Even people who claim to walk under the new covenant & its grace still point to old covenant commands as the most important things in life.
The Greatest Old Covenant Commands (Luke 10:27):
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, & all your mind.
Love your neighbor as yourself.
The Only Universal New Covenant Command (1 John 3:23, John 13:34-35, 14:1):
Trust in God. Trust in Jesus. Love one another as God has loved us.
The old covenant is by the letter of the law. The new covenant is by the spirit.
The old covenant is external. The new covenant is internal leading to external.
Under the old covenant everything must be up to you. Under the new covenant everything is freely done WITH God.
Old covenant: Love.
New covenant: Be loved & love together.
This is where all religions fall short, including Judaism & atheism. They all tell you to love but none of them let you be loved first. They all leave you unloved & alone. But Jesus' message was, "You have a Father who loves you & wants to know you."
Related Posts
Love God?If you love Me, you will keep My commandments † I Will Love You So You Will Trust Me
Showing posts with label religion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label religion. Show all posts
Monday, June 10, 2013
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
How Satan Steals the Truth
Religion basically says our whole relationship with God is based on us being filthy & Him cleaning us. Where would religion be without sin? It wouldn't exist. Since God is not charging us with sin & Christians don't need to be sin conscious who is pushing the concept of sin in religion? The deceiver, the accuser, Satan himself. As Jesus said he does, Satan steals the truth. With the truth out of his way he can destroy our perceptions of God, ourselves, others, & all of life.
I honestly believe the #1 way Satan steals the truth is by sermons presented by self-professed leaders. When you perceive someone as "above you" because of a title in front of their name or a position they hold you are utterly opening yourself up to believing falsehood. This happens when you either let them do your thinking for you or you assume they are more apt to receive & understand truth than you are.
The truth is Jesus forbade the existence of official leaders & He told us that He'd teach us Himself by His Spirit living in us. But Satan stepped in & said, "You must have official leaders in every group of Christians. You cannot trust your heart to hear God's voice, always doubt yourself if you think you've heard Him. You should trust the leaders to tell you what God says in the spirit & in the scriptures." The church system is Satan's substitute for living in & with the family of God. Regardless if the person is aware of it, has a great character, or even preaches the truth church leaders (pastors etc) are Satan's substitute for Jesus & the Holy Spirit of God.
I honestly believe the #1 way Satan steals the truth is by sermons presented by self-professed leaders. When you perceive someone as "above you" because of a title in front of their name or a position they hold you are utterly opening yourself up to believing falsehood. This happens when you either let them do your thinking for you or you assume they are more apt to receive & understand truth than you are.
The truth is Jesus forbade the existence of official leaders & He told us that He'd teach us Himself by His Spirit living in us. But Satan stepped in & said, "You must have official leaders in every group of Christians. You cannot trust your heart to hear God's voice, always doubt yourself if you think you've heard Him. You should trust the leaders to tell you what God says in the spirit & in the scriptures." The church system is Satan's substitute for living in & with the family of God. Regardless if the person is aware of it, has a great character, or even preaches the truth church leaders (pastors etc) are Satan's substitute for Jesus & the Holy Spirit of God.
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.
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?
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Instead of going to the box factory today, we'll be going to the...box factory
While there is a beneficial place for teachers (this scripture was telling Timothy to be a good teacher) scripture is clear that it is the Holy Spirit who is to be our teacher and lead us to ALL truth. Surely He can do this through other people. However the problem arises when people trust in men to teach them more than they trust in God to teach them. Religion is designed to have people do this. So this scripture sounds like a prophecy of sermons, preachers, & authors to me. The Spirit cannot teach you if you hitch your cart to someone else's horse. Most of what people "know" are things they don't know for themselves. Most of their knowledge comes from preachers & predetermined doctrines that have been passed down. They have discovered few if anything themselves through the Spirit's teaching because they have signed up for the wrong class. They have signed up to be taught by indoctrinated or ego driven religious leaders. Those same religious leaders will deride those who don't preach what or how they preach using the verses above. They will say, "itching ears want to hear easy & happy teachings" but the truth is an itching ear mainly wants to hear what agrees with it already. It doesn't want to hear something new. It doesn't want to be challenged to believe something different.
