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April 10, 2008
Faith : Christianity is rehab not parole
Phil was sentenced to prison. Bill was sentenced to 5 years on parole. George was given a suspended sentence pending his completing an approved treatment program. These are all fairly standard outcomes for criminals who have been caught, depending on the nature of their crimes and the individual's acknowledgement and regret for their actions.
The Bible says that we are all guilty of the crime of not being Holy "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God". For that crime we disserve a life sentence "The wages of sin is death." However God is offering an alternative sentence "but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ His son."
Most Christians seem to act as if Christianity is a form of parole. They need to meet weekly with their parole officer (they go to church every Sunday). They have a list of things they are not allowed to do while on parole (don't cuss, don't drink, don't, don't don't, don't …); and they have this fear that if they do too many of those don'ts that their parole will be revoked and God will send them to prison (Hell) anyway. However, other than meeting their weekly meeting and avoiding breaking their parole, they are free to do what they want with the rest of their time.
That's not Christianity as I have come to understand it.
The Christianity that I have come to experience is a more like going into court-ordered rehab in exchange for charges being dropped. In the same way that a human court might realize that someone committed a crime because of their addictions and that they are unable to get free of that addiction without help; God demands holiness of us, but he knows we are incapable of it on our own. So He wants us to join a program to help us become Holy – a program called Christianity.
In that program this issue is not whether we are going to Hell or not - Jesus took care of that question a couple millennia ago. The issue is will we allow God to help set us free from our addiction to selfishness and self-centeredness and self-dependency and begin to trust God instead. And in that process of letting go of self and trusting God, will we allow God to transform us into His image so that we become Holy in the same way that God is Holy.
Looking at Christianity in this way creates a new perspective. You realize that all of the other Christians are just as messed up as you are, and the ones that pretend they have it all together are the ones who are actually fighting God’s work in their lives by not admitting they need to change. Instead of “having to” attend church, you look for opportunities to get together with other Christians who will support you and help you understand what God is doing in your life (staying away from those who are stalled in their transformation – they will have nothing useful for you). The focus of your life is not “will I get to heaven?” but rather “am I more like Jesus today than I was a year ago?”
Posted by Steven at April 10, 2008 05:00 AM
