Redefining Christianity 2

It is with a bit of a heavy heart that I write this blog as I have just learned about the "Lakeland goings on". I know it has been in the news for some time but for various reasons I did not know about it. Many self-appointed "prophets" will no doubt jump on the bandwagon and try to score cheap "political points".

My burden and concern for God's people revolves around the realisation that all this is so unnecessary if only we can buy into the kind of church Jesus is building and if we can only rediscover the Message the early Christians preached through their lives! Before I am accused of romanticising the past, I must say that many of the problems we face today were faced by the pioneers of the faith. I think here of false gospels, greedy, manipulative leaders and obsession with angels. In this blog I want to look at the Message that we miss in Christianity today, with the prayer that those thousands of sincere Christians hurt by the sins of those supposed to lead will not only be comforted but also be inspired by the richness of the Word that was entrusted to us .

We do not have to look much further than Paul's writing in Colossians to reflect on the heart of the message that made up the DNA of the original church. First of all Paul reminds the Colossians that the Message they received revolves around the Person of Jesus Christ and that this message changed their lives because it/He works IN you! He reminded them how the Word brought purpose to their lives. "God rescued us from dead-end alleys and dark dungeons. He's set us up in the kingdom of the Son he loves so much, the Son who got us out of the pit we were in, got rid of the sins we were doomed to keep repeating. We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God's original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels--everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him." (Col. 1: 13-16). There is no purpose for anything in this universe outside of Christ!

Paul continues to give us hope when he makes it clear that Jesus' Church is not in disarray; maybe the human version of His church is; maybe the Babilonian counterfeit church is in disarray; maybe organised religion is, but the Church which Jesus has been building for the last 2000 years is still pure, organised and on track to become the Jerusalem which will shine forth the heavenly qualities of Christ! "And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body. He was supreme in the beginning and--leading the resurrection parade--he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he's there, towering far above everything, everyone. " ( 1:18) Than Paul wrote these dynamic words, "Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe--people and things, animals and atoms--get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the Cross." What an insight into the true nature of the cross! What an insight into the true nature of God's kingdom! The cross affected the material and the non-material worlds, it brought an integration of the spiritual and the material realms! To the Christian all ground is indeed holy ground and every bush is indeed a burning bush! God is everywhere and therefore, whether I play, work or attend a Christian meeting I am first of all a CHRIST-one!

In the following verses Paul summarises the Gospel so clearly and yet this message is not often heard in the Christian world. In these words Paul brought together the past dealings of God with His people, the present activity of God and the future hope of Christians in a few words. "This mystery has been kept in the dark for a long time, but now it's out in the open. God wanted everyone, not just Jews, to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, regardless of their background, regardless of their religious standing. The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, therefore you can look forward to sharing in God's glory. It's that simple. That is the substance of our Message. We preach Christ, warning people not to add to the Message. We teach in a spirit of profound common sense so that we can bring each person to maturity. To be mature is to be basic. Christ! No more, no less." ( Col. 1: 26-28) Oh, that every person who preaches about the Old Testament, the covenant, the temple or Israel will relate it to "Christ is in you"; that every person who preaches about salvation will relate it to "Christ is in you"; that every person who preaches the baptism will relate it to "Christ is in you"; that every person who preaches about the baptism in the Holy Spirit will relate it to "Christ is in you"; that every person who preaches about the Church will relate it to "Christ is in you" and that every person who preaches about the return of the Lord will relate it to "Christ is in you" or if you cannot, shut up, and learn some more!

In the next chapter Paul deals with various excesses which threaten the purity of the Christ-Word. He touched on Mysticism, Gnosticism, Philosophy and Legalism and he made it clear that the answer to all these false doctrines was the simple mystery of Christ living His Life through believers in their everyday lives! Look how he confronted the desire for the Gnostic secret. "I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God. Then you will have minds confident and at rest, focused on Christ, God's great mystery. All the richest treasures of wisdom and knowledge are embedded in that mystery and nowhere else. And we've been shown the mystery! I'm telling you this because I don't want anyone leading you off on some wild-goose chase, after other so-called mysteries, or "the Secret." ( Col. 2:2-3) Simple, isn't it? Paul also warned against intellectual philosophical rationalisations, " Watch out for people who try to dazzle you with big words and intellectual double-talk. They want to drag you off into endless arguments that never amount to anything. They spread their ideas through the empty traditions of human beings and the empty superstitions of spirit beings. But that's not the way of Christ"( Col. 2:8) Philosophy means literally "the love for wisdom" but no search for wisdom has any hope if we do not realise that Wisdom is a person and that person is Christ! Lastly, Paul deals with mystics and legalists in one sweeping blow as he instructs the believers not to allow anyone to boss them around, either through pious sounding council or any other religious hocus pocus! "He stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets. So don't put up with anyone pressuring you in details of diet, worship services, or holy days. All those things are mere shadows cast before what was to come; the substance is Christ. Don't tolerate people who try to run your life, ordering you to bow and scrape, insisting that you join their obsession with angels and that you seek out visions. They're a lot of hot air, that's all they are. They're completely out of touch with the source of life, Christ, who puts us together in one piece, whose very breath and blood flow through us. He is the Head and we are the body. We can grow up healthy in God only as he nourishes us. So, then, if with Christ you've put all that pretentious and infantile religion behind you, why do you let yourselves be bullied by it? "Don't touch this! Don't taste that! Don't go near this!" Do you think things that are here today and gone tomorrow are worth that kind of attention? Such things sound impressive if said in a deep enough voice. They even give the illusion of being pious and humble and ascetic. But they're just another way of showing off, making yourselves look important. "( Colossians 2:16-23)

What a simple yet profound Message we have! What an honour to know the Reason for the existence of the universe wants to express His character of Love, Wisdom and Power through undeserved ones like us! Come Lord Jesus and find in us a willing people!!