For thousands of years doctrines (teachings) invented by men have been formulated & propagated. Every denomination & every church thereof has already decided what is true & what is false. There is no room for the Spirit to teach because everyone already has everything down in neat little packaged boxes. The church leaders, church fathers, & church history's most touted theologians are the ones people are taught to listen to directly or indirectly. People walk around as if they are fatherless while the Father longs to lead them Himself but they are imprisoned by lies or are fearful or unwilling to follow Him themselves. The living God has been traded for the dead teachings of men. Religion has hidden or deleted most truth from people's hearts & minds. The truth is what religion desperately seeks to destroy. Instead religion, as if designed by Satan himself, claims to have all the answers. It speaks shame, fear, & death. It sets up its own set of leaders who, knowingly or not, directly usurp the place & work of God in people's lives.
So many people see through religion because it is lifeless, Godless, & loveless. Yet religion has claimed the concept of God for its own so people who reject religion often reject the concept of God. Religion seeks only to devour & deceive the many well intentioned people who choose to adhere themselves to it. The dangerous few who tell the truth are continually told to be silent. Even some who know the truth fear what would happen if other people knew it. My God is The Truth & He sets people free. Freedom is the enemy of religion because religion enslaves people & causes them to act like shame filled beggars who plead for God's mercy and forgiveness as if Christ had never died & rose again. Religion empties the cross of its power. At most the cross is taught as a ticket to a far off heaven.
You can fit a lot of dirt & rock into a box but you can't fit the whole planet earth in there. Likewise you can find truth while in religion & its systems but you can't find the vast majority of it in there. Knowing truth lets us experience freedom. There isn't much freedom inside of a box so there can't be much truth either. Each doctrine is a box as well, prohibiting anything that disagrees with it. After enough time in religion people themselves become box like, excluding any ideas or people who don't fit into their box. As sad as it is, the box of religion, its systems, & its doctrines will always restrict truth, leaving most of it outside. All of us are ignorant about something and there are countless things we could be deceived about too. Who do you trust more, ignorant, deceived men, alive or dead, who have followed their own itching ears or our all knowing, all loving, completely trustworthy Father?
Monday, July 30, 2012
Cooperation not Control, Commitment, or Promises
Most teach that we should "give God control." That we should pray for God to "control" us. But scripture never uses that sort of language. It says for us to walk with God & to cooperate with Him. It is always a relationship. It is never "all me" or "all Him." It is "us together." That is how Jesus lived with the Father.
We cannot "hand over the controls" of our life to God. God will not magically override your free will just because you said you'd "surrender" your will to Him. Surrender is a term never used in scripture for our relationship with God. The word that is used is "submit" and it literally means "voluntary cooperation." It is a relational walk not a switch off. It happens decision by decision. You cannot blanket cooperate. You have to do it in time as God directs. The idea of "surrender" & "giving God control" is often approached as a switch off. Your part is to pray a morning prayer where you declare blanket "surrender of your day." Life doesn't work like that. You can't say to your boss, "I surrender my day to you" and expect him to do all of your work or even that somehow the right work will get done. Communication lines must stay open.
The bible doesn't use the word "commit" or "commitment" either. Commit, as I've always heard it used in religion, means "dedicate, pledge, promise, to put yourself under obligation.1" Jesus told us that it is not good to make promises to God (Matthew 5:33-37). Instead He tells us only to use an honest "Yes" or "No" as questions arise. We aren't to live by the promises we make to God but the promises He has made to us. Religion constantly takes the focus off of God & our legitimate relationship with Him in favor of rules to keep & promises to make. Whether it is realized or not both are based solely in human effort.
Making promises to God is ineffective because they are either theoretical or made outside of a situation. Jesus said anything beyond an honest "Yes" or "No" "comes from evil.2" So sad it is then that religion teaches the Christian life as almost based solely on promise making. Repent is falsely taught to mean "promise to God that you will not repeat a sin." It is also taught that you should "repent" however often you do something you think is sin which can be many times a day. (Repent actually means "change your mind" not "to promise to change your mind" but an actual change of mind). Instead of realizing that we "cannot make one hair white or black" we set ourselves up for perpetual disappointment.
God never intended for us to live in an endless cycle of make promise/break promise/shame/recommitment. I dare say the majority of Christians live that way. I lived that way for about 10 years as a Christian. God's love is unconditional and it is based on His perfectly trustworthy promises not on my so called obedience. I say "so called obedience" because most are taught to obey rules/principles that either God never told them to obey or that were never biblical in the first place.
