Staying True to Who We Are

www.alaskaopc.org

As a Christian I am interested in facts and truth. I'm especially drawn to transcendent truths. That would be the realities of God. Non-material truths. The values and ideas of the creator of the universe. I know He exists because the decisions that I've made along my way to 57 years of age that I feel the best about were influenced by the Holy Spirit. They were consistent with His morality, God's values. They are described in the Bible. Whatever is good about my life is grounded in the Bible and Christianity. My goodness is not my own. It is a gift from God. It is the most precious gift I ever received.

Imagine my heartache when I read this headline just now: "Survey: Evangelicals Don't Understand Christianity." And the subheadline only made it worse, "53% say everyone sins but most people 'good' by nature."

Most people are not ... I repeat ... NOT ... good by nature. We are, all of us, sinful. We are separated from God. We must choose to get to know Him. It doesn't happen automatically. And we start by accepting the FACT that our settings are all set toward evil, selfishness, greed and corruption. While we cannot work our way out of this situation, we all live a life that is a series of decisions that end with death. After that comes the judgment ... and heaven or hell. Each decision we make moves us closer to one of those places.

Here is the link to the article mentioned above.
https://www.wnd.com/2018/10/survey-evangelicals-dont-understand-christianity/

Here is an especially interesting excerpt from the article:

Evangelical theology, affirming the divinity of Jesus, holds that God is one God in three divine persons. The survey also examined the beliefs of Americans overall. It found a majority of American adults agree with well-known doctrines of the Christian faith, but they hold those teachings loosely. “Americans,” the report said, “do not seem to grasp the reality of God’s holiness.” For example, 69 percent disagree that even the smallest sin deserves eternal damnation. “If God is not holy, then sin is not a big deal. It is because of our understanding of God’s holiness that we understand how significant sin is,” the report said. “Moreover, a majority of Americans downplay the importance of the church’s gathering together to worship God. This shows a characteristic American emphasis on individuality, an individuality that runs counter to the Bible’s teaching.” The survey found 58 percent of adults agree that worshiping alone or with one’s family is “a valid replacement” for regular church attendance. As many as 60 percent of adults agree that religious belief is a matter of personal opinion, not objective truth.

The American individuality mentioned here is especially pernicious. We help create the society we inhabit. We must include relationships with other people to be whole persons. We cannot flourish if we isolate ourselves. The best context to create the society we inhabit is worship. Start with worship and build from there. Don't start with yourself and expect to create a beautiful society, home or neighborhood.

I enjoy hymn singing. I'll close with one of my favorites.

Thanks for reading!