That night, I made a decision.
I decided
that I would re-evaluate EVERYTHING I had been taught in religious circles.
Only these very few things would be held untouchable:
Jesus is God’s Son, equal with
God, born to a virgin.
Jesus paid the price for my sin
and rose again to conquer death and hell.
The
Bible is God’s Word.
The rest—everything I had been taught about life,
child-rearing, church, giving—would be fair game. I would dig it up and discard it if it were
found untrue. I am sure some would say I was back-sliding, that I was
rebellious, or that I had lost my faith. The only thing I rebelled against was
falsehood. The only things I lost were second-hand traditions that had kept me
bound to the task master of legalism.
While I never doubted the Bible’s truth, I knew I had to
replace the wrong interpretations
with correct interpretations. I
voraciously devoured blogs, books, and podcasts from other denominations, from
Christians living outside the organized church, and even from skeptics. All the
while, I continually asked God to show me the truth. I compared every idea to
the Bible. If they didn’t match, the idea was discarded.
On one of their missionary journeys, Paul and Silas traveled
to a city called Berea. Acts 17:11 tells us that “the Bereans were of more
noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with
great eagerness and examined the
Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” (NIV) They did not blindly accept the teachings
they heard. They studied for themselves to see if the teaching was true. I was
finally doing what I should have been doing all along.
This was the beginning of an awakening. I feel like I have
been coming out of a deep religious sleep. I have not arrived. The learning
always continues. My knowledge will be complete when I meet Jesus face to face. (I
Corinthians 13:12)
During this awakening I started to make the connection
between the Pharisees in Jesus’ day and the religious people of our day. The
Pharisees were supposed to be experts in the Law of Moses, but they had
polluted it with extra traditions and rules. I had been a modern-day Pharisee.
I had been taught by Pharisees. We looked good on the outside as we followed
our code of proper behavior. We were in church regularly. We attended all the
correct Bible studies. We gave our tithe the right way. We dressed modestly.
What did Jesus have to say about me and my fellow Pharisees? “…Unless your
righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you
will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:20 (NIV)
The Pharisees kept the law better than most. It was not enough. We can never be good enough to earn access to Jesus. Even
after we accept God’s gift of salvation, being good doesn’t release His power
into our lives. The Father knew that. He sent His perfect Son to pay the price
for our failure to be ”good enough”. He even sent his followers His own
presence in the form of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit teaches us truth and
enables us to walk in truth.
Jesus wasn’t kidding when He said his burden was easy and
His yoke was light. (Matthew 11:24-30) When all the man-made traditions and
rules are stripped away, all that’s left is pleasing the Father. He is pretty
straight forward in His expectations. Love God. Love others. Approach Him with
the humility of a child. What freedom!! There is no need to pretend to have all
the answers. When you love God and others with humility, He takes care of the rest.
Are all religious traditions wrong? No. Some are actually
very helpful. However, when I know the difference between the truth and
tradition, I become free. I am free to see traditions as they are—optional
guidelines set by men. I am free to follow God without worry. After all, HIS
opinion really is the only one that matters.
“Jesus said to the people who believed in Him,
‘You are truly my disciples if you keep obeying my
teachings.
And you will know the
truth, and the truth will set you free.'”
John 8:31-32
(NLT)
Emphasis
added.
--Carol
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