Our society has become very self-centered. We have become self-centered in our marriages, in our relationship with our children, in our friendships, in our work, and in our politics. But sadly our self-absorption has not stopped there; it has moved into and consumed the most sacred portion of our lives – our faith.
Many people approach their relationship with God according to their own terms. They want to experience salvation in a particular way and they presume that God will accept it. They want to worship in a particular way and they presume that God will accept it. They want to make their faith secondary to everything else in life and they presume that God will be honored that they’ve made that much room for Him. And if for a moment someone suggests that God will accept anything less then they are immediately derided as a legalist who knows nothing of God’s grace.
The result of all this is a brand of Christianity that caters to those concerned only with entertainment and convenience. People want the blessings associated with Christianity but are only willing to accept Christianity how they want it and when they want it. It all sounds really good and perhaps that is why the majority of the religious world has fallen prey to the lie that we can come to God on our own terms and not His.
The problem with this thought process is that there is nothing anywhere in the Bible that supports it. In fact, to arrive at this conclusion you have to deliberately ignore some pretty blatant Bible teaching. And it is not difficult. Paul summed it up in a single verse – “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him” (Colossians 3:17).
The meaning behind this verse is clear to any objective soul. The universal expectation regarding anything we do or say is expected to be done according to the authority of Jesus Christ. That is it must be done with His approval and according to His terms. Anything less is unacceptable to God. Though many more could be mentioned, that single verse decimates the entertainment and convenience driven brand of Christianity that consumes us.
Instead we should seek to simply resemble Christianity as it is portrayed in the New Testament. In it we learn how we can become Christians, worship God, and practice Christianity and do it all the only way it can effectively be done – God’s way.
-Andy Brewer