To God be the glory.
As we continue our Scripture share (check out the videos and blogs) on the Letter to the Galatians, we are talking about true theology ("study/knowledge of God").
Greek, transliterated into English as "logos,"
Mind, reason, Word
Christology is the theology of Christ; soteriology is the theology of salvation. These realms of theology are among the most important for Christians. (So is pneumatology, or the theology of the Holy Spirit- which sadly is one of the least studied realms of theology in Christianity)
True Christology and soteriology- is WHY WAIT? There will never be a time when you are/feel worthy of salvation in Christ!
Those who sit in church (in most places now, sitting at home in front of the church live-stream) reciting prayers, who think if they just attend church, or do all the right religious things, they will 'earn points with God,' and He might have mercy on them- are mistaken.
According to Scripture, witchcraft is like this. In it (as well as in all other religions other than Christianity), people are required to do something (ritual) to get something (power). In witchcraft, of course, people do things (which involve spells, but also sins, breaking the 10 Commandments...the worse the sin, the more power promised) in order to gain supernatural power, gifts, and/or occult wisdom, etc. There is no concern for morals.
Most people have been trained to think "religiously." In "World Religions" classes, it is taught that Christianity is just one of the major religions of the world, one of the three Abrahamic religions. It is taught- correctly- that religion is what man does to gain access, or connection, or communication with God. Religion is "the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods," or "a particular system of faith and worship." (link) Notice the emphasis, focus on human beings, not on God: it is the belief in and worship of (what man does), or a system of worship (what man created).
Religion is man's way of getting to God (or attempting to). In actual fact, this is true- even in Galatians, Paul admits that this was the purpose of the Law- to show the futility of getting to God by way of any human rituals or means whatsoever.
NOT THE WAY OF GOD
Christianity is not a religion, but a relationship. James flips the definition of religion on its head, in speaking of Christianity- he says, if you want true 'religion,' it is keeping oneself unspotted from the world, and helping orphans and widows in their distress...(Jam. 1:26-27) You can't/won't do these unselfish things without a living relationship with the Person of Jesus. Atheists can do good things for the poor, but are they unspotted from the world?
See, God the Father is good- He doesn't make you do things, to earn things. He doesn't treat His children like slaves (the devil does!). The devil lies, says 'do this/ do that, and I will reward you in this life, and in the afterlife.' Actually, he is able to empower people in this life- look at the artists who sold their souls for rock'n'roll- or celebrities who gave themselves over to darkness, in exchange for fame. The devil lifts people up, gives them what they want, and then crashes them on the rocks. Those who serve satan are tormented in their God-given consciences, and have absolutely no peace within...not to mention the fact that those who serve the devil end up tormented in hell forevermore.
Serving in sin is futile, because there is no peace; all every heart wants/needs is love- and perfect love is God. (1 John 4)
Most people want to be good, but they give up when the realize they can't be good on their own efforts, or feel that being good never helped them get ahead, or helped them enjoy life more, etc. See, the lie of religion is "if you do this, everything will get better," but God works from an interior change of the heart. He changes lives from the inside-out. Pharisees tell people to "clean the outside of the cup" but religion has no power to change the heart, or remove the sins and bad habits of a person. Jesus exclaimed, "First clean the inside of the cup and dish, so that the outside may become clean as well." (Matt. 23:26)
Deep down, people are totally unhappy...because nothing they do actually brings them
peace- including religious acts. Look at celebrities and politicians, who have all the money and power in the world, but have high depression and suicide rates.
In our world today, there is a greater access than ever to pleasure, but suicide and depression and anxiety rates have risen with it. Most recently, the opioid crisis has skyrocketed because of covid isolation...(link)
GOD'S WAY IS DIFFERENT
What happened is:
Man sinned/ (2 options) ----> can try to "be good" and "get back to God"
exiled himself from God -----> give up on being good, and live a life of pleasure (hedonism)...and try to ignore the God-given conscience, which includes the thought of the afterlife
There's really no other option.
