Illegalized Christianity
Why is it that when we genuinely have a mess on our hands that we often times just pretend that it isn’t there in hopes that it goes away? Is it because it takes work to deal with it or do we fail to recognize it all together? I’m not sure which is the greater evil. Both are equally wrong, but at least there might be a sliver of hope if the later is true.
Whether we want to realize it or not the world has a perception of His people, i.e. the church, as a bunch of folks, who at the very least live there lives governed by a long list of do’s and don’ts, with a much greater emphasis on the don’ts. I’m afraid that the majority of us haven’t given much reason to believe otherwise. When this is the main thing that is realized when examining God’s people we definitely have a major mess on our hands.
The problem of legalized christianity is not a new one, for it has been with us since the beginning. It is definitely a distortion of what true christianity is and maybe the biggest turn-off for non-believers. I can’t say that I can really blame them when presented with list of don’ts to live by. What kind of god is it whose favor is earned by my good behavior anyway? This is definitely not a god that I would want any part of and there is no way that we can blame the world for coming to the same conclusions.
Maybe the problem isn’t so much legalized christianity these days as it was in the start, but a newer version of it. It has taken a more subversive route through the back door of our churches, Sunday school rooms and prayer closets. It leaves nothing but death in it’s wake and is a respecter of no believer. It rots from the inside out and has no redeeming qualities. It converts and perverts all that we intend for good, making it nothing more than a rabbit’s foot or a magic 8-ball.
The problem is that we are inherently creatures of habit. We are very quick and adept at following routines to the point of losing the original intent. This new menace makes its presence unknown until it’s too late. We begin to follow ritual without examining our true motives. How hard is it to be truly honest, even with ourselves? Sometimes very. With wrong motive good easily becomes bad right under our noses. Preaching becomes a chore, teaching a bother, keeping nursery a nuisance and our quite time a farce without so much as even a fight.
Legalism creeps in on us all. We make deals with God and tell ourselves otherwise. We figure that He owes us one when we read our bible daily or never miss a service or prayer for longer than 5 minutes. We feel like we’re doing Him a favor when we spend some quite time with Him or any other act in His name. When we do these things we don’t please Him and we ultimately rob ourselves of Him. When our hearts are not right and in tune He takes no pleasure in any amount of sacrifice. Let’s not kid nor fool ourselves.
How would those closest to you describe your Christianity? Do they think you live so that God will accept you or do they know that you live because God has accepted you in Christ? This is true christianity. This is illegalized believe. Who else wants to become an illegalized christian?
Whether we want to realize it or not the world has a perception of His people, i.e. the church, as a bunch of folks, who at the very least live there lives governed by a long list of do’s and don’ts, with a much greater emphasis on the don’ts. I’m afraid that the majority of us haven’t given much reason to believe otherwise. When this is the main thing that is realized when examining God’s people we definitely have a major mess on our hands.
The problem of legalized christianity is not a new one, for it has been with us since the beginning. It is definitely a distortion of what true christianity is and maybe the biggest turn-off for non-believers. I can’t say that I can really blame them when presented with list of don’ts to live by. What kind of god is it whose favor is earned by my good behavior anyway? This is definitely not a god that I would want any part of and there is no way that we can blame the world for coming to the same conclusions.
Maybe the problem isn’t so much legalized christianity these days as it was in the start, but a newer version of it. It has taken a more subversive route through the back door of our churches, Sunday school rooms and prayer closets. It leaves nothing but death in it’s wake and is a respecter of no believer. It rots from the inside out and has no redeeming qualities. It converts and perverts all that we intend for good, making it nothing more than a rabbit’s foot or a magic 8-ball.
The problem is that we are inherently creatures of habit. We are very quick and adept at following routines to the point of losing the original intent. This new menace makes its presence unknown until it’s too late. We begin to follow ritual without examining our true motives. How hard is it to be truly honest, even with ourselves? Sometimes very. With wrong motive good easily becomes bad right under our noses. Preaching becomes a chore, teaching a bother, keeping nursery a nuisance and our quite time a farce without so much as even a fight.
Legalism creeps in on us all. We make deals with God and tell ourselves otherwise. We figure that He owes us one when we read our bible daily or never miss a service or prayer for longer than 5 minutes. We feel like we’re doing Him a favor when we spend some quite time with Him or any other act in His name. When we do these things we don’t please Him and we ultimately rob ourselves of Him. When our hearts are not right and in tune He takes no pleasure in any amount of sacrifice. Let’s not kid nor fool ourselves.
How would those closest to you describe your Christianity? Do they think you live so that God will accept you or do they know that you live because God has accepted you in Christ? This is true christianity. This is illegalized believe. Who else wants to become an illegalized christian?
posted by lee at 6:10 PM
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