I spent this weekend in Nashville at a Biblical Counseling conference. I went into the weekend expecting to learn a lot and to be encouraged in counseling others using a Biblical perspective. My expectations were definitely met, and then some. I did learn a lot, but I was also challenged personally. I spent much of the weekend being challenged in my own thinking and in my own sin. God seems to do this to me most when I am least expecting it. Then today after being home and processing some things with my husband, I had one of those "ah-ha" moments. You know when you understand something that you've probably heard a million times, but then one day it finally clicks and makes more sense or you gain a better understanding than you had before? I have a lot of these because I suffer from a condition called "stubbornness" or "thick-headedness". I'm sure no one else can relate to this condition and probably understands and accepts everything the first time it's presented to you. :)
Please know, I'm not writing this to boast about myself & some ability I have to have insight. I just wanted to share & hopefully encourage people in something God graciously showed me this weekend & really throughout the past several years!
Let me start by sharing some verses.
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come" 2 Corinthians 5:17
"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Galatians 2:20
"Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." 1 Corinthians 6:9-11
These are just a few of the many verses I could have listed that talk about that when we are saved by believing in Jesus Christ, we are in fact a new creation. I think I have realized, that if I'm honest, I have lived much of my life in Christ more focused on who I was than on who I am. Which in turn, shapes my identity in how I view myself and therefore how I live. This leaves me living much of my life in Christ insecure, defeated, and lacking joy. Now I have had great times in my life of feeling secure in Christ and being very joyful, but I tend to cycle in and out of it. My focus shifts to my circumstances or my short-comings. This is not the life we are called to in Christ.
We are called to walk in the righteousness of Christ. We are not called to walk in the unrighteousness of our flesh. Notice in the verse from 1 Corinthians, Paul is talking to believers and says "and such were some of you...". Before this he basically listed out lifestyles of the unrighteous. He then makes a very clear statement that they are no longer the unrighteous. They have been washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ by the Spirit of God.
I remember clearly the day I first understood God's grace. I realized that I am a sinner and that nothing I do is good. (Rom 3:10) I understood that because God is just there must be a penalty for sin. In and of myself, my sin was earning me eternal separation from God is a place called hell. But by God's grace he lovingly sent Jesus to die on the cross to pay that penalty and that through my belief in Him I can be a child of God and walk in the righteousness of Christ. (Romans 6:23, 2 Corinthians 5:21) I believed in this with all of my heart and surrendered my life to Christ. I then began I journey of sanctification. A journey that will not be completed until I get to heaven. (Philippians 1:6) It's been a journey with a lot of "ah-ha" moments, but this has been 1 of the biggest truths for me to struggle to grasp. I am a new creation in Christ. The old Amanda is gone and the new Amanda has come. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. These are things that I knew & believed before this weekend, but is it what I focused on day in and day out? In all honesty, no. As I said earlier, I have spent a lot of time focused on the flesh, on who I was, on the mess ups or where I have fallen short. This is not where followers of Christ have to stay! We are to put off the old self and put on the new self. (Ephesians 4) By the power of God, the same God who created all of creation and raised Jesus from the dead, we can walk in newness of life!
1.13.2012
Is relgion bad?
It seems this video Why I Hate Religion, but Love Jesus, has become viral and liked by many. It has also stirred controversy and critiques by many on blogs and social-networking sites.
First, I will say I don't completely disagree with what this guy says and I don't completely agree either. I will also say that that is the case with most an Christan videos I watch or books or blogs I read. The reason for that is that we are all human, therefore we are not infallible. The only things I believe to be infallible are God (which includes Jesus & the Holy Spirit) and the Bible (which is God's Word). I will go ahead and admit that this blog will have fallacies because as much as I'd like to believe I'm perfect sometimes, I'm not.
I think some people are getting a little too crazy in bashing this guy and his video. Based on some comments I read before watching the video I expected it to be completely off and not gospel centered at all. He is not the first person to use the whole religion vs relationship concept. Many people, including myself, have made this distinction. It is clear to me in watching the video that when he says "religion" he is referring to the institutionalized system of self-righteous pharisees. I will note that these "self-righteous pharisees" still exist today. Visit any local church and you will probably run into them. At the same time, you will hopefully run into genuine follower's of Christ. I really think the issue with this video is wording.
People have different understandings and definitions for various words. Especially words related to "religion".
Here's some definitions of religion I found via the 3rd infallible thing in the universe "google". (Obviously I'm joking about google being infallible.)
"Hipocrasy"
"cults and a form of brainwashing"
Ok, the point in all those definitions was to point out that words are defined differently by different people. Words are also defined differently throughout various cultures and generations. Context plays a big part in definition. That's why I think it is crucial for Christians (which I will define for you as follower's of Christ, not just people who go to church or live moral lives) to use the Bible to define not only their lives, but their words too.
