I probably should not be spending time on this now with finals going on, but it has been on my mind. Being at Concordia I am very exposed to the 'liberal' side of Christianity. However, I'm slowly coming to think it may not be Christianity after all. Our country is moving towards a relativistic view of God. I would like to look at just a few 'lies' that are being spread.
1. Using our talents, in general, is glorifying to God. God just wants us to utilize what he has given us.
This is a lie. It says in 1 Peter 4:10-11 "Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen." Therefore when we use our gifts, not only should we recognize who gave them to us, but also for whom we are using them for. We should use them not for our own purposes, but for the purposes of God. We need to cognitively seek God in everything that we do. When we utilize our gifts and talents we do them because of God and for God. This is much different than merely using them because we can misuse our talents and our gifts. For instance I have always struggled with pride, and I often use my gifts for my own glory. I can try to justify it saying, "I'm really doing it for God." But in reality I only care about how it makes me appear and affects me within this world. We, as humans, are fantastic at lying to others and even more so to ourselves.
2. Similarly people today want to say, if we do good things, and if we are good people; then we are seeking God.
This is a LIE. Romans 3:10-12, "As it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one." God is the only good. When Christians do good things, we do them as a response to what God has already done. All glory to God. Over and over in scripture, we are instructed to give God the glory. Even Jesus humbled himself and did not think himself equal with the father. We cannot do anything to gain salvation, we cannot do anything to attain oneness with God. If we strive for liberty, justice, peace, love, unity, or saving the environment, but do not seek God; then our lives are meaningless.
3. The biggest lie of them all is that loving people is the same as loving God.
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and Love your neighbor as yourself." Luke 10:27. This shows that loving God and loving others are two different things. Now loving God incorporates loving others, but not the other way around. Now all three of these are connected and very similar; so what conclusion can we draw from them."What is your deepest desire?" By deduction from above, if one says, "Being a good person, living life to the fullest, or doing everything to the best of my ability," then they are not Christian. If this is their deepest desire then they are making those things their God.
However a Christian is someone who has been transformed by Jesus Christ. A Christian is someone who loves the lord, not because of what they have done, but because of what He has done. Their lives are changed not because of knowledge, but because of understanding. If a person is Christian they will answer somewhat like this. "My deepest desire is to know God. To be in a closer relationship with him. To seek him, and to strive to be like Christ." Now this answer incorporates all the previous ones. It includes being a good person, living life the fullest (given in a different light then most people who use that phrase), and doing everything to the best of their ability, yet it is so much more. It is about God, not about us.
If our deepest desires revolve around ourselves, then we have it wrong. This does not mean that a Christian does not sin; nor does it mean that a christian doesn't have sinful desires. Rather it is a reflection of the deepest desire. Do we desire to do what God wants us to do (by doing so we die to ourselves and find life in Christ); or do we want to utilize things for our own glory. Its a simple yet difficult distinction between choosing ourselves or choosing God.
Thanks for this. I agree... there are a lot of people claiming Christianity who actually follow a different faith altogether.
ReplyDeleteI did have one question about number 3 though, because I specifically remember verses saying that loving people is the same as loving God (Matthew 25:31-46 for example).
Or do you mean it is not loving God if you are not doing it from that motivation?
But yeah, it's about our deepest desire. I remember once somebody described me as a person who is "passionate about everything." Which actually made me a little sad--because I would rather be known as passionate about GOD than passionate about all these other causes. It is my passion for God that fuels my other convictions. Or at least it should be...
Yes, I actually thought of those versus when I wrote this. I think an important distinction is that the true purpose is for God. Otherwise he would have merely told us to love others. But he specifically said if you do it you love me. It was important for him to convey that peice of information so that we would have it in mind when we love other people. It is more than our relationships with one another; there is more to everything when it comes to God.
ReplyDeleteLots of youth programs, schools and colleges say that using talents being the same as giving glory to God as long as they are used in "good" ways, and, especially, if they're used as loving actions. That is really a combination of the three things you're calling "lies." As I think about that, I wonder if they are really lies, or just partial truths? Certainly these things don't "save" us but can't they can bring some credit or "glory" to the creator even if they aren't done from the proper motivation? Or by people who aren't yet saved? I think so, as long as people don't trust in those things to somehow get them in good with God.
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