Pharisees Anonymous

     My name is Jerry Piper and I am a self-righteous Pharisee. I was taught from an early age to put on the robes of religious morality and proudly ride the high-horse of spiritual superiority. Therefore, my affiliated obsession has been to impress God and others with the glorious capacity to raise above the common everyday dilemmas that everyone faces in life and showcase that I have a better handle on living right than most. If I did stumble, I didn’t tell anyone, and pacified my guilty conscience with more Bible reading, church attendance, a larger financial gift, etc. until I felt worthy enough to get back in the saddle and once again ride with the belief that maybe it was my last time to be thrown. At least I had good intentions at riding on to becoming sinless.

     In recent years, I have discovered something called the Grace of God. I used the term frequently throughout my journey, yet never in the same context as I do now. Formerly, any reference to the grace of God merely allowed me to be forgiven just up to the point that I accepted Christ into my life. From there forward, everything was solely dependent upon the performance of my “living right” to determine whether or not I would go to heaven. Because I was so fully aware of my own frailty, how could I trust my own capacity to save myself? And what if I might do something sinful just before I die and not get to confess? I was in quite a dilemma. Even with such good intentions things just fell short of being stable. However, since I have found grace in a different dimension than the definition I understood in earlier years, like the Apostle Paul, I have been knocked off my spiritual high-horse by the blinding light of this glorious awareness. And, again like Paul, I have to answer for the fact that I have personally persecuted Christ and his church through my earlier insistence that we trust in something OTHER than the sufficiency this grace offers. I'm talking total sufficiency. Once and for all saved to the uttermost. All by Gods doing. That is NOT easy to accept if you were as steeped in religious tradition as I was.
     I still fall off the wagon now and then in fits of self-righteous dependence upon Mosaic Law, rules, regulations, and religious prescriptions for superstitious self-help and such, which makes me unloving, miserable, prideful, judgmental, aloof and holier-than-thou. Although I fall off the wagon a bit less than I used to, there still remains the fact that my mind is so filled up with all the religious trappings of gaining favor with God by "being good." I struggle with it constantly. Sometimes I win. Sometimes I lose. I still have a tendency that desires being perceived by others as upstanding, even when I have to admit the fact that I haven't been. Learning through years of experience that I can easily be rejected by those who call themselves my "brothers and sisters" for revealing my faults and failures, it has been easier to put on a mask and present a false identity that is far more acceptable to those who demand nothing short of "victory" (whatever that means) rather than “faith” as the acceptable standard of living. The fear and anxiety I have turned loose of since letting go of that need has been life-changing and enabled me to rest in a provision that comes simply from trusting God.

     Day by day I'm learning more how this thing called "Christianity" was never meant to be perceived as a self-help method of becoming a "better person" but an act of ongoing faith that God, who justifies the wicked, WILL do for me, through the frustration of failure, weakness, inability and brokenness, what I can never do for myself, by finishing the good work HE STARTED. Little by little, I'm LEARNING to trust that. So bear with me... the real me… the one that God loves… that Jesus died for… as I am learning to do with you. If there are no others who have something to say, todays “Pharisees Anonymous” meeting is now adjourned…

Drink Deeply...

