God is holy.
The Bible describes God as a consuming fire residing in unapproachable light.
To approach God our own way is like approaching the surface of the sun – we will simply be extinguished.
God’s radiant holiness will kill us as sin-full and sin-prone people.
However, in the Old Testament book of Leviticus we see God making a way for sin to be forgiven.
In the previous installment, I argued that Jesus has tasked his church to take the verbal message of repentance and forgiveness of sins to the nations.
The central mission of the church, therefore, is to take God’s Word to God’s world.
The church’s chief task is to bear witness to Jesus, so that people may be saved from hell for heaven forever by repenting and believing the gospel.
We see this priority throughout the New Testament.
What has been your most difficult trial in the last couple of years?
Sickness, strained relationships, persecution, isolation, financial difficulties, family problems?
Today, as all through the ages, people have different responses to trials, suffering and hardship.
They may think, “God obviously doesn’t care about me.”
Or, “God has deserted and abandoned me.”
Or, “I must have done something wrong and God is punishing me.”
Or, “Christianity is just a farce. If God really did love me this would not be happening.”
The Christians, to whom the Apostle Peter wrote the letter we know as “1 Peter”, were also suffering and facing many trials.
This past weekend I had the privilege of officiating at a wedding in a township church in South Africa. The marriage ceremony took place as an addition to the Sunday morning service.
The vibrancy of the singing was contagious and the warmth of hospitality humbling.
In African culture there is no such thing as RSVP! If you attend the wedding – and all are welcome – you join the feast afterwards. And there’s always enough food.
I reminded the wedding couple, and the church, that the Bible has a lot to say about marriage.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:12)
Notice that Jesus’ promise applies to all Christians. Jesus said, “Whoever believes in me.”
This promise is not just for the apostles, or missionaries, or pastors.
Whatever Jesus was referring to is normal Christianity.
Obviously, this becomes ludicrous if we think, like some people do, that Jesus promised that Christians would do the same, and even greater, miracles than him.
Continue reading What are the greater works Jesus promised we would do?
I’m sure you’ve heard the following:
“You are a King’s Kid as a Christian, you are royalty! You shouldn’t settle for second best!”
“God favour should overflow into your life as you walk in God’s anointing and enjoy health and financial prosperity!”
“God hates poverty and illness, you should claim your victory!”
“If you’re not walking in full victory of sin, illness and financial difficulty, you either lack faith or have unconfessed sin. Jesus came to give us abundant life!”
This is the Prosperity Gospel.
The Prosperity Gospel (PG) is called so because it teaches that God desires all his people to be prosperous. Physically prosperous. Healthy and wealthy.
To put it simply, the PG is the belief that God grants health and wealth to those with the right kind of faith.
The PG movement (according to Kate Bowler1, an assistant professor of the history of Christianity in North America at Duke University) has its roots in the late 1800’s in American tradition of New Thought. That is, that positive thoughts yield positive circumstances; and negative thoughts, negative circumstances.
The American New Thought movement took a Christian slant with a Pastor named EW Kenyon, who ministered in the US in the early 1900’s.
Many conferences and meetings, under the banner of Christianity, promise spiritual breakthroughs to take your faith to the next level.
There are books written about spiritual breakthroughs:
“Fasting for Spiritual Breakthrough”
“Praying the Lord’s Prayer for Spiritual Breakthrough”
“Prayer Walking for Spiritual Breakthroughs”
“How to be patient while waiting for a Spiritual Breakthrough”
You can even buy anointed water for a spiritual breakthrough.
“Spiritual breakthrough” is a term that seems to have more in common with animism and African Traditional Religion, than Christianity. ATR and animism teach that there are evil forces that constantly bind and oppose us and we need to break through these oppressive forces to access God’s favour.
Continue reading The dangerous theology of Spiritual Breakthrough
