As I look at the beliefs of the different Christian denominations I find the Catholic churches preaching Christ crucified plus choosing faith plus works equals salvation. Nearer the middle but perhaps still on this side are churches that preach Christ crucified plus choosing faith equals salvation.

On the other side of what appears to be an irreconcilable gap, are the reformed churches preaching Christ crucified which is given as a free gift to those chosen of God through faith which equals salvation.

Even so,
“In all things… Christ is proclaimed and in this I will rejoice, yes and I will rejoice.” Philippians 2?

But what I have observed, been taught, believed, and experienced indicates that they’re all a lot closer together than anyone is comfortable with. A lie and a sinful priority binds us together more than our perceived differences. Second only to the proclamation of Christ crucified, the battle cry of churches and Christians from all places and across all times, is one of human transformation and not mostly in the internal way God intended which God says He works out in us, but external behaviors for which we are to pray, to use the power of the Spirit, to obsess into oblivion. We are indeed so concerned with our actions, that if one belongs to even a reformed church, where we make proud proclamations of predestined believers, if your life and personality and choices don’t match up with a given set of man made rules, your very salvation is called into question.

Of course it would never be suggested that you could have lost your salvation, but it will be up for debate on whether you were ever saved to begin with. This creates a reality and lifestyle and a view of God and man which determines salvation by works. Directly in opposition to beliefs held so dearly.

Is there really a difference between one set of believers who are upfront about the ways in which you must work for your salvation and the set of believers who preach a free salvation while in practice will judge your works to determine your salvation?

A few questions:

How is it, that from a Bible that is 80% full of the promises of God, never ending lists of things He’s done for us, and descriptions of His overflowing love and His precious and spectacular character, that we as Christians spend 80% of our time thinking, talking, praying, reading, singing, and exhorting mere changes in outward behavior? Shouldn’t we be focused on Him and His promises and His works and gifts for us?

How is it that adults who have been given a personal relationship with their Creator, defined by love and acceptance, choose to fill our homes and churches and classrooms with posters of lists of things that our little ones should be doing? Shouldn’t we be plastering our spaces with the character and promises and works and gifts of God?

How is it that the law, via the 10 Commandments, which was given to open the eyes of the unbeliever, is one of the first things memorized by little believers? Why are we not encouraging them to memorize a list of God’s promises?

How is it that we have taken the Sermon on the Mount, in which Jesus threw over and obliterated the sinful beliefs we hold when He made promises not for those who are clever and rich and have something to offer, but made promises to those with less than nothing and turned them into a list of things we ought to try to do and be? Instead of putting up posters of the “beatitudes” as sweet promises and comfort, we have yet again put up posters with a list of things to do. This being the exact opposite of the heart of what Jesus was saying.

In the same vein, how can we take the “fruit of the Spirit” which was was inspired by God to communicate promises of the many things He promises to be actively working out in our hearts by the power of His kind Spirit , and we have turned it into a list of things to strive to become? Again, teaching our precious children and baby believers, the exact opposite of the heart of God, as revealed through Jesus and the Spirit.

When we look at Old Testament Scriptures, why is it that we ask and can quickly answer questions like:
In which ways should imitate David/Abraham/Job?
In which ways should we not imitate David/Abraham/Job?

But when we look at Old Testament Scriptures, why is it that we do not ask and cannot come up with answers to questions like?
What does God reveal about His character and plans through His interactions with David/Abraham/Abel/Job/etc ie “the good guys”?
What does God reveal about His character and plans as God deals with Saul/Lot/ Cain/Job’s friends/etc ie “the bad guys”?
What are the promises God gives and/or fulfills as we watch Him interact with the “good guys” AND the “bad guys”?

Why is it that God’s people as a whole, spend so much time, energy, thought, teaching, to concentrate and critique the choices we make in our lives? Is that the biggest most beautiful or important thing which we all have in common? Is that the thing that deserves the majority of ourselves?

Do we really believe that the Almighty Creator of the Universe, the Holy Judge, the I Am, gave up His throne, became one of His creation in the gutter, lived a perfect life and then died to save not friends but rebellious enemies, all so His beloved children would spend their lives nitpicking their actions and obsessively strive to do things He’s already done or promised to do? Can we really see the character of God and His amazing works for us as mere milk worth time only to be given to the unsaved and baby Christians?

Yet, this is how we think, this is what we believe. This is how we see God and His precious gifts and promises. We would go so far as to say it is sinful to spend too much time on only these things. We so little see God as He has shown Himself through Jesus and the Word. We so little value His love and works for us. And these beliefs we have woven into our very interpretation and understanding of God’s words to us so as to turn the Bible and our churches into a perpetuator of our lies.

Even so,
“In all things… Christ is proclaimed and in this I will rejoice, yes and I will rejoice.” Philippians 2?

