Featured Image Credit: Photo by Gayatri Malhotra on Unsplash
Pastor Brandon’s Facebook Post
Source: https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=122317087622016919&set=a.122142283424016919
Religion V. the Way of Christ
Quote 1: Ache of Discernment
“That tension you feel? That ache between what Christianity often looks like… and who Jesus actually is? That’s not cynicism. That’s discernment. Religious systems disappoint. Leaders fail.Movements drift.Power corrupts. Religion gets tangled up in politics, ego, money, fear, and control.” PB
Christ’s way is grace. Timothy Keller explains grace:
“God sees us as we are, loves us as we are, and accepts us as we are. But by His grace, He does not leave us as we are. God invites us to come as we are, not stay as we are.”
Four verbs to consider: sees, loves, accepts, and invites. This is how Jesus engages with humanity in the Gospels. He notices the lost and outcasts. Loves them according to His nature. Accepts them and invites to follow His Way and be made anew. He explains this to Nicodemus in John chapter 3.
Religious systems don’t lead to transformation, but to shame, guilt, manipulation, and control. Are we following a theological system, social-cultural Christianity, or Jesus’ Way of Grace?
What is the difference?
Pastor Tim explains the difference in motivation(s):
“How Religion Works: If I obey, then God will love and accept me. The Gospel: I’m loved and accepted, therefore I wish to obey.”
What does God desire for us to obey? What is obedience to God?
Jesus sums this up in His Law of Christ: Got questions explains:
“We are to obey the “law of Christ,” which is a law of love (Galatians 6:2; John 13:34). Jesus stated the greatest commands of all: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:36–40).”
Not a perfect obedience, but a natural desire. This desire makes us a light!
If we love God, we will obey Him. We won’t be perfect in our obedience, but our desire is to submit to the Lord and display good works. When we love God and obey Him, we naturally have love for one another. Obedience to God’s commands will make us light and salt in a dark and tasteless world (Matthew 5:13–16).”
For detailed explanation and relevant passages consult this link:
https://www.gotquestions.org/Bible-obedience.html
Photo by Matt Palmer on Unsplash: Just as the sun’s rays breaks up the early morning fog, so God’s grace shines through the fog of religion. May the Light of His Truth illuminate your pathway!
What is Grace?
Got questions explains:
Bible Passages
“Grace is what saves us (Ephesians 2:8). Grace is the essence of the gospel (Acts 20:24). Grace gives us victory over sin (James 4:6). Grace gives us “eternal encouragement and good hope” (2 Thessalonians 2:16). Paul repeatedly identified grace as the basis of his calling as an apostle (Romans 15:15; 1 Corinthians 3:10; Ephesians 3:2, 7). Jesus Christ is the embodiment of grace, coupled with truth (John 1:14).”
The Gift of Grace
“The Bible repeatedly calls grace a “gift” (e.g., Ephesians 4:7). This is an important analogy because it teaches us some key things about grace:
First, anyone who has ever received a gift understands that a gift is much different from a loan, which requires repayment or return by the recipient. The fact that grace is a gift means that nothing is owed in return.
Second, there is no cost to the person who receives a gift. A gift is free to the recipient, although it is not free to the giver, who bears the expense. The gift of salvation costs us sinners nothing. But the price of such an extravagant gift came at a great cost for our Lord Jesus, who died in our place.
Third, once a gift has been given, ownership of the gift has transferred and it is now ours to keep. There is a permanence in a gift that does not exist with loans or advances. When a gift changes hands, the giver permanently relinquishes all rights to renege or take back the gift in the future. God’s grace is ours forever.”
Source: https://www.gotquestions.org/definition-of-grace.html
Why Jesus came: To Show us the Way
The Example of the Pharisees: Why they missed the Messiah
The Way of Religion: The Path of Self-Righteousness
Got Questions explains: emphasis mine
“We must beware of using a veneer of obedience to mask a sinful heart. Living the Christian life is not all about rules. The Pharisees in Jesus’ time relentlessly pursued acts of obedience to the Law, but they became self-righteous, believing they deserved heaven because of what they had done. They considered themselves worthy before God, who owed them a reward; however, the Bible tells us that, without Christ, even our best, most righteous works are as “filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6).”
What were they lacking?
“The Pharisees’ external obedience still lacked something, and Jesus exposed their heart attitude. Their hypocrisy in obeying the “letter of the law” while violating its spirit characterized their lives, and Jesus rebuked them sharply: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which indeed appear beautiful outside, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so you also appear righteous to men outwardly, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity” (Matthew 23:27–28). The Pharisees were obedient in some respects, but they “neglected the weightier matters of the law” (Matthew 23:23, ESV).”
Hence the Pharisees, Sadduccees, and the religious rulers decided to kill Jesus. His Way was a direct threat to their corrupt religious system.
Relevant warning to us:
Pastor Brandon warns:
“But Jesus didn’t come to build a religious machine. He came to show humanity what God’s love looks like in real life. Up close. Compassionate. Disruptive in all the right ways. And strangely enough, that kind of love often offended the religious gatekeepers more than the outsiders they looked down on. Here’s the danger: Letting your frustration with Christianity slowly erase your awe for Christ Himself.”
We can become disillusioned and frustrated with the religious systems/institutions of our era. Some are walking away from the institutional church for this and other reasons. Mainly that the church and “Christians” aren’t walking in the Way of Christ. Discernment is key: that we not walk away from Christ, but from the hypocrisy and lack of compassion.
Photo by Simon Wilkes on Unsplash
Start Accepting, Stop Striving
Lee reminds us that God is Love. Agape Love. Not about our striving or goodness! Lee’s proclamations are refreshing, fresh breezes of truth!
Words of Grace & Hope 