Religion, Salvation and the Recalibrated Mind

If Jesus suddenly shows up today and visits some churches, He wouldn't just send away those buying and selling, He will close down some churches too. If you ask why, the answer is not far fetched. Today, many believers downplay the effect of what He did on the cross. Many Christians have become religion and tradition minded, so much that our actions constantly nullifies Christ's redemptive work and all that He has come to do for us.

This was the same thing Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for practicing. The mind of God is not that we impose a supposed conviction or doctrine on anyone. Not at all. God's intention is that man becomes saved and then begins to grow  conform to Christ's image. As the man grows, he begins to understand what God will have him do or not. Out of love for God, He begins to do away with anything God wouldn't have Him do.

This is not to say that it's okay to be without guide or a Spiritual Authority. No, that's not the point. Of course, a person should have a mentor or spiritual Authority so as to grow correctly. For example, in terms addictions and sinful habits that are terribly detrimental to his spiritual life, he'll need a Spiritual Authority to teach him how to get out of such. So that he can lay hold of the victory he has in Christ Jesus.

However, when it comes to some other habits like manner of dressing, lifestyle in general, it must be treated wisely.

Take for example, a person who used to be on the streets but fortunately, the guy is now genuinely saved. But then, you find that he still wears his chain and crazy Jean. He still has his earring on and he's not stop dreading his hair either. In this case, if the church or whoever is seeing over this guy does not handle the situation wisely, they may lose him.

It's such a sensitive matter that even the Scripture says, "No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better.".(Luke 5:39). So, it will take the wisdom of God and proper mentoring to help him understand that things are different in Zion. He must not be made to do it out of his own will otherwise he'll feel like he is bondage and begin to look for an out.

But when he's been taught that Intimacy is important, he'll begin to spend time with God and as he does so, you'll find him doing away with some of those things.

Mind you, I said some of those things not all of them. Because this is the problem most of us have, we have some specific things we feel, think or have been taught that are sinful but in the sight of God, it does not make the man sinful.

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It’s not good to be religious and traditionally minded but sadly, that’s what many Christians live by. We have to change some things. Your religious or tradition mind may kick against this but a truth that is designed to set you free will first make you uncomfortable.

Most of what we say are truths or we hold fast to as doctrines have no correct scriptural backing and then we try to pass them down to new converts. How mean! We try to put this yoke of bondage upon them. Christ has made us free, so it is wrong to enslave anyone. You may choose to argue but I can picture the shock on our faces when we get to heaven and realize that some things we called sin are not sinful in anyway.

But by then, it will be too late to come back to earth and right all the wrongs we have taught others. So, why wait till we get to heaven where we can no longer make corrections to those faulty teachings we have gathered over time?

Why not sit with the father and begin to ask that He will reveal His mind about our faulty foundations so we stop misleading others?

Some Christians spend no time with God yet their voices are always the loudest when it comes to criticizing others who do not exactly believe in their convictions. 

My question is, how can a person who doesn't spend time with God know the mind of God? How? Oh dear! 

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We all have one God. I mean all the children of God have one father. And like no wise earthly father will treat his children in the same manner, in the sense of how to discipline them or how he attends to every child because it could backfire on him. God would never treat us the same way.

He won't handle us in the same manner because there are different strokes to different folks. A method that appeals to one person may not exactly appeal to another person. Why? Because we have different temperaments, different mindsets, different approaches to life, we are not wired to see things or think the same way. 

How then can God treat us in the same manner? How? You mean the all-wise God would treat different folks with same stroke? No, God is neither dumb nor cruel!

Can we stop making this Christian race difficult to those in the fold or those who are new to it.

Believers must learn to accommodate new converts. Do not chase them away using religious doctrines. The essence of Salvation in Christ is not for the practice of  religion, instead it’s for building a relationship with God. We must understand that Christ came so we could be saved through the Gospel and this Gospel is not tradition or religion. Rather, it is teaching about the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. From today, choose to recalibrate your mind. Christ has set us free so let's stop putting ourselves or others in bondage.

Were you blessed by this? Drop your comments below and share this post with friends/family. You can also read more articles by this author, Ajayi Taiwo Jesudara here.