While cooperation (the literal meaning of submission in the bible) can involve you choosing God's will over your own, the focus is not on what you are giving up (like it is with commitment & surrender) but on what God is giving you!
Commitment & surrender are based on human instigation & effort. In cooperation God guides & we respond. God is the instigator, the wisdom, and the power source. We are His beloved children. The more we cooperate with Him through trust the more we will enjoy the love & experience of walking with our awesome Father!
1Commit, meaning entrust, is a good thing but it still has to happen as you walk through life. Entrusting yourself to God gives you eternal salvation & a new identity (spirit) in Christ but opportunities for entrusting yourself to God happen as you walk through life with Him. You have to choose to trust Him as things happen. It sounds simple and it is.
2Religion evil? No surprise to me.
We cannot "hand over the controls" of our life to God. God will not magically override your free will just because you said you'd "surrender" your will to Him. Surrender is a term never used in scripture for our relationship with God. The word that is used is "submit" and it literally means "voluntary cooperation." It is a relational walk not a switch off. It happens decision by decision. You cannot blanket cooperate. You have to do it in time as God directs. The idea of "surrender" & "giving God control" is often approached as a switch off. Your part is to pray a morning prayer where you declare blanket "surrender of your day." Life doesn't work like that. You can't say to your boss, "I surrender my day to you" and expect him to do all of your work or even that somehow the right work will get done. Communication lines must stay open.
The bible doesn't use the word "commit" or "commitment" either. Commit, as I've always heard it used in religion, means "dedicate, pledge, promise, to put yourself under obligation.1" Jesus told us that it is not good to make promises to God (Matthew 5:33-37). Instead He tells us only to use an honest "Yes" or "No" as questions arise. We aren't to live by the promises we make to God but the promises He has made to us. Religion constantly takes the focus off of God & our legitimate relationship with Him in favor of rules to keep & promises to make. Whether it is realized or not both are based solely in human effort.
Making promises to God is ineffective because they are either theoretical or made outside of a situation. Jesus said anything beyond an honest "Yes" or "No" "comes from evil.2" So sad it is then that religion teaches the Christian life as almost based solely on promise making. Repent is falsely taught to mean "promise to God that you will not repeat a sin." It is also taught that you should "repent" however often you do something you think is sin which can be many times a day. (Repent actually means "change your mind" not "to promise to change your mind" but an actual change of mind). Instead of realizing that we "cannot make one hair white or black" we set ourselves up for perpetual disappointment.
God never intended for us to live in an endless cycle of make promise/break promise/shame/recommitment. I dare say the majority of Christians live that way. I lived that way for about 10 years as a Christian. God's love is unconditional and it is based on His perfectly trustworthy promises not on my so called obedience. I say "so called obedience" because most are taught to obey rules/principles that either God never told them to obey or that were never biblical in the first place.
While cooperation (the literal meaning of submission in the bible) can involve you choosing God's will over your own, the focus is not on what you are giving up (like it is with commitment & surrender) but on what God is giving you!
Commitment & surrender are based on human instigation & effort. In cooperation God guides & we respond. God is the instigator, the wisdom, and the power source. We are His beloved children. The more we cooperate with Him through trust the more we will enjoy the love & experience of walking with our awesome Father!
"The love of Christ grips us & compels us. His love holds us together & gives us security. We can see the wonder of His love because He has died for all. So now we who have living spirits may no longer live unto ourselves, but unto Him who died for us and rose again. The love of Christ surrounds us!"
(2 Corinthians 5:14-15)
(2 Corinthians 5:14-15)
1Commit, meaning entrust, is a good thing but it still has to happen as you walk through life. Entrusting yourself to God gives you eternal salvation & a new identity (spirit) in Christ but opportunities for entrusting yourself to God happen as you walk through life with Him. You have to choose to trust Him as things happen. It sounds simple and it is.
2Religion evil? No surprise to me.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
The Meaning of the Word 'Religion' in the Bible
The Greek word translated "religion," as found in the letter of James, means "worship or adherence that is outwardly evident."
James 1:27 says, "Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world." Visiting people is an outward thing. A stain is something someone can see. To be unstained means people don't see "the world's" stains on you.
The same Greek word is also used in Acts 26:5, "I lived as a Pharisee, the strictest sect of our religion."
The word religion, as used in the Bible, is an outward identification. You look and act like a Jew if you are Jewish. You act like a Christian, love others and exhibit good character, if you are a Christian. That very thing of showing others that you belong to Jesus is what James writes about in his letter when talking about faith and works.
