Do They Say There Is No God Because Of You?

Being religious in our thinking is no help to anyone. For a Christian, to be religious in our mind is when the head becomes more important than the heart; when our intellect is more important than our compassion; when rules become more important than mercy. It is easy to become religious but not so easy to be like Jesus. We can fault the Muslims and the Jews for being trapped in a law that they cannot fulfill but the Church is falling into that same trap.

Paul the apostle pointed out that there was no one like a good Jew and pointed out their attitude:

Indeed you are called a Jew, and rest on the law, and make your boast in God, and know His will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having the form of knowledge and truth in the law. (Romans 2:17-20)

When we fail to remember what Jesus has saved us from we can fall into this place of self-imposed instructor. We think it is our role to demonstrate righteousness to a world struggling under its own filth. But Paul asks another question of these "teachers":

You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal? You who say, “Do not commit adultery,” do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who make your boast in the law, do you dishonor God through breaking the law? (v. 21-23)

You who preach against the sins of this world, do you also sin? Can any of us afford to cast that first stone? Do you not remember your past? Do you not remember what you were? And who made the difference? Did you save yourself, or was it Jesus who saved you even though you were his enemy? Now here is the punch:

For “the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,” as it is written. (v. 24)

Is our judgmental attitude and our failure to walk what we talk causing people to blaspheme, to say there is no God, to consider that the Church is a joke? Would attitudes be different if we truly had the desire to be like Jesus, to be compassionate, merciful, forgiving, where relationship becomes more important than rules. We need to ask ourselves if we are here to be law enforcement or representatives of the greatest Advocate we could ever know. Are we trying to hold the failing world to a greater standard than what we are able to live?

Seeing Is Believing

Seeing is believing, or so the saying goes. It is the philosophy that guides most people these days. If they can't see it they won't believe it. Yet people are fascinated by the supernatural. They will read horoscopes, believe in ghosts and demons, become fascinated with vampires, werewolves and zombies. Yet if you talk about Jesus and the Kingdom of God these same people will scoff and ask you to prove it. They would rather believe in the fanciful tales of Bigfoot than in the Creator who loves them.

People's insistence on proof makes it a bit harder to explain Jesus and the Kingdom of God. If the Kingdom was tangible, had borders with a great big castle, people might begin to believe but even then I have my doubts. Jesus stood right in front of people and raised the dead but they still did not believe. The Kingdom is not a physical thing although there are physical manifestations. But the fact that people don't believe might be our fault because we don't even understand the Kingdom:

Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:20-21)

In this sense the Kingdom of God is here now because it is in you and will physically manifest through you. As citizens of this Kingdom it is extremely important that we read the citizen manual so we will know if we are living by the rules. I don't mean the "do's" and "don'ts" but the deeper rules; the ones that provoke you to love your enemy and to do good to those who hate you.

This is not natural to those who live by the flesh, but for those who have been crucified with Christ, who no longer live, who have Christ living in them and who live by faith in the Son of God, it is a wondrous mystery living out through us. This is why Jesus said that there had to be a new wine skin because the Kingdom of God was being poured into us and if we were still the old wine skin we would be destroyed.

This is why we no longer play by the rules of this world. This is why we walk and talk different. This is why our actions look strange compared to others. We don't worry and we are not afraid. We are not upset at the lose of material things. We don't operate by hatred and vengeance, nor are we motivated by jealousy and envy. Ours is a spirit of love and sacrifice. We live for others. We live to bless. We live to demonstrate the love of Jesus and to tell everyone what he has done for us. We have peace at all times because we live by the Kingdom rules.

You are the only part of the Kingdom many people will see. You are the only Jesus they will know. If you are not operating by the Spirit, if you are at odds and trying to live the Kingdom in your flesh, then the fruit of the Spirit will not be present as it should. You will still carry the title of Christian but you will not be demonstrating the Christ, which will not be to his glory. Who you live for will determine if people get to see the Kingdom that is inside of you. Please, live for Jesus so others will be saved before the end arrives. It is our purpose as citizens of the Kingdom. Live by the rules. Seeing is believing so they need to see Jesus in you.

