“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” –John 3:16-19 (NIV)
“The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become the children of God” –John 1: 9-12 (NIV)
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”—John 14: 6-7 (NIV)
Why are the principles of Christianity, so despised by the world? Salvation describes a deliverance from danger or difficulty, or deliverance from the power or penalty of death and sin. This world has brought so many so much suffering. This might leave many to question if God exists, if Jesus came to bring peace, why is there so much hatred and affliction in the world? It seems like people can place blame on God when things go wrong, but neglect to recognize him in the things that go right. The truth for me has been that everything I have had to endure in life was not placed on me by God, but by my own choices and unwillingness to submit to his direction for my life. So many times he spoke to my heart. At every crossroad, when I had to make a decision, I knew what was right and what was wrong, but many times I chose my way. I credit most of my poor choices in life to immaturity, and being raised in a religion that relied on guilt to steer my direction. I always heard his voice speaking to my heart, sometimes audibly posing questions that caused me to reflect on my choices, like, “Where would you spend eternity if you died in this condition?” or “Are you sure this is the direction you want to take?” Too often I ignored the warnings and the results, well let’s say, I learned to live with the consequences as being my repentance for poor choices in my life. For ignoring the guiding hand of the Father.
So I made choices out of pride and stubbornness. It was only until I understood the love of God, the real healing power in His love, that I understood the principles of His simple message to us.
So why is this simple message such a threat to so many? Why can’t they see the freedom in living the life He is asking us to live? We live our lives as a sum of the experiences that we have with others throughout our lives. We carry with us hurts, fears, and defensive mechanisms that we pull out when we are faced with situations that remind us of the past. We can sometimes place our experiences before hope, before faith, and before the wisdom that comes from applying the words of God to our life. We let the intrusion of man, known as religion, interfere with the relationship that God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit are seeking to have with us.
Because of the interference of man, many miss the simple message which in its content, displays the very nature of God, which is love. We are often made to believe that if we don’t follow the law, of any given denomination, then we fall short. If we love, we teach that by God’s grace, we have an opportunity to be forgiven, given a second chance to find our heavenly purpose. By grace we are given the opportunities to choose for ourselves what we will give our devotions to. Will we choose to devote our life to self-driven pleasures, ambitions, treasures, or will we choose God? So much unnecessary suffering takes place because we are choosing pride over faith. This free-will that we have been designed with, allows us to choose right from wrong based on our innate understanding of the purpose that we were sent to earth, I guess you could say, programmed with.
The truth be told, in choosing God, there is freedom. When you surrender it all to Jesus, when you accept his grace and ask him to come into your life and teach you, renew your thinking, your attitudes, help you break your bad habits, there is a freedom and peace that only one who experiences it can understand. The one who trusts in God has nothing to worry about. For as one of my favorite verses reminds us, “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” –Psalm 91: 1-2
The psalmist further declares, “If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.”—Psalm 91: 9-10
This dwelling place, is your refuge, or a condition of being safe or sheltered from pursuit, danger, or trouble.
So what is it about this simple message that keeps one from finding their dwelling place and refuge? I have witnessed the rejection and question why some so vehemently reject the idea that salvation comes by simply accepting that Jesus is the Son of God who came to take our sins upon himself and redeem us back to the state where we can share in a relationship with Our Creator.
To some, the bible is a fictional tale that the weak surrender to, believing because their lives are so desolate that they choose to believe in something that helps ease their life circumstances.
Others choose to take a more passive approach and will allow others to believe in a higher power, but will not submit themselves to the idea that an omnipresent, omnipotent God cares about the affairs of men.
Then there is the third type of response, flat out rejection due to the fact that they see themselves as designer of their destinies, creator of opportunities, and no need for God because they are god of their own life. This is the most detestable and dangerous, I believe, because it is the one closest to the thoughts of the devil, just before God cast him from His presence.
12 How you have fallen from heaven,
morning star, son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to the earth,
you who once laid low the nations!
13 You said in your heart,
“I will ascend to the heavens;
I will raise my throne
above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,
on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.
14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.”
15 But you are brought down to the realm of the dead,
to the depths of the pit. –Isaiah 14: 12-15 (NIV)
In any case, the heart is hardened and the message is a threat to the excuses that one gives themselves for rejecting it. So what causes a heart to be hardened when they hear this simple message?
