NO MORE “MUSTY” FAITH!
Bonhoeffer, and others, talk about “cheap grace,” by which they usually mean that as believers we must respond to God’s grace-gift by transformed lives and obedience to the will of God. And I concur with much of what is said in this regard.
However – you knew a “however” was coming – what normally happens in churches, sermons, teachings, and discipleship is a series of oughts, shoulds, musts, and have tos. These “musty teachings” are too often phrased in such a way as to imply that if we: (1) don’t do what God wants us to do, (b) do the things God doesn’t want us to do, or (c) aren’t what God wants us to be then He: (1) won’t love us anymore, (2) won’t hear our prayers, (3) will allow us to suffer more and have more problems, (4) will not bless us, and (5) will cause us to question whether we are saved or not. Doesn’t that sound familiar?
I say, we don’t have to do anything!
Rather, when we come to Jesus Christ and acknowledge Him as our Lord and Savior, he gives us the Holy Spirit so we will know we don’t have to do anything for Him to love us more and we can’t do anything for Him to love us less. AND, while we don’t “have to” to do anything, we GET TO pray, serve, love, praise, share, and fellowship, etc.
For example, I don’t have to do anything to be a husband or a father, or even a good friend, but I want to! Love for my wife and my kids flows out of me naturally. (Now I know there are a lot of unloving fathers and mothers out there. You may have experienced this in your own childhood, or you may be one?! But that is not the norm.) I have no list of things to do or not do to be a good father/husband. I could even keep such an imaginary list and NOT love my wife or kids, or be a husband or father. That is because being a husband or father or friend is a relationship with the other person.
Faith in God is not agreeing to a set of propositional truths about God. Satan knows more about God than we do and yet is not the recipient of grace nor is he saved. Faith in Jesus Christ (and God the Father and the Holy Spirit) is a living, breathing, active relationship of trust and love. It certainly isn’t “musty.” One cannot be forced to love, nor fulfill a certain set of requirements. Love is freely received and freely given.
And once I find and receive that love from God, my greatest joy comes in loving Him in return by serving Him and loving and serving the rest of His creation.
If you find your faith-life to be too "musty," then try simply listening to the Holy Spirit and being and doing what God leads you to. You may even find Christianity fun and liberating!
What do you think?
Charlie
Bonhoeffer, and others, talk about “cheap grace,” by which they usually mean that as believers we must respond to God’s grace-gift by transformed lives and obedience to the will of God. And I concur with much of what is said in this regard.
However – you knew a “however” was coming – what normally happens in churches, sermons, teachings, and discipleship is a series of oughts, shoulds, musts, and have tos. These “musty teachings” are too often phrased in such a way as to imply that if we: (1) don’t do what God wants us to do, (b) do the things God doesn’t want us to do, or (c) aren’t what God wants us to be then He: (1) won’t love us anymore, (2) won’t hear our prayers, (3) will allow us to suffer more and have more problems, (4) will not bless us, and (5) will cause us to question whether we are saved or not. Doesn’t that sound familiar?
I say, we don’t have to do anything!
Rather, when we come to Jesus Christ and acknowledge Him as our Lord and Savior, he gives us the Holy Spirit so we will know we don’t have to do anything for Him to love us more and we can’t do anything for Him to love us less. AND, while we don’t “have to” to do anything, we GET TO pray, serve, love, praise, share, and fellowship, etc.
For example, I don’t have to do anything to be a husband or a father, or even a good friend, but I want to! Love for my wife and my kids flows out of me naturally. (Now I know there are a lot of unloving fathers and mothers out there. You may have experienced this in your own childhood, or you may be one?! But that is not the norm.) I have no list of things to do or not do to be a good father/husband. I could even keep such an imaginary list and NOT love my wife or kids, or be a husband or father. That is because being a husband or father or friend is a relationship with the other person.
Faith in God is not agreeing to a set of propositional truths about God. Satan knows more about God than we do and yet is not the recipient of grace nor is he saved. Faith in Jesus Christ (and God the Father and the Holy Spirit) is a living, breathing, active relationship of trust and love. It certainly isn’t “musty.” One cannot be forced to love, nor fulfill a certain set of requirements. Love is freely received and freely given.
And once I find and receive that love from God, my greatest joy comes in loving Him in return by serving Him and loving and serving the rest of His creation.
If you find your faith-life to be too "musty," then try simply listening to the Holy Spirit and being and doing what God leads you to. You may even find Christianity fun and liberating!
What do you think?
Charlie
posted by Charlie | 12:17 PM
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