Religion – Rules and Regulations to abide by to obtain a favourable afterlife
Faith – A Relationship with God and accepting what He has done for you
Religion and Faith are polar opposites. Religion stresses rules and regulations and that by following these directions you will be allowed into “Heaven.” Ephesians 2:8-9, “For it is by grace that you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is a gift from God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” True faith is not religious. Faith is believing in Christ Jesus, that He died on the cross, rose again three days later, and defeated death. Through this death and resurrection He offers us redemption.
Redemption – To buy back
Christ defeated all that holds us in bondage through His death and resurrection and offers us freedom. Redemption is to buy back what was lost. At the fall mankind legally handed over their rights to the devil, at the cross Jesus completely redeemed us or bought us back. Galatians 3:13, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.’” To be a “Christian” means that you have accepted this free gift that Christ offers and are therefore redeemed.
The Christian Hope is wrapped up in Redemption. Many people think, due to the Greek Philosopher Plato’s views, that the Christian Hope is going to Heaven when we die. Plato’s views permeate Western thinking today and He has influenced your views whether you have read him or not. He viewed the physical as evil and Heaven as a place where we will go when we die to escape this evil world. Since the physical was seen as evil, Heaven was a place that was spiritual and therefore we would live in a disembodied state in a far away land called Heaven when we died. I may be making it sound more ridiculous than usual, but this is the view that many, many Christians hold about the afterlife.
The Christian Hope is wrapped up in Redemption. To redeem is to buy back. Christ did not die on the cross and rise again to simply save our souls. He came to redeem us. 1 Peter 1:20 shows us that Christ was chosen before the creation of the world to redeem us. Obviously if He was chosen before the world was even created, the fact Adam and Eve sinned did not surprise God. God created mankind with choice, because without choice there can be no love. God created us to enter into a love relationship with Him, and to take away choice would thwart our very purpose for existence, and God would not do that. From the very beginning of time God had a plan to redeem what was lost, and His “Redemption Project” continues today.
We are living in a time that the prophets of the Old Testament longed for. They longed to receive the redemption Christ offers during their lifetime (It worked a little different for them, I will not get into that here, but redemption still works for them). We have been redeemed. Jesus taught us to pray, “Your Kingdom come on Earth as it is in Heaven.” God has given redeemed people power for this to happen when they believe and speak it. We are able to live the redeemed life right now, experiencing the reality of Heaven in our life right now, the prophets longed for that.
The Christian Hope is wrapped up in Redemption. God’s “Redemption Project” reaches to the farthest parts of the cosmos. God’s plan is to redeem everything He created. Revelation 21 speaks of a New Heaven and a New Earth with the Holy City, The New Jerusalem, coming out of Heaven to the Earth. All that has been created will be redeemed and, instead of us escaping to Heaven, God will make His dwelling with men (Revelation 21:3). Heaven’s reality will completely and permanently invade the Earth. We will be living a “Heaven on Earth.” The Christian Hope is wrapped up in Redemption.
We are currently living at a time after Christ, but before the complete redemption of all of Heaven and Earth.Whatever we do in this life to “bring Heaven to Earth” will be beautified when this Redemption Project reaches its fulfillment. Matthew 10:42, “And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because He is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.” Whatever is done big or small that brings Heaven’s reality to earth will be rewarded, or beautified, or put in its proper place once we are on the new earth. I can only guess as to what that will look like.
Knowing the Christian Hope is vital to knowing why I am not religious. I cannot do anything in my own strength to be redeemed. Christ has done that for me. What many see in the Bible as rules and regulations, is actually a guide to help us not hurt ourselves. If you have a child you probably don’t want them to touch the hot element on the stove. You tell them, don’t touch this because it will hurt you. That is what God has done; He has given us an outline of how to live in Heaven’s Reality. He shows us how to experience Life abundantly and shows us what will burn us.
