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Three Distortions of Christianity |
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Almost from the beginning there were forces at
work within Christianity that would have destroyed or sidetracked the
movement. Of these, three created many problems then and have continued to
reappear in other forms even today. The three aberrations are contrasted
to true Christianity. |
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Group |
Their definition of a Christian |
Their genuine concern |
The danger |
Application question |
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Judaized Christianity |
Christians are Jews who have recognized Jesus as the promised Savior. Therefore, any Gentile desiring to become a Christian must first become a Jew. |
Having a high regard for the Scriptures and God's choice of Jews as his people, they did not want to see God's commands overlooked or broken. |
Tends to add human traditions and standards to God's law. Also subtracts from the Scriptures God's clear concern for all nations. |
Do you appreciate God's choice of a unique people through whom he offered forgiveness and eternal life to all peoples? |
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Legalized Christianity |
Christians are those who live by a long list of "don'ts." God's favor is earned by good behavior. |
Recognized that real change brought about by God should lead to changes in behavior. |
Tends to make God's love something to earn rather than to accept freely. Would reduce Christianity to a set of impossible rules and transform the Good News into bad news. |
As important as change in action is, can you see that God may be desiring different changes in you than in others? |
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Lawless Christianity |
Christians live above the law. They need no guidelines. God's Word is not as important as our personal sense of God's guidance. |
Recognized that forgiveness from God cannot be based on our ability to live up to his perfect standards. It must be received by faith as a gift made possible by Christ's death on the cross. |
Forgets that Christians are still human and fail consistently when trying to live only by what they "feel" God wants. |
Do you recognize the ongoing need for God's expressed commands as you live out your gratitude for his great salvation? |
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True Christianity |
Christians are those who believe inwardly and outwardly that Jesus' death has allowed God to offer them forgiveness and eternal life as a gift. They have accepted that received the gift through faith and are seeking to live a life of obedient gratitude for what God has done for them. |
Christianity is both private and public, with heart-belief and mouth-confession. Our relationship to God and the power he provides result in obedience. Having received the gift of forgiveness and eternal life, we are now daily challenged to live that life with his help. |
Avoids the above dangers. |
How would those closest to you describe your Christianity? Do they think you live so that God will accept you, or do they know that you live because God has accepted you in Christ? |