So in the first century "religion" was something you showed not something you told. Jews looked and dressed a certain way. They could be seen observing Old Testament ceremonies and rituals. James was saying Christians are identified by love, compassion, and character; the real meat of life rather than the lifeless soggy bread of rituals.
Jesus said, "All men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:35)
Religion is a neutral word both in the Bible and in today's English. It, like most words in scripture, is a regular word defined by context.
James 1:27 says, "Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world." Visiting people is an outward thing. A stain is something someone can see. To be unstained means people don't see "the world's" stains on you.
The same Greek word is also used in Acts 26:5, "I lived as a Pharisee, the strictest sect of our religion."
The word religion, as used in the Bible, is an outward identification. You look and act like a Jew if you are Jewish. You act like a Christian, love others and exhibit good character, if you are a Christian. That very thing of showing others that you belong to Jesus is what James writes about in his letter when talking about faith and works.
So in the first century "religion" was something you showed not something you told. Jews looked and dressed a certain way. They could be seen observing Old Testament ceremonies and rituals. James was saying Christians are identified by love, compassion, and character; the real meat of life rather than the lifeless soggy bread of rituals.
Jesus said, "All men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:35)
Religion is a neutral word both in the Bible and in today's English. It, like most words in scripture, is a regular word defined by context.
Monday, April 30, 2012
How I View the Deceived
Being someone who was once deceived by religion myself I can't really look down on others. I think I have always been open to God rather than having a strong affinity about what I believe as to be unwilling to let it go. However there were some times I changed my mind about things too fast.
I wonder why I've learned what I've learned and experienced what I've experienced. I ask "Why me God?" in a positive way. So much of who I am, not willing to conform to the world, willing to research and study, is just natural. I didn't try to be like this. It was easy. As I go on I realize much is because my parents loved me so well.
I've seen people be unable to entertain the idea that they could be wrong about something. I've heard of Christians on their death bed dying in misery thinking God was punishing them all because they don't understand God's love for them. My life does seem to be "There but for the grace of God go I." I don't think God will punish His children for their disbelief but He might show them what kind of wonderful life on earth they could have had if they had trusted Him more.
I guess I see people as victims of lies, even those who teach the lies are victims of them. Seldom does someone knowingly teach a lie, but they are certain about things which are terribly false. While I hate the positions and traditions that harm people I don't wish people would "get what's coming to them" based on what they believe and how they behave. What every Christian has coming to them is the love of God because of what Christ did for them. I just wish they knew it. The first step to believing the truth is to know that it exists.
Matthew 9:36 really shows me how God views the world, not with contempt for disbelief and disobedience, but with compassion. "When Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd."
I wonder why I've learned what I've learned and experienced what I've experienced. I ask "Why me God?" in a positive way. So much of who I am, not willing to conform to the world, willing to research and study, is just natural. I didn't try to be like this. It was easy. As I go on I realize much is because my parents loved me so well.
I've seen people be unable to entertain the idea that they could be wrong about something. I've heard of Christians on their death bed dying in misery thinking God was punishing them all because they don't understand God's love for them. My life does seem to be "There but for the grace of God go I." I don't think God will punish His children for their disbelief but He might show them what kind of wonderful life on earth they could have had if they had trusted Him more.
I guess I see people as victims of lies, even those who teach the lies are victims of them. Seldom does someone knowingly teach a lie, but they are certain about things which are terribly false. While I hate the positions and traditions that harm people I don't wish people would "get what's coming to them" based on what they believe and how they behave. What every Christian has coming to them is the love of God because of what Christ did for them. I just wish they knew it. The first step to believing the truth is to know that it exists.
Matthew 9:36 really shows me how God views the world, not with contempt for disbelief and disobedience, but with compassion. "When Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd."
Friday, March 30, 2012
The Responsibility of Our Relationship with God
We incorrectly learn that the responsibility of the relationship is on us. The question is not "How do I build a relationship with God?" it is "How do I begin to recognize how God is building a relationship with me?" He loves us so that we may live through Him and He live through us.
Our willingness to respond and rest is what ultimately makes the relationship happen because a relationship does take two. But when people think the responsibility of the relationship is ours we will make up or perform practices that we think will help us "get to God" that actually make a real natural relationship impossible. We will attempt to define what the relationship is when God should be doing that. Instead of trying to connect with the true God in spirit we follow performance based practices (religion) which cause us to ignore or write off God's advances towards us.