Jesus has taken God’s wrath on sin when He died on the cross. Sin is an issue that was taken care of on the cross by Jesus. However, whenever we do sin we allow death into our lives and get burned. Romans 12:2 says, “Be transformed by the renewing of you mind.” Whenever you make a decision you are being transformed by it. Romans teaches us to transform our minds to Heaven’s reality so that we can experience life. We will be transformed from death to life when we renew our minds (change the way we think and therefore act, from what the world says to what God says). If we choose against God, we are choosing death and bringing that into our lives. The more we decide to go in a certain way, the more the muscles in our brains are trained to go this way, and the easier it will be to make the same decision next time. This isn’t Rules and Regulations to keep you from doing things, God gives you the free will to choose whatever you want. But you will reap the good/bad consequences of those choices.
Finally, a powerful truth to ponder, “You always act out of what you believe.” What you truly believe will always win out when enough pressure is applied to a situation. Your instincts, what you really believe, will show their real colours when pressured. People can say they believe this or that all they want, but whether they actually believe it or not is questionable. Your actions manifest or show what you believe. If you believe in God, His redemption, and what the Word of God says it will be seen clearly in your actions. If you meet someone who preaches one thing, but acts another, either he is a hypocrite or he is in the process of renewing his mind to God’s truth. Nobody is perfect and everybody is going to fail at times, but what you believe will show up in your actions, if you find yourself doing something that doesn’t match God’s truth, then you know where to renew your mind so that you can experience life in that area. That is how we represent Jesus, we look like Him. We will look more and more like Him the more we renew our minds to His truth.
To look like Him is to love. 1 John 4:20, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.” God is love, and the person who knows God will have so much love inside him that it will overflow everywhere he goes. This is how you know a person knows God.
Therefore, I am not Religious. I do not obey a set of rules and regulations to be able to go to heaven. I believe God and I believe in God. I believe Jesus Christ died on the cross and then defeated death by rising three days later. I believe that because I have been redeemed I have been put in right relationship with God Almighty. I love God for He first loved me. My actions show that I really believe this. Heaven comes to Earth in big and small ways in my life. I am renewing my mind to God’s truth because I want to experience the Life He offers. This is the Christian life I live. I am not religious, but I am faith filled in love with God.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Saturday, April 3, 2010
"In the world, but not of the world"
As Christians we are to be "in the world, but not of it." In church history it seems we have gone for 2 different extremes in trying to live this out. Both of these extremes that I have witnessed come from an old covenant mentality. We need to realize that we have a new covenant, built on better promises than the old. We have been redeemed from the curse of the law. Trying to live out this phrase "in the world but not of it" will not work under the law or old covenant. This is how it has played out...
One of the extremes seen in church history is the "poverty gospel." This "gospel" was created to try in our greatest human strength to not be "of the world." What does the world want? Money and possessions. How could we be opposite of that? Have no money or possessions. In this "poverty gospel" the less stuff you have the more Christian you are. I'm sure we can all look back and see examples of this throughout church history, or even in church today. We have used the phrase "money is the root of all evil" as proof that we need to reject anything of the world and honor God by living impoverished. Somehow being a poor, weak, uneducated, lowly Christian is something God is cheering on from Heaven (Silk, Culture of Honor, pg 121). So just like you want your kids to get no education and live impoverished lives so does God the Father? Doesn't make much sense does it? This "poverty gospel" is man's attempt at living not "of this world." This is a works based way of living. This is old covenant thinking. This is the curse of the law. This way of living does not work because it is not based in our reality. The reality of our new covenant. This poverty gospel also forgets the first part of this phrase "be in the world."
We have seen how this "poverty gospel" falls flat and people aren't stupid. If you read the Bible and see how many times it tells you about receiving riches and honor because of your favor with God and man, it's not hard to guess the "poverty gospel" won't fly with everyone. So what happens? We go to the other extreme. We create a "wealth gospel." This "gospel" tells us that "No we should not be impoverished, actually, we should make the most money out of anybody, drive the nicest cars and have the most comfortable lifestyles." "God wants us to be rich right?" So what this "wealth gospel" has done is taken the "in the world" to the extreme and forgot about "but not of it." They see themselves living in a kind of old covenant 2.0. It's like the new and improved old covenant. So it is still all works based, but hey we get to be the richest people. Really this is no different than anyone else in the world. If we really want to live out what God intended in the statement "in the world, but not of it," we need to see it from a new covenant, redeemed perspective.