True Righteousness

     Since my last entry I've been giving a lot of thought to the concept of Righteousness. Not as in the common street vernacular of "he's a righteous dude" but rather the sense of right-standing one has with God that has been bestowed as a free gift. It's the great theme of the New Testament, yet probably remains one of the hardest concepts I have ever tried to wrap my own head around. For over forty years I have parroted the phrase, "I am the righteousness of God in Christ!" as if I had a full understanding of the height, depth and width of its meaning. The older I get and the more I continue to meditate on the subject, I have to admit the less I comprehend this amazing provision and its theological perspective. Why would I say something like that? After all these years of study, schooling, practical application and ministry... one might suppose that it would become all the more clear. In some ways it has, but the journey has taken much time. The reason I unashamedly give admission to this personal matter is because, though I have claimed this truth, I have continued to try and earn good standing with God, as so many are taught to do in fundamental religious circles and denominations. In spite of this glorious truth we confess with our lips, along with the rest of Christendom, there remains an underlying distrust of its foundational tenet as spoken by God Himself.
     This is most distressing when we consider the fact that what the scriptures claim God is seeking from us is FAITH, which some Bible translations define as "absolute assurance or confident trust" regarding his promised provisions. Humanity has never really been all that great at putting their faith in God. Our history has been more about us running scared than standing firm in absolute assurance or confident trust. The book of Romans is clear in chapter 3 where the Apostle Paul clarifies the condition of the human heart from God's perspective regarding this matter. The Living Bible puts it this way, "...all men alike are sinners, Jew and Gentile... No one is good - no one in all the world in innocent. No one has ever really followed God's paths, or even truly wanted to. Every one has turned away; all have gone wrong. No one anywhere has kept on doing what is right, not one. ...and they have never known what it is to feel secure or enjoy God's blessing. They care nothing about God or what he thinks of them." In so many conversations I've had through the recent years on this premise, I am responded to with a lot of, "Yes... but... "
     The thought of God putting all of humanity in the same boat, so that he can show mercy upon all alike, is not appreciated by many in Christian circles, or so it appears. When our religious denominations or affiliations hold us to a standard of performance, observances and works to maintain or uphold righteousness, it creates a false sense of security that can only be measured against ourselves. This is one of the most critical issues facing the church today. The false sense of security created by this notion is repetitively addressed by the Apostle Paul in his letters to the newly established churches in the region. It was obvious by his content and intent that there were people infiltrating the Body of Christ with unscrupulous and false teachings about "true righteousness." One might think the bearers of such unwelcomed news may have sounded something like this, "...of course we believe in salvation by grace through faith! HOWEVER... there are things we MUST DO to ensure we don't lose it!" What usually follows is a list of house rules as long as a roll of toilet paper that have to be upheld according to the scrutiny of some over-seeing religious umpire chomping at the bit to wield "spiritual authority" and disqualify us from the prize. (Another topic altogether!)
     It has occurred to me that any attempts at better securing a lasting divine provision though external activities, observations, religious rigor, rules, regulations, etc. is as deeply inordinate as assuming that, by putting on a dress, wig and high heels, a man can be transformed into a woman. Although I have applied a bit of levity to the matter, it should resonate with a greater sense of how genuinely preposterous it is to be self-assured that our feeble and fleshly religious efforts can manufacture the outcomes that only faith in God's grace was meant to secure. As I see it, only faith in Christ can result in the gift of applied grace and transforming righteousness that makes a fallen humanity into beloved children of God. Confidence in the promise of God to do ALL he has responsibly committed to accomplish on our behalf, including the ultimate end of bringing us lovingly to himself for an eternity of rest and peace is the only hope for us all. So easy... yet we resist... we run... we hide... we appeal by sacrificial offerings of promises and vows to "be good" or "try to do better." It's all unnecessary and does nothing to make the provision of God's everlasting love more secure or safe.
     We should thank God daily that he is our Great Shepherd and we shall lack no good thing. Every need he fully and responsibly supplies, starting with an on-going right relationship. Even the "faith" required of us to appropriate this gift is the byproduct of the Holy Spirit's indwelling presence. We can rest in the peace that passes understanding, assured that a "righteousness from God, apart from law, has been revealed... this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe... there is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." (Rom. 3)
Well said, brother Paul...
     But I must ask before I sign off... do we really believe these words? Do we read such passages, take a breath and "WISH" that it were true, as written? Or do we close the book and act like a man who has just looked into a mirror only to walk away and forget what he looks like? Are we desiring of such right-standing and favor with God, yet fearing that, due to the trappings of everything that makes us human, resign ourselves to a misconception that only in another life can such a relationship be realized? Do we continue to make promises to try harder, do better, pray more, go to church more, or faulter less in hopes of striking a deal with God to better soothe our inner guilt and secure our eternal outcome? So many of us do... and none of it is necessary, much less helpful. (AS IF OUR PROMISES TO GOD CAN ACCOMPLISH MORE THAN GOD'S PROMISES TOWARD US!!) Beloved, we are instructed in the New Testament to understand, "faith IS the victory." Faith is sufficient for receiving the on-going right standing from God we so desperately need. As our Sovereign Lord, Redeemer, Savior, Justifier and Sacrifice, he is also quite capable of KEEPING you in his loving care. John points out so clearly regarding the righteousness we lovingly abide in when he said, "Beloved, NOW we are the children of God." It doesn't get any more real or secure than that. Trust God's view of a RIGHTEOUS YOU! In other words, have faith...

Drink Deeply

Like Him or Not...

