Did God Really Say That?
So asked the serpent in Genesis ch3 and as is often the case, the devil is in the detail. So much of what we Christians are told we must do is not much different from the serpent’s famous words. Let’s … Continue reading →
Who Are God’s Children?
Today’s post is by David Adams, and is copied from his FaceBook page:
Paul told the unbelieving Athenians that we are all God’s offspring. Many people don’t believe that everyone is a child of God. They believe a decision has to be made in order for you to be born again, or more correctly born from above.
Paul and Peter agree that all of humanity born into Adam,( without their permission I might add) died when Jesus hung on the cross. They were all raised, or born from above by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
The book of Hebrews tells us that God chastens every son that He receives. It also tells us that those that don’t receive chastening are bastards. A lot of people never stopped to think this through. They think that those that don’t receive chastening aren’t God’s children. Then why would God be chastening them if they weren’t His children?
If someone is a bastard, it doesn’t mean they don’t have a father. In biblical days it simply meant that they didn’t know who their father was. Most of the world doesn’t know that God is their Father, and that He loves them with an everlasting love.
Before I forget, let me tell you what the word chastening means. It simply means to discipline in order to correct. It isn’t always pleasant when God corrects us, but God’s correction of us has more to do with our thinking than it does our behavior. It has to do with God pointing out the truth, even though sometimes the truth hurts. We have grown so used to believing lies about God and ourselves, that it leads to an inner struggle when we are confronted with the truth.
Some people think that once they make a decision for the Lord, it causes God to change His mind about them, and then no He longer holds their sin against them. The truth is, that God isn’t holding anyone’s sin against them, whether they believe or not. He never was. The reason Jesus died on the cross was to show us that God loves us, and love keeps no record of wrongs. The blood of Jesus is to cleanse our conscience from sin. God was in Christ on the cross not counting our sins against us.
Most of what the church teaches about sin is simply behavior modification, without a real change of mind. True repentance is when we agree with what God says about us. That causes us to think differently about God and the whole human race which is made in His image.
Most of the church teaches about a double-minded God, that is either not powerful enough to save everyone, or else they think God is unwilling to save everyone. When I talk like this, people think I’m talking about God forcing people to come to Him. What I’m actually talking about, is God’s unfailing love and its ability to persuade everyone, either in this life or later.
Threats of hell and punishment only lead to people fearing God and never quite sure if they can trust Him. They speak of God’s unconditional love out of one side of their mouth, and then talk about how people will be thrown into the Lake of Fire and suffer eternal torment forever. People like this never feel confident in the work of the cross.
They don’t understand that the Lake of Fire is God’s passionate undying love for us, that burns away everything that isn’t in the image of God, purifying us and revealing the image of God within us. The River of Life flows into the Lake of Fire. The whole world is salted in fire right now. It is the consuming fire of God’s love.
It saddens me that people see our Heavenly Father as some sort of double-minded God because they think He loves us only until we die. They think He loves believers more than unbelievers, and if you don’t trust Him now, you won’t have a chance later. No chance in hell.
God is a good, good Father, and one day everyone will see this truth. The thing that torments people, is the lies we believe about God. You can tell it’s a lie if it makes you afraid of God. Fear has torment, but God is love, and love casts out fear.
OUR GOOD DAD, it is encouraging to know that even though not everyone sees you the way you really are, one day everyone will remember and turn to you. They will joyfully acknowledge you, without fear of punishment.
Grace and peace. Amen.
God Is In Control – Really?
I really wish I could write as well as John Pavlovitz, I mean it, I REALLY wish I could write with the passion that he pulls up in some of his posts. Some are rants, and some are gold. This one is golden and is as good as any I’ve ever read by him.
Please read it and let me know what you think in the Comments below.
Jesus Died to Save the Whales
Saint Francis of Assisi is famously known for referring to nature as his siblings when he called them “Brother Sun, Sister Moon.” From his theological perspective, he shared the natural world with the animals and birds. God was the creator … Continue reading →
Lent Devotional 2024
One of the strengths of the traditional church is the adherence to the historic Church Calendar, which takes followers on an annual journey through the phases of Jesus’ live, starting at Advent and moving through to his ascension. This takes … Continue reading →
The Beauty of the Lord
Vincent Van Gogh’s paintings offer insights into the artist’s beliefs, experiences, and perceptions of God and the world, but sometimes his paintings were just an outpouring of joy. That appears to the be case with some of his paintings of … Continue reading →
Advent 2023-Week 3
I have been following Skye Jethani’s devotionals this week as he looks at the women mentioned in Matthew’s genealogy. He has some good comments, so I’ll paste them here as they appeared in his blog. “Although modern Christians often think … Continue reading →
Advent – Week Two – Peace
The theme for the second week of Advent is Peace. “At the River Clarion” by Mary Oliver I don’t know who God is exactly. But I’ll tell you this. I was sitting in the river named Clarion, on a water … Continue reading →
Advent 2023
The first week of Advent had hope as its central theme. The commonly held belief is that Jesus came to die a substitutionary death for our sins and rise again to break the power of death. If that was the … Continue reading →
Original Sin or Original Innocence?
I cannot think how many times I’ve heard the phrase “Original Sin” with reference to our “fallen nature” or our struggle with Sin in our lives. It is foundational in the minds of most Christians, but is it a good foundation stone?
The classic Western evangelical position is that humanity sinned causing a separation from God, God couldn’t tolerate sin, so turned his back on us, but sent Jesus to die in our place to take our guilt, so that God would accept us again. God took his anger out on Jesus so that we could be saved. Does that sound familiar?
I often wonder why Christians have such a morbid fascination about Sin and sinning, when we are taught that Jesus has broken the power of death and overcome the power of evil in the world.
What would happen if we shifted from our focus on Original Sin to Original Innocence? Genesis ch1 states that God made us as image bearers of God’s character and essence. The plan was for us to flourish in a garden of peace and harmony with each other, and live in the continual awareness of God’s presence with us. Yet we forget about chapters 1 and 2, and jump straight to chapter 3, “The Fall”.
What would happen if we focused on what God made us to be instead of our failings and shortcomings? By continually focusing on our failings, we set our sights on what we have become instead of what we were intended to be.
Mike Erie (Voxology Podcast) described Sin as the atmosphere of the Old Creation, but Christ has established the New Creation through his death and resurrection. The New Creation atmosphere is the reestablishment of the atmosphere in the Garden of Eden, the flourishing presence and vibrant life of God. This is the air God wants us to breath.
Let’s remember who God made us to be. Let’s live in our Original Innocence, not our secondary Sin.