Let's Get Serious

Enough playing around. Let's get serious. We are not here for a long time and there is a lot to do. Perhaps not in the same sense that some would value work but it is work nonetheless. Our work is to tell as many people about Jesus as we can and to teach those who decide to become followers of Jesus. It is not a joyless work but one that gives us the sense of completion as we work in the Spirit in the will of God. But just because it is a labour of love does not mean it is not the most serious labour there is on the planet because it is a labour that has an eternal outcome.

Now we are not rogue agents. We don't get to do whatever we feel like. We get to do according to the direction of the Spirit. We are not the General calling the shots but the soldiers who carry out the orders. There are rules and principles at play in this fight for the souls of this world and we need to learn them if we are to be effective warriors in service to the King. The mighty warrior Paul wrote to his fellow warrior and friend Timothy:

Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules. (2 Timothy 2:5)

Do you know, understand, live by and operate in the rules of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ? All citizens, especially all warriors, must know and live by the rules of the Kingdom. The first rule is a simple one: love God with your entire being, so much so that nothing else even comes as a remote second. It is not a whimsical love, up one day and down another, but it is a love so strong that it dictates obedience to our flesh. It is a love that gives birth to obedience, faithfulness and a desire for God's righteousness. It is a love that spurns sin and pledges allegiance, not matter the cost, to the King of kings.

This love is such that rules like "love your neighbour", forgiveness, mercy, compassion, become our nature. These are not things we must think about but what we are. Just as the knights of old lived by the code of chivalry, we modern day knights live by the code of God's righteousness. But there is more to the principles of the Kingdom than just these; there are actual spiritual laws that are in place.

There are simple things to understand but we fail to operate in. There is the law of authority.The authority of Jesus Christ lives in you. When you speak to the things you are coming against you do it in Jesus'authority. Demons must flee from you, they have no choice because of the authority of Jesus. Disease must obey. Spiritual principles must come into play. You are an incredible spiritual powerhouse, a mighty warrior in service to the King, in the authority of the King. And as such a warrior you have the responsibility to fight against the dark realm according to the rules; you have the responsibility to defend the weak according to the governing spiritual principles.

Yes, the battle belongs to the Lord and the victory is ours but we have been left here to fight in service to the King. We are not here to be pampered but to seek the things of the Kingdom. We are doers of the Word. We are agents, warriors, knights, soldiers and we are here to fight. We fight on our knees. We fight with the equipment we have been given. We fight in the full authority of Jesus Christ. We are not weak. We are not defeated. We are not sick. We are not complainers. We are not fearful. We are not doubters. We are not worriers. We are not gossips. We are not destroyers of people. We are not haters. We are not list keepers.

We are warriors!

We are warrior servants, and Jesus is our King. Now walk as Jesus has called you to walk. Walk like Jesus did when he walked in the fullness of the Spirit in obedience to his Father. We are to walk in the fullness of the Spirit, in obedience to our King.

Rules For ...

In my Bible I have a section in Colossians 3 that some editors thought it would be good to title "Rules For Christians Households". I have a problem with that. I have a problem with anything we title as "rules" in the Bible. Perhaps "rules" in the sense of being compelled by love. "If it is really love then this is what results" is how we could phrase it. There are things that are born out of love:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

Paul is not giving us a set of rules here but is telling us the natural results of love. When we are possessed by the love of Jesus we are compelled to live in this. When we are possessed by his love we can't bring ourselves to hate our enemy. We can't yell at our spouse or children. We can't harbour resentment or hurt feelings. Our natural reaction is to forgive. It is not something we work at; it is something we are.

It annoys me when people try to get others to conform to "rules" they have picked out of the Bible. Jesus said if we love him we will obey him. He didn't just say obey me. God said that we needed to love him with our entire being. Love is what comes first, followed by a desire to obey, because obedience is born out of love. If you don't love Jesus then you are just going to be another religious nut trying to conform people to a set of rules.

