Religion's Crime Against God

There are thousands of different types of jobs in America and the world. Every job has a description of what must be done to fulfill the owner’s/boss’s requirements. This principle is older than the hills.

When workers take jobs and then don’t adhere to what is expected of them, they may get a warning or two and then if they still don’t perform as to what is expected, they may have to be dismissed. There is nothing new, strange or unfair about that practice. It is just common sense.

Let us rightfully apply that principle to the Christian life. When we decide to become Christians through faith in Jesus Christ, there is an instruction book to describe what is expected of us as we continue to fulfill our jobs/positions as workers for the Kingdom of God.

The name of that detailed instruction book is called the New Testament (NT) of the Christian Bible. I ask this question: what percentage of people who claim to be Christians know what the job description is in that book? Answer: it is anyone’s guess, even though I believe it is not very many. Remember this: it gives us all the instructions of how we must live in order to preserve our positions as children of God.

I ask this question: why are many Christians ignorant of what is inside that book? I would guess because they don’t believe it is necessary. And then, those who do occasionally read God’s instruction book come across commands or teachings that seem too difficult or absurd (unreasonable) to obey; therefore, they most often are ignored.

God has many enemies who are always trying to trip us up in our devotion to Jesus Christ; one of the subtlest and most persistent is known as ignorance. I mean ignorance of what is commanded in the NT. Chances are that without knowing what it teaches, most will not be living in conformity with our job description.

Perfection must be every genuine Christian’s holy grail (an ultimate, but elusive goal, pursued as a quest). 2nd Corinthians 13:9: “. . . and our prayer is for your perfection.” 2nd Corinthians 13:11: “Aim for perfection.” Matthew 5:48: “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Should we take that command for perfection lightly and just pretend that it doesn’t apply to all Christians? How many Christian bloggers reading this post know about the commands that teach that we all must be aiming for perfection by the way we live and believe? There are dozens of such verses. Do you know what they are? I will repeat myself: if anyone does not know what teachings are in the NT, they have one foot on a banana peel and the other on the borders of hell. It is that important to read or listen on CDs and study the NT every day until we intimately know what our Holy Book of job descriptions commands, so that we will not be ignorant any longer. Once we have read the complete NT, it would be a good habit to set aside a certain time every day to continue studying the NT, to make up for what we may have not fully understood or forgotten, since it has many complex principles. Another idea is to highlight all the verses that seem ridiculous to obey, according to the standards in America.

Once we are doing that, then comes the difficult part of incorporating those instructions into our lives. The only reason that teaching is in there is so that we will know and obey exactly what our job description teaches. Never forget this: God’s real enemy is NT ignorance on the part of many who claim Christianity as their religion. That ignorance is inspired by the evil ones who continually and softly whisper, “Fear not; all is well; you are in good hands.” As you probably know, Satan gets his way by using fine-sounding deceptions. Don’t be tricked. Don’t avoid making the NT your pathway to the new life.

I guarantee you will never hear these aforementioned words from any pulpit or from most, if not all, other sources of Christian teachings. To combat that silent denial of mainstream Christianity, it is our place to fulfill our duty as disciples of Christ. That means we must, I say must, desire to be the very best Christians possible. Remember, Jesus Christ is our role model, and He was and still is a perfect man. What we are talking about is a form of Christianity that has no invisible holes in it. That is genuine Christianity. How many of us actively have Him as our only role model?

This paragraph is worthy of repeating: now let’s get back to secular work. When starting on the job and a certain type of work is very hard to perform, many times a worker ignores it. When that happens, what will the outcome be to his/her job? Most likely he/she will be fired. It is not much different in the spiritual world.

You see, because of our faith, we were chosen for eternal life, and then as evidence of our faith, we must go to work to continue to further what Jesus Christ started. Our work will not be easy, because most of it will be contrary to our sinful human nature--doing what comes naturally. If the evidence of our faith is not there, our faith in our Savior will be in question.

This Biblical blog has openly and purposely displayed the majority of the essential, hard-edged verses throughout the 274 posts thus far published, which are hardly ever--more like never--mentioned by the clergy or even the laity. Many of these verses do not command trivial matters, but all-important principles; when left out, the remainder of the NT teaching and our faith will be on shaky ground.

Let me give just a few verses only as a preview of what the NT contains. These verses are not the type that will make us giggle with joy, but will let us know that we have a destination that will be determined by how we live, which is either eternal and blissful life or the damnation of everlasting and painful death. Obedience to these verses will make the difference.

Ephesians 2:10: “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God has prepared in advance for us to do.”

Acts 20:35: “In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

1st Corinthians 16:10: “. . . for he is carrying on the work of the Lord, just as I am.”

Actually, there are several dozen verses telling us that we must continue to do the work of the Lord. If anyone wants a list, please contact me.

Hebrews 5:14: “He [Jesus Christ] became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.”

Matthew 19:23: ". . . I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of heaven."

1 Corinthians: 15:58: ". . . Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord . . . ."

Luke 16:15: "What is highly valued among men is detestable in God's sight."

Luke 6:35: “But love your enemies, do good to them . . ."

Luke 12:33: "Sell your possessions and give to the poor."

Galatians 5:14: "Love your neighbor as yourself."

Ephesians 5:1: "Be imitators of God . . ."

Luke 6:24: "But woe to you who are rich."

Philippians 2:3: ". . . but in humility consider others better than yourselves."

Philippians 2:5: "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus . . ."

Luke 14:26: "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple."

James 4:4: ". . . Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God."

1 Peter 1:14: "Be holy, because I am holy."

1 Peter 2:21: ". . . Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps."

1 John 3:9: "No one who is born of God will continue to sin . . ."

Ephesians 5:1: "Be imitators of God . . ."

Philippians 2:3: ". . . consider others better than yourselves."

Matthew 10:36: "A man's enemies will be the members of his own household."

Luke 12:19-20: "And I’ll say to myself, ‘You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat drink and be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you . . ."

Luke 18:18: "A certain ruler asked him, ‘Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Answer: Luke 18:22: "Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’" As one can plainly see, there are prerequisites to eternal life, but only to confirm faith.

In conclusion: please, do not think that I am implying with the above-mentioned verses that newcomers and slackers must know what is expected of them and be able to transform their lives overnight. That would be almost impossible. What the NT is saying, and I agree, is to continue to grow in the knowledge, love, goodness and works of how we must live to conform to NT teachings. That is the work of people who claim Christianity as their religion. More than that, if it were possible, is not necessary.

If some disagree with the aforementioned expectation for Christians, tell everyone what should replace it.

# posted by JC @ 12:49 PM