John 7:14-18 (ESV)
14About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching. 15The Jews therefore marveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning,d when he has never studied?” 16So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. 17 If anyone’s will is to do God’se will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. 18The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood.
Most theology begins with the careful observation of patterns. Although many world religions do not know the God of the Bible, they know many truths and something of His creative power, character, wisdom and the life He has animated all things with. This is called natural theology. Common sense dictates that when we see intelligent design, we attribute it to a creator. The problem lies in who we attribute Creator status to. Many false spirits claim to be the Designer and raise up prophets in their names, but the truth is there is only one God, revealed to us in sacred scripture.
Historically, the people of the covenants: Old and New — Jews and Christians, have run into different problems. We cling so tightly to what God has done, that we form superstitions, doctrines and theologies around His past movements, believing we can tap into divine power as a scientist taps into natural laws. Folks love to quote scripture and stand on passages that they believe will meet their needs, not consulting God in the process while demanding that He move on their behalf. One of the most innovative things is the repeated quoting of scripture for a desired outcome. Many think they can bind Him to select verses of scripture as one might bind a created thing to a rope or chain. Folks I take no pleasure in saying this, but such actions are dead works at best, at worst — sorcery. God will not be handled or managed by us. We should rejoice in what He has done and be filled with joy regarding the untold wonders yet to be revealed.
The Christian walk is a walk of yielding to God via His spirit. The idea of yielding means you have a general sense of direction regarding where you are going and you follow the things that God has revealed to you to date. We allow the scriptures, our hearts, minds, instructors and experiences to teach us about faith. We move based on these instructions, but we always allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us and we should always submit to the instructions we receive.
The majority of believers are so locked into what God did in the past that they gear their lives toward attempts to recapture these personal or collective movements. In their obsession they miss what he is doing. Gideon sounds like many believers today when he had this discussion with the Angel of the Lord in Judges 6:12-14 (NIV):
12When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”
13“Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.”
14The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”
You see Gideon clung to a God of the past who he believed had abandoned his generation. His theology was dispirited — void of any hope in the future. Believers today cling to hope in a decaying world replete of all the things scripture condemns. But let me caution all the doom and gloom preachers — the day is still ours. We simply need to see the Risen Christ. The work continues. He is not done, nor has He abandoned his people. Perhaps our view is simply obscured by our theology. Christ had this discussion with the Jews of His day. They were clinging to the theology they created from Moses words, refusing any instruction beyond it. Jesus revealed who he was time and time again. In John 5:16-44 Jesus turned the table and laid out His claim to complete equality with the Father — divinity. He pointed out that Moses only had part of the revelation of who God is; yet, He came to complete the narrative. In short, He rebuked them for taking the partial and making it into a complete picture of God. This incensed them and they sought to kill Him, rejecting perfection in the process. Jesus words in John 5:45 — 47 should make us shudder.
45 “But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. 46 If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. 47 But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?”
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Are you placing your hope in someone other than Christ? Here are some options for you to choose from. I call it Yellow Pages Christianity. You can believe in…
1. A theology that brings you comfort and peace
2. A theology given to you by your parents
3. A theology that is consistent with your ethnicity, culture or national psyche
4. A theology that empowers you and is consistent with your personality and preferences
5. The Living God who will lead and guide you all the days of your life
I choose option five. Be warned, God is not subject to your theology. Be encouraged, God still saves in spite of our bad theology. It starts with a revelation of the risen Christ, and it continues as we seek to know Him more. Our erroneous theology should end where revelation begins lest we miss the mark. Our musings about God cannot produce life. Revelation via the Spirit produces life. God the Father has uttered the most important things that need to be said through His Son. Man’s doctrine produces death, but the Son produces life. Christ will give you life and He desires to do just that. Make Him your shepherd not your judge.
John 5:19-22 (NIV)
19 Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. 21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. 22 Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.
God will reveal what’s next for you and His people. We just need to listen.