I am no theologian, nor have I sat under any formal theological training or attended seminary, other than attending one semester at a Bible College. So pursuing God from an intellectual angle was never part of my personal DNA, and you can take from that what you will. (Heads Up- This is going to be a little longer than normal today, but please hang with me here]

I was personally brought up in a home where attending ‘church’ was a regular practice, but I would not say I was ‘indoctrinated’ with any particular ‘strand of denomination beliefs’. I was simply a ‘Catholic’ and had a general familiarity in the basics of the “Christian Faith”; (Apostles Creed, anyone? IYKYK)

I never even owned or read a Bible until I was 19 years old, and the first one I dove into was a paperback version of the New Testament that I found in a bathroom one night while attending a party at a Fraternity house... and I was stoned out of my mind.

All that to say that when I had my first ‘come to Jesus’ experience after spending some time reading through that copy of the NT, it was not like I had a lot to ‘unlearn’ when it came to having strong doctrinal beliefs which many sincere people are raised up to believe, depending on their denominational ‘label’, i.e. Baptist, Pentecostal, Reformed, Methodist, Church of Christ, etc.

Jesus gave quite an eye-opening message to a group of Pharisees one time, pointing out how they were guilty of “making the word of God of no effect... through their traditions which had been handed down’. He said they do this because they ‘reject (or lay aside) the commandments of God so they may keep their traditions’ (man-made doctrines) (Mark 7:13,9).

I don’t think we fully appreciate what a remarkable statement that is...that we have the ability to do that with the word of God (nullify), which we are told is ‘living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, able to pierce the division of soul and spirit...and is a discerner of the thoughts and Intents of the heart’...not to mention it will ‘endure forever’ and never ‘return void but will accomplish what it is sent out to do’ (Heb. 4:12; Isa. 55:11; 1 Pet. 1:25). It also can 'work in us' as well (1 Thess. 2:13)

But I do know what it is to be ‘indoctrinated’ with a handful of scriptures where you become so entrenched with a particular way of thinking, that if/when you’re presented with other Bible verses that don’t ‘fit’ with that particular way of seeing something, your first tendency is to reject or refute what you are hearing. And those other verses come from the same ‘Book’ that you formed your doctrinal belief around. You can read that again just to make sure we’re on the same page here.

You do realize that the religious establishment of the day, the very ones Jesus came to ‘set free’...rejected the Living ‘Word’ Himself (John 1:1,11,14)

As I have continued to study and spend time ‘searching the scriptures daily to see if these things (which I’ve been sharing here) are true’ (Acts 17:11), I’ve come to see some of our ‘doctrinal hangups’ from a new perspective; and I’m sure that might make some folks uneasy, but allow me to explain...

I know how easy it is to want to align oneself with being a ‘devout Baptist’, or a ‘Calvinist’, or whatever the label...maybe raised in the fine traditions of the ‘Reformed Protestant Movement’. Perhaps you are among those ‘Holy Ghost filled Pentecostals’ ...and if someone doesn’t ‘speak in tongues’ then they probably don’t have much to offer you in order to be ‘further enlightened’. I still recall being raised as a ‘good Catholic’ and actually felt sorry for all those ‘Protestants’ who were not a member of the ‘true mother church’.

But in studying some more on the Reformation and some of the basic tenets of what a ‘Reformed Christian Protestant’ adheres to, I came across an interesting statement that I can’t get away from, which basically reads this way, in how they view ‘moral conduct’- “Reformed Christians view obedience to Gods’ law as a grateful response to salvation, not as a means to earn it.” (For the record- ‘salvation’ is not something we ‘earn’ or ‘work for’!]

When I came across this statement not long ago, a ‘light came on’ for me and helped me to better understand what I’ve been hearing a lot of in recent years. I don’t have much background in those ‘reformed circles’ since much of my ‘spiritual heritage’ after coming to Jesus was influenced more by ‘fundamentalist/evangelical’ teachings, along with a good dose of ‘spirit filled/Charismatic/Pentecostal’ persuasions’. No judging now! And the church we are currently attending has its roots in the Presbyterian camp.