I have to admit that when initially coming to faith in Christ, the kind of information overload that can be dumped upon the minds of serious followers is massive. And it continues for years and years to come. One can see the repeated trends in Christian teachings come full circle and take on new names, while the basic content remains the same. I've seen much of this throughout the course of my forty years as a Christian. Basic doctrines like justification by grace through faith, righteousness, resurrection of the dead, etc. are foundational and should be learned soon after conversion. There are, however, teachings that some consider foundational that continue to circulate throughout the body of Christ that are based in truth, but can lead to error by causing people to take their eyes off of more important matters that are valuable to maintain. I would like to address one of these doctrines and weigh in on its values and pitfalls. That doctrine is called "Identification." The Apostle Paul was probably the most profound writer on this topic and his revelation on this issue is direct and powerful, helping believers understand the position we have all been given to share in our relationship to God in Christ. His teaching of all that Christ accomplished on our behalf is more than insightful, truly amazing and should fill us with awe, inspiration, wonder and joy till the day we lay down this body and into step into our eternal reward. Paul's insights give us clarity regarding matters of being saved by faith and not by works of the Law, being buried with Christ through baptism and thereby clothed in Christ and freed from sin's power, breaking barriers of former identities such as Jew or Greek, male or female, slave or free. He declares that through faith in Christ we are now Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise, not slaves, but beloved children. He states that Christ has made us free from the drudgery of obligations to religious laws, ceremonies, rules, regulations and shallow observances. We learn that in God's perspective we have (in Christ) also been crucified, buried and resurrected to new life where we now live in heavenly places, hid with Christ in God. From the writer of the book of Hebrews we learn that "...by the same sacrifice offered for our sins (which shall avail for all time) Christ has forever completely cleansed and perfected those who are consecrated and made holy." (Amplified) What powerful position of life and understanding we have inherited through this amazing love of God in Christ. It is no wonder that we can become overwhelmed by the content. We are truly new creatures and have been showered with more than forgiveness... which would have been enough. These realities are so foreign to our former view of life that, when considered, it can almost short-circuit our brain's capacity to grasp what it all means. This is exactly the problem I wish to address. In the Old Testament we are told in Micah 6:8 "He has showed you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, and to love kindness and mercy, and to humble yourself and walk humbly with your God?" By our own human nature, we are NOT given to the things that God desires or requires of us. Even when we come into the glorious new nature of Christ in us. Therefore we must learn to "identify" with what God has done within each of us. Yet never at the exclusion of our humanity. The teachings of "Identification" appear to call for us to abandon ourselves to the more glorious and higher truth of who we are in Christ. 2 Cor. 5:17 "When someone becomes a Christian he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same any more. A new life has begun!" What Christ follower would read such a profound verse and not want to gain greater understanding of what it means? Therefore we embrace such ideas "hook, line and sinker" (as they say in the Midwest) and without looking back, we run forward with such profound teaching unaware of HOW or WHY we take hold to begin with. Considering some of the issues that many of us deal with, when facing the problems of this world we live in, who wouldn't want to exchange this mundane life for something radically polar in substance and outcome? At a glance it appears easy, and who would argue it being honorable? However, what often happens is that, after embracing the "truth" we discover in this exchanged life, we lose touch with the humanity we continue to abide in, as well as the struggles others face by being simply human. The charge upon us to strive for such noble ideals as "perfection, holiness, victory, sanctification, purity, etc." all truly have a place in our heart and lives, but very possibly in a different light or dimension than we are often taught how to reach for. There is even something within us that will take on this new self at the expense of leaving others behind. Not as in leaving behind those whose lives and habits have held destructive power over our own, but even those within the fold that are not yet fully understanding of their relationship to this new position in Christ. We are very much capable of a desire to appropriate all these good things to the degree that those around us looking on become condemned for not holding the same standard of methods and mannerisms that we have embraced in this new light of living in "victory, sinlessness, holiness, purity, sanctification, etc." The thrill of rising above that which makes us human becomes so over-powering of everything else in life that even our conversation becomes clouded to others as we enlarge our vocabulary of "Christian-ese" and speak in terms that even many Christians don't fully comprehend. As we continue to live with the desire to clothe ourselves literally in these truths of a "new reality," an inward anxiety also begins to grow exponentially through the fear that we might not live up to the expectations of such lofty ideals in God's eyes, those who lead us, and even ourselves. This is why it can be spiritually destructive and create the opposite of what was set as the initial goal. It becomes a work, an obsession, a means of gaining God's and others attention. More often than not, it takes on a presumption that God can be confined to an easy five or six step method for accomplishing things we deem necessary or important. This is a HUMAN error, not one based on living according to TRUTH by faith. From my forty plus years of living in various denominational environments, I have come to conclude that all the attempts to live "above sin, victoriously, perfect, holy, sanctified and identified" have proven to be a breeding ground for pride, self-deception, self-righteousness, arrogance, condescension, envy, strife and many other evil workings. It's not that the doctrines are wrong, but the motives we often use to embrace such truth is not grounded in anything higher than our human desire to be better than others. And unfortunately, that is often the underlying motive of those teaching it to others. The religious world is competitive and some people in it want an "edge" that will give them some pious credibility of superiority. I've seen people so filled with the need