Selah.

God, Father, Kind Shepherd. I bow before you in repentance. We, your children, the beneficiaries of your incredible sweetness, walk so carelessly over your magnificence and the beauty of the incredible gifts you’ve given us in preference and hope for some fleshly fulfilment. We, your children, the chosen ones who have been clothed in the good works of Christ would weigh down even our newest, littlest, and weariest brothers and sisters with lists of things to do rather than the sweetness of encouragement and joy in Jesus’ delight over us. We the prostitutes, saved from the gutter and beloved, spend our lives focused on our own beautification, with few thoughts of gazing at and enjoying the company of our sacrificial Lover. We the sheep, who have an all seeing gentle Shepherd have busied ourselves with making sure all the sheep behave themselves, rather than supporting and encouraging the littlest, weariest and weakest ones as we all follow our Shepherd together. I repent of all of it. I repent of the pride we feel when we think we’ve beautified one stray hair, on the body of one who has been washed and made alive by a Holy Judge. I repent that we have fed our fleshly human desires with a perverted religiosity and have felt superior to our own beloved brothers and sisters who do not live up to our superb following of man-made rules. I repent with trembling for all those we’ve lead astray with our distractions and lies. I repent with trembling for the souls who have been turned aside from the Good News of Christ because of the heavy burdens they see us walk under and place on each other in the name of the savior who came and took our burdens from us. I repent with trembling for the little children whose souls we’ve filled with impossible to-do lists rather than lists of the many perfect and wonderful things You are and things you’ve done for us. You, oh God, have seen and been patient with us, Your children, since the beginning of time. You have continued to love us and bless us and pursue us and answer our prayers. You have been faithful while we have been arrogantly faithless. Please forgive us of all of these things.

And in Jesus’ name, even these, the greatest of sins, are already gone. They were nailed to the cross where Christ took willingly the well deserved judgement, wrath and shame. In Jesus’ name, we are forgiven.
It is finished.
Precious child of God, Jesus kneels down to our bowed selves and lifts up our faces and looks into our tear filled eyes with His bright joyful eyes. He does not wish us to live in shame, there is no purgatory for these things, no punishments left to be given. He simply says, “You are forgiven, go and sin no more.”
It is finished.

Truly, God, Your love is everlasting and overflowing. Truly Your patience with us is beyond our comprehension, as You delight in your precious children, no matter how blind and fleshly we remain. Truly Your plans are enforced by Your own great mighty Arm alone, we cannot imagine that You can get anything done with your children running around spreading chaos, lies and fleshly prerogatives. And if that wasn’t enough, it is through these fleshly saints that you execute your great works, sing both our sins and Your victories through us, to bring about Your perfect will.

We praise and thank you Father, Shepherd, Savior, King, Judge and Creator, for your joyful forgiveness of our many wrongs. As saints on this side of the cross, each and every one of these have already been nailed to the cross and died with Jesus, each and every one of us have been raised up with Christ, without the stain of our wrongs, and under the everlasting smile of God, I Am. We worship as we turn these things around in our hearts and see Your beauty shining through all things. We worship One so holy and just who could love so much to come down and live in the gutter with us, to rescue us from these things. We worship the glory of God as revealed in the kindness of Jesus.

Please, remember that we are dust. Be merciful to us and gracious. We ask that you would fill our hearts with the remembrances of all You are and all You’ve done for us. Allow our eyes to see your Word in a fresh way. Please help us to see Your promises and gifts as you intended rather than as a list of expectations. Please, may these Truths jump off the page at us and become the first words out of our mouths. Please have mercy and allow us to see that you have taken our burdens and that Your heart desires us to rest in You and to enjoy the salvation, freedom, and promises You’ve lavished on us. Please help us be patient while we learn to see and think differently. Please help up quickly be able to turn these things around and so be able to help unburden each other. Give us words to put on posters in all our spaces, of your promises and the beauty of your character. Put pictures in our minds and through artists that convey the kindness of your Heart which is what leads to repentance and peace. Fill writers and orators with words to speak and tell stories of your approval and love and joy over us. Please remove the picture we have in our heads of you as a stern finger-wagger or of a strict task master. Please allow us to better see the pictures you’ve sprinkled throughout your Word which describes Your heart and allow us to form a new picture of You in our heads. Please help us when these Truths wound our flesh and our faith. Have mercy, and please remember to be gentle. Please pull up every last root of the lies that we have fed and watered and we trust you to plant Truth there instead.

We trust that You are working out your will in and through us, though our flesh still clings to us. We trust in your delight and love for us. And we look forward with great eagerness to the day when Your unmasked glory will be revealed to all people, when Jesus comes to be united with His bride and when we will finally be able to see and enjoy You in complete fulness.