The limitation of many paths

In light of the recent trend in Jesus Christ as only one of many paths to enlightenment or reaching God, and what Txxx brought up in the meeting of the brothers about people of different faith seemingly receiving revelation from God, I have put in some thoughts on how such an approach actually excludes and distances people from their maker instead of making the way to the divine more reachable.

Txxx crystallized his skepticism about Christianity's exclusive claim of the narrow and straight path to heaven with the accounts of three people: One a Buddhist, another a Christian and the other not of any particular faith. The common denominator underpinning these individuals of different age, gender and faith is that they seem to know when they will die, and prepared for it in a similar way. The conclusion was that to have such revelation it must have been a communication with God (or at least the spiritual world); but such that they do not share the same faith it must be then that God is available to us in at least more than one way.

With such view, the key to salvation or enlightenment is not dependent on which faith one subscribes to, but on ourselves to choose one and walk it. The emphasis then is not on the path, but the diligent journey one makes in terms of all the familiar doctrines of doing good and refraining from evil, and faithfully following the guidance of the general spirit shared by all credible religions of today. How well one walks and how far one reaches in this spiritual journey determines how close he or she is to enlightenment and building up of spiritual credit for heavenly rewards. I am not an expert on this new age religion, but I don't think I am far off with this assessment.

Essentially, the focus is on our own self-effort with religion as a guiding principle or spiritual map. There is true wisdom in this belief and I am certain it is born out of truth as it was in the Old Testament covenant of the Ten Commandants. Just as the new covenant of grace does not abolish the law but to fulfill it, neither does it discredit anyone sincerely and humbly searching for God in pure faith. A familiar argument against Christ as the only way to salvation is to bring up a native growing up on an island never hearing the gospel. After all, the majority of people in the world and through out history never heard of Jesus Christ. Is God not their God, and are they forever condemned to live in hell?

I believe, just as in the days of Abraham, who was not always truthful, there are people of great and pure faith in the one true God, who walks in such close relationship with Him. Noah found favor (grace) with God, Enoch walked with God, and Jabez's prayer was answered by Him. I believe through out the ages until even today, there are people outside of the Christian circle who are close to God in faith -- for He has given each of us an inner voice, a general conscience to know Him. We don't need to hear of Him, He whispers to us...but often is drowned by the cacophony of the world and flesh. And it is true that many non-religious people are even more righteous than an average Christian.

However, of the fortunate few who walks close to God, billions are left in the wilderness. If only the virtuous and faithful can be with God, most of us are doomed. And that is not where God's heart lies. And even the virtuous can never be sure if they are good enough, or if tomorrow they will not be stricken by the serpent. If it is up to our self-effort to reach salvation we are left in a constant flux of pride, uncertainty or shame; arrogance, doubt or despair. The system of this world is Self-effort, where an endless process of disqualification weed out the unworthy, leaving only people with rare talent, prowess and beauty meriting of praise and reward; and it seems God judges us the same if by law and faith, that few is worthy.

(On the surface, it seems an open religion is inclusive by letting in all people; but it is in the journey that many are left behind through degrees of work, understanding and enlightenment. Christianity may first appear to be exclusive by presenting the one and only door; but to open it all one has to do is knock in faith, and no more is required for entry and stay. Hallelujah!)

But a loving God even loves the least lovable. The rejected, the sickly, the filthy, the hateful...thieves, cheaters and murderers. And that is our merciful Father in heaven. "He so loved the world that He sent His one and only son, so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." What better news can we have but to know that God gave of Himself to save us, and by His shed blood, death and resurrection we are forgiven, healed and have life everlasting? Jesus Christ became the serpent on our behalf, and was hung on the tree of judgment to suffer the punishment we deserve. Just as important, it is now by His faith, not ours, we enter the inner sanctum of God, which veil was torn when he cried, "It is accomplished!' so we can be near Him. No longer do we need to ask, "Am I virtuous enough?" or "Do I have enough faith?" for all we need is to believe that Christ is faithful and pleasing to God, and so we are.