God wants us to live in the reality of the new covenant instead of the old covenant. The world lives in a works based old covenant. We are to live in the midst of this old covenant mentality in our world, living in the new covenant. This is how we are in the world but not of it. We will live completely different lifestyles, because our covenant is not based on works, but in the grace of God.
Also we are wealthy, but it isn't the type of riches where we live all comfortable lifestyles. We are rich because under the new covenant, we can go to God with any need and He will provide for us. Any problem any person could ever face has its solution in Christ and His new covenant. That is riches. Living in the world but not of it, we go into the world as powerful people for we have a God that will provide us with our every need, and for every need of those around us. We live in the midst of this darkness of works based old covenant life, and walk around as beacons of light proclaiming the truth of our redemption and Life provided for us by Christ inviting everyone to share in this Life. Light penetrates darkness. It cannot stay when light comes. We will live in the world as light, not of the world that is dark.
One of the extremes seen in church history is the "poverty gospel." This "gospel" was created to try in our greatest human strength to not be "of the world." What does the world want? Money and possessions. How could we be opposite of that? Have no money or possessions. In this "poverty gospel" the less stuff you have the more Christian you are. I'm sure we can all look back and see examples of this throughout church history, or even in church today. We have used the phrase "money is the root of all evil" as proof that we need to reject anything of the world and honor God by living impoverished. Somehow being a poor, weak, uneducated, lowly Christian is something God is cheering on from Heaven (Silk, Culture of Honor, pg 121). So just like you want your kids to get no education and live impoverished lives so does God the Father? Doesn't make much sense does it? This "poverty gospel" is man's attempt at living not "of this world." This is a works based way of living. This is old covenant thinking. This is the curse of the law. This way of living does not work because it is not based in our reality. The reality of our new covenant. This poverty gospel also forgets the first part of this phrase "be in the world."
We have seen how this "poverty gospel" falls flat and people aren't stupid. If you read the Bible and see how many times it tells you about receiving riches and honor because of your favor with God and man, it's not hard to guess the "poverty gospel" won't fly with everyone. So what happens? We go to the other extreme. We create a "wealth gospel." This "gospel" tells us that "No we should not be impoverished, actually, we should make the most money out of anybody, drive the nicest cars and have the most comfortable lifestyles." "God wants us to be rich right?" So what this "wealth gospel" has done is taken the "in the world" to the extreme and forgot about "but not of it." They see themselves living in a kind of old covenant 2.0. It's like the new and improved old covenant. So it is still all works based, but hey we get to be the richest people. Really this is no different than anyone else in the world. If we really want to live out what God intended in the statement "in the world, but not of it," we need to see it from a new covenant, redeemed perspective.
God wants us to live in the reality of the new covenant instead of the old covenant. The world lives in a works based old covenant. We are to live in the midst of this old covenant mentality in our world, living in the new covenant. This is how we are in the world but not of it. We will live completely different lifestyles, because our covenant is not based on works, but in the grace of God.
Also we are wealthy, but it isn't the type of riches where we live all comfortable lifestyles. We are rich because under the new covenant, we can go to God with any need and He will provide for us. Any problem any person could ever face has its solution in Christ and His new covenant. That is riches. Living in the world but not of it, we go into the world as powerful people for we have a God that will provide us with our every need, and for every need of those around us. We live in the midst of this darkness of works based old covenant life, and walk around as beacons of light proclaiming the truth of our redemption and Life provided for us by Christ inviting everyone to share in this Life. Light penetrates darkness. It cannot stay when light comes. We will live in the world as light, not of the world that is dark.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Miracles
I like miracles, and I felt like sharing a miracle story, well there is actually 2 in here, and a lesson I learned as well...
