Bob Dylan says, “you don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows” in his song Subterranean Homesick Blues. I’m not necessarily a Bob Dylan groupie so I had to look up the reference our pastor used this past Sunday. An influence from his days playing drums with rock bands that comes in handy as he’s preparing his sermons.
But, let’s cut to the chase. Jesus is enough. We don’t need all the extra rules that men have placed on our salvation. Those are the things that people get hung up on sometimes. It’s part of the reason so many walk away from the church because the hope we have in Jesus gets lost in all the red tape some would have us to believe.
“But, I’m not religious”, I’ve heard people say. That’s okay, it’s not about religion. Jesus is the one that paid the price for the sin of every single person, you and me included.
You’ll find the Word of God when you read your Bible. You can’t understand the King James Version…I get that. Neither did I. I’d get lost in all the thees and thous. Select another version to read. When you read the Bible you have to realize that it was written in the language that was familiar to the people it was written for. There were no sentences, paragraphs or punctuation in the text. Translators had to figure all of that out.
The Gospel, the Good News is that Jesus paid the price for our sins. He nailed the bill to the cross and paid the price with his life even though he never once sinned. Is that fair? Maybe not in our terms, but that’s how much our Heavenly Father loves us!
In our own strength, we can do nothing. But with God we can do all things. The problem is a lot of us never ask God for help or when we do, we forget to thank him for what he’s done.
It’s not about religion. It’s about having a relationship with the one who saved us.
Don’t be taken captive by the foolishness that is in the world, by the threats to take the Church. The Church will never die, there will always be a remnant of it.
But we are under constant attack by demonic spirits. Satan wants us to not focus on Christ, so he sends us illness, catastrophes, and politics to divert our attention. But our strength comes from Christ so we must spend time with him in prayer, reading our Bible, and praising him for what he’s done in the past and what he promises in the future. That’s where our hope lies.
Our culture influences the church and we adapt to false teachings. Why do you think there are so many different religions? When there is a disagreement within a church it splits and forms two churches with differing opinions of how God’s Word should be followed.
So what is the truth? There is an absolute truth and it must be measured by the standard of Jesus alone.
Did Jesus say, do or act like the behavior in question? We have to look to him to measure the truth.
Every cult attacks the life or works of Jesus. If the doctrine is Jesus + something else, it’s not what comes from God.
If you see Jesus, you are seeing God. One God. Anything added on is deceit, empty teaching, leading us down the wrong path.
When we make “truth” fit our wants, we are abandoning the truth and turning from God.
In Jesus’ death God cut away our sinfulness. It is a spiritual circumcision (cutting away) and baptism (buried with Jesus) that gives us the gift of redemption. This acceptance of Christ in our lives is represented in this baptism. As a result there is an abandoning of our old life and a revival in us. We see things in a new way. We aren’t perfect. He accepts us as we are and works through us to help us grow in our faith so that we can share this with others.
The true Christian has been made alive in Christ. There are fakers out there who would have you think they are Christians. What does the way they live show you?
Our sin cost Jesus everything. His forgiveness makes us alive in Christ.
- The empty grave is the symbol of Jesus overcoming death.
- The cross represented a public display of shame.
- Weapons in our hands are given to us by God to fight against deceit and lies.
The shame meant by being hung on the cross, brought the opposite of what they were aiming for. It brought Jesus glory because he overcame the cross and the grave!
This sermon was based on Colossians 2:8-15 and is a great reminder of what Jesus has done for us all.
In Faith,
Pam
Where God Leads 