Theology...

Recently someone told me they 'didn't agree with my theology.'
I was a bit stunned, so much so that I couldn't answer and had to go away and think about it.
I guess, in a way, this is my response.
Now there are two things to say.  Firstly, I don't really care whether or not anyone agrees with me, not because I am arrogant about it but because I stand under the great declaration of Romans 1: 16, '...I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes...for in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith the faith; as it is written, "But the righteous man shall live by faith." Secondly, I am not the judge so please don't see this as judgement. I share this only to exalt Christ, not to judge another.

Theology. How is this word defined?
For the purposes of this we could define theology as the study, or analysis, of the attributes of God.

So theology is about defining the attributes of God.

The Bible is quite clear to me when it says that 'no one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him. [John 1: 18]
So God is revealed, He is explained, by the 'only begotten God, the One 'who is in the bosom of the Father'. That can only refer to Jesus Christ, the Son of God!
If we want to 'see' God then we must look at Jesus.
The only 'Way' to God is Jesus.

In another place we read these words. 'In Him [that is, Jesus Christ] ALL the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form.' [Colossians 2: 9]
This is a beautiful statement!
God, in the wonder of His boundless grace and favour, stepped down to us in the person of His Son and was clothed in human flesh. In that stepping down did He cease to be the fullness of God? No! I do not believe it. He remained all that He ever was; yet clothed in flesh, burdened by purpose, anticipating glory. That is Philippians 2.
Can you see the grace of God?
Our Father knew we so often see with eyes of flesh and so we have the 'fullness of God' revealed in BODILY FORM! Oh, the wonder of the grace of God! God revealed in bodily form! Now that Jesus has returned to glory has he discarded His body of flesh? No! Why? So, even today, you and I, and all those seeking Him, can SEE GOD.

Last night I sat under the ministry of the Word and the speaker shared a thought that is like a precious treasure to me.
In Mark's gospel the word translated from the Greek into English as 'torn apart, torn asunder' appears just two times. I don't remember the Greek word other than we get our English word, schism from it. It does not matter.
The first time we see this word is in Mark 1: 10. Jesus is baptised and as He is coming up out of the waters He sees heaven 'torn asunder' and the Spirit of God descending upon Him and He hears the resounding voice of God.
The second time we see the word is in Mark 15: 37. Jesus tastes the last of the sourness of our sin, represented in the sour wine, and with His parched mouth moistened slightly He cries with a loud voice, "IT IS FINISHED," and as He breathes His last the veil of the temple, that great division of Law dividing the people from the grace and mercy of God, is 'torn asunder' from the top to the bottom.
In those two momentous 'tearings' book-ending the gospel of Mark we see two great declarations.
One from heaven declaring, "YOU ARE MY BELOVED SON, IN YOU I AM WELL PLEASED;" and one from earth, as the centurion, standing in front of Him, declares, "TRULY THIS MAN WAS THE SON OF GOD!"
Words just fail me!
The wonder of the revelation of God, Jesus Christ is just too wondrous to fully appreciate and express!

So, then, the revelation, the definition of the attributes of God are Jesus Christ Himself.

How, how, how then is it possible that the theology of two Christians cannot agree?
How is this possible?
Every Christian should be gathered around our theology, JESUS, declaring His exaltation, declaring with God, our Father, and with the centurion...JESUS, YOU ARE GOD, YOU ARE OUR BELOVED, TRULY, YOU ARE THE SON OF GOD!

Beloved, the sad fact is this that if our theologies don't agree then there is only one thing to be said [please understand I do not say this to criticise or judge], there can only be one explanation. Someone is 'taken captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.' [Colossians 2: 8] Or more attention is being paid to 'myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith' [I Timothy 1: 4] or we are bound up by 'foolish controversies and genealogies and strife and dispute about the Law' which, the Bible clearly says, 'are unprofitable and worthless.' [Titus 3: 9]
Today, there is a great venue for 'theological' debate called Facebook and endlessly we see 'debate' that achieves nothing other than veiling, hiding, putting aside a God of all grace, who is holding out His representative, the beautiful and wonderful Jesus Christ and is calling us to 'BELIEVE' and 'RECEIVE.'
How can it ever be that we sink into the mire of human knowledge and opinion and 'miss' the great revelation of the attributes of God?
How, as a result, can we ever say our theology does not agree?