James 1:27 defines religion this way, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
Jesus himself explains that he did not come to abolish the law (which is what some think of as religion), but to fulfill it.
So do I think Jesus hates religion or that religion is bad? No way when that religion is defined by the Bible and is centered in the gospel. I do believe that Jesus hates the religion that is defined and described in this video, religion based in self-righteousness. Religion that says I can be good enough and I can do enough to get to God. For the most part, if you insert the word self-righteousness for religion, I like this video. And to be honest, if you look at most "religious" people in America, self-righteousness is what you will see.
I think this video is good for the audience it's trying to speak to. An audience that when they hear the word religion they probably get a mental image of that judgmental, self-righteous person at their church growing up that made them not want to go to church anymore. I also think there is a need for people to understand that religion does not have to be this way.
I think there is a strong need for the words religion, church, and Christian to be redefined according to the Bible and centered on the gospel. The religion of the gospel says. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:23) Another favorite passage of my is, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit." (Romans 8:1-4)
Maybe believers, Christians, followers of Christ, disciples of Christ, or whatever else you want to call us need to work at defining our own words according the Bible & not based on the culture. I think we tend to view life in general through the lenses of the culture vs. the lenses of the Bible. To me, that is the biggest problem with this video. It approaches defining the Gospel through the lenses of the culture vs. the lenses of the Bible.
I guess the bottom line I'm getting at with all of this rambling, is that for me, all of this has caused me to examine myself and what lenses I'm viewing & defining life through.
First, I will say I don't completely disagree with what this guy says and I don't completely agree either. I will also say that that is the case with most an Christan videos I watch or books or blogs I read. The reason for that is that we are all human, therefore we are not infallible. The only things I believe to be infallible are God (which includes Jesus & the Holy Spirit) and the Bible (which is God's Word). I will go ahead and admit that this blog will have fallacies because as much as I'd like to believe I'm perfect sometimes, I'm not.
I think some people are getting a little too crazy in bashing this guy and his video. Based on some comments I read before watching the video I expected it to be completely off and not gospel centered at all. He is not the first person to use the whole religion vs relationship concept. Many people, including myself, have made this distinction. It is clear to me in watching the video that when he says "religion" he is referring to the institutionalized system of self-righteous pharisees. I will note that these "self-righteous pharisees" still exist today. Visit any local church and you will probably run into them. At the same time, you will hopefully run into genuine follower's of Christ. I really think the issue with this video is wording.
People have different understandings and definitions for various words. Especially words related to "religion".
Here's some definitions of religion I found via the 3rd infallible thing in the universe "google". (Obviously I'm joking about google being infallible.)
"the service and worship of God or the supernatural"
"commitment or devotion to religious faith or observance"
Here's some definitions from an even more credible source, urbandictionary.com (obviously again, I'm joking)...
"The biggest lie in human history."
"cults and a form of brainwashing"
Ok, the point in all those definitions was to point out that words are defined differently by different people. Words are also defined differently throughout various cultures and generations. Context plays a big part in definition. That's why I think it is crucial for Christians (which I will define for you as follower's of Christ, not just people who go to church or live moral lives) to use the Bible to define not only their lives, but their words too.
James 1:27 defines religion this way, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
Jesus himself explains that he did not come to abolish the law (which is what some think of as religion), but to fulfill it.
So do I think Jesus hates religion or that religion is bad? No way when that religion is defined by the Bible and is centered in the gospel. I do believe that Jesus hates the religion that is defined and described in this video, religion based in self-righteousness. Religion that says I can be good enough and I can do enough to get to God. For the most part, if you insert the word self-righteousness for religion, I like this video. And to be honest, if you look at most "religious" people in America, self-righteousness is what you will see.
I think this video is good for the audience it's trying to speak to. An audience that when they hear the word religion they probably get a mental image of that judgmental, self-righteous person at their church growing up that made them not want to go to church anymore. I also think there is a need for people to understand that religion does not have to be this way.
I think there is a strong need for the words religion, church, and Christian to be redefined according to the Bible and centered on the gospel. The religion of the gospel says. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:23) Another favorite passage of my is, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit." (Romans 8:1-4)
Maybe believers, Christians, followers of Christ, disciples of Christ, or whatever else you want to call us need to work at defining our own words according the Bible & not based on the culture. I think we tend to view life in general through the lenses of the culture vs. the lenses of the Bible. To me, that is the biggest problem with this video. It approaches defining the Gospel through the lenses of the culture vs. the lenses of the Bible.
I guess the bottom line I'm getting at with all of this rambling, is that for me, all of this has caused me to examine myself and what lenses I'm viewing & defining life through.
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