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Our One God Thinks In Terms of Oneness, Wellness and Wholeness: His Theology Is Liberation Theology
"I am here... you are there... and God is 'up there somewhere'." This is how we think - in terms of separation. Our one God, considered a Trinity, does not. He thinks in terms of wholeness and oneness. His gospel is a liberation theology - some say a reformed theology. He sees us joined with each other, and with himself, if we are in Christ.
The gospel was given to us to straighten out our thinking and cause us to at least begin thinking the way God does. The New Testament has a LOT to say of this. In fact, even though he knows us all by name, and even the hairs on our head, God may only see TWO people in the world: (1) those in Jesus, and (2) those not in Jesus.
THE OLD TESATMENT. If we live outside the gospel, in religion or Old Testament thinking, we think wrong here too. We get it in our minds that it's piecemeal, and we can pick and choose things to fit what we want. We think in terms of God's blessings and promises all being separate and distinct: we choose what we want.
We think if we do ONE thing good, God will reward us and bless us - forgetting about everything else his word says. We think of his word in like a smorgasbord, where we choose what we want, and leave what we don't want. Actually his word is more like an all-in-one banquet.
We forget that the Old Testament says we must keep it ALL to be blessed by God and have his promises. Read passages like Deuteronomy 6:1-3 and 19:8-9. Many places it says we must do it all. Deuteronomy 6:25 even goes so far as to say if we keep ALL of God's law, then we will be righteous. This is why no one succeeded in the Old Testament (Rom 3:10, 23, Acts 15:10). James 2:10 agrees with this, and says it in reverse: if we fail at ONE thing, we are guilty of breaking ALL the law.
THE NEW TESTAMENT GOSPEL. Thank God there was a total change in covenants! In the Old, if we did one thing WRONG, we were cursed, and we missed God's blessing, favor and promises. Hebrews 11:39 says even though all those men and women of faith in the OT got a good 'report card,' they missed the promise of God. All his promises and blessings were being saved for us in the New Covenant gospel (Heb 11:40, Eph 1:3, II Cor 1:20).
WHY? Again, God is collective in his thinking: he thinks in terms of oneness and unity. Today, if we do one thing RIGHT - accept Jesus and believe and trust in him - then we get ALL God's promises and blessings.
There is only one curse I can find in the New Testament today: if we live by Old Testament law, ways and means (Gal 3:10). Jesus says to repent of all those Old ways and believe and receive his gospel truth (Mark 1:14-15).
WE ARE EITHER IN CHRIST OR ADAM. Romans 5 says we are in one of two states. We are born into sin, and therefore are sinners because of what Adam did, but we are made righteous in Christ if we receive him. This seems unfair. Why should I be held accountable for someone else's sin? I have enough of my own sin to get to hell all by myself! I don't need Adam!
But God did this for US! By forcing us to the choice of either living in Jesus or not, he does NOT have to hold us accountable for our own sin. He forgets our sin (Heb 8:12, 10:17). Jesus came to put away sin (Heb 9:26). It's not about what WE do, it's about what HE did.
If we think the way God does, all of life is different. God made it so simple for us. Jesus says, "My way is easy. My burden is light" (Mat 11:28). It is totally to our advantage to start thinking and seeing the way God does. Gospel truth is what gives us this advantage.
ROGER HIMES, THE GOSPEL COACH www.TheGospelCoach.com Live life at least 50% in a year than you are today -- in the finished work of the cross of Christ. The gospel empowers us to live life better by accident than we ever could on purpose. Follow us on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/TheGospelCoach
Article submitted Thursday, August 18, 2011 & read 23 times.
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