So it finally occurred to me that there seems to be two schools of thought, or ‘camps’ that many people tend to fall in when it comes to recognizing their ‘sinfulness’, and how one should deal with it after coming to Jesus, who supposedly...came to ‘save’ and deliver us from our sinful condition (John 8:32-36; Luke 4:18; Acts 26:18).  Let’s see which camp you might belong to-

The first camp includes those professing believers who continue to see themselves as vile, wretched sinners in whom ‘no good thing’ dwells, and they will always remain as such...But...if they are continually reminded of how much God loves them (in spite of their ongoing sinful condition) ...then hopefully they will in turn begin to ‘do better’ when it comes to ‘obeying God’ as a way of showing their appreciation for receiving God’s ‘gift of salvation’. The question of whether they are ‘saved’ or not is off the table and not even open for discussion. And whether they fully obey God's word (commandments) or not... is not the issue here, because we sure don’t want folks to think that ‘obeying’ God has anything to do with whether one is ‘saved’ or not. (I'm still not sure how Matt. 7:21 and Heb. 5:9 figure in to that line of thinking).

What becomes the sticking point for me is this idea that somehow ... anyone of us have within us the ability or power to just ‘change’ because we come to realize how much God loves us. In other words, what I'm hearing is we ought to ‘want to obey God’...as an expression of our gratitude for doing what He did for us. And yet...most will admit they continue to sin, and disappoint God by failing Him regularly. So then we are reminded once again of how it is ‘all grace’ that ‘saves’ us, anyway. And I will come back to this topic of ‘grace’...later.

Then there is the ‘other camp’ where we are admonished and warned and even ‘threatened’ (or ‘guilted’) with the ‘fear of God’ and the need for us to ‘get right’ with God, and ‘If we are really saved’ we’ll walk that straight and narrow...or else’. We’ll have regular ‘revival services’ and opportunities to regularly... ‘re-commit’ or ‘rededicate’... as we once again ‘try harder to be better’. If you just read more, pray more, and attend church more...it should get easier to ‘live for God’. But...at the end of the day...we still fall on our faces and see our sinful condition and throw ourselves upon His unending mercy and grace.

So it boils down to whichever camp you are in, you are either ‘motivated by love’ or ‘motivated by fear’ to ‘live righteously’ ...yet are constantly reminded that none of us can do that, or so we are taught. And at the end of the day, folks in both camps are still relying on God’s ‘grace’ which is commonly perceived to be some mystical ‘covering of kindness’ where God is basically saying He’s going to give you this gift even though you don’t deserve it’...simply because He’s that kind of a ‘good, loving God’. Call it 'extra credit', where you are given 'unearned points' that enables you to 'pass the test'.  But you at least have to at some point, ‘confess’ or ‘say with your mouth’ that you ‘believe in Him’, and that you ‘really believe and trust in your heart’, which if you do...should produce some decent and varying results within you.

I will add here that growing up as a ‘Catholic’, I can’t say I ever gave much thought or consideration to what it meant to ‘live for God’, or what happens to us after we die; but there was just this general assumption on my part that I would automatically ‘go to heaven’ if/when I died and that God would be tickled to have me there.

Let’s be honest here...what percentage of funerals have you ever attended where you are assured from the pulpit that the person being ‘laid to rest’...is now ‘in a better place’? I’m guessing nearly most, if not all funerals...convey that message...regardless of whether the deceased person’s evident ‘faith or fruit’ (or lack thereof) ...was called into question.

I have to ask you this: Would you ever in your right mind jump out of an airplane with a parachute...without having some assurance that chute would open and deliver you safely to the ground? Imagine being asked by the jumpmaster just before you took that ‘leap’ from the plane at 10,000’...”Where did you get that parachute from, and who packed it for you?” And you respond: “Oh, I found it at some street corner garage sale...got a good deal on it!” Then, you give the ‘thumbs up’ and ‘hope for the best’ as you jump out into the unknown.

Friends...I have a feeling there’s a lot of people who are stepping into eternity with a similar mindset...just ‘hoping for the best’ and are just going to ‘trust in a loving God’ to welcome them home.

So...where does ‘grace’ figure in to all this? Join me tomorrow and we’ll look at that.