In Brazil I got bad food poisoning. I was on the toilet and puking all night. I woke up the next morning a wreck. I was on a missions trip in which we played basketball against the pro teams in Sao Paulo in the evenings and did camps for kids in the mornings. Anyways, the leader saw me and told me to go back to my room and sleep, because I looked like a mess. I was really happy when he said this a was going to agree with him, when out of my mouth came, I'll wait till after Bible Study. These were not the words I was trying to say. Whatever though.
At the end of Bible Study the leader prayed that any evil spirits hampering what we were doing in Sao Paulo, would be rebuked in Jesus name. Right as he said that I felt my stomach turn. It was quite an interesting feeling. It was actually a turning feeling. Anyway, I was completely better. Not sick at all. I had a great day and rest of the trip completely healthy and was one of the only ones not to get sick once we arrived home. God just completely healed me.
The next year I went to Haiti. I once again got really bad stomach sickness. This time I wasn't puking, but I was only the toilet alot. While on the toilet I said, "God you healed me in Brazil, you can do it here too." I should have stopped there, but I was dumb and continued, "When I'm with the kids let me be healthy, I don't care about the other time." This was really dumb of me to add this. Cause you know what, God answered my prayer. Whenever I was with the kids I was fine and had no stomach issues where I needed to run to the washroom. I wasn't really sick at all. Then whenever I was done and by myself I ended up on the toilet. Turns out I did care about the times I wasn't with the kids.
Now I should've just prayed again and been totally healed, but I really didn't believe in healing all that much. Surprising because God had healed me. But I guess it took awhile for that fact to grow on me. So the lesson I learned. When I pray I don't pray wimpy prayers. It says in the Bible that God can do exceedingly more than I could ever ask or think or even imagine. Im going to pray for total healing not partial. I'm going to pray for real. Pray for something that is at least hard for me to imagine, because God can do more than that. I'm not going to add those dumb sentences at the end of my prayers anymore either. God can do more than we could ever ask or think. Let's pray big prayers.
In Brazil I got bad food poisoning. I was on the toilet and puking all night. I woke up the next morning a wreck. I was on a missions trip in which we played basketball against the pro teams in Sao Paulo in the evenings and did camps for kids in the mornings. Anyways, the leader saw me and told me to go back to my room and sleep, because I looked like a mess. I was really happy when he said this a was going to agree with him, when out of my mouth came, I'll wait till after Bible Study. These were not the words I was trying to say. Whatever though.
At the end of Bible Study the leader prayed that any evil spirits hampering what we were doing in Sao Paulo, would be rebuked in Jesus name. Right as he said that I felt my stomach turn. It was quite an interesting feeling. It was actually a turning feeling. Anyway, I was completely better. Not sick at all. I had a great day and rest of the trip completely healthy and was one of the only ones not to get sick once we arrived home. God just completely healed me.
The next year I went to Haiti. I once again got really bad stomach sickness. This time I wasn't puking, but I was only the toilet alot. While on the toilet I said, "God you healed me in Brazil, you can do it here too." I should have stopped there, but I was dumb and continued, "When I'm with the kids let me be healthy, I don't care about the other time." This was really dumb of me to add this. Cause you know what, God answered my prayer. Whenever I was with the kids I was fine and had no stomach issues where I needed to run to the washroom. I wasn't really sick at all. Then whenever I was done and by myself I ended up on the toilet. Turns out I did care about the times I wasn't with the kids.
