Christianity.
Religion - or
something else?
“Religion is man’s effort to reach God,
but Jesus is God’s effort to reach man.”
Christianity.
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That's all about following a list of rules, thinking you're right about everything, and telling others they're a bunch of dirty sinners, right?
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Or, best case scenario, it's all about forgiving others, turning the other cheek, and being a kind and good person, right?
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If you know someone who recently became a 'Jesus freak', you might be wondering why they went from being spiritually mature and rational human beings to becoming so dumb and unevolved as to believe in a 2000 year old fairytale.
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That's because Christianity is not what the world has told you it is. Christianity is not a religion (nor is it irreligious), it's a relationship with the living God as the risen Christ, and the supernatural re-creation and restoration of who God intended you to be and, ultimately, the recreation of the entire cosmos to again be as God intended it to be.
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RELIGION VS
THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GOD
Christianity doesn't begin with 'you are a sinner in need of a savior' - it begins with 'in the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth'.
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Religion is God according to man.
Christianity is man and the world according to God.
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If we are ever to see true Christianity and see beyond the counterfeit Christianity created by Satan and mistaken by the world to be the real thing, we need to come to see Christianity not as a man-made religion, but the God-given, true story of reality.
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We all, without exception, have a deep seated need to make sense of our existence, know how to navigate day to day living, and give meaning and purpose to life as a whole.
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The need for this overarching story, in which the smaller stories we experience every day fall into place, can be called our 'worldview'.
Even if you don't realize it, we all have a worldview - either built intentionally or absorbed unintentionally from our surroundings - a framework in which we interpret everything that happens to us.
The difference between Christianity and literally everything else is that it's the world according to God - instead of the world according to man! (We know this is a bold claim, and i'ts easy to place Christianity in the same category of 'manmade religions', but the Bible is supernaturally verified to be written by God through man, not by man).
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The Bible is the true story of mankind's beginnings, how the world came to be the way it is, where we are headed, and who our Maker is. It is by His light (His Word), that we can 'see in the dark' in which we currently find ourselves. It answers such questions as 'why is there evil and suffering in the world, what is the purpose and meaning of life, how should I aim to live my day to day life, what is love really, and is there life after death?'
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Some stories are true, some aren't. No matter how well our intentions, our beliefs simply do not make or create reality; they either align with reality, or obscure it.
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When our worldview is a good story, but nonetheless not a true one, things in life will run less smoothly, our souls will feel restless no matter what we do, and our happiness will only every be surface level (we always feel unsafe when someone or something lies to us, even if we are not consciously aware of it!), not to mention easy to shake (because our happiness will not be rooted in transcendent truth but fleeting moments of pleasure).
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Christianity is simply the true story of the way the world really is.
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It puts everything in its true, original context, not as imagined by man, but as revealed by the Author of the story itself.
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Jesus Christ. God with us.
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RELIGION VS SALVATION
to be made whole and holy by His love.
Ephesians 1:4
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Jesus didn't come to start a religion -
He came to bring an end to all false, counterfeit religion/spirituality!
Jesus came to set us free.
Utterly, gloriously, eternally free!
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So if the Son makes you free, then you are
unquestionably free.
John 8:36
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But free from what?
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Jesus came to set us free (salvation) from the penalty, power and effect of sin: of living in rebellion against God and making self the ultimate authority and the death that is the natural consequence of cutting ourselves off from the Source of life.
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But to what end?
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Jesus came to set us free from sin, so that we may be free to know and love God with all our hearts, minds, souls and strength.
Before salvation, we are slaves to sin; meaning we are incapable to be who God intended us to be and incapable of knowing the living God. Without the intervention of God we make false Gods such as a metaphysical, impersonal force called 'the universe' or 'higher consciousness', and we get stuck in endless healing and self improvement loops - be it via meditation, therapy, plant medicine, and so on - to try and restore what sin broke. But if sin (rebellion against God) is the problem, nothing but Jesus dying for our sins (salvation) can be the solution.
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When we believe and follow Jesus, His Spirit (the Holy Spirit) starts renewing and transforming us from the inside out. Not through works - dead rituals, empty practices, and soulless tools and maps and readings - but by His love. His love transforms us to who we were meant to be; whole and holy. This, is the true and lasting joy, peace, and happiness we are chasing after.
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Everything else simply is bondage masquerading as freedom.
Everything else - is false religion.
No, Jesus did not come to start a new religion.
Jesus came to bring people back to God.
RELIGION VS RELATIONSHIP
The point of Christianity cannot be contained in words because the point of Christianity is the living Christ. He is not an ancient ideal but a real Person here and now, ready to barge in and transform our lives.
-Peter Kreeft
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The reason we meditate, try and get guidance from the stars (astrology), embark on plant medicine ceremonies, and do any of the 1001 other things the new age spiritual 'mix and match' buffet has to offer us, is because we have 'exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator' (Romans 1:25).
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In other words, in the new age we have eradicated the distinction between Creator and creation and put the living God on the same level as His creation, which makes us turn to tools rather than relationship.
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Counterfeit spirituality has turned God into a concept, a philosophy, an ideal, an energy, a force, to manipulate, to reach, to 'realize'....
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Completely foregoing the privilege of friendship with the One who made us, and sonship, becoming a son or daughter and enjoying God as your Father.
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God wants us to enjoy the special blessing of His friendship, Fatherhood, and Kingship and this blessing is available only when we acknowledge God's rightful place as benevolent ruler over us and all His creation.
NOT A RELIGION -
A SUPERIOR LOVE
Being a Christian is more like having your heart and soul possessed by a far superior love than this world can offer you, than it is about rituals, regulations and dogma.
Human beings were created by God and for God.
We were never meant to run around like headless chickens, searching for our own way, our own truth, and our own happiness.
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We were created with an emptiness at the core of our being that only the living God Himself can fill.
A lock, that only Christ Himself can unlock.
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It is only our pride and desperate need to imagine we are God, at the very least of our own lives, that has us fooled into thinking there is a different 'way' or different 'thing' for everyone. No! The same God created us all, and it's the same God for all that can adequately satisfy our souls, capture our hearts, and restore to us the peace and joy we were made for.
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If you've ever heard or imagined Christianity is about living your life a certain way, you only know half the truth, and missing the point entirely. Without the living God, living your life according to His standards would indeed be a drag, a suppression of our natural, sinful, nature.
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However, the moment you've been made a new creation, which happens at salvation, you see that the 'freedom' to follow your heart was only ever a trap, much like a siren's song, to lure you into a confusing maze where true peace and true answers seem elusive. The answer to escape the siren's song is not to cover your ears, nor to tie yourself to the mast, but to be enchanted by an even more beautiful voice.
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That is the voice, of Jesus.
The Life of God in the Soul of Man.
- Henry Scougal
"Correct doctrine, correct practice, correct morality — all this is fine and good, but it isn’t the thing itself. The essence of Christianity or “true religion” is to have a new vital principle animating the soul. Christianity is not just an idea. It is to find God Himself taking up residence and
living in me"
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-Bruce Hindmarsh