Trust in the Lord that he saves, heals and provides. In Christ we have the living proof of His grace and promise. Abraham had the same trust even without knowing Christ. The first mention of "love" and "worship" appeared in the account of God asking Abraham to sacrifice Issac. It referred to "...your son, your only son, whom you love...," foreshadowing His own sacrifice; but Abraham never expressed doubt in the plan of God, although I can only imaging the anguish he must have felt about to lose his son. He trusted the Lord and presented his son in worship, which is his heart given to the Lord, and the Lord was pleased. And Jesus spoke to him, "Abraham, Abraham, do not touch the lad, for I will offer myself in his place." Whenever a name is mentioned twice, it is Jesus calling in tender endearment. And now that we have Jesus, we don't have to wonder anymore if we need to have the faith of Abraham to enter the gates of heaven. Does He want to keep us out of His kingdom, or is it His deepest desire to bring us under His wings to protect and nurture us? Can there be any doubt left in one's heart when we behold his shattered body nailed on the cross the immensity of His love? He was spared not one ounce of pain, rejection nor deprivation for all his children upon the frail and very human form for He loves you so...and loves me so. Amen

Today, why do we still cling to the notion of earning our way to salvation when Christ Himself have already done the work more perfectly than we can ever hope to accomplish? When Christ said, "Just believe..." why do so many reject it as too simplistic and not fair to the ones "living right?" Isn't it rooted in self-glorification and wanting to earn one's way to the heavenly rewards? But to do so rejects the grace of God, for grace is unearned, unmerited favor from God, and not a bit of credit we can boast in. For those who believes that there are many paths to God, think of the fellow humanity who do not have the opportunity or will to walk those paths as well as the few, how they can be saved? If you are on the path to a merciful God, then it is not so hard to believe that this kindhearted heavenly father will offer Himself as the one and true redemption for every single person that ever walked on this earth -- no qualification required.

And if that is not so hard to believe, then look to Jesus Christ -- for all one can ask of and expect in a loving God, a caring creator, a doting father, can be found on His person and brief walk in human life. For if one thinks about it a little deeper, there is no other way for God to be both just and loving to save His rebellious children from the jaws of death. But since God is a spirit, it must be in spirit that we accept this gift of life, which is all it takes -- just believe.

In Christ,

James

Shadow in the mirror

Dear brothers and sisters:

These thoughts stem from tonight's study on John 13, and the need to keep on confessing sins even in the cleansing by the blood of Jesus on the cross.

There is no shortage of spirited discussions when the subject is about God's words and the Christian walk. Fortunately, one shared living principle is that Christ suffered and died to redeem us from the wages of sin; and the common goal we have is to know the heart of our Lord and to seek His perfect glory. This is important to keep in mind even as we do not agree on every point of the Christian belief.

It can be awkward, and even upsetting to argue over aspects of our faith, much of it I am certain are minor ceremonial, administrative or stylistic variations that do not require serious examination. However, when it comes to the doctrine of grace that is the central theme of the New Testament (and I argue, the entire Bible and the plan of God), and how it works in tandem with laws and commandments to bring us closer to our divine Father, I feel we should not spare time nor effort to reach absolute clarity.

Things would have been so much simpler if we were still living in the pre-Christ era. However we choose to live our lives, we get our just deserts in the end. The key to heaven or hell is held in our own grubby little hands, The law given is the bright mirror we cannot escape. It mercilessly seeks out our every imperfection. The rare ones who consider themselves sanctified through perfect obedience can breathe a sigh of relief, and be smug about their grand accomplishment, while those mired in sin and failure remain hopeless, defeated and angry. There is either a prize or punishment meted out for our every behavior -- choosing life or death at every turn and feeling proud or condemned with each round of self-judgment.

Simple but hopelessly impossible...for no rational and humble person can ever be sure if he has done enough good or keep far enough away from sin. But that is the demand of the just God according to His perfect standard. The law cannot save us, it only condemns. It was given to disqualify and the purpose to bring us to the ends of ourselves.

Thankfully our ever-merciful LORD intercedes on our behalf to redeem us from judgment. Only He can fulfill the law; on the cross, the perfect lamb took our rebellion and gave us His obedience. By His death the blood of the Jesus qualifies all, and His mercy embraces us. His ever gracious heart wants only our resting upon His breast like John on the Passover night, and gazing upon His glorious countenance Like Mary in the house of Martha. It is by the sacrificial offering of Jesus Christ that the just wrath of God towards our sins is exhausted upon His beaten and bloodied body. What remains is only our choosing to believe that Christ alone has done everything for us, and prepared a place of shalom peace and rest on earth and in heaven -- to be claimed when we seek His kingdom and speak of and in His name.

