Monday, March 05, 2007

Giving God a Hand

My wife and I were doing our weekly devotion. We were talking about 1 John 3:4-10, which talks about sin, and started discussing how people today within our own Christian community have been watering down the faith and pretty much negating the work of the Holy Spirit. And as I like to say, “It got me thinking. . . .”

What would the conversation with these people look like when they come face to face with God? Maybe it would go something like this:

Hey God what’s up (as you would speak post-modern and lose the Holiness aspect of God), as He is just a down to earth God.

So, what did you do with Jesus and your faith? How did you follow the great commission? Did you keep My inerrant, infallible Word that I gave you through the Holy Spirit?

Well, you know God we had to change a few things. We found it to be too controversial and had to make a few changes to reach people for the faith. We do not want to say Jesus, or use His name too much because it can make people uncomfortable. We want to stay trendy and with the culture.

We also now talk about the Bible as more of a narrative. You know, because it was only selected by 300 old guys, and they are not perfect. We figure the Bible is more like a work of art that is not completed yet. We are not sure the Holy Spirit could handle them picking the right books, so we wanted to leave an opening just in case that we find one we want to add to it. We got your back God. We were thinking of possibly adding some Eastern Mysticism books to the Bible, as we really enjoy those.

Another thing we had to do was tone down the whole sin thing. Man, people really get upset if they believe they are going to Hell if they do not accept Jesus as Savior, and that is another thing we had to make a little simpler, for their sins. We do not try to be offensive in regards to telling people about their sin, basically what You called conviction. We figure it is Hell here now and that is what you meant, because You are just too filled with love to send someone to a literal eternal Hell. Come on, how cool is that, to send someone to Hell that they freely chose themselves when they denied You? That is not loving. We figure people did not need to know about Your wrath, jealousy, holiness or any other attribute that may take away from Your love.

Lastly, the whole salvation thing needed a little adjusting as well. We turned it into more of a process instead of having people repent of sins, because that is just too darn offensive. While we are at it, we also now allow them to utilize methods from other faiths to enhance their Christianity. We figure Your not as caught up on the whole “idol” thing anymore, as You are too filled with love for that. What is really wrong with using a dream catcher if it enhances a void that we could not find through You. I mean we figure Your to busy to take care of all our needs. We are here to help You out, fill in the gaps You left.

Basically God, we really have got it under control. We figure this is the way you truly wanted it. We call it the secrets of Jesus, or that we are emerging the Christian faith, because what you told our forefathers just does not cut if for us. Though we like some of the rituals, candles and incense, we do not have time for absolute truth or anyone telling us what the Bible means, and we especially refuse to sit under authority.

What do you think God? I bet You cannot even think of what to say. I bet there is a special place for us, though we would not say that out loud on earth, because we were too humble for that. And we told them many times how humble we were. Like I said, the whole sin thing was way over done, and Your love would take care of that anyway.

God replied by using the absolute truth of His Word,

John 1:1-5, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”

Matt. 7:20-24, “Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. ‘Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' ‘Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.’”

In the end we will have to answer to God for how we are as Christians today. I would not want to be the one trying to tell Him that His Word was infallible. That some how the All powerful Creator could not write an inerrant book, even with man, who He created in the first place.
I certainly would not want to be the person who tries to tell Him that you down played the importance of Salvation through Christ, and the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. Not to mention that the sin He died for is not really as bad as the Bible makes it in the first place.

It is making yourself above God, and is absolute rebellion and sin. We can rest assured that the Bible is true in all it teaches and that we can rely on it today just as they did yesterday. The Word of God transcends modern, post-modern, and any other time frame. Just as God transcends all eras. It just continues to amaze me that we think we can change what our Omniscient God commanded us in Bible, the very Word of God.

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