Caroline H
Member
We've all heard the phrase "accept Christ as your personal Lord and saviour" before. I grew up hearing it frequently among many other popular Christian terms, and never gave it any thought until recently. I think I stumbled upon a sentence in some article I was reading, that had nothing to do with this topic... and I don't even remember what it was about, but the author briefly questioned the "personal saviour" terminology and, that question has rattled around in my mind since then.
I know God in a personal way, just like everyone else does, because I've seen Him working in my life in tangible and intangible ways. However, at what point does this personal experience of God become a "personal relationship" with Him? This morning a friend of mine wrote on Facebook that she was created by God and was a work in progress, and was highly valued by Him. Someone she knows (I do not) replied with the popular children's song "He's still working on me", but replaced He with She. When I questioned this person she told me "For me, yes. Well, actually I think "God" is genderless, but I have issues with Males in Authority, and can relate better if I envision "God" as She. Part of my "personal relationship" I suppose." I then said that personal relationship is good, but it should never become a tool for us to reinvent God, to which she replied that after 42 years of relating to God as a 'she", she was not going to change. This saddens me, because what has happened to her is her personal view of God has become an idol. This may be somewhat extreme to most of us, because most of us wouldn't refer to God as a "she" (I hope), but the concept is still prevalent among us isn't it?
Maybe this will help to explain what I'm saying:
Privatization of faith is damaging in the community of faith. Robert Mulholland raises a crucial dimension of true Christian spirituality: "individualized spirituality undercuts any vital witness in the social order we live in."153 Mulholland further asserts that "corporate spirituality is essential, because privatization always fashions a spirituality that in some way allows us to maintain control of God."154 In other words, privatization of faith nullifies the preeminence of Christ. For it is "only as living cells in the body of Christ can we truly allow God to be in control. As soon as we take control of our relationship with God, we begin to isolate ourselves from the other cells and become a cancerous, destructive presence in the body."155 Moreover, Alan Jones adds: "Nothing could be more wonderful than a living encounter of saving power between the believer and God; but when it is made private and exclusive, it can be a terrible thing. It can be used to judge and hurt others. When this happens, conversion is made a mockery."156 "What we have is some kind of pathological formation that is very privatized and individualized, a spiritualized form of self-actualization. Although such forms of spirituality may be appealing to look at on the outside, quite comfortable in their easy conformity to the values and dynamics of our culture, they are like a whitewashed tomb that has deadness on the inside if they are not live-giving, healing and redemptive for others."157
Personal Experience
Popular theology also likes to redefine relating to God based on personal experiences rather than as defined by the Word. In other words, your personal experience in relating to God is more valuable than what is recorded, objectively, in the Word of God. This form of "worship" is not worship at all; it is mysticism. Merriam-Webster defines mysticism as the belief that direct knowledge of God, spiritual truth, or ultimate reality can be attained through subjective experience (as intuition or insight). Mike Oppenheimer states emphatically:
When experience replaces Biblical knowledge, we have abandoned God's standard. Knowledge can be painful when it corrects us, but it can cost much more to follow falsehood, which by its nature is easy to swallow and soothing to those who refuse the truth.158
"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron" (1 Timothy 4:1-2). Besides, it is "In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established" (2 Corinthians 13:1); because, "no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation" (2 Peter 1:20). Thus, this redefinition is invalid and simply is a mask for unbelief, idolatry, covetousness and hypocrisy. Look what happened when people put more belief in their personal experience than in what was right before their eyes.
And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence. And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things? And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house. And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief. (Matthew 13:53-58)
Notice, the personal experience of the people gave them a false view of Jesus; hence, they did not belief the truth that was in front of them. Their unbelief caused God to stop working on their behalf: "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13). If God the Father is not working on our behalf, then Jesus is not working on our behalf. Jesus said, "I and my Father are one" (John 10:30) and "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work" (John 5:17). If Jesus is not working on our behalf—making intercession for us (Romans 8:34), then we have no mediator. If there is no mediator, then we lose the promise of eternal inheritance: "How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance" (Hebrews 9:14-15). What's more, if Jesus Christ, our head, is not working, then we, as part of the body of Christ, are incapable of working out our own salvation (Philippians 2:12); we are, in effect, in a slumber: "According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear; unto this day" (Romans 11:8). It should be noted that the Greek word for slumber is katanyxis, which means torpor of mind: "a state of mental and motor inactivity with partial or total insensibility" as defined by Merriam-Webster. Thus, we are in a state of spiritual laziness unable to act even though we are admonished to "be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless" (2 Peter 3:14).