John records the summary of Jesus’s message to the world. “Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but the one who sent me. The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me. I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.”—John 12: 44-46 (NIV)
Then, those whose hearts are hardened will not be able to see that Jesus and God the Father, Creator of Heaven and Earth, are one. They cannot accept the simple message of salvation, because they do not believe in the Creator. Their hearts are hardened, therefore, they cannot operate by faith. They look for proof and will not submit to thinking that requires them to step outside their own limits of understanding to believe that an omnipresent, omnipotent God is aware of their thoughts and actions.
Maybe this is why John gives us insight to what is going on when one’s heart is hardened to the message.
Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet:
“Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere:
“He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn—and I would heal them.”—John 12: 37-40
Believing in the heart what the eyes cannot see is FAITH. Submitting to the idea that we were created to love and be loved by God is too simple a purpose for most. This world drives us to seek other forms of purpose. We look to our education, our jobs, our family life, and our status in society to determine the purpose our life will take. What we keep our eyes on, what holds our hope for a better tomorrow is what will steer our passion. Even religion skews the purpose that God has set before all men. Examining this I looked back at the early church. In 1 Corinthians 4:20, Paul shares with the church of Corinth that “the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk, but of power”. Looking at the early church, they were filled with power. Street ministry was powerful and many things took place—healing, deliverance, conversions. The early church was only concerned with the message, the simple message, that we have been set free by Jesus’s death and resurrection. Accepting this free gift simply requires that we believe it in our hearts and ask to be the part of the family that God has created in Christ. But still hearts remain hardened, people remain lost, many still roam the world trying to make up for lost love, searching for love, peace, something substantial in their lives—a purpose.
I’m reminded of the scene from the movie, The Bucket List. In one scene, Morgan Freeman’s character discusses the Egyptian belief about entrance into heaven with Jack Nicholson’s character. He shares that they believed when they reached the gates of heaven, they were going to be asked two questions that would determine whether they are allowed to enter or not. One is, “Have you found joy in your life?” The other is, “Has your life brought joy to others?”
Jesus instructed us in John 15: 10-11, “If you keep my command, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.”
So embedded in this message is that we remain in Christ, by remaining in Christ, our joy is made complete. Joy defined as a feeling of great pleasure and happiness. So all that we are searching for in this world is not capable of fulfilling this place in our hearts. It is through love that we receive joy, it is through love that we bring joy to others. It is through love that we accept the simple message as true in our personal lives. No more will we have to search for love that satisfies or is unconditional. We do not have to live to please man or care what others believe because we have the joy that does not fade with circumstances in our daily life.
Joy and happiness are different in that happiness depends on happenings, where joy is much deeper and sustaining. When we have joy in our lives, we have a quiet confidence of God’s love and purpose in our lives. Therefore, joy is dependent on the love that was displayed through Christ’s dying on the cross for all of us—yes, each and every one of us, so that sin would no longer have power over us.
The simple message that sets the soul, spirit, and body free will be the cornerstone of a new destiny.
One of the key ideas in the simple message is that we are all guilty of sin, because of our sinful nature. Have you ever wondered why it is so easy to do what is wrong, and doing right takes effort? I know that I’m not the only one who has wondered about that. Romans 3:23 reminds us of this fact, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. Before getting defensive, we need to look at what I’ve proposed here. There are some iniquities that we all succumb to, and overcoming them requires a conscious knowledge that they are wrong, for example, pride.
What is pride? Meriam Webster’s definition states it as, “too high an opinion of one’s own ability or worth: a feeling of being better than others”. What does this look like? Haughtiness, arrogance, conceit, inordinate self-esteem, vanity, and vainglory are as common as the air we breathe. (Shelton, 2016) Demanding our personal opinions, ideas, beliefs be adopted by everyone we share them with, without regard to their personal feelings. Becoming frustrated and angry, laying judgment on those who do not believe as we do. This is the problem with religion, the institutions of religion, who have far too long demanded submission to its ideas, criticizing and sometimes persecuting others who do not accept their ideologies. So I guess you could say that this sin of pride can, and does, infiltrate even those who are seeking a righteous life, maybe with the wrong motive. Love, the cornerstone of the simple message, provides a choice, and the love of the one offering the choice does not change because of the rejection, until the heart has been hardened to the message. No one knows when, or at what point, this happens, only the one who sees the heart knows. But you will be pursued in love until that day comes.
On a more relatable level, pride will stand in the way of anything that challenges our comfortable positions in life. The work then becomes giving up self. Basically, giving up the things that we use to count our worth. It is a mental challenge to understand that whatever we give up in this life and submit to God will be the very thing that brings us into joy and freedom. Jesus gives us insight to our sinful nature in John 8: 34, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Then In Romans 6, Paul explains that “Sin can no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace”, which by the way came by way of the cross.”
