Freedom, not bondage; relationship, not religion
Galations 5:1 (KJV)
Stand fast therefore in the liberty where with Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
As I sit here and contemplate the subject of this title I am reminded of how the pharisees in Jesus' day operated and how Paul then Saul before his fateful meeting with the Lord on the road to Damascus operated. They viewed themselves as above others they were prideful in their perceived righteousness. They looked down upon those whom God called them to minister to.
The Lord Jesus had much to say about this attitude and we would do well to consider all our ways and ensure that we are setting our minds like the Lord Jesus. All too often we get caught up in what we have heard and what we have been taught in and out of Church and default to a religion that we have literally created to suit our own selfish desires. We must continuously measure ourselves to the ruler that God has provided for us to ensure that we are not adding to the Gospel of Grace.
In the book of Galatians Paul penned a letter to the church in Galatia to address this issue. You see the Church was growing in leaps and bounds and there were all kinds of people coming in to the church. There was this group of people who had converted from being a follower of the Jewish religion to Christianity. However all was not good in paradise, as they began teaching their previous legalistic religion mixed with the teachings of Christ things began to go wrong. In general they were saying that the teachings of Paul were correct however there were other conditions and observances that must be followed to be saved. By their own actions they were teaching that the Blood of Christ was not good enough to save you. It was literally Christ plus one action or another on your part was what saved you. This attitude is a slippery slope as it requires you to begin to measure yourself against a ruler that you will never measure up to. In essence you are doomed to fail before you even begin.
God gave His people the Law as that ruler; so at some point they would realize that they could not measure up to the standard where one would be righteous enough to be able to be saved by their own merits and realize that they desperately needed a Savior to step in and save the day. Paul called the Law of Moses a school teacher for without it he would not understand the concept of sin and realize that he needed God more than God needed him.
The Church of today has an issue with legislating morality, Let me say this and make it perfectly clear right now.... It is not the job of the Church to make someone a Saint! That is the work of the Holy Spirit and there are no amount of words that you or anyone can utter that will change this fact one bit. We are imperfect beings that need a Savior and the assistance of God's Spirit to mature us spiritually, it is a process, it is a journey. Some peoples walks take longer than others. However if we try to do the work of the Holy Spirit we will only succeed in pushing people away from the very One we are called to bring them towards.
I knew a young man who found the Lord and was on fire, he went from living life on his own terms to walking with Jesus daily. However in his immature faith he was vulnerable. One Sunday night he walked into the sanctuary with a ball cap on his head. He had come to worship, to learn and be with Gods people, however what he got was a mean spirited lecture from several church members on how he was wrong for wearing a hat in church. It was handled in such a way that he knew that the teachings of these people about grace and love was a farce. As far as I know he never attended church again. Will these people be held accountable for their actions one day? It frightens me to think of it.
One Sunday morning I had the youth group perform a skit that I thought would bless the congregation. We moved the pulpit and communion table out of the way so the teens could perform. As the skit was being performed I looked out at the congregation and could tell right away that there were those who were not paying attention. It was like their minds were not even in the building. After the service I was to learn why as one approached me on behalf of others to inform me that it was irreverent to move the pulpit and communion table. They were so wrapped up in their tradition being messed with they completely missed the blessing that God had in store for them. I let this slide and reassured them that the furniture had no holy properties. Then a couple of weeks later I had a young woman to come up and perform a song for the congregation. However she came to perform for God. As she got ready to perform she slipped her sandals off and then sang to God. It was beautiful and I know God was pleased as it put me in a serious sense of worship. After the service another Representative came to me and said "Pastor, its disrespectful to take your shoes off in church." I had had enough, I replied that God told Moses to take his shoes off for he was standing on holy ground, and further that I did not believe that God cared one iota whether the holy flower holder or any other form of furniture in the church was moved if it meant that people walked away experiencing a renewed spirit. But no, you get caught up in your traditions and preferences and totally miss what God is doing! I walked away feeling a little guilty for being brash. However looking back I failed miserably at an opportunity to attempt to defeat an attitude that would lead them and others away from the life that God had for them.
Legalism, Traditions of men, offense, attitudes that the Church belongs to them instead of God and just an utter disregard for the lost or struggling will kill the church. It took generations for this attitude to prevail in and destroy the Levitical priesthood. Can we all somehow begin to see that the Serpent is more subtle than any beast in the field? You may be a Christian, you may be saved... you can be both of these and still unwittingly do the work of Lucifer. If the church is ineffective then he wins. We are an occupying force here to represent the attitudes, love and grace of Christ until His return, lets start acting like it!
