AlwaysOnAJourney
Active member
As far as Christianity is concerned, half of me thinks I'm doing it right, and the other half of me fears that it is doing it wrong. My interpretation of myself is, I got enough head knowledge to know right from wrong. However sometimes there are gray areas, even in the Bible. I think the gray show themselves when a person sets out to obey God. You begin to realize that obeying God is not as simple as black and white: Do this, but Don't do that. Once a person realizes that they are failing, they begin to look deeper into the scriptures to see if they are properly understanding them or not. At least that is what I have tried. Yet at the end of the day, the areas of obedience I do good in, I continue to do good in. But the areas that I do bad in, I continue to do bad in. This is when I often find myself praying about this. Asking God to do something in me so that I can obey the areas I don't do good in. I wish He would do something for me. I think there is a fine line between doing stuff in your own strength and doing stuff in God's strength. How do you know when it is God working through you, or you doing it on your own? I mean God created me like this. I asked Jesus into my heart, which should give me the Holy Spirit. One would think that would give me the power to handle it. But it doesn't seem to work that way for me.
One of my problems with my walk with Jesus is learning to love and trust Him. Thinking on good things, keeping my eyes on him, and not getting over whelmed by my circumstances. That is one of the things I think about the most!
There was a time in my life when I thought proper theology was important. That was until I started diving into it. Now I'm starting to wonder if theology is of the devil. Who uses it to distract us from doing the most important things a Christian should be doing. Like keep your faith in Jesus, and love each other. People take sides, and Churches, and even families divide up over it. (Can you say the word "resentment"?) All under the pretense of having the truth correct, so that we are following things in the right way. Maybe that is the job of the holy spirit to guide in truth?
People think that if they follow theology then that helps them know God better. But what I think it actually does is put a false image of God in your mind. Because you create that image by taking various scriptures and using them like a math problem at school. God is bigger and beyond math. He created math, and everything we use. We are supposed to be following Jesus, and doesn't mean we got to understand Him. The way of Jesus has always been mysterious. His own disciples couldn't understand his parables. Often times He had to explain it to them. As followers of Jesus, we are kinda in the same boat. Not to mention His kingdom is upside down. It doesn't work the way the world does. We tend to think like the world, because we are heavily influenced by the world, and we still struggle with sin influences.
I listen to an audio bible. One of the things I think it does well, is it won't let me take things out of context easy. The reason why I bring this up is because in order to create your theology, you need to be able to pull scripture from various parts of the bible and put it together that way. Then if you run into anything that doesn't sound like it fits your theology, then you got to figure out how it might fit your theology if you think it means something a little different then it sounds like. Or maybe one author meant it to be taken one way in the old testament, and but other person in the new means it to be taken another way. By doing this kind of gymnastic you can get things to come out the way you want them too. Who is God in this? You or God?
There are two reasons why I am not in Church anymore. 1) People are not friendly to me. 2) The theology. I think the truth is on my side, and they think the truth is on their side. I always wanted a Church that preached the word, people were friendly, and I could worship Jesus. But instead what I find is Churches that preach the word with a theological slant to it. Not friendly people who want people like me to get better. And some modern worship music, because people just like it that way. They think that modern music will make the Church get bigger.
I don't have anything against music styles. Most preaching, as long as they are preaching from the Bible, and believes the Bible I can get into that. However the lack of friendliness and caring for nobodies like me drives me nuts. I can even try approaching them, and they give me the "I don't care" attitude.
I have often wondered, if theology didn't exist, how would Churches decide on what they believe? It seems to me they would need to make the belief system more simplistic. Just now Galatians 1:6-9 popped into my head, because I have noticed that theology can change the Gospel message. I posted all of that chapter so that you can read it all in context.
Galatians 1
1 Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2 and all the brothers and sisters with me,
To the churches in Galatia:
3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
No Other Gospel
6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!
10 Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Paul Called by God
11 I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. 12 I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.
13 For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. 14 I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. 15 But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased 16 to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being. 17 I did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went into Arabia. Later I returned to Damascus.
18 Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days. 19 I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord’s brother. 20 I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie.
21 Then I went to Syria and Cilicia. 22 I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23 They only heard the report: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they praised God because of me.
You can keep reading on if you want:
www.biblegateway.com
One of my problems with my walk with Jesus is learning to love and trust Him. Thinking on good things, keeping my eyes on him, and not getting over whelmed by my circumstances. That is one of the things I think about the most!
There was a time in my life when I thought proper theology was important. That was until I started diving into it. Now I'm starting to wonder if theology is of the devil. Who uses it to distract us from doing the most important things a Christian should be doing. Like keep your faith in Jesus, and love each other. People take sides, and Churches, and even families divide up over it. (Can you say the word "resentment"?) All under the pretense of having the truth correct, so that we are following things in the right way. Maybe that is the job of the holy spirit to guide in truth?
People think that if they follow theology then that helps them know God better. But what I think it actually does is put a false image of God in your mind. Because you create that image by taking various scriptures and using them like a math problem at school. God is bigger and beyond math. He created math, and everything we use. We are supposed to be following Jesus, and doesn't mean we got to understand Him. The way of Jesus has always been mysterious. His own disciples couldn't understand his parables. Often times He had to explain it to them. As followers of Jesus, we are kinda in the same boat. Not to mention His kingdom is upside down. It doesn't work the way the world does. We tend to think like the world, because we are heavily influenced by the world, and we still struggle with sin influences.
I listen to an audio bible. One of the things I think it does well, is it won't let me take things out of context easy. The reason why I bring this up is because in order to create your theology, you need to be able to pull scripture from various parts of the bible and put it together that way. Then if you run into anything that doesn't sound like it fits your theology, then you got to figure out how it might fit your theology if you think it means something a little different then it sounds like. Or maybe one author meant it to be taken one way in the old testament, and but other person in the new means it to be taken another way. By doing this kind of gymnastic you can get things to come out the way you want them too. Who is God in this? You or God?
There are two reasons why I am not in Church anymore. 1) People are not friendly to me. 2) The theology. I think the truth is on my side, and they think the truth is on their side. I always wanted a Church that preached the word, people were friendly, and I could worship Jesus. But instead what I find is Churches that preach the word with a theological slant to it. Not friendly people who want people like me to get better. And some modern worship music, because people just like it that way. They think that modern music will make the Church get bigger.
I don't have anything against music styles. Most preaching, as long as they are preaching from the Bible, and believes the Bible I can get into that. However the lack of friendliness and caring for nobodies like me drives me nuts. I can even try approaching them, and they give me the "I don't care" attitude.
I have often wondered, if theology didn't exist, how would Churches decide on what they believe? It seems to me they would need to make the belief system more simplistic. Just now Galatians 1:6-9 popped into my head, because I have noticed that theology can change the Gospel message. I posted all of that chapter so that you can read it all in context.
Galatians 1
1 Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2 and all the brothers and sisters with me,
To the churches in Galatia:
3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
No Other Gospel
6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!
10 Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Paul Called by God
11 I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. 12 I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.
13 For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. 14 I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. 15 But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased 16 to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being. 17 I did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went into Arabia. Later I returned to Damascus.
18 Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days. 19 I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord’s brother. 20 I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie.
21 Then I went to Syria and Cilicia. 22 I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23 They only heard the report: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they praised God because of me.
You can keep reading on if you want:
Bible Gateway passage: Galatians 2 - New International Version
Paul Accepted by the Apostles - Then after fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. I went in response to a revelation and, meeting privately with those esteemed as leaders, I presented to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. I...