We can't force God to respond to us and trying to is an attempt to control Him. We can respond to Him and let Him reveal His love to us. Taking this burden that is not ours will lead us to work in vain & severely limit God. "Unless the Lord is the builder of the house (people/relationship) those who labor to build it labor in vain" (Psalm 127:1). "Christ is in charge of God's entire house and we are God's house" (Hebrews 3:6).
Religion puts the responsibility of the relationship on us. It tells us to love God before we explore His love for us. It tells us to work for God as an unquestionable slave master who has already given out His assignments instead of walking with a Father and doing work on that journey with Him when He tells us to.
Human relationships involve people trying to figure things out together. We are equal in that regard. God already has everything figured out. He already knows what is best and has already prepared good things for us to do. If we don't let Him be responsible for the relationship then He will still clean up our messes and work things to our benefit as much as He can (Romans 8:28). His love allows Him to do nothing less.
God is the ultimate expert on life and love that is why we follow Him. Most think of submission to God as obeying the scriptures and avoiding destructive behaviors but submission in the bible means "relational cooperation." It only takes place in a living relationship where God is presenting you with something to cooperate with.
We do have a say in our relationship with God. We can choose love or we can choose self and I don't mean selfishness I mean self-effort. We can let Him be who He wants to be, the greatest love and experience of our life, or we can take the responsibility of the relationship on ourselves thus trying to make Him be who we want Him to be for us in our short-sightedness.
The truth is that it isn't about us giving our lives to God, it is about Him giving His life to us. The difference is a life of recurring misery vs. a life of rich joy.
Our willingness to respond and rest is what ultimately makes the relationship happen because a relationship does take two. But when people think the responsibility of the relationship is ours we will make up or perform practices that we think will help us "get to God" that actually make a real natural relationship impossible. We will attempt to define what the relationship is when God should be doing that. Instead of trying to connect with the true God in spirit we follow performance based practices (religion) which cause us to ignore or write off God's advances towards us.
We can't force God to respond to us and trying to is an attempt to control Him. We can respond to Him and let Him reveal His love to us. Taking this burden that is not ours will lead us to work in vain & severely limit God. "Unless the Lord is the builder of the house (people/relationship) those who labor to build it labor in vain" (Psalm 127:1). "Christ is in charge of God's entire house and we are God's house" (Hebrews 3:6).
Religion puts the responsibility of the relationship on us. It tells us to love God before we explore His love for us. It tells us to work for God as an unquestionable slave master who has already given out His assignments instead of walking with a Father and doing work on that journey with Him when He tells us to.
Human relationships involve people trying to figure things out together. We are equal in that regard. God already has everything figured out. He already knows what is best and has already prepared good things for us to do. If we don't let Him be responsible for the relationship then He will still clean up our messes and work things to our benefit as much as He can (Romans 8:28). His love allows Him to do nothing less.
God is the ultimate expert on life and love that is why we follow Him. Most think of submission to God as obeying the scriptures and avoiding destructive behaviors but submission in the bible means "relational cooperation." It only takes place in a living relationship where God is presenting you with something to cooperate with.
We do have a say in our relationship with God. We can choose love or we can choose self and I don't mean selfishness I mean self-effort. We can let Him be who He wants to be, the greatest love and experience of our life, or we can take the responsibility of the relationship on ourselves thus trying to make Him be who we want Him to be for us in our short-sightedness.
The truth is that it isn't about us giving our lives to God, it is about Him giving His life to us. The difference is a life of recurring misery vs. a life of rich joy.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Valuing Truth and The Motivation for Sharing It
Those in man made religion bicker over doctrines that are held only as trivial knowledge. These doctrines do not end up relating to real life or are a burden.
When you talk to someone about God's truth is it out of love for who you are talking to (encouragement, instruction etc.) or is it to selfishly get your point across of what you believe?
The bottom line is if you share love with God and have a real life relationship with Him. If you do then trust Him and the Holy Spirit will lead you to the truth and how to share the truth.
When you talk to someone about God's truth is it out of love for who you are talking to (encouragement, instruction etc.) or is it to selfishly get your point across of what you believe?
The bottom line is if you share love with God and have a real life relationship with Him. If you do then trust Him and the Holy Spirit will lead you to the truth and how to share the truth.
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