http://followchrist.info/ What Shall We Do? writes:
"The majority of people hold the opinion that there is no absolute truth. In our society, the view that the truth is relative is the predominating ideology. Many people have become accustomed to this stream of thought and think that one's idea of truth is relative and has no validity for others: "What seems good to me is what is right for me!" However, if everything has the same validity, then in the end nothing matters. The standard according to which good and bad, right and wrong are measured is completely missing. Everyone can find something to suit his own personal taste and needs. People paint their own picture of heaven, choosing the colours from a palette of their own desires and wishes, creating their own religion, which seems to fit well enough for the time being... In fact, religion is widely treated as yet another branch of the arts, like the world of fashion in which people shape trends and trends, in turn, shape people. However, God's way is different... "
It is justified to talk against the thinking that everything is subjective. There is God's way to the Heaven and other ways leading elsewhere.
But a problem is that there is a great number of communities who say that just they know the right way and others are in error. Every such congregation emphasizes some aspects of Jesus's teaching (or even the Old Testament teaching) and neglets some other aspects. Usually they procaim and publish what they follow and see important, and they try to hide or whitewash their teachings/practices that are not commonly understood as good.
They may critisize something wrong in other denominations and may give a better example in it themselves - and it is worthy to learn from them. But they may decline to the other extreme of that teaching and this is not good any more. They may also be unaware, unexperienced that some people may get free from a sin easily, other may need to fight for years before final freedom from the same sin. This can cause lack of mercy and patience towards the latter, and they may give up the fight as hopeless too quickly.
Let's read further:
"...He wants to set us free from selfish desires and sexual sins, from vanity and envy, from the feeling of inferiority and pride, from arrogance and the urge to win the favour of other people.
Jesus also wants to set us free from all kinds of deceptive teachings which lead people to concentrate on themselves even more in the effort to save themselves. But He also wants to set us free from wrong ideas which people call Christianity, where people devote vast amounts of time and energy to the cause of social justice but neglect the spiritual fight against sin."
It was good and had some effect to fight against sin, but sometimes we were too much focused on sins and thought too little about social aspects of life.
"Jesus wants to free us from teachings which provide an assurance of God's forgiveness but forget that discipleship is all about following Jesus. He wants to liberate us from doctrines which promise God's grace, but renounce obedience as legalistic. For this reason we seek the truth, searching for God's will in both our lives and teaching."
But it wasn't enough conscious that in spite of the need of obedience, we are forgiven by grace.
"The majority of people hold the opinion that there is no absolute truth. In our society, the view that the truth is relative is the predominating ideology. Many people have become accustomed to this stream of thought and think that one's idea of truth is relative and has no validity for others: "What seems good to me is what is right for me!" However, if everything has the same validity, then in the end nothing matters. The standard according to which good and bad, right and wrong are measured is completely missing. Everyone can find something to suit his own personal taste and needs. People paint their own picture of heaven, choosing the colours from a palette of their own desires and wishes, creating their own religion, which seems to fit well enough for the time being... In fact, religion is widely treated as yet another branch of the arts, like the world of fashion in which people shape trends and trends, in turn, shape people. However, God's way is different... "
It is justified to talk against the thinking that everything is subjective. There is God's way to the Heaven and other ways leading elsewhere.
But a problem is that there is a great number of communities who say that just they know the right way and others are in error. Every such congregation emphasizes some aspects of Jesus's teaching (or even the Old Testament teaching) and neglets some other aspects. Usually they procaim and publish what they follow and see important, and they try to hide or whitewash their teachings/practices that are not commonly understood as good.
They may critisize something wrong in other denominations and may give a better example in it themselves - and it is worthy to learn from them. But they may decline to the other extreme of that teaching and this is not good any more. They may also be unaware, unexperienced that some people may get free from a sin easily, other may need to fight for years before final freedom from the same sin. This can cause lack of mercy and patience towards the latter, and they may give up the fight as hopeless too quickly.
Let's read further:
"...He wants to set us free from selfish desires and sexual sins, from vanity and envy, from the feeling of inferiority and pride, from arrogance and the urge to win the favour of other people.
Jesus also wants to set us free from all kinds of deceptive teachings which lead people to concentrate on themselves even more in the effort to save themselves. But He also wants to set us free from wrong ideas which people call Christianity, where people devote vast amounts of time and energy to the cause of social justice but neglect the spiritual fight against sin."
It was good and had some effect to fight against sin, but sometimes we were too much focused on sins and thought too little about social aspects of life.
"Jesus wants to free us from teachings which provide an assurance of God's forgiveness but forget that discipleship is all about following Jesus. He wants to liberate us from doctrines which promise God's grace, but renounce obedience as legalistic. For this reason we seek the truth, searching for God's will in both our lives and teaching."
But it wasn't enough conscious that in spite of the need of obedience, we are forgiven by grace.