to be superior that any kind of mask they could use to deceive others from the truth about who they really are was fair game. Sadly, RELIGIOUS circles promote this kind of activity and uphold the necessity for such pretentious behavior to thrive in their environments. One of the most basic human needs we struggle to attain and hold on to at any cost is belonging. Human beings NEED to belong to a community, a group, a social status, a family, or a person. Being fallen creatures, I believe our sense of needing to belong is rooted in the fact that we are, by sin, separated from God. This was where our belonging was originally rooted and established. Nothing could have been better or more secure. Having lost that, we are left to find a replacement elsewhere regardless of the error or dysfunction. Many people try and fill this need by "going to church" or "doing good works" that makes them FEEL as though they have reconnected to God or just makes them worthy of belonging to a community. Period. Religious people are all around us, and sometimes it's hard to know the genuine article from the phony. The sheep from the goats, so to speak. Religious groups will give us bits and pieces of the truth, or total falsehood, and require us to regard their ideas as the standard for living, with the clergy and a few select "pillars" of the congregation as the perfected examples in leadership to emulate. Many take these matters seriously because of a need to BELONG and to do what is right and good before God and man. Some just do what is necessary to fit in. But in time, we can be assured that we will become seriously disillusioned as those we are upholding as mentors, examples and leaders will ultimately fail in maintaining these required conditions with the perfection they demand of those in their charge. Adding to the disillusionment we experience from such cases is often the discovery that, rather than sincerely trying to walk in such lofty realities of the Christian life, those in leadership over us found it easier to maintain a life of pretense, not aware that such an approach would ultimately fall like a house of cards. And rightly so. It is also sad when, after trying with all our might to walk in the prescribed methods and designs that are assured to produce the positive spiritual results, we find ourselves deficient or failing. Nothing is then more personally crushing than to discover that we cannot divulge our inability without a repercussion of discipline that is more severe than necessary. No mercy, no love, no grace. Just the ominous feeling of personal failure added to the self-imposed false notion that others "do it better" than you do. As I mentioned earlier in this article, I am not against the doctrine of "Identification" whatsoever, and am grateful to have embraced the significant understanding of all God has created me to be. I am against the fact that, when these doctrines are showcased and taught, we are often encouraged to disengage from our humanity and falsely led to believe that somehow we are meant to live above it, or separated from it, if we want success. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is not a sin to be human. It is not a sin to have basic human needs and desires. Our short-comings, failures, sins and frailty are met head-on by a God who created us, loves us, knows EXACTLY what we are capable of good and bad choices, and has provision for our lives on every level. Because our new life is in Christ, the conditions for success is not in our DOING, rigorous discipline, self-abasement or asceticism, but in our CONFIDENCE that it is God within us working to will and do His good pleasure! For some reason as old as history itself there is a divisive element in religious thought that drives us to believe that being human is bad and that God wants us to be something else. The Bible teaches that it's the HEART of man that is desperately wicked, and that is exactly what God has dealt with through the sacrifice of Christ. He even knows that because of our connection to the flesh, which will ultimately die, the former desires and things that drive an unregenerate nature (abiding within our unchanged mind and memory) still wars within us to follow its demands. And even when we DO follow the wrong impulse and sin, there is a provision for continued cleansing and forgiveness, without condemnation. God is good. God doesn't want us to be trapped in an ongoing spiral of religious rigors and demands that are, more often than not, self-empowered and only ultimately serve to make us self-absorbed. A life of faith gives us peace that passes understanding ONLY when it rests in the fact that the work in us is finished. We ARE perfect, holy, sanctified, righteous, justified, etc. even when we are at our worst. It is in our weakness that His strength is made perfect. The defining moment of clarity for all of this can be arrived at when we recognize that God's reality and perception is all that matters. If he says we are justified, then we are. If he says we are righteous, then we are. If he says we are perfect, then we are, or holy, then we are, or sanctified, etc. etc. Just like Abraham before us, we accept God at his word and agree with it. If, by our actions, we show ourselves to be less than that, we accept his promise of no condemnation and his provision to cleanse us of our unrighteousness. We accept by faith that this is real, in SPITE of what we don't see. Rather than strive with the anxiety producing pretense that you are living in a place of glorious "god life" that keeps you somehow victoriously "above" the common pitfalls and failures of others, accept the fact that we ALL have our own load of oppressive moral faults, and bear one another's burdens with gentleness and without superiority. Create a place of SAFETY for those around you who are growing in grace and continually WIN them with the LOVE of GOD that has been shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. "Identification" should be with both God AND man, just like Jesus showcased, and never at the expense or the exclusion of either. We must belong to God AND belong to one another. How do we do this? DO JUSTLY, LOVE KINDNESS and MERCY, and WALK HUMBLY before God. People can IDENTIFY with this FAR more easily than they ever will thrive in an environment that demands a standard of "victory, holiness, sanctification, perfection, sinlessness, etc." When you get it wrong... admit it. Others will IDENTIFY with your example that God is forgiving and kind, loving, merciful and just. Plus, it will keep us IDENTIFIED with the truth of why being loving and humble and forbearing with one another's humanity is so valuable here on earth while we abide in this mortal flesh. Let your life be a continual reminder that we are identified with the LOVE of God on every level. Trust in the Lord, and not in yourself. 1 John 4:18 "We need have no fear of someone who loves us perfectly; His perfect love for us eliminates all dread of what He might do to us. If we are afraid, it is for fear of what he might do to us, and shows that we are not fully convinced that He really loves us." Drink deeply...

