"And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."
Revelation 21: 4 NKJV
I'd like to take a deep dive this week into another of the prevailing teachings of Christianity. This is one which I'm sure that many of us, myself included, have been raised on. This is the belief that everyone will give an account of all they have done come the infamous "judgement day." That's right, not only is God a God of love {1 John 4:8}, who has provided for the death and rebirth of His children. He is also a God who keeps a ledger of all which we do so that He can use our trespasses against us later. Can anyone see the mistake in that belief? How is it that we can live IN a God who loves us all the while living in fear that He will use what we have done to somehow punish us in the end? Was this Gods intent all along? Is God a Indian giver of some sort? Can God lie? All of these questions become relevant once we open the can of worms which is the belief that God is somehow keeping score of all we've ever done. So, can we ever lose our salvation? NO! Our salvation is the free gift of the Lord {Ephesians 2:8-9}. We have not received our salvation through the works we've done {Titus 3:5}. Knowing this, do we believe that God would suddenly go back on His word and condemn those He once saved? I'm sorry, but I've never bought into the entire God keeping score teaching. For at the heart of this belief is the desire of man to control the church. When I looked into the history of the modern church I came across something I've become a bit familiar with. That is, the Nicene Creed of 325 AD. This was the result of the emperor Constantine seeking to control the Christians of his day. What is the history of the Nicene Creed? To "Provide a doctrinal statement of correct belief." Yes, that's right, the Nicene Creed was all about telling Christians back in the day what they could believe in. It is from this council that the teachings of the modern mainstream church emerged. So, do you still think that many of the teachings of the church are God inspired?
Last night I dreamed I died and stood outside those pearly gates
When suddenly I realized there must be some mistake
If they know half the things I've done they'll never let me in
~George Strait, A Love Without End Amen~
So, is God indeed keeping score on all that we do? I don't believe that. Frankly, I believe that this teaching is used by the mainstream church to somehow keep believers on the straight and narrow path of goodness. Will we be more likely to stray if we know that everything we do is being recorded against us? Maybe not. However, I've also talked with more than a few believers who at one time or another have felt guilty for what they perceive to be their sin which they will need to account for eventually. But hasn't Jesus already provided for the resolution of our sin issues? The apostle Paul inspires us to consider ourselves "Dead to sin"{Romans 6:6-11}. So, if we are indeed dead to sin through the works of Christ, what do we have to feel guilty about? If we are indeed dead to sin through the works of Christ, what is it that God is marking against us? What do you believe that God sees when He looks upon you? Well, He created you in His image {Genesis 1:27}. He breathed into us the breath of life {Genesis 2:7}. This is itself should remind us that we share a intimate bond with the Lord. Yet Paul goes deeper into this when he relates to us that it is Christ Jesus who now lives in us {Galatians 2:20}. So, when God looks upon you what does He see? He sees His own Son! Would God indeed provide a record of the mistakes of His own Son that He might hold them against Him later? I doubt it. When we look at the teachings of the church compared beside the finished works of Christ Jesus we may come away with a very different perspective. God is more interested in getting you to realize who you are in Him. Whatever it is you feel you've done, in Gods eyes your ledger is blank.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
2 Corinthians 5: 17 NKJV
~Scott~
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