No more is our righteousness based on our thoughts and behavior, but His only. "In Christ" means if He is perfect, we are perfect; if He is glorious, we are glorious. God sees us righteous because the glory of Christ is in us and surrounds us. How can we be in water and not be wet? How can we touch grace and not be cleansed? Can we keep ourselves clean? No! But when we are baptized (having bathed), all we need is to have our feet washed by Christ (understanding of redemption through blood) we are clean once and for all times! In Hebrew, the term "money" is actually made up of the words "silver" and "blood." Silver symbolizes redemption, so our saviour literally paid for our redemption (forgiveness) with His blood. Christ dies once and it is sufficient to save every person in the past and in the future. Similarly, His blood continuously washes our sins away yesterday, today and tomorrow, for He is outside time. John in Revelation saw the freshly slain lamb...Christ is our ever suffering servant, faithfully washing us clean once and countless times.

Why then do we need to elevate our thoughts and behaviors to such importance that it is the most mentioned exhortation to self-examine and repent lest we fall short of the glory of God and forfeit our rewards in heaven? Our sins are endless and, if we are to confess each trespass great and small, we will be spending so much time doing just that and getting more dejected and powerless by the minute. For it is an already foregone conclusion (otherwise one is not a born again and repentant Christian) that we are full of sin and can't help from sinning. And we will not keep from sinning by acknowledging/confessing it, but only through the love of Christ we see and feel more and more that we are transformed from the heart that sin no more has dominion over us. For where sin abounds, grace abounds much more!

Instead of writing the laws on the stone tablets of our brains (left and right hemispheres), God wants to write it on our hearts through loving Christ, which means we don't have to think about it anymore, but it becomes a natural part of our being where we wouldn't even know how to sin for the holy spirit so fills our entire being. If we acknowledge that only Christ alone can cleanse us and transform us, why even go through the motion of self-examination? Shouldn't we have faith enough that once we invite Him into our hearts, and our eyes are fixed upon His glory, that he can and will do the work to turn us away from sin? Grace has shattered the cold and impersonal mirror that is the law, and replaced it with the warmth of God's smiling face. Don't pick up the pieces of shards of broken glass that only cuts and distorts and ultimately is only a shadow...for to dust we return, but behold the perfect, real and eternal glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, and never look away.

For an unbeliever, the stone (law) should not be rolled away, for it reveals only the stink of dead flesh; however, once reborn, we are alive and radiant, but trapped if the law is constantly on our minds. Before Lazarus can come forth, the stone must first be rolled away. Trust that Jesus has transformed us, and not be like Martha who is busy caring of this world, but does not see the power of Christ to work miracles although she confesses it. 

I agree that if one is not aware of and despise his dark nature, he will not turn to the light. But like redemption, repentance, if genuine, once is sufficient. After all, Christ meant it as a changing of mind (in Hebrew, turn to grace), and not to beat ourselves up every time we trip. "Justification by faith" as Martin Luther proclaimed in the Reformation age, is to release us from the dogmatic formality of Catholic confessions and the practice of "indulgence" or buying redemption with money. Today, isn't it our belief that Christ alone is our justification and propitiation? If there is anything to gain by confessing our sins, to earn (buy) forgiveness or future rewards, then Christ is not given full glory. Instead, our sensitivity to sin should only be a natural extension of the spiritual growth gained by hearing the words of God and experiencing the full measure of His love in everything about Him.

If a person loves cleanliness, she (mostly women because they were not made from dirt!) does not need to be constantly reminded to make sure to wipe dirt off her person for she naturally cannot stand it. Similarly, a Christian full of the love of Christ naturally disdains sin and even in sin has the faith and comfort that Christ has washed it clean, is the strength to fight it, and her standing in Christ will never be compromised. Isn't this where we can truly find peace and rest, and not having a yardstick to constantly measure ourselves -- but especially measuring others -- of living up to and/or falling short of a phantom standard. Jesus Christ is our gold standard, and we can never live up to it, so stop trying and expecting. Instead, let his spirit lead us completely. We are then perfect even imperfect, and the Lord is glorified in our falling short.

Let us be alive in Christ, and be dead to the bondage of law.

James