My fellow believers, a word of encouragement and caution:
"Just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ."
Colossians 2:6-8
There is much angst among our generation today about the traditions and customs of the church and many are leaving their faith behind altogether. But what are they really running away from? Satan is a devious liar. He is delighted that many people of all ages are running away from the church because of its rigid traditions and seemingly oppressive beliefs. But what really makes him happy is that we are running away from something that humans have made, and not realizing that we are leaving behind Jesus too. The most effective lie is the one that diverts your attention, not the blatant outright lie. We are not dumb but we ARE easily distracted...especially in our culture today. Many people stray from Christianity, or are repulsed by it because they think being a Christian means you have to have a certain political view (it happens in conservative and in liberal circles), or dress a certain way to attend a certain church, say and do certain things and act a certain way (like some hypocritical praise band leaders I encountered in my days in school), follow a certain path in life, and observe certain religious customs, like attending church on a certain day of the week at a certain time, and participating in certain activities to be considered a good Christian. Sound familiar?
But here's the thing; all of these things are from humans. They are all from US, therefore they are all additions to the Gospel, not all bad in and of themselves, but dangerous in human hands. I repeat because this is very important: VERY dangerous. And we're only human, we have things like this for a variety of well-intentioned reasons, such as trying to reach others or trying to create a framework of worship that our brains can grasp. But the moment we start adding to the gospel anything at all, we start to believe the very deceptive lie that we are more than we are, and that God is less than He is.
We start to believe (whether you want to admit it or not) that these things represent Christianity and that they are necessary to the faith. But they are not because if they were, then Jesus' death on the cross was not enough. Then that would mean Jesus wasn't the ultimate sacrifice that paid for ALL our sins and that we have to do more to be really saved. Then that starts to creep in a scary way toward kharma or other belief systems that are based on works. We start to believe that we are capable of pleasing God with our good works, and start worrying about the good outweighing the bad. We sympathetically start to believe that God may not quite be enough. Ever feel like you need to pray and then...do something? No, if God is adequate to meet all your needs, then just pray. That's it. God is able and wants to provide for your every need! Let Him, and He will! (This is another good topic for another time...more on this later!)
And what's worse is that doing all of these things, following these man-made customs is often done so that we look good. We can't deny that we all want to look like we have it all together in front of our Christian and non-Christian friends and acquaintances. I'm so guilty of this; we all are. But isn't the crux of being a Christian ADMITTING that we are hopelessly sinful? And doesn't trying to look perfect comletely negate that? And probably the most dangerous result is that everyone who is on the fence, trying to decide what they believe becomes comletely turned off by Christianity because they see this and don't want to be a part of it. They may not completely understand why they don't like it, but are turned off by it and that makes it harder for them to ever see the simple truth, that we are hopelessly depraved and need Jesus' saving grace, and ONLY grace to be a Christian.
And I've been thinking about this for a while, but listen to what Paul says as he's warning his contemporaries of this very thing:
"When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind. They have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.
Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.
You see? It's so plain. If we'd just read our Bible and what Paul wrote to his dear friends in the faith, we'd see that Jesus came to do away with the need for all these things. In the Old Testament there were lots of rules and customs and required festivals and such, but the saving power of Jesus made all of these things unnecessary. Paul says these things are based on human teachings and all perish. Of course they do! He says they "appear" to be wise. But they are self-imposed. And here's the worst part...just try to tell me this doesn't explain our culture today: "Such regulations...lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence."
There it is! When we humans can't allow for the fact that God is both merciful and just, we lean toward one side or the other. Either we fancy that He is all merciful and loving and therefore allows everything (which is the leaning of many in my generation because of the mass reaction to the leaning of the previous generation) or that He is all Judgement and punishment and that we have to impose regulations on ourselves so that we don't break any laws, and then begin to look down on those who don't do the same (which is the leaning of the previous generations, to which our generation is reacting).
It's because behind the regulations and the customs and the self-imposed laws there was no consideration for the heart of Christ. Pauls says Christ is the reality. These laws fade away, and don't cause anyone to have a change of heart. They just make you want to rebel. I'm the first to admit I was a rebellious child. I was always asking why to my parents, because something in me knew that following rules without a reason didn't make sense. But God never did that to us, did He? He never said "because I said so" just to keep power over us. God wants us to try to understand Him, because He is what's real.
A few generations ago, people believed the lie that following all the rules would make them good Christians, and tried to impose this way of thinking on the next generation. The next generation (the baby boomers) rebelled completely and refused. It's like a bird in a cage. If not trained well when it is young, it will fly away as soon as the door is opened, and never return. The fraud was exposed and the pendulum swung too far the other way. Now we have a generation of Christians and non-Christians who alike are influenced by this and have a really hard time believing that God judges at all. Both have missed the truth because it's harder to understand that beautiful tension than either of these lies.
Beware and be careful. My friends I urge you. Know the truth. It really is the greatest freedom of all!
