to the correct people. Don't simply tell the truth but know who needs what truth and follow the Spirit to give it to them at the best time. Just because you know doesn't mean you should tell everyone. Not everyone is ready to hear. Jesus taught in parables for that very reason.
Jesus deeply considered who He was talking to and when. Most today don't understand that about Him. Today people tend to approach the scriptures, especially the New Testament, with the mindset "I'm the audience so I must do whatever the bible says where ever it says it." Jesus' primary audience was pre-cross, under the law Jews. All people today are post-cross, post-resurrection, and are not under the law.
2 Timothy 2:15 is about others. You make every effort to show God's approving love to others. You give out truth to others when they need it most. This isn't a passage for a professional preacher. It is a scripture for every spiritual saint.
Person Traded for Papers
The Bible is like the biography of our friend God. The book does not replace God. Jesus said the Holy Spirit was one just like Himself sent to teach us & relate to us. Jesus specifically said in John 16:8-10 that the Holy Spirit is given to convince Christians of their righteousness (right standing with God) because God is no longer visibly on earth.
Modern Christianity treats the Bible as God. It treats Jesus as a distant historical figure. It treats the Father as someone in heaven who you pray strictly ordered prayers to who never talks back. For the Christian this views God as someone you try your best to act morally for because you are afraid God will get mad at you.
The reality: The Bible is mostly a historical record of God and His people in history prior to the 2nd century AD. It contains poetry about how some people felt and letters of instruction and advice from people who knew God well. It is a trustworthy record of God making Himself known to people in the time span it was written.
Jesus died on a cross to take away the sins of the world & He came back to life 3 days later. Because of this God never gets mad at His children. Jesus then became a life-giving Spirit who lives inside of all those who trust Him (1 Corinthians 15:45). He offers an unbreakable spiritual relationship. He is not distant but closer in the present than physically possible. The Father is like the Son, He lives in you and aims to show you love and to help, teach, & relate to you all your life.
God is not angry or distant. He holds no sin against any living person. He is closer to mankind than He has ever been. How sad would my relationship with my wife be if all it consisted of was me reading her love letters to me and leaving her messages about things I want? Approach God boldly and say "I want to know & experience your love." Don't feel like you are unworthy to do so. The blood of Christ has made you worthy forever.
No Summer Vacation
The methods of teaching in churches are patterned after Ancient Greece and not the style of Christ. Churches today have lectures (sermons) by professors (pastors) & classes with progressive lessons by teachers. Secular methods of teaching will result in non-spiritual learning. Thus people speak of God abstractly, think of Him as distant (impersonal), and argue about Him academically.
Church buildings are the schools Christians are "forced" to go to every week where most people can't wait to hear the final bell ring (the closing prayer). You get dirty looks for disrupting class (talking during a sermon or asking too many questions in Sunday school). You are required to sit and listen quietly and sometimes you get assigned home work.
I am not saying going to church is universally bad but I am saying that their methods are largely ineffective, unbiblical, & unChrist-like. It is much easier to receive falsehood and shame from the unquestionable trained professional than it is from a peer whom you can converse with. While it is fine to enjoy going to church a Christian doesn't have to want to go to church because churches as we know them aren't God's way and were never God's intention. What we call church is not the community of Christ that wows the world with their love for one another but instead is an obligatory academic institution.
Many of Jesus' famous sayings were responses to people not preplanned lectures. The Lord's Prayer & "I am the way, and the truth, and the life" are two examples. Most of Jesus' teachings were to His disciples whom He had relationships with. Jesus didn't teach them "a series on faith" or "a series on prayer." Jesus didn't teach with planned prescriptions. He taught man-to-man, person-to-person. He related with people and responded to them. He taught them at the times of their greatest benefit. Feel relieved that even in God's perfect timing the disciples still didn't understand a lot of what Jesus said.
Today preachers travel around preaching prepared messages to people they don't know. That is as unrelational as it gets and it is not Christ-like. When you don't have to relate to people you don't have to think much and you can just recite your prepared message with no interruptions. The Spirit has little to no wiggle room to help people through such messages.
Jesus taught crowds because crowds followed Him. He didn't schedule meetings for people to come. He actually attempted to escape crowds from time to time. We try to draw crowds to ourselves. Jesus didn't even command His disciples to set up meetings and draw crowds He sent them out in pairs to go house to house. Jesus' strategies were personal and impactful. Jesus "rightly divided the Word of Truth" His whole life all for the benefit of those who listened.