Ephesians 2:8-9 King James Version (KJV) For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
As I sit here and contemplate the subject of this title I am reminded of how the pharisees in Jesus' day operated and how Paul then Saul before his fateful meeting with the Lord on the road to Damascus operated. They viewed themselves as above others they were prideful in their perceived righteousness. They looked down upon those whom God called them to minister to.
The Lord Jesus had much to say about this attitude and we would do well to consider all our ways and ensure that we are setting our minds like the Lord Jesus. All too often we get caught up in what we have heard and what we have been taught in and out of Church and default to a religion that we have literally created to suit our own selfish desires. We must continuously measure ourselves to the ruler that God has provided for us to ensure that we are not adding to the Gospel of Grace.
In the book of Galatians Paul penned a letter to the church in Galatia to address this issue. You see the Church was growing in leaps and bounds and there were all kinds of people coming in to the church. There was this group of people who had converted from being a follower of the Jewish religion to Christianity. However all was not good in paradise, as they began teaching their previous legalistic religion mixed with the teachings of Christ things began to go wrong. In general they were saying that the teachings of Paul were correct however there were other conditions and observances that must be followed to be saved. By their own actions they were teaching that the Blood of Christ was not good enough to save you. It was literally Christ plus one action or another on your part was what saved you. This attitude is a slippery slope as it requires you to begin to measure yourself against a ruler that you will never measure up to. In essence you are doomed to fail before you even begin.
God gave His people the Law as that ruler; so at some point they would realize that they could not measure up to the standard where one would be righteous enough to be able to be saved by their own merits and realize that they desperately needed a Savior to step in and save the day. Paul called the Law of Moses a school teacher for without it he would not understand the concept of sin and realize that he needed God more than God needed him.
The Church of today has an issue with legislating morality, Let me say this and make it perfectly clear right now.... It is not the job of the Church to make someone a Saint! That is the work of the Holy Spirit and there are no amount of words that you or anyone can utter that will change this fact one bit. We are imperfect beings that need a Savior and the assistance of God's Spirit to mature us spiritually, it is a process, it is a journey. Some peoples walks take longer than others. However if we try to do the work of the Holy Spirit we will only succeed in pushing people away from the very One we are called to bring them towards.
I knew a young man who found the Lord and was on fire, he went from living life on his own terms to walking with Jesus daily. However in his immature faith he was vulnerable. One Sunday night he walked into the sanctuary with a ball cap on his head. He had come to worship, to learn and be with Gods people, however what he got was a mean spirited lecture from several church members on how he was wrong for wearing a hat in church. It was handled in such a way that he knew that the teachings of these people about grace and love was a farce. As far as I know he never attended church again. Will these people be held accountable for their actions one day? It frightens me to think of it.
One Sunday morning I had the youth group perform a skit that I thought would bless the congregation. We moved the pulpit and communion table out of the way so the teens could perform. As the skit was being performed I looked out at the congregation and could tell right away that there were those who were not paying attention. It was like their minds were not even in the building. After the service I was to learn why as one approached me on behalf of others to inform me that it was irreverent to move the pulpit and communion table. They were so wrapped up in their tradition being messed with they completely missed the blessing that God had in store for them. I let this slide and reassured them that the furniture had no holy properties. Then a couple of weeks later I had a young woman to come up and perform a song for the congregation. However she came to perform for God. As she got ready to perform she slipped her sandals off and then sang to God. It was beautiful and I know God was pleased as it put me in a serious sense of worship. After the service another Representative came to me and said "Pastor, its disrespectful to take your shoes off in church." I had had enough, I replied that God told Moses to take his shoes off for he was standing on holy ground, and further that I did not believe that God cared one iota whether the holy flower holder or any other form of furniture in the church was moved if it meant that people walked away experiencing a renewed spirit. But no, you get caught up in your traditions and preferences and totally miss what God is doing! I walked away feeling a little guilty for being brash. However looking back I failed miserably at an opportunity to attempt to defeat an attitude that would lead them and others away from the life that God had for them.
Legalism, Traditions of men, offense, attitudes that the Church belongs to them instead of God and just an utter disregard for the lost or struggling will kill the church. It took generations for this attitude to prevail in and destroy the Levitical priesthood. Can we all somehow begin to see that the Serpent is more subtle than any beast in the field? You may be a Christian, you may be saved... you can be both of these and still unwittingly do the work of Lucifer. If the church is ineffective then he wins. We are an occupying force here to represent the attitudes, love and grace of Christ until His return, lets start acting like it!
Ephesians 2:8-9 King James Version (KJV) For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
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