Hey Everyone,
I read something in a book and I thought it would be good to share, especially since I've had some conversations with people recently about how the heart condition of a person is changed once they become a believer. What follows are excerpts from "The Misunderstood God" by Darin Hufford, pp. 146-147.
"We want to believe that God rejoices in truth, but strangely enough, when I ask anyone if God rejoices in the truth about them, they almost always cringe. We are taught that the truth about us is B-A-D. We're even encouraged to abandon our hearts for His because there's nothing good in them.... We are bombarded with Scriptures about how evil our hearts are and how we should never trust them because 'the heart is deceitful.' Once we buy into this nonsense, we begin to behave like a castrated dog. We become docile and obedient.... It's a fine teaching if obedience is what you're after. But when spiritual procreation is needed, you end up with a bunch of impotent and sterile followers. And sadly, we accept this willingly because we're told that God doesn't rejoice in the truth about us.
"Think about that for a moment. If you are like most people, you probably believe that God knows the truth about you and He's repulsed by it. You think this because you're certain He's kept track of where you've been and what you've done.... Religion has taught us to confuse the facts our of lives with the truth about ourselves. You are not your sin.... The truth about you has nothing to do with what you have done or where you have been....
"God has taken your heart of flesh and given you a new heart of love. He has made you a new creation.... What sense would it make for you to reject your heart when you ask Jesus to live in it?"
I want to highlight two ideas here:
1. If you're the type of person who is introspective and tends to see your failures, please, please, please, realize that God does not remind you of your sins. It is not His heart for you to dwell on them. Yes, you may have sinned, but in Christ, God does not hold your sins against you. Nor does He call on you to exercise self-discipline to overcome sin. Why see yourself in a different light than how God sees you? As the author here might say, consider the truth of your position in Christ over your the fact of your sins, which God no longer remembers.
2. Did you see the author's description of how believing a lie about us can cripple us? The lie of our sinful status before God creates believers who are "impotent and sterile", when what's needed are believers who engage in "spiritual procreation". That means if we have a sin conscience, we feel condemned and unable to share our faith. I've seen that play out in so many people, it's ridiculous. Unfortunately, instead of loving others and reproducing their faith, those who feel condemnation within themselves usually never experience the joy of seeing another person grow in Christ due to their influence or, what may be even worse, they themselves walk away from a relationship with God.
If you're in Christ, find out the scriptural truth about you and stick to it.
Grace=Peace,
Jeremy
I read something in a book and I thought it would be good to share, especially since I've had some conversations with people recently about how the heart condition of a person is changed once they become a believer. What follows are excerpts from "The Misunderstood God" by Darin Hufford, pp. 146-147.
"We want to believe that God rejoices in truth, but strangely enough, when I ask anyone if God rejoices in the truth about them, they almost always cringe. We are taught that the truth about us is B-A-D. We're even encouraged to abandon our hearts for His because there's nothing good in them.... We are bombarded with Scriptures about how evil our hearts are and how we should never trust them because 'the heart is deceitful.' Once we buy into this nonsense, we begin to behave like a castrated dog. We become docile and obedient.... It's a fine teaching if obedience is what you're after. But when spiritual procreation is needed, you end up with a bunch of impotent and sterile followers. And sadly, we accept this willingly because we're told that God doesn't rejoice in the truth about us.
"Think about that for a moment. If you are like most people, you probably believe that God knows the truth about you and He's repulsed by it. You think this because you're certain He's kept track of where you've been and what you've done.... Religion has taught us to confuse the facts our of lives with the truth about ourselves. You are not your sin.... The truth about you has nothing to do with what you have done or where you have been....
"God has taken your heart of flesh and given you a new heart of love. He has made you a new creation.... What sense would it make for you to reject your heart when you ask Jesus to live in it?"
I want to highlight two ideas here:
1. If you're the type of person who is introspective and tends to see your failures, please, please, please, realize that God does not remind you of your sins. It is not His heart for you to dwell on them. Yes, you may have sinned, but in Christ, God does not hold your sins against you. Nor does He call on you to exercise self-discipline to overcome sin. Why see yourself in a different light than how God sees you? As the author here might say, consider the truth of your position in Christ over your the fact of your sins, which God no longer remembers.
2. Did you see the author's description of how believing a lie about us can cripple us? The lie of our sinful status before God creates believers who are "impotent and sterile", when what's needed are believers who engage in "spiritual procreation". That means if we have a sin conscience, we feel condemned and unable to share our faith. I've seen that play out in so many people, it's ridiculous. Unfortunately, instead of loving others and reproducing their faith, those who feel condemnation within themselves usually never experience the joy of seeing another person grow in Christ due to their influence or, what may be even worse, they themselves walk away from a relationship with God.
If you're in Christ, find out the scriptural truth about you and stick to it.
Grace=Peace,
Jeremy
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