Selective Sacrifice

Lent is something that I no longer celebrate mainly because I'm no longer Catholic. Don't get me wrong: I absolutely believe there is value in fasting, prayer, and reading more of the Scriptures. However, I often don't know how to react when people tell me what they're giving up for Lent. Often what they're giving up is the same type of thing that I gave up for Lent as a kid while growing up Catholic: things like sweets, TV, and pizza. Adults nowadays will add coffee and alcohol to that list. Honestly, I don't mean to be judgmental, but I have to ask "Why?" Giving up these things really isn't much of a sacrifice, is it? Especially if it's only for 40 days. I never hear anyone saying that they're giving up a prideful heart or gossiping for Lent.

Why doesn't anyone want to give up those things that hinder their relationship with God as outlined in Paul's letter to the Galatians and in his letter to the Ephesians:

"The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God." - Galatians 5:19-21 (NIV 1984)

"Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice." - Ephesians 4:31 (NIV 1984)

Coffee, tea, chocolate, and pizza don't come between you and God. Pride, selfishness, bitterness, gossip, rage among other things do hinder your relationship with God. What good is giving up coffee if you are still full of bitterness? What good is giving up sweets if you are filled with envy and gossip? And honestly, if you can  recognize that a certain type of entertainment contributes to lustful or otherwise impure thoughts, why not give it up permanently? It's true that we are to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Jesus - meaning we're to give up our pride, our way, our dreams, and even our life if necessary, all for the cause of Christ. But we're to do that every day not just during Lent. Giving up something for Lent doesn't make you holy or righteous and it cannot add to the finished work of Jesus' perfect sacrifice on the cross. With this in mind, maybe it's time to reevaluate those things that we truly need to give up, by the grace of God.

Edit: One final thought - giving up coffee, TV, or chocolate are all things that I can do without God's help using my own willpower. Ridding myself of bitterness, anger, and other forms of malice, cannot be done without God's help. I must depend on the grace of God to be rid of these things. May it be so.

One of These is Not Like the Others

So I saw another Facebook meme a few weeks ago. (I did some editing, but I think you can get the idea of what it says.) It's on the Facebook page entitled, I'm not "Spiritual". I just practice being a good person. This meme had to do with how all of the world's religions teach basically the same thing, which is do unto others as you would have them do unto you. In Christianity, this is called the Golden Rule, and is found in Matthew 7:12.

While I think it's a little simplistic to try to boil down all of the teachings of all of the world's religions into one common catch phrase, this isn't the focus of this post. My question is this: Is this - the Golden Rule and its variants - the primary teaching of Christianity? My friends, the answer is No. The primary teaching of Christianity is the Good News or the Gospel. Let's take some time to explain what the Good News is and why we need it, because if there is Good News, it logically follows that there is bad news. Walk with me down the Romans Road to Salvation, which is a collection of verses from Paul's letter to the Romans that outlines the plan of salvation.

My friends, here is the bad news:

1. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." - Romans 3:23
Yeah, OK, so no one's perfect. God understands, right? This isn't really such bad news, is it? Yes, it is, because God demands 100% perfection for 100% of the time. There is no one who is perfect. The bad news gets worse.

2. "For the wages of sin is death..." - Romans 6:23a 
Yeah, but we all die, don't we? So how is this news? This is not just about our physical death, this verse is referring to our eternal death or damnation. But now, here's the Good News:

3. "But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." -Romans 6:23b 
How is this Good News, you ask? Because God is love, He demands that our sins be punished. This is just, right, and loving. The Good News is that God sent His son, Jesus, who was fully God and fully man to die on the cross and pay the penalty for our sins so that we wouldn't have to.

4. "If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." - Romans 10:9
If by faith you believe that Jesus died on the cross in our place, to take the punishment that you deserve, and that God raised him from the dead to show his victory over sin and death, you will be saved. You will trust in Jesus and not yourself.

5. "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." -Romans 5:1
By placing our faith in Jesus' death and resurrection, we will have peace (as in the opposite of war) with God.

While on the surface, it seems that the world's religions have at least one thing in common, the fact is that Christianity is the only religion where God came to earth as a man; to live the perfect life that we can't live; to be humiliated and condemned to death on a cross, so that He could provide the perfect sacrifice as payment for our sins; to be raised from the dead on the third day to demonstrate His victory over sin and death. Jesus died so that you could be forgiven of your sins and have eternal life and be with God forever.

You fall short of the glory of God. You are not perfect, and that is the problem. Because of this, you cannot earn your salvation. You cannot work your way to Paradise. You cannot do enough good to outweigh the bad. Only the grace of God can save you. I do not know what the other religions teach, but Christianity says that salvation is a gift from God:

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. - Ephesians 2:8-9

My friends, listen to the words of Jesus:

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God." - John 3:16-21

You are a sinner in need of a Savior. We all need a Savior. That Savior is Jesus. Place your faith in him and not yourself, your works, or your rituals. If you would like to know how to become a Christian, here is an article for further reading, "How to Become a Christian". May the Lord open your eyes to the glorious truth of the Gospel.