I think most will agree that our modern Christianity has found that "feel good" preaching fills seats and opens wallets. I have no statistics on this, perhaps someone can help me out here, but if we remove every scripture that deals with correction, with warnings, with exhortations, or with instructions as to how to live godly in Christ, what per cent would we have left?
A third? Who knows, but it is not a lot. Yet, if we are honest with ourselves, that two-thirds is such a downer. It seems to make us feel guilty, powerless, like, well.... failures.
Should that not send up a red flag to us? Of course we have itching ears, lol. Who wants to listen to how we need to do better, try harder, act more grateful, when it seems impossible.... no, it IS impossible.
Ah.... there's the mother lode we have been digging towards. This is where our REAL red flag needs to be waved in our face. What red flag, you ask? That our mindset about holiness has been skewed and then skewered.... by unbelief in the clear promises of our God.
Why would any want to subject themselves to 'negative preaching" if the exhortations and instructions are pointless because the goal, the target, is impossible to wver hit. After all, who can stop sinnimg? So why try?
Makes perfect sense..... if it were impossible. It is not. We have simply not believed that God can and will keep us from falling to temptation, can and will change us into His likeness, can and will make us abundantly fruitful, can and will cause us to walk in victroy over the world, the flesh and the devil. We are guilty of limiting the Holy one of Israel by our unbelief, And worse, we have no hunger for that to change.
Well, guess what? Our God loves us far too much to let us languish in the religious doldrums, when we have a wedding to be prepared for. Those who long to please Him with their lives, their words, their actions and yet who find that Romans 7 is the inevitable result, are about to be gently awakened to the glorious truth of how we walk in victory.
Those who are quite content to mingle a bit with the world, or with a bit of sin (because, after all, no one is perfect, right?) will be awakened more persuasively, perhaps, but God's motive is always love, even if He has to spank us.
We will all awaken. Even the tares. We have had a Christianity that costs us nothing and delivers very little.... healed only slightly, the Bible calls it.
But something new is beginning to happen in His bride, We are slowly but surely being awakened to is true Christianity... the one that costs us everything and offers Him in us in return, and Him is us... our new nature, can and will be caused to obey Him, just like He promised!
And brothers and sisters, it will be GLORIOUS.
blessings to all,
Gideon