Growing up in a church that had it's strict rules was a little tough. It was worse on my sisters and my wife because men made up the rules and expected women to dress "modestly." That meant no pants, no shorts, no makeup, no jewelry and certainly no piercings, tattoos, movies, alcohol or cigarettes....the list of sins is long. I think the church meant well. They didn't want us to go to hell but hey added rules to our salvation.
I realized added rules was wrong at an early age. I had a friend in high school who was an atheist. We had a great relationship because we both loved music and sports. Sometimes we would talk about God and His existence. I got through to him eventually and he was getting close to the point of being a believer until I hit him with one of the rules. I told him that his Mom couldn't be a Christian with that short hair. I lost him. A stinking rule caused me to lose my friend.
My Dad was a pastor. He was pretty cool about the rules. He had no problem with me playing in the band, which meant being in "worldly" half time shows. He didn't care that I played baseball and wore shorts. I just wonder if it was because I am a guy and we got away with it. I remember my Dad breaking my sister's rock and roll records. Hey...he didn't want her to go to hell.
I went through this with my girls. I decided my girls would only listen to Christian music. One day, Marie asked me why I watched secular TV and she couldn't listen to secular music. She got me!! She was right.
I realize now that man made rules are what causes denominations. Most of them stress the importance of a few scriptures and add it to Jesus. One says you must go to church on Saturdays, the Sabbath. Another says you must be Baptized in Jesus' name to be saved. For every denomination, there are rules that are added to salvation.
I have come to the conclusion that it is Jesus plus nothing. What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Acts 16:31 says "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved..."
There is nothing we can do to earn salvation. Not making a trip to an altar, not giving to your favorite TV evangelist, not going to church. Nothing. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you are saved.
Once you are saved, there are things that Jesus recommends that we do in order to live a good life. In fact, He commands some things. He preached about them in the Sermon on the Mount. They are not tied to salvation, however. It is the one thing that makes Christianity different from the other religions. Salvation is a free gift. Jesus has given us eternal life. All we have to do is believe that He is who He says He is.
The problem with Christianity today is that very few really believe that salvation is free. That is why they must do something to earn it. That's why we have crazy rules in the church. If you're not a "good" Christian and go to church, you couldn't be saved. If you don't follow whatever rules your particular church has added to Jesus, you aren't saved. This type of Christianity is no different than the other religions.
The bottom line is....it is Jesus plus nothing. I am saved because I believe in Jesus. That's it. Enjoy your freedom in Christ and put away the chains of traditional rules.
1 comment:
That reminds me of something I wrote and saved years ago. Here it is:
"How did those early church founders live such holy lives? How did my Grandmother do it? And how did my parents do it? Here are five things to consider:
"1. The founders of the Church of God did not conform to the church teachings -- they formed the church teachings. They did not make rules that were in disagreement with their practices.
"2. Some, had a temperament and personality that fit snugly into the mold and did not have to make any effort to keep the standard.
"3. Some, had a temperament and personality that made it most difficult to meet the standard, but there temperament was such that they were actually able to force themselves to do those things required of them, regardless of their difficulties in doing them.
"4. Some of the early church people (and leaders), actually, did not live by the church teachings. When it was discovered that they were not living by the teachings they were excommunicated.
"5. Some, claimed to live by the church rule, and it was never found out that in reality they were unable to 'keep the standard'".
I am glad that we see things more clearly now.
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