Though None Go With Me...

An old song we used to sing in church services, camp meetings and revivals comes to mind when I consider the thoughts I am attempting to write about. The song "I Have Decided To Follow Jesus" was often used during what was referred to an an "altar call" at the end of the sermon just before closing. It was a heart clincher and would be sung repetitively until every possible emotion had been wrung out of the congregation in case that ONE person needed a trip to the front to repent of their many sins and, at last, find the flood-gates of heaven open upon them with the mercy of Jesus filling their soul. Ah, yes... those were the days. Like many people, who had more concern for the condition of their pot roast in the oven at home than attempts made by those preachers doing their due diligence to ensure that every possible sinner made it home, I would roll my eyes when another stanza would begin with "Though None Go With Me... Still I Will Follow." After five choruses the song became maudlin and sappy to me. A mere sentimental ploy by the religious professionals in hopes to increase the numbers that made them look good when it came time for turning in their reports to the district offices. No doubt many people have even considered making the trip forward to give a public profession of faith just to help make the meeting look like a success and bring it to a close! I know I have.

Since then, I've changed much of my attitudes on some of those matters. Although I realize that there are those religious professionals who use tactics to try and earn their quotas, I also know that there are many more who sincerely desire to do something that we in the church world have forgotten about in the last several decades, and that is evangelize. That's right, the "great commission" where Jesus said, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature of the human race." It seems that the idea of "preaching the Gospel" has become irrelevant and even politically incorrect in this so-called "post Christian era." The notion of proclaiming that there is only one God, one Son, one faith, one baptism, with a reward for believing and a penalty for not accepting makes most people uncomfortable. After all, we have become highly educated. Accepting a more global "spirituality" that takes offense with the idea of concrete truth, where matters of faith are concerned, and embraces an "I'm OK, You're OK" philosophy has taken the place of former belief systems that upheld Christ being the only "Way" for all humanity. "Whatever works for you! " is the mantra of many in the Christian faith today. We are now taught that obeying Jesus' command to take the message of the love of God to every creature is imperialistic and intolerant, condescending and hateful towards those who live by a different religious faith. Truth is no longer relevant in our social consciousness where faith is concerned, and ridicule is the best response toward those who believe such ideas still exist, much less matter.

But now I am beginning to see myself at a juncture in life. A "crossroads" that is compelling me to once again choose the things that have importance and value in the whole sphere of my existence. The Christian faith is rising to the surface more profoundly than ever before in my consciousness, even though I previously held to the belief that it was already at the forefront. Funny how those things happen. It's almost as if I can hear that song "I Have Decided... To Follow Jesus..." being played in some corner of my mind challenging me to weigh in on these matters once again for personal clarity. Possibly because there is a new awakening in my life that is vastly different than the earlier understanding I was given about what it means to be a Christ follower. The former was based on a burdensome consciousness of my "sin" that presented God as in a state of eternal anger toward me. He sent his son to die on my behalf, so that if I would repent of my sins, I'd be given the second chance to "do better" and merit favor and blessing by keeping a volume of rules, regulations, laws and ordinances until I died. THEN he would throw my life's efforts and doings into the weights and scales to determine if I had earned my right to enter the pearly gates. That seemed fair in my earlier years and, after sins I had committed that were exposed in black and white, it was obviously the workable resolution to my guilt before God. Certainly if God commanded me to an aspired life of sinless perfection and the practice of holiness, I could certainly offer my best attempt to be and do all that. After all, now knowing that Jesus died to equip me with the power to be a better person, then a better person I would be.

Even though I had "decided to follow Jesus" I had no idea the kind of oppressive burden I would take upon my shoulders by trying to uphold such notions as "being a good christian" or following the standards of "holiness" required by certain denominations in my sphere of religous culture. It soon became clear that my greatest attempts were futile and empty to meet the prerequisites of maintaining favor with God and man. My new awareness, after years of personal study of the scriptures, is polar to that former concept, actually it stands in opposition to it. I have grown to learn that, while we were his enemies and dead in our sins, there is a LOVE that was given to the world by God backed by a promise (and God doesn't lie) to love us eternally. The promise was accompanied with proof by giving his only son as the atonement for our offenses and trespasses. This love that God offered was founded upon an oath he swore by himself and ratified with Christ so that the legal covenant could not be broken by the shallow frailty and inconsistency of man. Regardless of our personal inability to live for him, by being dead in our trespasses, how we have sinned, or how deep our guilt over wrong-doing, or hurt through victimization, we are fully justified and released to freedom from these bondages by the response of FAITH from our heart. Simple believing has changed the course of our eternal direction. Continued believing is the "work" that is required for our ongoing relationship and we are assured that even this faith is a gift from God's own heart. We even get the promise that when our faith falters, God remains unchanged, ensuring that the work he began in us will be faithfully completed. How can we NOT believe?

