When we look into and study the different denominations that exist as organizations within Christ’s Church, we find century old arguments that seem to have created irreconcilable gaps. Sure, we all believe that Christ’s death and resurrection was essential, but the various additional steps required for salvation, wedge us apart. Yet, I present the idea that perhaps there is one major flaw which binds us all closer together than the things that separate us.

Second only to the proclamation of Christ crucified, the battle cry of churches and Christians from all places and across all times, as far as I can tell, is one of external human transformation. Not the internal transforming which God speaks to and promises He works out in us over our lives, but the external behaviors for which we are to pray, to use the power of the Spirit, to obsess over into oblivion.

On the reformed side, we especially would scoff at this statement. We proudly proclaim we are not like the Catholics who say, up front, that Christ’s sacrifice + works + choosing faith = salvation. And we proudly proclaim that we are not like the non-reformed beliefs which say that Christ’s sacrifice + choosing faith = Salvation. Yet, haven’t you heard of it happening, that when someone’s life and personality and choices don’t match up with a given set of expectations, their very salvation is called into question? Of course it would never be suggested that they could have lost their salvation, but it will be up for debate on whether they were ever saved to begin with. In the end, this reveals a living breathing view of God and man which determines salvation by works. Directly in opposition to beliefs we think we hold so dearly.

And so I ask. Is there really a great difference between one set of believers who are upfront about the ways in which you must work for your salvation and the opposing set of believers who preach a free salvation, all while in practice, judging your works to determine your salvation? Aren’t these just two different ways to say Christ + something = Salvation? What is our obsession with our own participation in our salvation? With our moral choices and external behaviors? We claim it is of God as set out for us in His Word.

And so I ask a few other questions:

How is it, that from a Bible that is 80% full of:
– God’s promises as well as their many fulfillments and encouragement to keep hoping on the ones yet to be accomplished
– never ending lists of things He’s done for all His kids throughout all the thousands of years of history
– descriptions of His overflowing love and His precious, gentle and spectacular character
Yet, 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 everything in Christ, sealed by the Holy Spirit of our Creator, a relationship defined by love and hope in promises, yet we choose to fill our homes and churches and classrooms with posters of lists of things that our little ones should be doing, weighing them down with many burdens? Shouldn’t we be plastering our spaces with the character and promises and works and gifts of God, building a foundation for the faith He gives to them in His sweet kindness and mercy?

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 our little believers? Why are we not encouraging them instead to memorize a list of God’s promises, both the ones fulfilled and the ones to come?

How is it that we have made into a burden the Sermon on the Mount and the “Beatitudes”, a speech in which Jesus overthrew and obliterated the wicked beliefs held by His dastardly Pharisees and Sadducees, the very ones Christ pronounced a greater woe than to Sodom and Gomorrah for burdening His people? This speech where Jesus made promises. Promises not for those who are clever or rich or have something to offer, but promises to those with less than nothing. Yet we twist these promises and comforts into yet another list of things we ought to try to do and be. Again, teaching our precious children and baby believers, the exact opposite of the heart of God, as revealed through Jesus and the Spirit.

In the same vein, we take the “fruit of the Spirit”, which was was inspired by God to communicate promises of the many things He is already actively working out in our hearts by the power of His kind Spirit, and we have turned this list into one we must work out in ourselves. Another poster with a to-do list. Another way to burden God’s little ones.

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

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

Why is it that God’s people as a whole, spend so much time, energy, thought, and 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? Is that what Jesus taught with His time and energy when He was here?

Do we really believe that the Almighty Creator of the Universe, the Holy Judge, the I Am, gave up His throne and glory, lived a perfect life and then took the whole of God’s wrath, not to save His friends but to save His rebellious enemies, all so His beloved children would then spend their lives nitpicking their actions and obsessively striving 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 which we deem not even worth feeding to our own baby Christians?

Yet, this is how we think, this is what we believe as proved by the percentage of time we spend obsessing over these things in sermons, studies, prayers, writings, and even worship songs. This is how we see God and His precious gifts and promises. We would go so far as to say it is even sinful to spend too much time on “only” these things. We so little see God as He has shown Himself through His Word to us and through the words and life of Jesus. We so little value His love, works, and promises for us. And these false beliefs we have woven into our very interpretation and understanding of God’s Word, so as to turn the very Bible and our church experiences into a perpetuator of our lies.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12

“Father, forgive {us}, we know not what we are doing.” Luke 23:34

“I do believe, help my unbelief” Mark 9:24

Even so,
“In all things… Christ is proclaimed and in this I will rejoice, yes and I will rejoice.” Philippians 1:18

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, set apart and beloved, spend our lives focused attempting some kind of man made 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 away our burdens from us onto Himself. 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 and all that 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.

Before each 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 how 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 we, fleshly sinful saints that you execute your great works, using 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 You turn these things around in our hearts and we 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, inspire them to 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 all through 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.