The Gospel based on love:
Christians are supposed to be free peoples; those who have the Spirit are supposed to be able to understand a simple gospel; we are called to love by Jesus and Paul and not to judge; worrying is supposed to be a thing of the past; traditions of men are over, the doctrine of love is here; and finally, Jesus is supposed to return in triumphant glory to lead the saints home.
Yet, this is the gospel of fear, the loudest Christians are preaching instead:
1. We must always be vigilant because we are constantly under attack by a defeated enemy.
2. The scriptures are difficult to understand - word studies are necessary - every English translated word in the Bible has the same meaning - no matter if it is used in Genesis or Revelation.
3. Anxiety over our own salvation is necessary to be saved - if we do not warn people all the time about their personal sin, we will be punished; if we are not watching for Jesus, we might be left behind; If we cannot answer another Christian's salvation checks, we may not really be saved; if our doctrinal understanding of Jesus doesn't match the meanest, loudest, crankiest curmudgeon of a Christian, we are worshiping the wrong Jesus; if the world shares any trait that looks Christian, it is a lie from Satan - love, peace, happiness, freedom, etc; if Christians encounter any practice that is shared by another religion, it is to be rejected completely as evil; and instead of being excited by the return of Christ, we are focused on the Tribulation.
4. Whether or not you share my belief that we were created to love, have forgotten how, and are being sanctified as Christians to love once more, all Christians should agree that loving God and neighbor is our primary command. In addition, it doesn't matter if you share my belief that we are called not to judge because we are incapable of doing so, Christians should agree that we are called not to judge. So, why do we justify our poor behavior? We not only spend the majority of our time judging others,we justify it by calling it something else, "defending the gospel", "exposing heresy", or "standing up for Jesus". By doing so, we reduce the gospel to a pissing contest between egos.
5. Our fascination with the Tribulation and the Last Judgment morph the triumphant return of Jesus; and when we do think about His return, we fall into the same trap as the Jewish people did - we make Him into an Earthly warrior, instead of a Troubadour of love.
We think we are so clever, exposing demonic forces in conspiracy theories and personal temptations - never stopping to think that the Devil has to be smarter than to waste his time fooling and personally temping people for the small amount of time he is free (by the way, he is actually in the state of Hell, already) to attack us. Don't you think he would try something a bit more crafty, like undermining the work of the Spirit on Earth by placing doubt in the minds of Christians? Influencing us to identify love as false? Giving us the idea that the scriptures need to be analyzed by our false selves so that we can spend our time 'one upping' each other rather than loving our neighbors? Getting us bogged down in doctrine and sending us on endless snipe hunts for the purest form of church and scripture, so that we will remain spiritual infants?
The fact is, the Spirit has been at work in our hearts since the Fall, constantly leading us home. The Kingdom of God is in our hearts and has been influencing the World throughout human history - how can it's affects not be evident in the world? We are free from guilt, shame and worry and called to love abundantly. We should be known as the most open-minded, loving people on Earth - a port in the storm for sinners. Yet, we are known for our pride, rather than our love. The charge of hypocrisy from the world comes directly from our witness of Pride.
Before you decide to charge me with attacking Christianity - take a look at yourself and determine where you are at in your walk with Christ and your witness. Realize I am not an enemy of the church, I am writing this in the spirit of the prophets.
Christians are supposed to be free peoples; those who have the Spirit are supposed to be able to understand a simple gospel; we are called to love by Jesus and Paul and not to judge; worrying is supposed to be a thing of the past; traditions of men are over, the doctrine of love is here; and finally, Jesus is supposed to return in triumphant glory to lead the saints home.
Yet, this is the gospel of fear, the loudest Christians are preaching instead:
1. We must always be vigilant because we are constantly under attack by a defeated enemy.
2. The scriptures are difficult to understand - word studies are necessary - every English translated word in the Bible has the same meaning - no matter if it is used in Genesis or Revelation.
3. Anxiety over our own salvation is necessary to be saved - if we do not warn people all the time about their personal sin, we will be punished; if we are not watching for Jesus, we might be left behind; If we cannot answer another Christian's salvation checks, we may not really be saved; if our doctrinal understanding of Jesus doesn't match the meanest, loudest, crankiest curmudgeon of a Christian, we are worshiping the wrong Jesus; if the world shares any trait that looks Christian, it is a lie from Satan - love, peace, happiness, freedom, etc; if Christians encounter any practice that is shared by another religion, it is to be rejected completely as evil; and instead of being excited by the return of Christ, we are focused on the Tribulation.
4. Whether or not you share my belief that we were created to love, have forgotten how, and are being sanctified as Christians to love once more, all Christians should agree that loving God and neighbor is our primary command. In addition, it doesn't matter if you share my belief that we are called not to judge because we are incapable of doing so, Christians should agree that we are called not to judge. So, why do we justify our poor behavior? We not only spend the majority of our time judging others,we justify it by calling it something else, "defending the gospel", "exposing heresy", or "standing up for Jesus". By doing so, we reduce the gospel to a pissing contest between egos.
5. Our fascination with the Tribulation and the Last Judgment morph the triumphant return of Jesus; and when we do think about His return, we fall into the same trap as the Jewish people did - we make Him into an Earthly warrior, instead of a Troubadour of love.
We think we are so clever, exposing demonic forces in conspiracy theories and personal temptations - never stopping to think that the Devil has to be smarter than to waste his time fooling and personally temping people for the small amount of time he is free (by the way, he is actually in the state of Hell, already) to attack us. Don't you think he would try something a bit more crafty, like undermining the work of the Spirit on Earth by placing doubt in the minds of Christians? Influencing us to identify love as false? Giving us the idea that the scriptures need to be analyzed by our false selves so that we can spend our time 'one upping' each other rather than loving our neighbors? Getting us bogged down in doctrine and sending us on endless snipe hunts for the purest form of church and scripture, so that we will remain spiritual infants?
The fact is, the Spirit has been at work in our hearts since the Fall, constantly leading us home. The Kingdom of God is in our hearts and has been influencing the World throughout human history - how can it's affects not be evident in the world? We are free from guilt, shame and worry and called to love abundantly. We should be known as the most open-minded, loving people on Earth - a port in the storm for sinners. Yet, we are known for our pride, rather than our love. The charge of hypocrisy from the world comes directly from our witness of Pride.
Before you decide to charge me with attacking Christianity - take a look at yourself and determine where you are at in your walk with Christ and your witness. Realize I am not an enemy of the church, I am writing this in the spirit of the prophets.