Individual Worship
Popular theology's push for a personal savior produces a corollary problem: a growing percentage of Christians that believe it is not necessary to partake in corporate worship. They do not belong to a particular church or they attend church on the Internet or they do not attend church at all. This is nothing more than pride, judgment and idolatry in full swing. This practice is in direct contradiction, of course, to Hebrews 10:25, which states: "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching" (see also Psalm 50:5; Psalm 102:21-22; Psalm 111:1; Isaiah 43:9; Acts 11:25-27). In addition, we are charged to deny ourselves and to "Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits" (Romans 12:16). "So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another" (Romans 12:5); "And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you ... That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another" (1 Corinthians 12:21, 25).
http://resurrectedchurchministries.org/ ... avior.html
I would like to hear thoughts on this, but please keep the comments cordial... NO ARGUING
I know God in a personal way, just like everyone else does, because I've seen Him working in my life in tangible and intangible ways. However, at what point does this personal experience of God become a "personal relationship" with Him? This morning a friend of mine wrote on Facebook that she was created by God and was a work in progress, and was highly valued by Him. Someone she knows (I do not) replied with the popular children's song "He's still working on me", but replaced He with She. When I questioned this person she told me "For me, yes. Well, actually I think "God" is genderless, but I have issues with Males in Authority, and can relate better if I envision "God" as She. Part of my "personal relationship" I suppose." I then said that personal relationship is good, but it should never become a tool for us to reinvent God, to which she replied that after 42 years of relating to God as a 'she", she was not going to change. This saddens me, because what has happened to her is her personal view of God has become an idol. This may be somewhat extreme to most of us, because most of us wouldn't refer to God as a "she" (I hope), but the concept is still prevalent among us isn't it?
Maybe this will help to explain what I'm saying:
Privatization of faith is damaging in the community of faith. Robert Mulholland raises a crucial dimension of true Christian spirituality: "individualized spirituality undercuts any vital witness in the social order we live in."153 Mulholland further asserts that "corporate spirituality is essential, because privatization always fashions a spirituality that in some way allows us to maintain control of God."154 In other words, privatization of faith nullifies the preeminence of Christ. For it is "only as living cells in the body of Christ can we truly allow God to be in control. As soon as we take control of our relationship with God, we begin to isolate ourselves from the other cells and become a cancerous, destructive presence in the body."155 Moreover, Alan Jones adds: "Nothing could be more wonderful than a living encounter of saving power between the believer and God; but when it is made private and exclusive, it can be a terrible thing. It can be used to judge and hurt others. When this happens, conversion is made a mockery."156 "What we have is some kind of pathological formation that is very privatized and individualized, a spiritualized form of self-actualization. Although such forms of spirituality may be appealing to look at on the outside, quite comfortable in their easy conformity to the values and dynamics of our culture, they are like a whitewashed tomb that has deadness on the inside if they are not live-giving, healing and redemptive for others."157
Personal Experience
Popular theology also likes to redefine relating to God based on personal experiences rather than as defined by the Word. In other words, your personal experience in relating to God is more valuable than what is recorded, objectively, in the Word of God. This form of "worship" is not worship at all; it is mysticism. Merriam-Webster defines mysticism as the belief that direct knowledge of God, spiritual truth, or ultimate reality can be attained through subjective experience (as intuition or insight). Mike Oppenheimer states emphatically:
When experience replaces Biblical knowledge, we have abandoned God's standard. Knowledge can be painful when it corrects us, but it can cost much more to follow falsehood, which by its nature is easy to swallow and soothing to those who refuse the truth.158
"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron" (1 Timothy 4:1-2). Besides, it is "In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established" (2 Corinthians 13:1); because, "no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation" (2 Peter 1:20). Thus, this redefinition is invalid and simply is a mask for unbelief, idolatry, covetousness and hypocrisy. Look what happened when people put more belief in their personal experience than in what was right before their eyes.
And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence. And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things? And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house. And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief. (Matthew 13:53-58)
Notice, the personal experience of the people gave them a false view of Jesus; hence, they did not belief the truth that was in front of them. Their unbelief caused God to stop working on their behalf: "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13). If God the Father is not working on our behalf, then Jesus is not working on our behalf. Jesus said, "I and my Father are one" (John 10:30) and "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work" (John 5:17). If Jesus is not working on our behalf—making intercession for us (Romans 8:34), then we have no mediator. If there is no mediator, then we lose the promise of eternal inheritance: "How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance" (Hebrews 9:14-15). What's more, if Jesus Christ, our head, is not working, then we, as part of the body of Christ, are incapable of working out our own salvation (Philippians 2:12); we are, in effect, in a slumber: "According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear; unto this day" (Romans 11:8). It should be noted that the Greek word for slumber is katanyxis, which means torpor of mind: "a state of mental and motor inactivity with partial or total insensibility" as defined by Merriam-Webster. Thus, we are in a state of spiritual laziness unable to act even though we are admonished to "be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless" (2 Peter 3:14).
Individual Worship
Popular theology's push for a personal savior produces a corollary problem: a growing percentage of Christians that believe it is not necessary to partake in corporate worship. They do not belong to a particular church or they attend church on the Internet or they do not attend church at all. This is nothing more than pride, judgment and idolatry in full swing. This practice is in direct contradiction, of course, to Hebrews 10:25, which states: "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching" (see also Psalm 50:5; Psalm 102:21-22; Psalm 111:1; Isaiah 43:9; Acts 11:25-27). In addition, we are charged to deny ourselves and to "Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits" (Romans 12:16). "So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another" (Romans 12:5); "And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you ... That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another" (1 Corinthians 12:21, 25).
http://resurrectedchurchministries.org/ ... avior.html
I would like to hear thoughts on this, but please keep the comments cordial... NO ARGUING
:o 
:scared 
