Peace of Christ!
For many people, being a Christian has become fashionable.
It has meant going to concerts and jumping around without understanding why; putting a Bible under your arm and thinking you are better than others; wearing a long skirt and considering yourself holy; reading messages focused on self-punishment in an attempt to clear your conscience of guilty feelings; sharing beautiful images with beautiful verses on social media so people will have a good impression of you.
With misinformation spreading instead of investment in biblical teaching, many people are merely churchgoers. Worse still, when they wear the Christian label they feel extremely unhappy.
A large part of "being a Christian" is having a relationship with Christ. When we understand that He loved us first, our perception of life changes. We do not base our actions on seeking a divine reward. Yet this is not what we have been seeing happen inside churches.
The message many preach is based on setting limits for people, stressing that they will go to hell unless they remain within that framework of rules. Thus many keep a set of demands in their minds and practice them for fear of going to the lake of fire. They become legalistic people who stop visiting certain places, drinking alcoholic beverages, enjoying casual romantic encounters, smoking, and so on, aiming to please their pastor, missionary, or elder and hoping these people will assure them that they are going to Paradise.
Personally, I would feel suffocated acting this way. Wanting to do many things while trapped in a prison of rules must be awful. Should we obey God? YES! As the verse below teaches us:
"If you are willing to obey, you will eat the best produce of this land." Isaiah 1:19 NVI
But we should understand why we do what we do. It is not about being blindly indoctrinated or subtly trained, but about having a relationship with our God, who calls us a friend! It means letting the Word of Christ dwell in our hearts and enjoying full fellowship with the Holy Spirit. God is a God who frees, sustains, and guides us.
"Let the word of Christ dwell richly in you; teach and counsel one another with all wisdom, and sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude to God in your heart." Colossians 3:16 NVI
Pastor Paul David Washer tells a very illustrative story, which follows below:
There is a story about one of Europe's greatest and finest guitarists, who was playing his final concert. He was already very old. When he finished, a young guitarist approached him and said, "Sir, I would give my life to play like you." And the old guitarist said, "Son, I have given my life to play the way I do."
You say, "I want the power of God in my life" — then something must be done. "I want to know God" — then some separation from the world must happen!
Certainly being a Christian is not easy. It means knowing that everyone will hate us (Matthew 10:22) and that we will give our lives for the Kingdom of God. It also means knowing that our Redeemer lives and that we can believe in tomorrow! It means knowing that our God is powerful and merciful!
If you are a ministry leader, I would like to urge you to invest in teaching your church members about God's attributes.
If you wish to learn more about these differences between following God and following rules imposed on you without a better understanding, I first recommend beginning a life of prayer. God is listening to you and will answer you in different ways. Read the Bible. It is the greatest inexhaustible source of wisdom. And God will speak to you through it. Then, beloved friends, something incredible will happen! Your eyes will be opened and you will understand God's love. Experiencing this will transform your life and your heart.
"I will never forget your precepts, for through them you preserve my life." Psalms 119:93
May God bless you!
Wishing you success!
João Victor