Now I should've just prayed again and been totally healed, but I really didn't believe in healing all that much. Surprising because God had healed me. But I guess it took awhile for that fact to grow on me. So the lesson I learned. When I pray I don't pray wimpy prayers. It says in the Bible that God can do exceedingly more than I could ever ask or think or even imagine. Im going to pray for total healing not partial. I'm going to pray for real. Pray for something that is at least hard for me to imagine, because God can do more than that. I'm not going to add those dumb sentences at the end of my prayers anymore either. God can do more than we could ever ask or think. Let's pray big prayers.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
God "allowing" things to happen
When bad things happen on this earth and I say that it was definitely not God's will for that to happen, the common response is "but God allowed it to happen." I think however we have a messed up view or picture of this. I think the common view is that of the devil going up to God and being like, "Can I do this, Can I do that???" And we see God responding, "No you cannot do this, but I will allow you to do that." This however is not how things go down. This type of picture not only gives us the wrong picture of who God is, but it also puts all the blame on Him as well. This type of view of why bad things happen is not biblical.
God created the world in love, by Love, and for love. With love there is always choice. God created the world in such a way that humans have choice in how their world is shaped. With every decision we make we either invite heaven or hell into the situation. When we invite heaven it is because we believe God's word and are standing/acting on it. When we invite hell into the situation it is because we are relying on human wisdom over the word of God. Proverbs calls people who do this self-confident fools, "He who leans on, trusts in, and is confident of his own mind and heart is a [self-confident] fool, but he who walks in skillful and godly Wisdom shall be delivered (Proverbs 28:26)." When we act like self-confident fools we invite hell into our situation and give a place for the devil to steal, kill, and destroy.
God created the world with choice. He is not going to go back on His original plan because He declared His plan "very good" at the beginning of time (Genesis 1:31), and to go back on His original plan would take away our choice and therefore negate love. Love is the very reason we were created. God will not take away the very purpose of our being created, that is why He completely redeemed us from the curse and has made a way for us to live in complete victory on earth as it is in heaven.
God quote unquote "allows" things that are not His will to happen because He created the world with choice. The more we individually choose to invite hell into our lives, and the more we collectively choose to invite hell into our world, the more place we are giving the devil to steal, kill, and destroy. God is not the one giving place to the devil in our lives, we are. Thank God we have been redeemed and we have been given the power by God to resist the devil and live with the reality of heaven pouring into our lives. With Life pouring into our lives. We have a choice. We can invite death or we can invite Life into our lives. The more we invite Life into our lives, the more we are individually/collectively giving place to God to infuse us with His life. We can live life abundantly and the devil will have no power to stop us for the gates of hell will not be able to prevail against Jesus.
God created the world in love, by Love, and for love. With love there is always choice. God created the world in such a way that humans have choice in how their world is shaped. With every decision we make we either invite heaven or hell into the situation. When we invite heaven it is because we believe God's word and are standing/acting on it. When we invite hell into the situation it is because we are relying on human wisdom over the word of God. Proverbs calls people who do this self-confident fools, "He who leans on, trusts in, and is confident of his own mind and heart is a [self-confident] fool, but he who walks in skillful and godly Wisdom shall be delivered (Proverbs 28:26)." When we act like self-confident fools we invite hell into our situation and give a place for the devil to steal, kill, and destroy.
God created the world with choice. He is not going to go back on His original plan because He declared His plan "very good" at the beginning of time (Genesis 1:31), and to go back on His original plan would take away our choice and therefore negate love. Love is the very reason we were created. God will not take away the very purpose of our being created, that is why He completely redeemed us from the curse and has made a way for us to live in complete victory on earth as it is in heaven.
God quote unquote "allows" things that are not His will to happen because He created the world with choice. The more we individually choose to invite hell into our lives, and the more we collectively choose to invite hell into our world, the more place we are giving the devil to steal, kill, and destroy. God is not the one giving place to the devil in our lives, we are. Thank God we have been redeemed and we have been given the power by God to resist the devil and live with the reality of heaven pouring into our lives. With Life pouring into our lives. We have a choice. We can invite death or we can invite Life into our lives. The more we invite Life into our lives, the more we are individually/collectively giving place to God to infuse us with His life. We can live life abundantly and the devil will have no power to stop us for the gates of hell will not be able to prevail against Jesus.
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