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Saturday, February 05, 2005
Issues that Divide
In order to be able to do anything about the schisms of Christianity that have developed over the millennium, it is an important step to look at each issue that causes separation and analyze it within the context of Christ and the Bible.
The largest rift in American Christianity has to do with the issue of righteousness. Our relationship with God is dependent upon it. Without righteousness we are adrift in the wilderness and the hope of growing closer to God is dead. This is based upon the premise that God hates sin and the only way we, the sinner, can come into His presence is to be made clean. The founding premise of Christianity is that we have been made pure through the sacrificial lamb, Jesus Christ, who gave His life in payment for our sins. In Christ we are made holy. In Christ we are made right with God.
So if we all agree to this premise, (and we must or we wouldn't call ourselves Christians) where does it go wrong? How does righteousness become such a divisive issue?
Unfortunately, it is not a new issue. In his letters to the Romans and the Corinthians, Paul vividly outlines the problems of living rightly. At the time there were Jewish Christians who held tightly to the belief that all Jewish law and tradition had to be maintained if a person were to gain access to the salvation available in Christ. In their view, anyone coming to Christ must live their lives according to Jewish law. Circumcision became the "hot-button" topic of the day. It divided the church.
Must we live rightly to become holy? Are the laws of Moses, the Beatitudes, and the Great Commandments requirements that must be obeyed or else? Are we responsible for insuring that society as a whole lives by these statutes? Is it God's will that we fight abortion, homosexuality, and stem-cell research, or are they simply the "hot-button" topics for our day and age? Have these issues become the source of divisiveness in such a way that the Church, as a whole, is not able to do the tasks of building God's kingdom it is called to do? Worse yet, are these hot-buttons keeping people from Christ? Are they barriers erected by Satan himself?
In Romans 4:1-18, Paul provides some insight to these questions as he reminds his readers of Abraham, "our faith father." (Rom 4:16 MSG) Abraham was made right with God but not because he did certain things or followed certain laws. In fact, the Law of Moses was not even around at the time. Abraham simply trusted God and gave his life over to Him. (Gen 15:6) We are justified by faith and by faith alone. Nothing we do, none of our works or righteous acts, will gain us the salvation that God has freely given.
Because of this our focus on righteous living is misplaced. We are not growing closer to God by creating a world of right living people. This has been borne out throughout history and we only need to reread the stories of the Israelites to understand the hopelessness of this tact. Our holiness is as a result of our faith and trust in God. It just happens. Christ made it so. We do not need to force these ideals and concepts down the throats of sinners in the world. What we need to do, what we are called to do, is to love one another. But even this we can't do without God.
Focus on God. Listen to God. Believe in God. Trust God. "Believe (in) the LORD, and the LORD (will) declare (you) righteous because of (your) faith." (Gen 15:6 NLT)
The largest rift in American Christianity has to do with the issue of righteousness. Our relationship with God is dependent upon it. Without righteousness we are adrift in the wilderness and the hope of growing closer to God is dead. This is based upon the premise that God hates sin and the only way we, the sinner, can come into His presence is to be made clean. The founding premise of Christianity is that we have been made pure through the sacrificial lamb, Jesus Christ, who gave His life in payment for our sins. In Christ we are made holy. In Christ we are made right with God.
So if we all agree to this premise, (and we must or we wouldn't call ourselves Christians) where does it go wrong? How does righteousness become such a divisive issue?
Unfortunately, it is not a new issue. In his letters to the Romans and the Corinthians, Paul vividly outlines the problems of living rightly. At the time there were Jewish Christians who held tightly to the belief that all Jewish law and tradition had to be maintained if a person were to gain access to the salvation available in Christ. In their view, anyone coming to Christ must live their lives according to Jewish law. Circumcision became the "hot-button" topic of the day. It divided the church.
Must we live rightly to become holy? Are the laws of Moses, the Beatitudes, and the Great Commandments requirements that must be obeyed or else? Are we responsible for insuring that society as a whole lives by these statutes? Is it God's will that we fight abortion, homosexuality, and stem-cell research, or are they simply the "hot-button" topics for our day and age? Have these issues become the source of divisiveness in such a way that the Church, as a whole, is not able to do the tasks of building God's kingdom it is called to do? Worse yet, are these hot-buttons keeping people from Christ? Are they barriers erected by Satan himself?
In Romans 4:1-18, Paul provides some insight to these questions as he reminds his readers of Abraham, "our faith father." (Rom 4:16 MSG) Abraham was made right with God but not because he did certain things or followed certain laws. In fact, the Law of Moses was not even around at the time. Abraham simply trusted God and gave his life over to Him. (Gen 15:6) We are justified by faith and by faith alone. Nothing we do, none of our works or righteous acts, will gain us the salvation that God has freely given.
Because of this our focus on righteous living is misplaced. We are not growing closer to God by creating a world of right living people. This has been borne out throughout history and we only need to reread the stories of the Israelites to understand the hopelessness of this tact. Our holiness is as a result of our faith and trust in God. It just happens. Christ made it so. We do not need to force these ideals and concepts down the throats of sinners in the world. What we need to do, what we are called to do, is to love one another. But even this we can't do without God.
Focus on God. Listen to God. Believe in God. Trust God. "Believe (in) the LORD, and the LORD (will) declare (you) righteous because of (your) faith." (Gen 15:6 NLT)
