THE CHRISTIAN “WORKS” MESSAGE IS A DEAD END ROAD

But the message of the cross is amazing.
What am I going on about? Just this:

The Christian message of YOU MUST (fill in the blank— “repent,” “believe,” “obey”, “confess your sins,” “do good works,” “ask Jesus into your heart,” etc.) in order to be saved… and go to heaven… is a dead end road.

Why? Because that type of thinking is all MAN CENTERED… it’s all focused on getting the sinner to change his ways and focus on himself yet again… and truthfully, focusing on himself is what got man in the trouble he’s in today.

All these things that “the sinner must do” to be saved merely throws the sinner into more self-absorption — “me, me, me, me,”

You can hear many of today’s works-oriented Christians say
“I was saved on X day.”
“I repented of my sins X years ago.”
“I hit rock bottom then I ask Jesus into my heart.”
— words to that effect.

All those “testimonies” start with the word “I”.

Listen… I’m suggesting to ya… they are worshipping the creature, and not the creator.

That kind of message is a dead end road.. it might lead to the cemetery but it has nothing to do with the glory of the Father.

OUR MESSAGE — The message delivered to us from Paul is not MAN CENTERED at all. It’s focused entirely on God and His Christ.

The core of our message is what God accomplished in Christ’s cross.

It wasn’t just another run-of-the-mill miracle ginned up to make us say “hmmm”… No… THE CROSS IS OUR ALL.

The cross is life. The cross is the promise and hope of all humanity fulfilled. The cross is the end of death and dying. The cross is the ultimate display of God’s power.

So many things happened there at the cross. Yes, you were there at the cross in a very real sense. Even though you weren’t even born, you were there.

Christ died because of our sins. And he was raised from the dead because of our justification. (ROM 4:25) — Just to give you a taste of what went on at the cross.

Satan’s power was ultimately squashed at the cross. And life, vivified life, began there.

There’s nothing “glorious” about the Christian Works Message… the “me, me, me” message… the “I, I, I,” message…

if you want a real mind-blowing treat consider the words of Paul…
“Even as Christ was roused from among the dead through the glory of the Father. (Romans 6:4)

The Father is so darn proud of His Son — for taking on sin… putting sin to death … humbling himself… taking up the cross… so proud that He raised Him from the dead. — THAT IS THE WORK OF GOD.

That is the foreshadowing we’ve all been waiting for. “The firstfruit” as Paul calls it.

THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING.

Something done for all. Includes all. Effects all. Satisfies all.

The resurrection happened. God did not wait around for your approval or consent. God was thrilled. And so there was no reason to dilly dally around… He raised Christ as a sign of His approval.

Now, God is satisfied. And we have a message. One that is not centered on man’s will… but the fulfillment of God’s own will.

A message that starts at the cross, and ends with God being all in all. (I COR 15:28)

POST SCRIPT:

The freewill chick responded to this post… going on and on about how YOU MUST BELIEVE — AND BELIEVING IS NOT A ‘WORK”.

MY REPLY TO HER:
Something that is TRUE… is true whether or not you “believe” it. If it’s not true UNTIL you believe it, it’s just subjective bull shit.
You “MUST” believe for it IS true… it’s not that you MUST believe to MAKE IT true. It is true… you were saved at the cross.

BROTHER MARK REPLIED:

“Your truth-packed post puts a sword to all the man-centered nonsense in Christianity! You capsulize the truth about the cross with logic and panache.”

SISTER CAROLEE REPLIED:

Wow, you have a gift of phrasing big concepts in a simple, hard-hitting way just like Martin Zender. Because your words are built on the accurate foundational truth of Christ’s accomplishment and our Father’s plan, they are like sparkling jewels of joy and wonder. Love reading your comments.