So why then do we submit ourselves to the sin nature? In defense, we live in a physical world, we must work and we must accomplish specific tasks to survive and have the things we want in this life. How can we be expected to live for what we cannot see? What if we sacrifice all and live this life, what then are we promised? This might be the question that needs to be addressed before answering the preceding question. Let’s go back to our reality. We work to have the things we need or want? This is the line that we must draw when it comes to determining what the message is requiring of us. What does God promise to those who follow His decrees? He promises rain in its season, ground that will yield crops and trees that bear fruit. He further assures peace in the land. He promises to put His dwelling place among us and He will not despise us.—Leviticus 26 (NIV)
Break that down! What does that mean for us today? Well, since He is the same for all time, never changing in character, it means that what he promised the Israelites back then, He promises us now. Trusting in the provisions of God we will have fruitful endeavors that He has provided, and we will not have to work so hard to find the peace that comes from dwelling and trusting in God to provide. This is something only understood by those who have walked away from the world and trusted God at His Word. He provides with ease, the peace and joy that comes from trusting in Him to meet their needs.
The flip side to this, wants, well this crosses over to things that we strive for, that we believe will bring us happiness. Remember what I shared previously about the differences between happiness and joy. When we place our focus on the wants in life, we make our achievements earthly based and the treasures that we work so hard to obtain can be taken in one quick moment. Then what value is that happiness. Idols were always the downfall of Israel. Even after Moses parted the sea and rescued them from their slavery, they still succumbed to their old habits. God tells Moses, “Go down, because “your” people, whom “you” brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt.” I find this interesting, God tells Moses “your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt”. He further asserts that “they are a stiff-necked people. Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you a great nation.” These idols were enough to cause God to cut them off. Then the story goes on to Moses interceding on behalf of the people, and God relenting. Further in the story, when Moses sees them worshiping the idol, and he breaks the tablets God has inscribed, he approaches Aaron and says, “What did these people do to you that led them into such great sin?” Aaron answers, “You know how prone these people are to evil. They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will go before us’.” So Moses finds out who is willing to set themselves apart for the Lord by giving them an opportunity to prove their loyalty to serving God. In Exodus 32, you can read how this is done, but understand that the worship of idols was contrary to worshiping of the Living God and it brought consequences.
So what consequences come from our worshiping of idols? Well, I guess you could say we become slaves to our idols. We bind ourselves in debt to obtain the things we want, so we are not free to move about as they were in the early days of the Christian church. Remember when Jesus sent the disciples out, he told them, “Take nothing for your journey, except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. Wear sandals but not an extra shirt.” Why did he do this? Was it so that they would have the opportunity to prove for us today, how God provides for those whom he commissions? I’d like to believe this. Like the flowers, and sparrows, all life is sustained through God, the Creator of all things. But again, to understand this, you have to believe in the simple message first.
In conclusion, let me say that practice has proven the truth behind the simple message. I am not an ignorant person, I have researched many things, found the relationship between the wisdom of God and discernment. I practiced faith, far long in secret, but have discovered through practice that all that is promised is true. I saw that happiness was fleeting and temporal. I found salvation, sought after purity, walked in obedience, and have come to experience the joy that only comes when you have peace in your heart, a peace that no man, no condition, not even death can steal from you. This is my truth, this is my understanding of the power that is contained in this simple message.
This morning, I awoke with a scripture on my mind. I did not even know what it entailed, or if this verse even existed in the bible, but amazing what it contained. The passage was 1 John 5: 10. I will conclude this with the scripture in its entirety. Take it as you will, but I believe it is the summation of all that I tried to share here. God’s blessings and the salvation of Jesus the Christ to all.
1 JOHN 5 NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV)
FAITH IN THE INCARNATE SON OF GOD
1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. 2 This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. 3 In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, 4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
6 This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7 For there are three that testify: 8 the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.9 We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. 10 Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. 11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
Concluding Affirmations
13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. 14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.
16 If you see any brother or sister commit a sin that does not lead to death, you should pray and God will give them life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that you should pray about that. 17 All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.
18 We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God (Jesus Christ) keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them. 19 We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. 20 We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
21 Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.
References
Shelton, R. L., Jr. (n.d.). The Sin of Pride. Retrieved December 16, 2016, from http://www.eternallifeministries.org/lrs_pride.htm
1johnfiveten 