Chapter 1, Part "D"
"Book Review"
"Book Review"
Understanding The Word Of God
What is Grace? In
Christian theology, grace has been defined not as a created substance, but as
the love and mercy given to us by God because God desires us to have it. Grace is given, not because of anything we
have done to earn it; it is the condescension or benevolence shown by God
toward the human race. It is understood
by Christians to be a spontaneous gift from God to man, generous, free and totally
unexpected. It is undeserved; it takes
the form of a divine favor, love, clemency, and a share in the divine life of
God. It is an attribute of God that is
most manifest in the salvation of sinners. Grace is given freely without charge. The sowing of a financial seed is not a
prerequisite of grace.
In the presence of the Law the punishment for our transgression is
made clear. It is only through the mercies
of God, that Grace is allowed to manifest itself. In the presence of Judgment, when the demands
of the Law are made known, Grace proclaims that the blood of the Christ has
already paid the price. We therefore are
debtor to the work of the cross and not to the works of the law. The grace of God brought through the works of the cross did not
turn God into a fun loving God, but a God who is storing up his wrath until the
works of Grace is complete. (Revelation 15:7) And one of the four beasts
gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who lives
forever and ever.
For God so loved the world that he gave or sent his only begotten son,
what transpired after that was a plea for mercy from the son of God. His cry was, “Father, forgive them, for they
know not what they do”. Within the
boundaries of Heaven that cry still resonates, as mankind drifts farther and
farther from God. The concept of a God
extending his everlasting love is not scriptural. God, on many occasions have been known to
vent his angry. Revelation depicts an angry God who anger is
restrained only by the intercession of his son and the works of the Holy Spirit.
The Old Testament depicted a God that was prone to bouts of
angry and long periods of silence. The Old Testament introduced us to a
God that actively participated in killing sprees. The New Testament
introduced us to the Son of God who extolled the virtues of love. Let me
inject this, the only thing standing between humanity and a killing spree by an
angry God, is the blood of Jesus that was shed on the cross. This is parallel to the event that took place
at the base of the Holy Mountain. The
only thing that stood between the children of Israel and a killing spree by an
angry God was the intercessions made by Moses.
To overcome the obstacles presented in the Old Testament and to
make God more user friendly, it became necessary to deconstruct and reconstruct
God in a fashion that is compatible with today’s standards. Even a new
concept of Heaven was constructed to accommodate this new form of godliness and
the prospect of Hell diminished or was eliminated.
Nations that were once considered ‘God fearing nation’ are
backing away from the concept of “one nation under God”. World leaders are
seeking to shed the image of a Christian nation, and many Christian leaders have
publicly stated, “The way of the cross is just one of many ways to
this new concept of heaven”.
The organized church had no qualms about
making God more users friendly, because it opens up a new level of power, money
and control. Under the direction of the organized church, this
deconstruction and reconstruction process produced a type of religion, (charismatic,
prosperity, love and kindness) that embodies many of the excesses that the God
of old frown upon. A message that portrays the workings of the Father,
Son and the Holy Spirit as an adventure in the application of love and kindness
fails miserably to project the true image of God. The message of the Kingdom and our reason for
being here is overshadowed by our desire for worldly pleasures.
To deconstruct means to systematically remove layer after layer
of the supporting structure. Whether it is an idea, concept or even a religious
deity, this is done for the purpose of doing an analytical examination of
something (as a theory) often in order to reveal its inadequacy or
relevance and to bring about changes. Deconstruction is an
environmentally friendly process; it is the alternate to demolition or
destruction. Rather than destroying or cast aside an item,
idea, or even God, it is more fitting that a process of deconstructing and
reconstructing be initiated. The children of Israel attempted to do
the same thing at the base of the Holy Mountain. They wanted a God that
they could see and touch.
In our modern and ever changing world, it is necessary
that certain items, things or even our belief structure be updated to maintain
their relevancy in a modern and high-tech society. For the sakes of
an analogy, let's look at the cook stove of the early 1800’s, a wood burning
configuration that belched smoke would certainly be out of place in the
modern homes. Yet, today no home would
be complete without the presence of a stove. To fulfill the need of
the home did not require creating a new method of processing food, heat would
still be needed to heat the food to a temperature necessary to cook the
food. Therefore a process of deconstructing and reconstructing the wood
stove allowed for the emergence of the gas, electric and microwave ovens, eliminating
the smoke and grit. Yet, they all have that one thing in common that
makes them an oven. They use heat to cook the food.
Blessings and miracles were two of the attributes of God
subjected to an analytical examination. When the old patriots blessed a
child, the power to act in their father’s name was the objective. Today, a blessing needs to be more than the authority
to act in God’s name; it needs to represent a financial gain. Blessings
and miracles have become the sellable products of this new or updated god.
Within the Holy Scripture blessing and miracles are an integral
part of the work of God. Jesus performed
many miracles; this power was also given to the apostles. Blessings and miracles was the confirmation
that they were sent by God. This was
necessary to establish the new covenant.
When Jesus stood at the entrance
to Lazarus tomb, he prayed a prayer that explains the purpose of the miracle he
was about to perform. (John 11:41-43)... And Jesus lifted up his
eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that
thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it,
that they may believe that thou hast sent me.
And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come
forth.
Prior to the emerging of the Pentecostal Movement that began in
various regions around the globe, such as America, Germany, and Australia, in
the early twentieth century the working of miracles were in abeyance. Prior to the Charismatic Renewal which began
in the last third of the same century, the consensus of mainstream Christianity
was that miracles were part of the apostolic era. The
healing movement in the 1940s and 1950s signaled the rebirth of miracle
working.
We live in a Pentecostal age and around the world, wherever
churches are growing, reports of miracles are rampant. Many Christians regard
miracles as an extremely important element of their worship service. The definition of a miracle can range from
one extreme to the other. To some their belief
in miracles is so strong that it is a sin to go to the doctor. Then there are those who have redefined the
process of surviving a surgical procedure a miracle.
This is not a dissertation as to whether miracles exist today, miracles
are an expression of the power of God and there is no limit to God’s
power. It is how we attempt to harness
and display the power of God that is at issue.
How often have we stood at the
altar and begged God for a miracle. Have
we ever stood by and watched as the pastor, or the proclaimed healer laid hands
on our loved ones and prayed for deliverance, only to no avail? If he did it once, he will do it again if
often used as a guide to determining what God will or will not do. When we see the fault of our work or our
promises, we should allow for our misunderstanding of God’s word. Our prayer then should be to the Father to
open up our understanding.
The Bible is the source of many different types of messages. There are deliverances messages, motivational
messages and even prosperity messages, all presented as the Word of God. There is a question as to whether this is a
true representation of the Holy Scripture. True, there were many benefits of following
Jesus, but the message was not about the benefits. Many works were performed by the Apostles,
but their messages were not about their works.
The message of the new dispensation, the message of Grace, the message
of the New Testament seems to have been about the coming of the Kingdom of God.
