Jesus did not come to establish a religion.

While thoughts have been running through my head about issues ranging from Westboro "Baptist Church" to the Quiver-full Movement to some of the sub-cultures and ideas I was influenced by in my upbringing, during the talk-part of worship today, our pastor taught through some verses from Colossians in the Bible, and it hit the nail on the head.  


Christians have always been struggling with legalism attacking from within, and this is what causes our divisions and sub-cultures.  Christianity, as we know it, has painted itself into a corner with its battle-cries regarding a "culture war" and so on.  Much of what Christians are fighting for is not the main issue; the main issue is as simple as "what would Jesus do," but unfortunately even that old phrase causes a recoil in society because some Christians have tried to make Christianity "cool."


I don't think God is interested in being "with it" or "in" or "cool."  Popularity simply isn't his style, nor is winning the cultural war.  There are greater issues at stake!


I will at some point be discussing the various issues I have mentioned above, but to set the stage for all that, I guess I better be a little explicit about what I believe, for better or for worse.  


Quite simply, Jesus did not come to establish a religion.  Jesus is God, as I have established as part of my world-view in the previous post, and he came to earth as a human to set humanity free from worthless religious activity.  God is love, and he loves without condition.  The Mosaic law taught the nations through the people-group to whom it was given that no one could live up to God's standards with all their being, including the heart, which no one sees.  The freedom, that those who trust in Jesus' atoning death and liberating resurrection receive, is the freedom to cease from striving after perfection on human terms.   It means we are reconciled to God through a loving savior, regardless of our failings or addictions, past, present, and even future, though out of love for our savior we will desire to do right instead of wrong.


What bothers me so much about Christianity in America is how far from simplicity it has come.  We are in a new Dark Ages where truth is concerned, and post-modernism is not at fault for that.  (More on that another time.)


Legalism can be defined as "seeking to achieve or maintain acceptance by God through obedience to God."  That means, I am only accepted if I obey perfectly.  That equals religion and human effort, but history has already established that I, like all people, cannot be perfect 100% of the time.  Whatever you believe, we all make mistakes, if not flat out murderous atrocities.  So this would mean that God is a very cruel, exacting, selfish person who demands a lot out of me that he doesn't even give me the power to do!  


The power to do right is there, however, but it isn't all on me; God's unconditional love has set me free from the guilt, fear, pride, and selfish focus that I will fall into every time I live legalistically.  God himself gives me power to live from the heart he puts in me, and forgives me as a loving father forgives a child, every time I fail.


This probably sounds like an excuse to got out and party like it's 19-whatever- after all, I live in Vegas...!  Fact is, I have learned more about grace out here in Vegas than I ever got in middle-class Christian Britain, or the Bible belts of the USA.  Simply, God loves me, exactly as I am, no matter where I've been, and he doesn't give me loads of rules to follow; he gives me himself.  I've had a lot of reasons to yell, scream, and cry at him because of things that have hurt me in life, and he patiently loves me through it.  Some of the most judge-mental people around me have been those who are thought by others to be close to God, yet by judging me rather than accepting me, they've turned me away from his comfort that I could otherwise have had through them.


I went through a miscarriage; I thought it was my fault.  I struggled with my emotions; I thought there was sin in my life.  I fell in love; I was told he wasn't the one.  I made adult decisions, having to defy "parental authority" (I was 28 btw); I was told I was out of the will of God.  And so it goes.


There have been times in my life I have been so low I have felt like God doesn't exist, but somehow, I never doubted his love for me.  His love is not harsh, but it can be tough.  I think he wants me to learn the truth for myself, and not depend on others to tell me what it is.  So I am critical of what I hear, study, or read, but if it resonates with the truth of who Jesus really is, not who we've been told he is, it heals me.  Today what was said in church made sense:  Jesus didn't come to enslave us; he came to set us free: free to live from the new heart he gives.  If we are all uniquely created individuals, as I believe we are, it follows that my story will not be like your story, and that none of us belongs in a cage or a box.  


I hope these thoughts help someone on their journey.  With much agape love.