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Every religion is crafted to do one thing \u2013 control people. Sure, the leadership may say it is to promote the worship and understanding of God, in whatever form the religion declares God to be. However, when religion creates the doctrine and dogma which defines their \u201cGod,\u201d they do so to control what is acceptable and non-acceptable in both practices and people.<\/p>\n
Many of you reading this have been in a religious setting at one, or multiple, times in your life. You recognize that there are certain things you can \u201cget away with\u201d that won\u2019t have you kicked to the curb. But by and large many of you wouldn\u2019t even consider doing any of those things because you\u2019ve been indoctrinated not to even associate with such thoughts and\/or people.<\/p>\n
Religious institutions in the west are diligent in policing their congregation thoughts. Every denomination has a set of guidelines, or what they call \u201cbeliefs\u201d, which they promote every opportunity they get together. These \u201cbeliefs\u201d have been handed down over generations through the saints who proved themselves worthy to be \u201ccalled\u201d by God.<\/p>\n
When Jesus came upon the scene over two thousand years ago, religion was well established throughout the known world. Every kingdom had their trophy case of deities to shower with sacrifices, offerings and praise. Israel was unique in its religious structure in that the collective believed in one God alone. This is what set them apart from those around them and had for many generations.<\/p>\n
The sacred writings of Israel told the story of their God intervening for them when they were slaves in a foreign land. These writings foretold of a time when God would once again liberate His people and make them a godly nation to the world. Within these writings it was very clear that there was, and is always an \u201cus versus them\u201d mentality.<\/p>\n
Jesus upset the apple cart of the religious establishment of his day. He broke through the societal barriers which had been created by the religious class as a demonstration of how God did not hold anything against any class of person. Jesus demonstrated what 1 John declared: God is love.<\/p>\n
When Paul of Tarsus became an apostle of the Good News of Christ, he continued the teachings of Jesus about the love of God. In the many gathers across the region that he visited he told the people of the greatness of God towards all mankind done through the works of Jesus who was declared the Christ, the anointed one of God.<\/p>\n
Using the vernacular of the day, Paul described this greatness as the \u201cgrace of God.\u201d This sent the religious establishment into a frenzy because anything which came as a means of grace from God meant a loss in their control of the people. When you connect a loving God to a God full of grace, there is no way of containing how people will act within the traditions which they were the guardian of.<\/p>\n
An example of this comes from a passage in a letter sent to a young disciple of Paul\u2019s who was commissioned to tend to one of the churches Paul established while Paul was being imprisoned.<\/p>\n
(2Ti 1:9) Who hath saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before the world began;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
This passage speaks of an eternal plan long before the creation of the world. This is a cosmological declaration which predates anything ever associated with the religious structures in the world. This is what strikes fear in the heart of a religious organization. This is what I call the Cosmological Grace Anchor (CGA)<\/strong><\/em>. It clearly states that none of our works and their purposes are what makes us holy. It is God\u2019s own purpose and His grace which was gifted to us.<\/p>\n
Yes, you read that correctly. Grace is a gift from God, given to us before the world began.<\/p>\n
If there is a religious bone in your body right now, it is screaming loud. The CGA gives a definitive point when grace began. Not at the fall, not in the wilderness, not in captivity, and particularly not at the cross. Each one of those events already were operating within the gift given.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s draw it closer to home. Before you were born, before your sin, before your shame, your pride, your lust, your lying, your out-of-control life which brought you the bottle, the drugs, maybe even to Jesus, grace has been the air you breathe and the ground beneath your feet, yet you never even knew it. You don\u2019t earn it, it\u2019s a gift. It does no good to pray or cry out for it if it\u2019s already here. You don\u2019t even have to believe a certain way to obtain it. It\u2019s a gift already given before the world began!<\/p>\n
Can you sense the fear? It\u2019s just starting. It\u2019s time to awaken.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Every religion is crafted to do one thing \u2013 control people. Sure, the leadership may say it is to promote the worship and understanding of God, in whatever form the religion declares God to be. However, when religion creates the … Continue reading