Religion preaches a God that is much different from reality. The Bible depicts a loving heavenly Father who desires only good things for humanity. While it is true that the Old Testament contains account after account of His judgment and wrath pouring out on humanity, the New Testament writings based on the redemptive work of Christ Jesus reveal His actual nature.
My goal is to change your opinion of God as you read through these posts. I pray the Holy Spirit will open the eyes of your spiritual understanding to the love and mercy of God towards you. This single revelation will empower you to become a change agent for the Kingdom of God.
How do you view God? Do you see Him as a loving God who desires only good things for your life or a God who places sickness on you to teach you a lesson? In my experience, most Christians view Him as a harsh God who will strike them down for even the slightest mistake.
Religion has lied to us and misrepresented Him to such an extent that most of us do not understand His true nature. I believe that if we could develop an accurate view of the God we serve, none of us would ever struggle again with believing His promises.
We will all be misrepresented or slandered at some point or another. I have had people twist things that I’ve said and twisted my words to make me look terrible. It is awful but a reality because we live in a world impacted by the fall of humanity into sin and the resulting impact on all of God’s creation.
The world has slandered God in ways that cause people not to want to serve Him. We even blame Him for the destruction caused by storms in our contracts which label these destructive events as “acts of god.”
It almost seems as if only a few people remain who genuinely understand how good God is. There are probably much more than I can imagine, but regardless, society’s seeming mutiny is rooted in how the very people have portrayed him called to express His love to the world.
So, how did we arrive at this point where people struggle with the idea that the Christian God is a loving God who only wants good things for His people? I think this results from religious traditions built on Old Covenant laws.
The picture of God portrayed in Old Testament writings can be compared to a puzzle with pieces missing. It will not be possible for us to see or understand the picture without first ensuring that all puzzle pieces are available to complete the picture.
If our attention remains on the old, our picture of God will be inaccurate. For this reason, people develop a vision of Him being harsh and ready to pour out His judgment for the slightest wrongdoing. They do not understand His goodness or mercy as a result.
Your love for God will be boundless only if you understand His true nature. The struggle to receive healing, deliverance, or promised blessing will end. I will even go so far as to say that a revelation of God’s goodness and love will eliminate any emotional scars and problems you may have experienced.
People argue that preachers make statements such as I’m making due to not understanding the tragedy they’ve experienced. Indeed, I will never know what you’ve experienced but know that we think things like this due to not understanding God’s goodness.
I have experienced things that are difficult to express. Over time though, I’ve come to realize that everything I’ve experienced is insignificant compared to what Jesus has done to fix my problems.
We tend to focus on our problems, and religious tradition tells us that God is the source. I will cover this in detail as we progress in our study, but I must say at this point that the one tradition which has caused more tragedy in the Christian faith is that of the “sovereignty of God.” It is a teaching that has become the foundation of religious doctrine, and the way most teach sovereignty today has no Scriptural foundation.
Before you start throwing stones, let me say that I’m not trying to lead you off into error. God is indeed sovereign, and my goal is not to debate this. He is just sovereign in the sense that religious tradition portrays Him to be.
The dictionary defines sovereignty as “a supreme ruler” and “possessing supreme or ultimate power.” Both definitions apply equally to God. Each of these definitions is accurate. Religion has developed a completely different picture of Him.
Religious tradition portrays the sovereignty of God in the sense that He controls everything. As an example, I once had a professor in college who often spoke of his two sons. He believed in an extreme form of sovereignty and talked of his struggles resulting from not knowing if God would choose either of his children to receive salvation. He told us that it was impossible to know who would be saved and who would be selected to burn in hell for eternity. I can say with utmost certainty that my professor was in error!
I have met people through the years who want nothing to do with Christianity due to being told God was the one that “took” a loved one from them. Ministers tell parents that God “needed” their child more than they do and then wonder why they walk away from Christianity. Portraying God as the cause of our suffering has pushed more people out of the Church than we could count.
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. (John 10:10)
God does not control everything that happens in our lives. He delegated authority to humanity over the earth. It is us who do not exercise that and so allow the devil to have the ability to release death and destruction.
I’ve heard people say that it just must have been a person’s time to go to explain why they died unexpectedly. There is not a set day for us to leave the earth. Many accidents result from disobedience or a person not positioning themselves to recognize the Holy Spirit’s voice.
I understand that you may disagree with the things I am saying. You likely have heard people talk about God being in control and may even have said it as I have in the past. I request you to stay with me as we will dig deeper into the doctrine.
But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. (Hebrews 9:11)
We see in this verse that Jesus is our “High Priest of good things to come.” The sovereignty doctrine has robbed many people of the relationship their creator desires to have with them. It creates a false perception of God as harsh and ready to judge even minor mistakes.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. (Ephesians 1:3 – 6)
These pictures paint a different view of God than most Christians have of Him. He has blessed you with “all spiritual blessings,” “chosen you before the foundation of the world,” “predestined you for adoption into His family,” and “made you accepted” to enter into His presence. The God of Christianity is love. He desires you to only walk in His goodness all the days of your life.
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