Behavior and The Gospel

The evangelical church today is very concerned with behavior. The behavior of their children, themselves, and mostly everyone else, especially homosexuals. (Yes, I saw the Oprah interview with Ted Haggard… fascinating!!)

Our human behavior can be traced to the fact that we are human and our environment is filled with other humans. The connection between our humanity and God is not something we can fix. It’s up to Him. And He did something about it, don’t worry. He perfected us at the Cross. Are we then perfect? Yes, as far as our spiritual being is concerned we are perfect. I don't believe our humanity separates us from Him. Our mindsets may separate us more than anything. The teachings of religion separate us by telling us our humanity should be thus and so. So we tell each other it should be thus and so. We then make judgments upon judgments that cause people to hide their humanity (or not) and personal worth is lost. This is why we need the Gospel.

The Gospel, being mysterious and working through a power called love, will produce whatever salvation our soul requires. How love works is difficult to explain. If behaviors need changing, I think love can do that. This is how it has worked in me and how I've seen it work in those close to me. When we truly recognize that we are hurting ourselves or others through our actions, we can work at changing our behavior. If our behavior is not hurting anyone, what's the problem? God's not offended or shocked.

Scripture says that He would be "satisfied when He sees the suffering" of the sacrifice.

"He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities." Isaiah 53:11

God's not angry. He's not judging anymore. He's perfected us through Jesus. This is what the Gospel is... the good news. That's why Jesus told the disciples to "Go". This "good news" brings a salvation that produces a freedom which is inexplicable. Just don't go throwing in requirements to maintain it (church attendance, bible reading, etc.) The freedom then quickly fades. That has been my experience.

ALL

Consider this statement:

“Not all men became sinners after Adam demonstrated unbelief and disobedience in the garden."

How would most Christians respond to this statement? The overwhelming majority would say that it is not true. They would insist that death became a reality for all men because of the sin of Adam. They would also say that no one was even given a choice in the matter. Mankind was automatically assigned the death sentence because of Adam’s unbelief and disobedience. The Bible would back up this understanding also.

“…just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned,” Romans 5:13 (NKJV)

I agree. The fact that sin and death spread to all men seems established in this verse.

If we believe that all died without a choice in the matter, then why don’t we believe that Jesus redeemed all without a choice being needed on man‘s part? Do we need to believe first in order to receive redemption? I think belief is important in living a life here on earth. What does believing do for us? Our believing that Jesus finished and fulfilled it all at the Cross brings salvation to our mind and soul as we live our life here and now.

Evangelical Christianity teaches that only those who confess and believe can receive the gift of redemption offered by Jesus Christ. Some are in and some are out. I don’t believe this as I once did. I don’t believe it was an offering, a choice, or an option. Scripture doesn’t bare this out.

Continuing to read in Romans 5 we see that the gift given is much more than the death by offense that mankind received by Adam.

“But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.” Romans 5:15 (NKJV)

In case the word “many” provokes a question of how many received it, look at Romans 5:18:

“Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.”

I love the book of Romans.

This is my first post in a month. Some in my family took a week away from home which meant one week to get ready to go and two to get back to normal after returning. Well, that’s my excuse anyway for not writing. More to come…

Eternal Life

Modern day Christianity teaches that in order to receive eternal life we need to ask Jesus into our heart and ask Him to forgive our sins. If we don't we are lost and will spend eternity separated from God.

This idea that eternal life can be attained by simply saying a few words is challenged in Mark 10:17-27. A man asks Jesus “what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” Jesus gave him a shortened version of the Ten Commandments. The man said that he had kept them all from his youth. He evidently was a moral man. Jesus then told him to sell everything that he has and give the money to the poor. Also He tells the man to take up his cross and follow Him. The man realizing he couldn‘t (or wouldn’t) do these things went away sad.

Jesus asked the man to give up something that was very important to him. How many people today sell everything they have in order to be saved? Probably next to none. If any one of us was asked to give up the most valuable thing in our lives, we would all struggle to do it. Where our treasure is that is were our heart is. Jesus was asking the man to give up his heart. This is impossible for any of us to do. If you give up your heart you give up your life.

He also asked the man to take up his cross and follow Him. Where was Jesus going? He was headed to the cross to die. Was He asking this man to die also on a cross next to him in order to attain eternal life? Possibly.

The disciples were astonished at Jesus’ words to the man and posed a question to Him. “Who then can be saved?” Perhaps they were thinking that Jesus’ requirements were too difficult for anyone to qualify. Jesus answered them by saying, “With men it is impossible, but not with God, with God all things are possible.”

In other words, redemption (eternal life) is only possible through God. Men cannot attain eternal life by what they do. If our works were what qualified us, what and how much would we have to do in order for it to be enough? The very thought that our feeble human abilities can earn the gift of eternal life from God is an insult to Jesus and the price that He paid.

I believe that God saved mankind without any of us having a part in it. Ephesians 2:5 says “even when we were dead in trespasses, (God) made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)”. We were redeemed while yet in our sins. It was not our believing in Jesus that redeemed us. It was not our asking for forgiveness for our sins which redeemed us. It was Jesus’ work on the Cross that brought redemption to the whole world. I Timothy 4:10 says “…we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those that believe.” Jesus’ death, burial, resurrection, and ascension back to his father brought redemption and made it possible for each human to become a believer.

Do we have a choice?

Did God give mankind a choice to be condemned because of Adam‘s sin? Most everyone I’ve known in Christianity over the years would say “no“. All of mankind was condemned when Adam (and Eve) acted in unbelief and disobedience toward God in the garden.

So, if we have no choice in that matter, do we have a choice in regard to reconciliation with God? Especially note verse 18 in Romans 5:12-21.


“Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned— 13 (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. 15 But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. 16 And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. 17 For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.) 18 Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. 19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous. 20 Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, 21 so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (NKJV)

By one man’s offense all men were judged, made sinners, and condemned. By one man’s righteous act all men were justified and made righteous. There is no mention of choice being available in either case… to be condemned or redeemed.

a new covenant

Jeremiah 31:31-34 says… “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” (NKJV)

These verses from Jeremiah speak of a new covenant which God will make with his people. The old covenant had been broken repeatedly. The rules of the old covenant were the laws that He gave them through Moses. This is referring to the Hebrew nation of Old Testament times. Historical context is important in order for us to understand what God did and what His intentions were towards His creation.

Verse 33 uses the words after those days. What days? The days after the redeemer would walk the earth and fulfill what He came to do. This redeemer was Jesus Christ. A new covenant was brought into existence through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

This new covenant is not like the old one. He no longer leads us by the hand. It is not an external relationship. In the new covenant it has become an internal relationship with a living God. He lives inside of us. He has put His law in our minds and written it on our hearts.

to be continued...