Wednesday, 14 May 2008

• the lie of the church

  im stealing this over from my xanga, since the topic fits. as squeak commented there, this is a tough bit to chew on, as it presents a view of God not many people are comfortable with, and requires total submission. it is something i am FAR from achieving.

  this is going to be a touchy topic. so, before making judgements read me out.(i would say hear me out, but im not talking, im writing).

                   i was listening to the radio on the way home today, and the man was giving a sermon on something. the topic i dont know, but the passage had to do with the philippian jailor. for those not familiar with the story(though im sure most people here are) it goes something like this(hey, you want it exact, read your bible... or someone elses.)

               paul and his crew were in jail for preaching the gospel. while they were locked up they were singing and worshiping and preaching and basicly would not shut up about it all. suddenly there was an earthquake that shook the doors open and broke the chains holding the prisoners. now, the jailor had taken some nappy time and was awakened by the noise. thinking that everyone had gotten out, he began to kill himself(drew his sword and took aim), paul however, called out to him to let him know they were still there so he needed finish the deed. the jailor then asked him, being convinced by this happening(and im sure the character of paul to spare him shame by staying put when he could have easily left to the jailors detriment) asked him what was necessary to be saved. to this paul replied. "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ."

              so, what does this have to do with a lie. well, i dont think it's so much a lie of malice as of missunderstanding. but as the man on the radio read about this, i drifted from his sermon to my own thoughts. and how the word believe, in that context,(the greek word we translate as believe), means so much more than just "believe". it has to do with faith, trust, devotion, it's a deep word. yet in todays church we "believe". we tell people to "accept Jesus" or "allow Jesus into your heart", when this is the furthest thing from what is happening.

                everyone has Jesus. He has given Himself to the world. in the end the question is not do you have a relationship with God, but what is that relationship. is he Judge or savior, master and friend, or enemy and destroyer? Jesus came to die for the world, He came to cleanse all of their sins through His death, and prove his power by His ressurrection. yet, He is still the Judge of the world. and He will judge all. we do not take Him on, for He is already on us. we are not over Him to accept or deny Him.

               the truth of it is. this word believe, as i understand it in its depth, is not us accepting Christ unto ourselves, but us, giving ourselves to Christ. this is what it means to be "of the way", you give yourself to Christ, an obediant servant, a living sacrifice. your life, no longer your own but His. and when you do this, He gives you His name. He seals you with His Spirit. you dont accept these things, any more than you condescend to accept a uniform from an employer. dont be confused if they put it to you in the form of a question, if you work for them, you do what they say, it isnt optional. just as Christ said "if you love me you WILL keep my commandments."

                and even the doing is not enough. we know that there are those who DO who will not see heaven. "have i not prophecied in your name, and in your name cast out demons?" met by "depart from me, you worker of iniquity". no, we must give ourselves over to Him. we must BE His.

              i've heard the trite, and quite untrue cliche "sin asks for everything and gives nothing, but Jesus asks for nothing and gives everything." the fact is, Jesus doesnt ask for everything, He demands it. and it is His place, as creater and ruler of the universe to do so. time and time again, in both the old testement and new, God established Himself as the ultimate authority over all things. if He so chose to give rise to a nation of people for the sole purpose of wiping them out with fire and chopsticks, that is His perogative as Creator. when Job asked God to explain Himself regarding all that befell him, God didnt say "well Job, i have this marvellous plan you just dont see right now, but dont worry, once you do.. here let me show you.." no, what God said was "and who are you? did you create the heavens and the earth? are you the one that put a universe of life at the bottom of the sea? was Job there, nodding his aproval when the stars and the sun and the moon were placed in their delicate alignment?"

             Basicly He said, "i'm God, i do what i want.". this is a hard lesson for us. we as people think we have a corner on the market of what is right, and what is wrong. funny, it just came to me while typing this, thats where it all started. we want to take the place of God, to hold that knowledge, that authority over right and wrong. but that is God's place alone. yes, by the standards God has given us, we, through governments, judge men, however we are never to think we can judge God. this brings me back to my original point. salvation is not by offering our acceptance to God, as though He needed it, but to give ourselves completely to Him in submission to His will. i think the church has been neglecting this for far too long. and that is why i call it a lie. because we have put the wrong meaning into the word believe.

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