Jesus and Children
"People were bringing some children, even their babies to Jesus, so that He might touch them, lay His hands on them, and pray. And when the disciples saw it, they began rebuking those who brought them. But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant, and called for them, saying to them, “Let the children alone. Permit the children to come to Me, and do not hinder them from coming to Me, for the kingdom of the God of Heaven belongs to such as these. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will not enter into it at all. And taking them in His arms, He was blessing them. And putting His hands on them, He departed from there." (Matthew 19:13-15, Mark 10:13-16, Luke 18:15-17)
Jesus took children into His arms. He didn't send them away to a class or force them to memorize scripture. How did Jesus treat children? He invited them, He did not push them aside, He showed affection by touch, He prayed for them, He blessed them, He healed them, and He validated them. Jesus said He only did what He saw the Father doing. Well look at what Jesus did with children. That is the Father there too! He wasn't burdening them with laws and scriptures and study. He lovingly showed them affection.
Sadly parents feel a responsibility to train their children academically in regards to God. "Family bible study is a serious time because God is serious." Christian parents still teach their children the old covenant law. The law that brings death! A self-aware teenager might view life like this, "Life sucks under the law and God is no fun to be around. He is always getting on my case!"
Jesus did not use fear, punishment, and obligation to manipulate people. Why? Because He wasn't afraid. He knew how the Father felt about Him, He knew who He was and He enjoyed working with His Father because of the love they shared. We can live like this too.
Summary
Jesus died so we could know God forever and experience and share His love. Relationships!
The Assembly (true church) is the community of Christ that wows the world with their love for one another. Relationships!
Jesus welcomed children and treated them with loving affection. Relationships!
I pray that you experience the love of Christ that surpasses all knowledge (Ephesians 3:19)
Supplementary
"Do not argue about trivial, insignificant things. Doing so helps no one and ruins those who hear you." (2 Timothy 2:14)
Here are some interesting definitions of "academic"
- hypothetical or theoretical and not expected to produce an immediate or practical result
- marked by a narrow focus on or display of learning especially its trivial aspects
- Scholarly to the point of being unaware of the outside world
- Theoretical or speculative without a practical purpose or intention
- Having no practical purpose or use; belonging or relating to a place of learning, esp a college, university, or academy (church)
- excessively concerned with intellectual matters and lacking experience of practical affairs
- conforming to set rules and traditions
Friday, July 8, 2011
Community vs. Prescriptions
Community is created by communication and unity. There is no unity without communication. The appearance of unity without communication is actually conformity. Conformity is impersonal and often comes from the fear of communication.
Prescriptions (such as typical Sunday morning meetings having the same order of events and the few performing for the many) kill the personal and remove Christ as the Head by not letting Him lead. Prescriptions instead go through the motions of tradition or through the agenda of those in charge.
Everyone is to freely participate in a meeting of the body of Christ like in 1 Corinthians 14. Why not have this type of meeting every time you get together? Why stop love, communication, brotherhood, and freedom just to have someone speak a non-interactive monolog we call a sermon and move us through the motions of the traditional order of worship?
Prescriptions (such as typical Sunday morning meetings having the same order of events and the few performing for the many) kill the personal and remove Christ as the Head by not letting Him lead. Prescriptions instead go through the motions of tradition or through the agenda of those in charge.
Everyone is to freely participate in a meeting of the body of Christ like in 1 Corinthians 14. Why not have this type of meeting every time you get together? Why stop love, communication, brotherhood, and freedom just to have someone speak a non-interactive monolog we call a sermon and move us through the motions of the traditional order of worship?
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Which one is the great commission?
Go therefore and build church buildings in all nations, telling them to come, & leading them in the sinner's prayer. And surely I will be with you at the rapture.
OR
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to keep all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
Questions I have received concerning this.
What do you think is a good way to encourage and challenge our brothers and sisters to do so?
OR
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to keep all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
Questions I have received concerning this.
What do you think is a good way to encourage and challenge our brothers and sisters to do so?
Teaching scripture concerning it is good for those who accept and act upon it's validity. But the main way would be to actually make disciples spend time and pour God's truth into our brothers and sisters. To make disciples is to lead them to Christ (if necessary) & teach them to treasure all the things of the person of Christ. The heart of disciple making is to know God loves you and to be His disciple, then anything Christlike God has put in you put into others as the Spirit leads.
What's wrong with planting churches?
In the sense of the goal being to have a church building that people come to, Jesus never commanded it. He commanded us to make disciples, if we aren't doing that we shouldn't be wasting our time doing things He didn't command. Those things aren't as effective for His kingdom as what He did command.
What's wrong with spreading the gospel to other nations?
Spreading the gospel is included in discipleship. Evangelism is step one in discipleship. Baptism comes right after conversion (see when people are baptised in Acts)."baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit"
People generally need to be Christians or at least seeking in order for them to be disciples...
True, someone must be a Christian in order to be a disciple of Christ.To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." -John 8:31-32
Telling people to come to church & leading them in the sinner's prayer often creates false or perpetual baby Christians because no one ever teaches them how God loves them. They just hear sermons and teaching that can be over their head and are primarily one way lectures.
I ask you this,
Which is better?
To plant a church that people come to once a week
To plant God's Word (Jesus) in someone's heart who will go out with God's Word and spread it
Revised 10/31/11& 5/9/14
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