The Unbelievableness of the Believable Beliefs I Believed.

IS THE BELIEF WE BELIEVE A BELIEVABLE LIE

 For most of my life I though I knew what it meant to be a believer within the Community of the Redeemed.

Repent of my sins by saying the sinner's prayer.
Attend some segregated denomination building for the Sunday-programmed-event-driven meeting that was called Church.
Don't associate with sinner's.
Talk Christianized, act Christianized, dress Christianized, look Christianized.
Respect the denominated building as the “House of God”
Receive spiritual food from the trained denominated seminarian.
Obey the religious rules and regulations pertaining to the religion of choice.
Don't date non-christianized girls or girls belonging to a different denomination because they are not of “like faith”.
Don't go to dances.
Remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy, which for some reason was the first day of the week and not the seventh day.
Pay your tithes, because all true believers do.
My performance, good or bad, determined how much Gos loved me. After all, as children we sang in Sunday-school; “Be careful little hands what you do...little feet where you go...little eyes what you see...little tongue what you say...for the Father up above is looking down in love...so be careful little....what you do, what else was I to think!

However from studying the life of Christ without the influence of religious professionals, I ended up questioning what I believed about being a believer. What I discovered is that some of my “Christian beliefs” were actually misguided and inspired more by worldly religions philosophy and man-influenced ideas rather than the inspiration of written word of God.

It is normal that non-Christians have some misconceptions regarding God, but the do not have as much misunderstandings about God as some who grew up in religion do.
With all the rules religion sets up, it’s easy to think following them is the way to get God’s approval and love. But the truth is, trying to use your behavior to earn God’s love will not earn you God's love. He loves you despite your behavior.

Christ died for us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8). God’s love for you isn’t based on what you do or don’t do, it's based on His Son Jesus and what He has accomplished through the cross and His resurrection!

For the most part, going to church on Sunday is seen as just something that most people do. Worshipping God is often compartmentalized and sectioned off from the rest of our living and confined to Sunday. There is this idea that every Sunday you have to dress up in your Sunday best, polish your external appearance and behavior, put on a false smile and facade because you are going to the “house of God”.

But I found out that God is not interested outfit, He is interested in where my heart fits.  He is interested in my living life daily more than a facade I manufactured on a Sunday. He looked through my external facade and saw the internal struggle that I was going through. (1 Samuel 16:7).

Religion is responsible for sinner and saint alike, viewing Church as a building you go to along with what takes place in the building and not as the Community of the Redeemed living life daily in the Community of Humanity. The Bible talks about the Church as a living and breathing thing, not just a meeting that happens for two hours on a Sunday with some singing and preaching led by a one man spiritual elite. (Ephesians 2:19-22). We weren’t meant to love an event, we were meant to love people.

Sometimes, those of us who sit as pew-warmers each week treat the leaders as spiritually superior and God's generals who are more “spiritual” and more in tune with God and more knowledgeable about what God wants His people to know. This is part of why we are so surprised and shattered when religious leaders fall...we forget that they are sinful human beings, just as much in need of God's grace as sinners are.

God empowers the weak for His glory. And He has empower you. You don’t have to work yourself up to be some sort of spiritual superman of some denomination in order to serve Him. In fact if you do not serve people from a servant heart you are not serving Him, no matter how many bible degrees is behind your name or no matter what position you aspire to in the hierarchy structure of religion.

Religion treats the Bible as a rulebook. But when we read it that way, we will lose interest quickly because there is no relationship established.

The Bible isn’t about rules; it’s about Jesus. It’s designed to be used in the context of relationship. The goal in reading scripture shouldn’t be about formulating our denominational beliefs and doctrines, but to fellowship with Jesus and to learn about God along the way.

Are you fed up with church as usual? The good news is there is hope, because there is truth. And the truth has the power to set you free (John 8:32).