Does it matter what we believe? | Features

Fundamentally, being a Christian is about our relationship with God. Do we enter His presence, do we remain there? Do we listen to His voice, do we act on it? Or do we have a whole set of reasons why we don't need to or why we think we don't have to?

God made us to walk with, and wants a relationship with mankind. Each of us has to "buy-in" to that relationship because God has given us free-will. God is not a rapist – he forces himself on no-one and waits for us to take a step towards Him.

I walk with a number of other ministers and leaders in the city of York under the One Voice banner. Because we are building good relationships we are able to accomplish some things together. These are people that I value the company of, and I have a tremendous respect for. Some are what we would normally refer to as "high church" in their background, but they are full of the Holy Spirit and are praying for His kingdom to come just as I am. The truth is that we agree about nearly everything, but we don't get together to find out about what we believe – we come to pray for the city of York and for each other's ministries in this city.

I recently received some crazy literature from someone who was too ashamed to give their name. It was clearly aimed at damaging these relationships and condemning me for having them in the first place. This reminded me that there is a small section of the church that believes they should be separate from all other churches because they have some special revelation that makes them superior. I am the first to own up that at The Ark, we don't have a unique revelation and we aren't superior! In fact we have a lot to learn, which makes the pilgrimage of walking with other leaders and groups all the more urgent. We may know what we believe and turn to scripture as the basis of everything we teach, but we haven't achieved perfection in our understanding yet!

I also talked to a man recently who sincerely believed that we don't have free will. Does it matter that he thought this? Does it matter that some people think that Christians shouldn't associate with those of a different denominational background? Does it matter what we believe about God? I think all of these things matter, and we need to be big enough to recognise that and mature enough to study and find the truth. One of the reasons we don't is our lack of maturity and refusal to accept the responsibilities that come with that maturity.

If we want to have a renewed and totally biblical belief system, then the sheer joy is that the Holy Spirit will help us!

John 14:26 But the Counsellor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. NIV

A local vicar, who is also a very godly man and is seeking the kingdom of God, has a silent pulpit outside his church. Positioned at a busy set of traffic lights it makes me and many other drivers think. For a few weeks it has had the question "So you want an 'ology?" painted on it. Now this has been updated and says "Try The ology".

Theology is of course the 'ology that matters; but it can be a dangerous thing in the hands of the immature or the manipulative! Sometimes what we believe about God is actually a set of ideas that a man has come up which may encompass much of scripture, but is a man-idea and not a God-idea. The trouble with our theories that we have for everything is that they are tainted by the fall – corruption is in our thinking too!

When it comes to free-will and the big question as to why things happen, there are all sorts of belief systems. Some Christians believe a sort of "fate" that everything is predestined and nothing happens unless it was planned by God. There are a couple of problems about this idea. Firstly, if nothing happens without God's planning then God must be responsible for our sin – He must have planned for Adam to sin, and must have planned that we would continue. If all the wrong things we do are part of the "great plan" then we are not accountable – which is the great appeal of the theory! Secondly, if this is true then we have no free will – we are only working out God's plan and therefore we were not created in God's image; we are robots and not the most special and unique of God's creation. Lastly, there is no need for a devil – if God has planned all the bad things than we can forget that an interfering Satan exists. This helps Satan a lot, because he can carry on with his nefarious work whilst we put all responsibility for everything at God's feet.

If instead of having a "unified theory" if we just read the scripture then all things become clear.

On this occasion there isn't the space to fully teach a response to this, so watch for an MP3 in January called "Adam and Authority" which will be the first one in our new series of character studies called "Christ-Lines".

Putting it succinctly, God made us to rule the planet, and sort of "leased" the Earth to us(Gen 1:26, Ps 115:16). We sinned by obeying Satan (Gen 3:2-6), and in doing so relinquished our rule and authority. From the book of Job, the writings of Paul and also the word of Jesus at His temptation (Luke 4:5-8), it is clear that Satan entered into authority. The cross whilst dealing with our sin and punishment, also dealt with the issue of who had authority and Jesus himself comes away from the tomb telling us that He has all authority in heaven and on Earth – and that we are to go! (Matt 28:18-20)

A perfect man took back from Satan that which the first man handed over.

God straddles time – He exists in eternity and is not part of the continuum we call time. Because of this He can see all things and knows the end from the beginning. But the area we called "Earth" has been given or "leased" for a time and we have messed it up big style. The church is here to manifest as the sons of God before creation, and to be revealed to the universe in the fullness of time as the bride of Christ.

Rom 8:19 The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. NIV

Stuff happens because of the fall – the ripples are still spreading out from Eden. We have a free will - because without it we could not choose Christ as Saviour. Our world has corruption and death written all over it, but none of that was God's choice – it was ours. To say that we do not have free will or that God is always pulling our strings detracts from the grace, mercy and integrity of God who gave them in the first place. There is a whole spiritual realm which we are not usually aware of in which much happens that overlaps our physical world – but we are not pawns in a spiritual chess game.

God is a good God, He is a giver, not a taker, He is a lover not a despot and is the source of everything good – not everything bad!

James 1:16 Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. 17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. NIV

John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. NIV

I am sure there is a name for our brand of theology – but who cares? What matters is that the name of God isn't maligned by attributing evil to Him as well as good. What matters is that we understand that God loves us, has a plan for our lives (if we will cooperate with Him) and that even when trouble comes our way (Job 5:7, John 16:33) that He is working 'overtime' to bring good out of it for us.

Rom 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose NIV

Don't think of God like some sort of scientist who 'toys' with us – H.G.Wells wrote:

"as men busied themselves about their various concerns they were scrutinised and studied, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinise the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water." (From the opening page of 'War of the Worlds'.)

Choose to believe something good about God today, and don't be deceived into thinking your life is totally predetermined. Today can be as good as the quality of your choice in following Jesus.

Heb 11:6 Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that there is a God and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. NLT