Bingo. I heard a sharing from a brother recently that his past church experiences had "rededication" at the end of service. I also observed this kind of services in my life as well. I didn't realize this is putting guilt and condemnation on believers to perform (work) to please God in their walk. Thanks be to Abba for the revelation of Jesus.
The church is missing a lot on the person of Christ revealed in the Bible. They preached a lot on morality ( do's and don'ts ), not His finished work.
A pastor shared on the Jesus demand on discipleship ( taking up your cross etc ) happens because people want to make Lord Jesus as a model for living, not seeking Him as He is. That's why He said that to wake them up on the impossible standards of God should they choose to.
I don't know how many times I have "rededicated myself to God" and you know what I have found out? It does not work. I hear preachers say all the time, "You have made Jesus your savior, now it is time to make Him your Lord!" The implication is that if you make Him Lord and follow all his commans (to the best of your ability of course) you will be a more productive Christian. But this is an exercise in futilty, no one can obey Biblical law (as Romans 3:20 makes clear). The only thing the Law can do is show me my sin. But the entire emphasis of so much prwaching today is self (do more, pray more, fast more, obey God more). For someone like me who has struggled with addiction most of my life, this brought me so much misery, because I could never obey the Law enough, that I simply thought that I was not "committed" enough. I stopped going to church, I was feeling totally hopeless, then I realized that it is all about God and His grace and me tusting Him, and that no matter how deep my sin, His grace was even deeper and able to keep me whole. Thank God for His grace through Jesus Christ.
Hi Steve,
ReplyDeleteBingo. I heard a sharing from a brother recently that his past church experiences had "rededication" at the end of service. I also observed this kind of services in my life as well.
I didn't realize this is putting guilt and condemnation on believers to perform (work) to please God in their walk. Thanks be to Abba for the revelation of Jesus.
The church is missing a lot on the person of Christ revealed in the Bible. They preached a lot on morality ( do's and don'ts ), not His finished work.
A pastor shared on the Jesus demand on discipleship ( taking up your cross etc ) happens because people want to make Lord Jesus as a model for living, not seeking Him as He is. That's why He said that to wake them up on the impossible standards of God should they choose to.
I don't know how many times I have "rededicated myself to God" and you know what I have found out? It does not work. I hear preachers say all the time, "You have made Jesus your savior, now it is time to make Him your Lord!" The implication is that if you make Him Lord and follow all his commans (to the best of your ability of course) you will be a more productive Christian. But this is an exercise in futilty, no one can obey Biblical law (as Romans 3:20 makes clear). The only thing the Law can do is show me my sin. But the entire emphasis of so much prwaching today is self (do more, pray more, fast more, obey God more). For someone like me who has struggled with addiction most of my life, this brought me so much misery, because I could never obey the Law enough, that I simply thought that I was not "committed" enough. I stopped going to church, I was feeling totally hopeless, then I realized that it is all about God and His grace and me tusting Him, and that no matter how deep my sin, His grace was even deeper and able to keep me whole. Thank God for His grace through Jesus Christ.
ReplyDeleteI am the Rededication Queen, lol! I am so doneo with that.
ReplyDelete