Since the Garden of Eden, people have chosen one of the two options. The chosen people, the Jews, tried and tried to get back to God, under the judges, the prophets, and the Law...nothing worked. Nothing produced an inner change.
God sent His only-begotten son, the Second Person of the Trinity- who took on human flesh and became a human being, Jesus of Nazareth. He died on the Cross to give us a way back to God, because we couldn't get back to Him ourselves.
Therefore, if we try option (1) after God has sent His Son, Who was sacrificed of His own free will out of love for us, we offend God and make His sacrifice null and void for us. Religious acts, trying to be good and failure is the Old Way- the New Way is to receive His sacrifice freely and accept the power and gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit to actually become good from the inside, which spills out into your life.
Option (2) is equally silly and stupid, because the vicious cycle doesn't work anyway! People look for pleasure to fill a void that only God can fill (the latest "trend" is people buying puppies for enormous amounts of money- from $3000 - 4500.00!) ...pleasure is only a temporary fix for an eternal problem...the addiction cycle is trying to fill the hole only God can fill...going back to something that makes you feel good for a time...
The Gospel is Galatians 3:22, and 14. By FAITH we receive salvation, access and fellowship with God. By FAITH we receive the Holy Spirit (verse 14), Who gives the power to live a holy life, a fulfillment of our destiny. When you have the Holy Spirit, you get out of the "gimme gimme" addiction cycle; your inner needs for love and peace are filled by God (Eph. 3:19), so that you don't want/need/desire earthly things for a temporary "fix."
You then receive power to help others- because you're not focused on how much you are hurting all the time- when you have peace from God, you want others to have the same thing and you'll do anything so that they could receive this touch from Heaven. Hallelujah!
Walking and living by faith changes your attitude from "gimme gimme" to "How can I give?"
"But, I Don't Feel Worthy"
See, most people believe they cannot go to God, or really be loved by Him, or have a deep relationship with Him, until they are "worthy." They try to be good, do good works for God and His Kingdom- when all He really wants is our hearts and to accept Jesus' forgiveness of our sins by faith. Then, He can give the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome the sins that we were afraid to come to Him with. People try to hide themselves, like Adam did, when God is ready to forgive all that come to Him. He is "slow to anger, and rich in kindness..." (Ps. 145:8)
The devil doesn't mind convincing people to stay away from God until they feel worthy, because he knows there will never be a time when we are truly worthy to come before God by ourselves! It is knowing we are unworthy, and that we can't be "good enough to come to God," that we can truly receive His forgiveness, His new life in us... Those who think they can come to God on their own merits fool themselves, not God- when God was waiting all along simply to show His mercy and kindness, His love to someone who would come to Him with open heart and trust Him for salvation. "But God clearly shows and proves His own love for us, by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Rom. 5:8) That is where true relationship with God begins- and the good works flow from a place of thanksgiving- we want to help Him in His search for souls, and partner with Him, not prove something to Him that can only come through faith, a peaceful acceptance of what He's done.
Come to Jesus. He will show you His love that makes it all worthwhile...He is the "fix" that doesn't end...the blessing that fills, and satisfies the inner longing for love. He gives liquid love that never runs dry...if you haven't experienced it, give Him a try...
If you surrender to Jesus, He will give you His love and peace, and reveal your destiny (Eph. 1:9), and give you the power and gifts of the Holy Spirit to accomplish all He asks.
That is God's Way.
Maybe you can give yourself a reality check today, and check what's in your heart. People get their hearts checked at the doctor's...maybe it's time to spend time in prayer with God and ask Him to show you your heart...
Surrender your life to Jesus today, and receive "power from on High." (Luke 24:49) You'll never be sorry you did!
Dan Devine, M. Div
Identity Crisis Management
(Outreach for Men)
FOR MORE:
Purchase the ICM Manual (Basic biblical principles of freedom, just $5 CAD)
Download the free audios: "ICM Step 1," "Faith," and "Only God Comforts"
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