"Just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ."
Colossians 2:6-8
There is much angst among our generation today about the traditions and customs of the church and many are leaving their faith behind altogether. But what are they really running away from? Satan is a devious liar. He is delighted that many people of all ages are running away from the church because of its rigid traditions and seemingly oppressive beliefs. But what really makes him happy is that we are running away from something that humans have made, and not realizing that we are leaving behind Jesus too. The most effective lie is the one that diverts your attention, not the blatant outright lie. We are not dumb but we ARE easily distracted...especially in our culture today. Many people stray from Christianity, or are repulsed by it because they think being a Christian means you have to have a certain political view (it happens in conservative and in liberal circles), or dress a certain way to attend a certain church, say and do certain things and act a certain way (like some hypocritical praise band leaders I encountered in my days in school), follow a certain path in life, and observe certain religious customs, like attending church on a certain day of the week at a certain time, and participating in certain activities to be considered a good Christian. Sound familiar?
But here's the thing; all of these things are from humans. They are all from US, therefore they are all additions to the Gospel, not all bad in and of themselves, but dangerous in human hands. I repeat because this is very important: VERY dangerous. And we're only human, we have things like this for a variety of well-intentioned reasons, such as trying to reach others or trying to create a framework of worship that our brains can grasp. But the moment we start adding to the gospel anything at all, we start to believe the very deceptive lie that we are more than we are, and that God is less than He is.
We start to believe (whether you want to admit it or not) that these things represent Christianity and that they are necessary to the faith. But they are not because if they were, then Jesus' death on the cross was not enough. Then that would mean Jesus wasn't the ultimate sacrifice that paid for ALL our sins and that we have to do more to be really saved. Then that starts to creep in a scary way toward kharma or other belief systems that are based on works. We start to believe that we are capable of pleasing God with our good works, and start worrying about the good outweighing the bad. We sympathetically start to believe that God may not quite be enough. Ever feel like you need to pray and then...do something? No, if God is adequate to meet all your needs, then just pray. That's it. God is able and wants to provide for your every need! Let Him, and He will! (This is another good topic for another time...more on this later!)
And what's worse is that doing all of these things, following these man-made customs is often done so that we look good. We can't deny that we all want to look like we have it all together in front of our Christian and non-Christian friends and acquaintances. I'm so guilty of this; we all are. But isn't the crux of being a Christian ADMITTING that we are hopelessly sinful? And doesn't trying to look perfect comletely negate that? And probably the most dangerous result is that everyone who is on the fence, trying to decide what they believe becomes comletely turned off by Christianity because they see this and don't want to be a part of it. They may not completely understand why they don't like it, but are turned off by it and that makes it harder for them to ever see the simple truth, that we are hopelessly depraved and need Jesus' saving grace, and ONLY grace to be a Christian.
And I've been thinking about this for a while, but listen to what Paul says as he's warning his contemporaries of this very thing:
"When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind. They have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.
Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.
You see? It's so plain. If we'd just read our Bible and what Paul wrote to his dear friends in the faith, we'd see that Jesus came to do away with the need for all these things. In the Old Testament there were lots of rules and customs and required festivals and such, but the saving power of Jesus made all of these things unnecessary. Paul says these things are based on human teachings and all perish. Of course they do! He says they "appear" to be wise. But they are self-imposed. And here's the worst part...just try to tell me this doesn't explain our culture today: "Such regulations...lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence."
There it is! When we humans can't allow for the fact that God is both merciful and just, we lean toward one side or the other. Either we fancy that He is all merciful and loving and therefore allows everything (which is the leaning of many in my generation because of the mass reaction to the leaning of the previous generation) or that He is all Judgement and punishment and that we have to impose regulations on ourselves so that we don't break any laws, and then begin to look down on those who don't do the same (which is the leaning of the previous generations, to which our generation is reacting).
It's because behind the regulations and the customs and the self-imposed laws there was no consideration for the heart of Christ. Pauls says Christ is the reality. These laws fade away, and don't cause anyone to have a change of heart. They just make you want to rebel. I'm the first to admit I was a rebellious child. I was always asking why to my parents, because something in me knew that following rules without a reason didn't make sense. But God never did that to us, did He? He never said "because I said so" just to keep power over us. God wants us to try to understand Him, because He is what's real.
A few generations ago, people believed the lie that following all the rules would make them good Christians, and tried to impose this way of thinking on the next generation. The next generation (the baby boomers) rebelled completely and refused. It's like a bird in a cage. If not trained well when it is young, it will fly away as soon as the door is opened, and never return. The fraud was exposed and the pendulum swung too far the other way. Now we have a generation of Christians and non-Christians who alike are influenced by this and have a really hard time believing that God judges at all. Both have missed the truth because it's harder to understand that beautiful tension than either of these lies.
Beware and be careful. My friends I urge you. Know the truth. It really is the greatest freedom of all!
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