For the Believer one of the most loving things God can do for us is show us just how sinful we are, just how dark our hearts are. Only then can we truly appreciate the power of the cross. We are exposed in the scriptures as God haters (Romans 5:10 - For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! ) yet in spite of this God sent His son to the cross for us. Have you ever stopped to think about that? The world wants us to think we are good people, we are constantly inundated with the thought that you are a good person. Sure you make "mistakes" every now and then but so does everyone else so it is no big deal.
One of the worst things a Believer can buy into is the thought that I am basically a good person. When we begin to believe this about ourselves we debase the cross. You have probably heard the saying before "Why do bad things happen to good people?" That only happened one time in all of history. That Good person was Christ, not you, not me, not your mom, not your grandfather and not your child.
Every other faith outside of Christianity says you must dig deeper, you must do more, you must work harder, you must check off all the items on the to-do list. However, true Christianity is not about what we are to do it is about what has already been done for us. True Christianity is about what God, through Christ, has accomplished for us. That's why over and over and over Scripture says believe, believe, believe - Acts 16:31, John 3:16, John 6:47, I John 5:13. It does not say do more, work harder, climb higher or try harder.
When we finally get this we begin the process of shaking loose the chains of performance based Christianity. We begin to understand that our acceptance by God is not based on what we do or do not do, it is based on what Christ did for us. This is Good News, this is the Good News we are to tell others about. It's time to stop performing and start proclaiming.
One of the worst things a Believer can buy into is the thought that I am basically a good person. When we begin to believe this about ourselves we debase the cross. You have probably heard the saying before "Why do bad things happen to good people?" That only happened one time in all of history. That Good person was Christ, not you, not me, not your mom, not your grandfather and not your child.
Every other faith outside of Christianity says you must dig deeper, you must do more, you must work harder, you must check off all the items on the to-do list. However, true Christianity is not about what we are to do it is about what has already been done for us. True Christianity is about what God, through Christ, has accomplished for us. That's why over and over and over Scripture says believe, believe, believe - Acts 16:31, John 3:16, John 6:47, I John 5:13. It does not say do more, work harder, climb higher or try harder.
When we finally get this we begin the process of shaking loose the chains of performance based Christianity. We begin to understand that our acceptance by God is not based on what we do or do not do, it is based on what Christ did for us. This is Good News, this is the Good News we are to tell others about. It's time to stop performing and start proclaiming.
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