Romans 6:14
For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
I have been listening to a radio series with my father. The White Horse Inn is a radio station, and they did an entire study on the book of Romans. I feel like my beliefs are reforming and reawakening.
The goal of the radio broadcast was to dismantle the apostasy hidden under current Christian thought. There is a growing morality message. If Christians seek God and attempt to obey the law, God will look on them with favor and reward their faithfulness. The radio voices rejected this common held notion. They were adamant that the only message entrusted to us is the simple gospel of redemption. “Jesus died for us and we are only saved by grace, our actions and heart longings are irreverent in God’s acceptance of us.”
This is the true gospel. Anything added to this rescue message is a heavy burden, and I can’t sit under it any longer. The message promoting our own effort is a false and a wicked perversion of the gospel.
Our battle against sin and immorality doesn’t qualify that we are God’s children. Just because we long for justice, doesn’t guarantee that God has a mansion for us in heaven. There are many non-Christians who want peace and love. There are many nonbelievers who live with integrity. The only thing that makes us righteous before God is His Son’s intercession, death, and resurrection. All other frills are false anchors.
I believe we need to return to the simple gospel, which Paul gave us as a defense against any other philosophy. Jesus delivers us from sin and that is NOT of ourselves. Many are following a distorted doctrine that creates strife, insecurity, and failure. Christianity is no longer by the law, which kills. It is about God's perfect love and Christ’s desire that none would perish. It is His kindness and mercy, not our will and misguided passion.
Since returning to this simple truth, I have found confidence and acceptance. God is taking away the fear of condemnation and failure. I no longer strive to prove myself to man or God. I reliquish my pride and striving. It is God who justifies!
1 comment:
dear tam tam,
i saw your friend scott's post on facebook-- the one that was pretty harsh on homosexuals and the ensuing mini-debate he had on his wall-- and i wanted to let you know i appreciated what you said. when that popped up in my newsfeed i was really surprised and upset-- i'm not used to that kind of abrupt harshness from those around me (facebook reducing the gap between friends of friends and the like) and it did a lot to tarnish my already unhappy views of christian community. i'm glad you were there to respond and that you weren't afraid to. anyway, all this to say, i liked this post.
- anne-face
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