Under that title in Colossians 3 we find these instructions:

Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.

Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.

Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.

Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged. (Colossians 3:18-21)

People do treat this as a set of rules. They say "The Bible commands us to love our wives" but if that is how we see it we will never manage it. Love cannot be dictated. Instead, be possessed by Jesus and you will be compelled by that love to love others. In this way wives will respect and love their husbands. Husbands will love their wives and never abuse them. Children will obey their parents, not out of fear but out of love and respect. Fathers will be consistent in their application of love to their children and thus never embitter or discourage them. Not because of a set of rules but because they are compelled by love.

People only struggle in their walk with Jesus because they haven't learned to be possessed by his love. They are treating Jesus like Gandhi, with a set of rules and good sayings to hang on the wall, publish on the internet and they honestly try to follow them. When we are possessed by the love of Jesus the Word will be written on our heart, becoming part of us and we naturally live it in love. There is a difference between conformity and transformation. The love of Jesus does not conform but transforms.

We Need Jesus

We need a real shaking up!

When I say "we" I mean everyone who claims to be a follower of Jesus Christ and as such a member of the Body of Christ.

We need this shaking up because the world has so successfully seduced us that we aren't even aware of it. We are so entrenched in the patterns of this world that we can't bring ourselves to imagine the pattern, system, perspective and direction of Jesus Christ. Everything is from a "me" perspective and rarely a "them" or even an "us".

It's about what I think, how I feel, what I am experiencing, how it affects me, what it will cost me. The supposed American Dream is about my freedom, my wealth, my prosperity, my rights. That is so much part of our psyche, how could we possible understand Jesus when he tells us that everything is about God and others?

And because we can't understand this very simple fundamental truth of life in this place, we try to do what we can with what we have. We make rules, formulas, and methodology the focus and as long as we stick to these we are fine. We are aghast at how people in the Bible could fall for idols and yet we worship a dozen idols every day. Just ask yourself what stuff comes ahead of Jesus and others in your life? What can't you live without? What would fill you with fear if it was suddenly taken away?

Apostle Paul asked a very good question as he wrote to the Colossians concerning the authority of Jesus. He asked:

Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? (Colossians 2:20-21)

I think that's the problem: Most of us haven't died with Christ. We haven't died to the basic principles of this world. We still allow it to have authority over us. We still follow its pattern of thinking. We still define things by what we see, hear, taste and touch. We may hold to some vague understanding of the theory of Jesus but the theory is seldom applied.

We talk about faith but we still allow fear to paralyse us. We allow worry to disturb us. We allow the opinions of others to shape us. We still panic and do our own thing to save our own skin. We still measure right and wrong by the standards of our society. We still treat God like the Genie in the Bottle, bringing him out only for emergencies, or believing only when we can't figure out stuff on our own. Instead of being our first thought he becomes our last resort.

We figure as long as we are following the Ten Commandments or are giving it our best effort we are okay but we aren't. We aren't okay. We are far from okay. Unless an encounter with Jesus Christ makes a radical change in everything we know we are nowhere near being okay. The world and everything in it cannot remain the same to us after being possessed by the Holy Spirit. It is impossible.

We go from being a citizen of this world, following the patterns and principles of this world, thinking, acting, living like everyone else. It is only natural being from this world. But after being possessed by the Spirit we cease to be citizens of this world and we become born of a different place, of the Kingdom of Jesus. Everything shifts. Different pattern, different rules, different purpose, different attitude, different perspective, different thinking, feeling, doing. We no longer submit to the rules of this place.

I don't know, are you getting this at all?

Without the Spirit we can't. We can't get it.

Without the Spirit we can't understand. Without the Spirit we remain dead to the ways of God. Without the Spirit there is no mind of Christ and we stick to what we are familiar with: the principles and pattern of this world.

We need a real shaking up!

We need the Father to touch the hearts of his children again. We need the Spirit, in his great power and passion, to provoke our hearts to seek the Face of God once more. In truth, we need Jesus.