These provisions and claims given to a population the Bible calls "wicked, sinful, falling short, unrighteous, gone astray, lacking understanding, unprofitable, worthless, deceitful, misleading, treacherous, destructive, miserable, lacking peace and possessing no fear of God" (need I say more?) showcases that mercy must abound in God's heart. It is also obvious that mankind has a universal understanding of the dilemma we face through what the Bible reveals as a "fallen" nature. Every religion addresses the issues of human frailty, sin, and imperfection, yet fail to offer any real cure or hope for the innate brokenness we all observe at some point in life. What they DO offer is opportunity to obligate people to a path of redemption through self-help by believing in the human potential. This only engages the seeker in a chance to give themselves a "leg up" spiritually by making obligatory offerings and sacrifices for atonement by doing the works, etc. that will hopefully provide eternal bliss, Nirvana, heaven, etc. Christ offered nothing of the sort. John 6:28,29 when asked "...What are we to do to carry out what God requires?" Jesus replied,"This is the work (service) that God asks of you, the you BELIEVE in the One Whom He has sent." Jesus taught that by merely "believing" we would be not only forgiven all our sins, but transferred from eternal death unto eternal life. Why is this no longer considered "good news" for ALL mankind?

Jesus said, "I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man comes to the Father but by ME." This very verse used to be foundational to the Christian's understanding of the necessity of spreading the good news. No doubt that some of the sayings of Jesus are hard to embrace and more difficult to accept in a politically correct society that wants to respectfully promote all things as equal in all people. Therefore, many Christians believe that all we're doing by preaching the gospel is exchanging one religion for another. If all we are offering is an opressive condemning religious life of man-made rules and regulations as a self-help prescription to cure social ills by becoming good people, then I would have to agree that we shouldn't bother. We cannot afford to become an esoteric club or private society of intellectual subscribers who see no need of others being brought to the light of Christ. It is obvious that they do not take into consideration that Christianity is about being reborn from the spiritually dead, enriched with the blessings of being God's children and the profound transformational benefits it offers by living in his kingdom. Yet more and more of todays churches are becoming mere social networking clubs more interested in recruiting for programs than evangelizing to make disciples. That is just one reason I am beginning to see more clearly why the concept of God loving us FIRST, and therefore doing the necessary work we could not do for ourselves necessary to bring us into an eternal relationship with Himself by grace through faith alone, is legitimately far superior to any other philosophy. Mere religion places the responsibility for the hope of eternal life upon our shoulders, not God's. Faith in Christ gives me the freedom to know that I am forgiven once and for all. That I have no need to fear what comes after this life is over. That I can have peace in the assurance that God loves me. And, if God is for me, who can be against me? This knowledge compels me to share it with others who also need this as much as I do. Years of study has opened my eyes to the vast number of people world-wide that have none of this assurance as a result of their fervent religious practice. So I stand by the belief that the good news must be proclaimed to every one in all the world in every generation. Call it imperialistic, call it intolerant, call it what you will. I BELIEVE that Jesus Christ is the living embodiment of truth, and who the scriptures referred to as the "desire of all nations." For one, I didn't know what I needed until I was told. That is why I must, in turn, TELL! Personal darkness is overcome when the knowledge of the Light of Truth is proclaimed. If I embrace the notion that every religion holds equal merit and offers nothing better or greater than any other, that Christ has not risen, then I possess nothing and am to be pitied above all men. The blood of Christ as an offering for the sins of the world holds no meaning if it is no greater than, or just equivalent to, anything else in any other religious belief system. Sincerely, I will live my life with respect for all who differ with this opinion, and aspire to continue to grow in love and understanding toward those who do not embrace this faith in Christ. But as for me... I have decided to follow Jesus. The one mediator between God and man. And I will continue this path without shame or apology towards those who are offended by what seems to many in this day and age a foolish notion.
Though none go with me... still I will follow.

Drink deeply...

He Is the King!

I cannot allow the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus, the Messiah, to come and go without giving voice to what I have found Him to be. He is the Alpha and Omega, Beginning and the End, the First and the Last. He created the universe and holds it together by the Word of His power. All things are from Him, through Him and ultimately, to Him. His is the only name given whereby a man can be saved. He is the giver of life as we know it and the security of our hope for life everlasting. He understands us fully because He stripped himself of heavenly dignity and supremacy to live on earth and identify with all things we are, to suffer as we do, and feel what we feel. This makes Him the perfect representative, mediator and advocate of our condition before God. Therefore we should hold no fear when approaching Him. Love defines Him. Mercy compels Him. Grace pours forth from His heart. Even the faith we need to believe in Him is offered to those who are called to enter His presence. Assurance in His faithfulness is the result to those who find His promises true. Peace is the gift given to all who are justified freely without works of the Law. He embraced us at our worst and gave us His best. Though we were broken, He reached from heaven and healed us. Unending friendship with the living God is the offering exchanged to those who accept His sacrifice for sins, the just for the unjust, making us gifts to God that He delights in. He is the security of our hope and the anchor for our soul when human weakness takes hold of our being, giving assurance of forgiveness and on-going cleansing by His blood. He is worthy of our praise and open confession of faith and trust. He is the Word that empowers life itself and gives it animation. He is the foundation we can build our house upon to withstand any storm that will come against it. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The Deliverer of Israel. The Savior of the world. The Victor over death, hell and the grave. The Hope of nations. The first-born of many brethren and the Author and Finisher of our salvation. God incarnate who alone is worthy to open the Book of Life and reveal its contents. He is Lord of all. The Mighty God. The Giver of Good News to all who have ears to hear.
And... He IS the King!
Worship Him.