Please, please, please see with me our theology as believers in Christ.
Jesus is our theology, He is the revelation of God, He is the source of all things, He is the Way, the Truth and the Life, He is our Healer, He is our Provision, He is our Wholeness and Completion, He is EVERYTHING!

Do not take my word for it.
My words are not important but as I close allow God's Word to penetrate your being and enter into your very core...
I love the book of Hebrews.
If you were asked to write a heading over this book it would have to be 'The Book of Better Things, The Book of the Best Thing.'
The writer begins by introducing the only subject of this book, the very BEST, Jesus Christ.
Listen to these words, allow them to seep into your being...

GOD, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His SON, whom He appointed HEIR OF ALL THINGS, through whom also HE MADE THE WORLD.

And He is the RADIANCE OF HIS GLORY, and the EXACT REPRESENTATION OF HIS NATURE, and UPHOLDS ALL THINGS by the word of His power.

When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the RIGHT HAND OF THE MAJESTY on high, having become as much better than...[Hebrews 1: 1 - 4]

...and so it goes on.

JESUS is THE attribute of God revealed. If we are to see God we must look at Him. He is the only avenue available to us to see God and as such He alone is our theology.
I am no longer interested in your theories or opinions, I want to only see Christ exalted.

It is not possible that we can say we disagree on theology.
Jesus is the theology and He is visible to us.
He is God in 'bodily form' given in flesh by a God of grace.
The most 'fleshly' of eyes can not mistake God when they look at Jesus.
That is why He is the most attractive for the seeking heart looking for LIFE, HOPE, PEACE, TRUTH, HEALING, PROVISION, WHOLENESS, COMPLETION.
He, alone, is the FULLNESS OF GOD and we are complete in Him.
There is so much I could say.
I haven't even touched on what this means for you and me but it is enough.
God is glorified.
As Jesus languished in the garden of Gethsemane He said, "Father, glorify Your name."
And voice came out of heaven: "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again."
Jesus is our theology and God is glorified in Him and in Him we are free.

Hallelujah!

See...

Our calendar dates from the birth of Christ.
This year is 2014 AD.
AD is an abbreviation for Anno Domini which is Latin for 'In the year of our Lord...' I think that's correct.
So the central point of history has been set at the birth of Christ.

I want to suggest to you today that we got that a bit wrong because the central, pivotal point of all history is, in fact, the cross of Jesus Christ.
Everything hinges on that.
Please even note the word 'history'. Broken down it becomes 'His-story'

Now there is a whole lot that could be said about that but I just want to consider this today.
I believe that to have a clear view of His-story we need to view everything through the cross.
We need cross glasses.
We need to view everything through the window of the cross.

Now the cross represents to us the Grace of God because it was here that God gave His Son, given out of His love, for a world undeserving.
Grace is Jesus and He is the 'undeserved favour' of God.
Therefore, I will re-phrase what I said just now and say this.
We need to see everything with eyes of Grace, through glasses of Grace, looking through a window of Grace.
Jesus, who is Grace, needs to be our lens.

Now most people who read this are Christians so, I guess, it figures that most of what I say is directed towards those who have believed in Jesus.
However if you are yet to believe and receive Jesus I want to say to you there is great power just in His name. Just speak His name, look through Him and everything will change for you.

Now, I have a problem.
As Christians, and when I say Christians I am speaking about the church because most of the delivery of 'Christianity' is done by the church, we have a great conundrum.
This conundrum is the conundrum of Law and Grace.
This is the problem. We preach Jesus, we encourage people to receive Jesus by grace and then when we have got them 'saved' we then give them a whole bunch of law to keep them in line and to help them to be 'Christ-like.'
Having received grace we then apply law and all we get is an alloy.
What is the practice of this?

