Reclaiming Truth

Is the Christian life all about our performance? It seems as if I am surrounded with people trying to always measure up. I have to let a little steam out right now and the only place I can do this is my blog. I cannot speak freely in my school because it is unheard of, misinterpreted, unbiblical and most of all, against the authority. It can be overwhelming when every day is like a day at boot camp. I am about done with this whole Christian Boot Camp Training, its time to get my certificate and move on. With all do respect I want to make the most of my college years and gain all the good in what I find in every man. Many of you will never understand what I am saying but hopefully there are a few out their who know and understand where I am coming from.

I can see how easily legalism scares people off into the deep end of liberalism. Never feeling as if you can get anywhere with people who have it all figured out. “Their way or the high way mentality.” Not knowing what or why they believe something but rather knowing someone before them said it this way and it sounded right. Anybody can compile a list of verses and make it sound right. You cannot hold a conversation with them because the question “why?” is always taken as disobedience. A friend recently told me that if we were living in Jesus’ day we would be the pharisees. I think what he said was so true!

Back to this Christian Boot Camp Training. It makes me laugh sometimes thinking about it. As if we are some soldiers of the Lord marching around in our suits. To think that for one moment God is going to look down at our rules and attire and say “well done thou good…” Its a funny way of looking at it but it is so true and yet so wrong. Somewhere along the way in mans curiosity this was engraved into our list of things to do as a Christian. To tell you the truth I almost feel as if pride slipped its way in and engraved that thought into our minds. Somehow it got carved into the minds of all the soldiers and the minute another soldier is out of line or messes up or does not cross all the t’s and dot all the i’s… Then its time for a good old fashioned drill sergeant ripping of the face. Yeah to think God thought this whole concept up for us is rather bizarre. It is the most unbiblical, man centered, pharisuetical (if thats even a word) way of thinking.

I can see how easily it is to fall into this trap though. Its like a man-centered guilt trip that appeases the moral conscience of man. If I am following this list of rules in my life then somehow God is pleased of me and if someone is not following the rules… Then it is my duty as a fellow soldier to look down on them, point the finger or give them the shameful “God would not be pleased with what your doing look.” I pray to God that I myself would grab hold of the Truth from His Word and never fall into meaningless traps like this.

It is all about Him! Would God by His grace and mercy transform us into the image of His dear Son. If the only thing that pleases the Father is Himself then why is conforming to the image of Christ the last thing on our list? Probably because it is the hardest. You see for some people its easier to do everything right, to look the part and to wear themselves out in the ministry. Always laboring and doing the hard tasks that a Christian ought to do.

Some friends and I were speaking with Paul Washer one night after a service and He gave us some advice. He said, “one of the most dangerous things in ministry is the sin of busy-ness.” At first when I heard him say that I was like… “yeah of course, I get it.” You become too busy maintenance wise and never have time for the people or ministry. But the more I thought about what he said, the more I realized what he was getting at. You see it is so easy to become comfortable in having a task or list of things to do each day. You can spend the rest of your life accomplishing to do lists and never get anywhere. God is not pleased in our accomplishments or our sweat, He is pleased with Himself. There is too much emphasis on what we do instead of who we should be. There are necessary elements in being a Christian and those things cannot be replaced! This Christian walk is not based on our performance but rather becoming more like Him. This short clip of Paul Washer’s message should shed more light on the subject of what I am trying to get at.