Drink deeply.

Who Can Separate Us?

I recently saw a profile post on Facebook that read something like this... "Sin separates us from God! Be careful what you do!" That remark gave us all enough rope to hang ourelves. Considering who the remark came from I was not in the least surprised by the comment. I used attend church with the person many years ago and the mindset found in this fellowship was riddled with guilt, fear, condemnation and shame over EVERYTHING in life. It didn't take long for me to recognize that fact, and I didn't stick around for deeper indoctrination. Didn't put on the three piece navy blue suit, cut my hair, shave my mustache, subscribe to reading the King James Version only, or drink the Kool-Aid. What I did experience there was a group of loving, sincere, caring people who are afraid to think outside the box of their organization and it's leaders. To do so would be calling fire upon their heads and certain eternal condemnation that not even God himself could help them escape from. Unfortunately, a common dilemma in the kingdom of God everywhere.

So be it. Some people can't live outside the box and seem to be created with a personality that just accepts their lot in life content with what they have or haven't been handed. I'm not that way at all and have often questioned why it's the case. Neither do I believe that this is the kind of "contentment" called for in believers lives according to the New Testament. For years I've believed it might be easier to live in a mindset that doesn't question anything. Period. Especially authority. How easy to just open my mouth and let somebody else take the responsibility to pour in what they believe I must have to live or survive. But for some reason, this has never been a possibility for me. Even though I have truthfully tried to follow such prescriptions. I question everything. I question gladly. And I suffer the consequences of my questioning from the leaders, organizations and even followers who require the kind of blind conformity to be considered as stable and safe among the "family of God." I have even gotten to the point in my life where I lived in remorse and regret for the fact that my personality would not let me just sit back and coast in the fellowship of the unquestioning faithful. But I guess even that inability carries a purpose.

These groups thrive on control. Their organizations have to be fed like stoking a coal furnace in the dead of winter if the climate of desired expectations in measured success will be met. Success being measured in units like, how many people come to church faithfully when the doors are open, or how many give a full ten percent tithe AND more in dutiful offerings, or volunteer to keep the machines programs operational. All the "success" is motivated by and maintained through necessity using fear, guilt, condemnation and shame to keep the humble followers confined to their churches service and financial feeding.

This is done by keeping the concept of the "law of sin and death" ever present and dangling before the terrified eyes of the sheep. Always presenting and representing the notion that their relationship with God is constantly teetering on every little action or infraction to maintain stability. One false move... one missed step... one unintentional slip of the tongue... three absences from church in a four month period... on and on it goes. And because shame is that which is managed by "anointed" leaders, who (like Congress members) stand outside the regulations they require of their flocks, judging, criticism and condemnation becomes the sole core of the consciousness that pervades their circles. Even the followers develop a fine art at learning how to point fingers at those who hit or miss the mark required to remain in good standing with their fellowship.

The fact is, we all fail. We all fall short. We all are rendered helpless in gaining God's favor through our ability and strength or personal uprightness. To recognize this is to see that we need the help of one higher than ourselves. To recognize this truth fully is to come to the realization that our helplessness must render all power to God alone for assistance. This means that our awareness of "sin" is met head on with the fact that God is totally aware of our inability to "do better" or "quit sinning" and has a prescription for the solution when faith alone is brought into the equation to gain relationship.

It's a fact that sin can mess up our lives and circumstances, but it is not the factor that causes our relationship with God to cease to exist as many believe and teach. Sin, because of Grace, is no longer able to get in the way of our relationship with God. Ever hear, "Where sin does abound, grace does much more abound"? Does that mean that we should no longer care about our actions and their outcomes and live as though there are no consequences to anything? Absolutely not! But we are no longer to live in fear of eternal consequences for the earthly offenses we commit that causes us problems throughout the course of life. The Bible is clear in that "After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun. So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn't hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn't gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God's chosen? Who would dare even point a finger? DO you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ's love for us? There is no way! ... not even the WORST SINS LISTED IN SCRIPTURE. None of this phases us because Jesus loves us." (Romans 8. Message Bible)

Rather than remind one another of our faults, sins, stumbling, frailties and offenses with a promise of the curse of the laws just punishment for our failure, we should forever be joyously proclaiming, "WHO CAN SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF GOD IN CHRIST JESUS!!" This is the good news of reconciliation that we have been called to give witness to until his return.