We are constantly being bombarded with the 'things' that we should or should not be doing to be confident before God, pleasing to God and not condemned.

We are given a strategy for everything. Pray more, confess more, fast more, read more, do more, bless more, give more, trust more, renew more, transform more, be more Christ-like...on and on it goes!

And it is all so complicated!

Paul had this conundrum as he addressed the church at Galatia via his letter and I want to echo his words to us today.

'You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you?..this is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by the hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?' [Galatians 3: 1 - 3]

You know I am no great preacher or teacher and my receipt of God's word is very simple but I believe the greatest challenge facing us today is the problem of Law versus Grace. In the past week I have been 'challenged' on my beliefs via an article sent to me warning us, the Christians, against the falsity of 'hyper grace.'
Let me ask you a simple and logical question. Do you really believe that God who was totally 'hyper' in His radical love for the world, graphically revealed in the giving of His only Son, isn't just as radical in His way for us to live? Do you really believe He saves us by supply [GRACE] then expects us to live by demand [LAW]?
No way. I don't believe it!
There is no way God is so duplicitous!

Now. This post is about seeing.
I want you to see Grace everywhere.
More importantly God wants you to see Grace everywhere.
Now don't get confused.
Grace isn't a theory, a strategy, even a good way to live, despite what you have been taught.
Grace is a person and that person is Jesus and it is through Him, His cross, through Grace that we need to see everything.
Everything changed at the pivotal point of history, the cross.
Everything said and done before must be seen through the lens of the cross and everything after must be seen through the lens of the cross.
EVERYTHING must be seen through GRACE!

Now I could speak much on this but I will share this and leave you.
When you read your Bible God wants you to see it through the cross.
Every single verse in the Bible from the front to the back must be seen through GRACE.
If it doesn't make sense to you, if you don't see it too well, then you must take out a magnifying glass that is called GRACE. In the drawer of almost every church in the land is a well used magnifying glass called Law. Chuck it in the bin and apply GRACE.

Here is an example just to think about. Read this verse from the Bible.

'Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.' [1 John 3: 23]

Great verse!
Preachers take this verse and make sermons out of it!

Beautiful, when seen through Grace, but different when seen in Law.

With eyes of Law many would read and many would preach the verse and 'see' that being not condemned and having 'confidence before God' requires the keeping of 'His commandments' and the doing of the 'things that are pleasing' in the sight of God.

[I should say this; Law isn't wrong, it is completely Holy, like God. But the point is that Law is totally unattainable and God knew it. He gave it to smash your inherited attitude [from Adam] of independence by showing you that you can't do it and you need God's Way, God's Truth and God's Life...who is that? JESUS!]

Now see with eyes of Grace and read on and it is so simple!

'This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us. The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.' [1 John 3: 24]

These are not my words, these are God's words!

See through the cross, with eyes of Grace, and be released from the doing into the believing and receiving.

As we believe we receive Jesus.
As we receive Jesus we receive His righteousness.
As we receive His righteousness we are worthy to receive His love.
As we receive His love we love 'because He first loved us.' [1 John 4: 19]
And we receive all that He is (He is our Breakthrough) we are complete in Him. [Colossians 2: 10]
And to seal it all we are given the Holy Spirit to confirm this great covenant.
BREAKTHROUGH!

Today see with eyes of Grace that the commandment of God for you is to just believe.
Anything else is just law dressed up as grace, an alloy, and brings nothing but complication, frustration and condemnation.
God says 'there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus' [Romans 8: 1] and 'it was for freedom that Christ set us free.' [Galatians 5: 1]

Wow! I could write for hours but few would read it.

God recently said to me, "Have the people sit down."

Strange thing to say!

He has given me a task to have you sit down from your doing and just receive His gift.

As a start, can I encourage you; my prayer is that you will look through the window of GRACE.