Unless you are trying to maintain an organization that's having trouble keeping people or getting them to do what you require to run it, there's no reason to continually remind people that sin separates us from God. It doesn't. The fact that we retain FAITH during the course of our lifetime through the best and worst of it all is the necessary power that keeps our hearts filled with grace and our eyes on the prize of eternal life. When we do good... we believe. We we fail... we CONTINUE to believe. Sin is an ever present grinding reality in our fallen human nature. We are always aware of it's presence within. Remember, "where sin does abound, grace does much more abound!" But even through times of sin, FAITH is the VICTORY in Christ Jesus. Not our DOING. Don't be filled with anxiety about what you cannot control. Rest in the promise that God has made a way where there is no way. All because HE LOVES US!

Be honest, don't you wish you could make as many people as possible grasp this reality? Doesn't your heart break over the religious bondage that permeates our churches? Do you ask yourself how to promote the liberty that is only found through faith alone in Christ?

There needs to be a re-telling of the gospel in this generation.
May it start here. With me. And if I can't proclaim with absolute conviction and assurance the words of the Apostle Paul "Who can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus?" as the foundation for all other things to be built upon, I have nothing to offer but more religious rope to hang ourselves with.

Drink deeply.

For Heaven's Sake!

For heaven's sake! Why is it so difficult to grasp the fact that God loves us? I have tried for years to make people aware of the reality of this fact, and yet I am continually met with a response that sounds something like this, "Oh, I believe God loves me, but just in case..." At that moment of confession, I am inundated with reasons why the "believer" doesn't really believe at all due to offenses, sins, infractions, misdeads, slips, etc. that are perceived to have caused them to cross over the line of ever being fully accepted. That lack of certainty in the back of the mind that allows one to embrace the fact that, in spite of God being loving, merciful, gracious, etc. this particular misstep was just the one necessary to bring God's capacity to willingly forgive to the point of no return. Yet we read in Hebrews 11 about the great people of faith whose stories are filled with every kind of sin imaginable, but we somehow still choose to envision ourselves as having fallen further down a road of no return than "those people". The scriptures are supposed to be showcasing the life stories and struggles of men and women we can fully identify with, so that when it comes to trusting God's ability to love us as much, we will grasp that loving us should be no different that loving any of them. These are stories of people named Abraham, Samson, David and Solomon, who lied, cheated, murdered, lusted, committed adultery, dishonored their parents, stole, lived in total debauchery and had no seeming character to speak of. Yet, the book of Hebrews still speaks of them from God's perspective as having faith, regardless of their sins and moral failures with full acceptance and right-standing before him.
God spoke to Old Testament prophets of a future time when he would "make a new covenant with his people, not like the one made with their forefathers (Moses)" but a covenant with a strategic PROMISE being that "I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." This covenant being spoken of by Old Testament prophets was also recalled by the writer of the book of Hebrews in the NT as being the foundation of the Christian faith. It is the covenant promise we have been given to trust in, cling to, rely on and accept as giving us unbroken eternal friendship with a just and holy God, who we have been estranged from due to being dead in our sins and tresspasses. This covenant makes provision for us being in a continued state of potential future sins and doesn't offer the believer condemnation for the fact that they fail in any way, shape or form. We bring our sins, misdeads, failures, iniquity, willful rebellion (whatever you want to call it) to the feet of Jesus in simple confession and admittance of the fact, and we are cleansed. Just that easy. This is not to say that we are without consequence for our choices and decisions. We may take a course of action that might send us to prison, but the earthly consequence can have no eternal bearing of condemnation upon the individual where God is concerned. The slate can and is wiped clean.
One of the things I find interesting is that the Old Testament Law had a provision for sins that we might be unaware we committed. Still, our ignorance of such conditions being made on our behalf is often crippling to the relationships of people who cannot trust in the ongoing grace and mercy of God being applied to their lives. But it is available. It doesn't cease. Our fearful minds seem to readily embrace that God would be more understanding and willing to love us if we would stop doing some particular behavior. Or if we would promise to stop some behavior, or to have never done it to begin with.
To believe that our ongoing upright behavior is required to maintain God's friendship and love toward us is to believe that his gifts are not a gift at all, but a response to our works. If this is the case, we have just earned the very benefits and options of this covenant that were promised to come FREELY without our contribution.
For heaven's sake... let God love you as he intended to. The way he provided for you to receive his abundantly rich blessings is not through your self-efforts and moral uprightness. It is sincerely and truly a gift of his grace through faith.
Let this give you peace and rest. May you be freed from the anxiety and fear that accompanies the belief that God is going to do something bad to you for the things you have done in your life. "God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world, through him might be saved." Jn 3:17
For heaven's sake... that means YOU!
Drink deeply