I came across some notes written by Passion and it made me think a lot... I came to realise that I believe this is the truth, judging from my personal experiences. It is confusing after being taught that faith and works gives salvation but now I think that this makes more sense.
Looking back on the first time that Jesus touched me, God truly reached out to me, making me whole again - I didn't do much except pronounce my faith to the world. I cannot testify enough how much God reaches out to people and saves them! On that note, read what Passion has to say about this topic :)
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Hey World Here are some notes that I took while listening and watching a sermon that a Pastor preached. I hope that you can or would take time to read the verses stated in this sermon or simply consider what's being said:
Religion is mans attempt to please God by adhering to rules and regulations.
-Galatians 1:6-7
Why are people drawn to religion?
-Provides a system of measurement
-It provides a false comfort
I am not a religious person because religion never works
Problem with religion:
-It creates confusion
-Galatians 1:7
Break down the barriers and concentrate on the ONE thing that matters; that Jesus died on the cross for your sins.
-Galatians 1:10
-Religion focuses on mans work.
Why do people embrace religion?
-JESUS. Not Jesus PLUS being religious. It is JESUS no matter what!
The book of Galatians is all about breaking down the myth of religion.
RELIGION is spelled DO
You gotta do this, you gotta do that, gotta do it do it do it
CHRISTIANITY is spelled DONE
There is nothing left to do, when Jesus died on the cross for your sins, and when you accept that free gift of salvation, THATS IT! PERIOD! You do not have to do WORKS to gain His salvation.
RELIGION is mans attempt to reach God
CHRISTIANITY is the opposite. It is Gods attempt to reach man. Its Jesus loving us SO MUCH, that when we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. NOT when we were so good, but when we were sinners.
NOT US REACHING TO GOD, BUT GOD REACHING TO US
RELIGION focuses on the external
CHRISTIANITY focuses on the internal (whats inside your heart?)
God doesnt look at the exterior, He looks at the HEART.
Why are we doing the things we are doing?
I obey God not to gain His approval,
I obey God because of my sincere appreciation for what Hes done.
How does this apply to me?
-Galatians 1:11-12
-If you look at every other world religion on the scene, ever other religion that man has come up with, it all boils up to one thing, MAN trying to please the god. Man TRYING to gain approval, man TRYING to do this, man DYING, TRYING to please God.
-Christianity is totally different. Christianitys God dying for the world, while we were yet sinners.
-Galatians 1:13- 14 (BUT WHEN GOD)
-But when God changes everything.
-There are people that feel so bad for what they have done, BUT WHEN GOD, comes into the scene, everything changes.
-It doesnt matter what youve done or how many times youve done it, BUT WHEN GOD.
-When Saul saw Jesus, everything changed.
-When you catch a glimpse of what Jesus has done for you, everything changes.
-When God speaks, the doctors are silent.
-Jesus did not come into the world to put us in bondage (RELIGION),
-He didnt come into the world for us to live by a set of rules and regulations,
-Jesus came into the world for ONE purpose, to set the captives free.
-When you are free, you are free indeed!
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So these are my notes that i took the other day. Remember that religion bites! yikes! lol. And remember that reading His word, praying, and just spending time with Him is what He longs for. Not your works and your constant battle of gaining His love. It's already been given to you. He wants to have a relationship with you, not religion. Anybody can be religious, but its the HEART that God looks for. Take care and God bless!
sincerely,
Jeremy "Passion" Manongdo
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Faith Active in Love Witnesses to the Free Gift of Justification in Christ - Pope Benedict XVI
This is an excerpt and it really shows that our strength in faith is SO important - throughout all Christianity.
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Dear Brothers and Sisters,
In the Catechesis last Wednesday I spoke of how man is justified before God. Following St. Paul, we have seen that man is unable to "justify" himself with his own actions, but can only truly become "just" before God because God confers his "justice" upon him, uniting him to Christ his Son. And man obtains this union through faith.
In this sense, St. Paul tells us: not our deeds, but rather faith renders us "just". This faith, however, is not a thought, an opinion, an idea. This faith is communion with Christ, which the Lord gives to us, and thus becomes life, becomes conformity with him. Or — to use different words — faith, if it is true, if it is real, becomes love, becomes charity, is expressed in charity. A faith without charity, without this fruit, would not be true faith. It would be a dead faith.
Thus, in our last Catechesis, we discovered two levels: that of the insignificance of our actions and of our deeds to achieve salvation, and that of "justification" through faith which produces the fruit of the Spirit.
The confusion of these two levels has caused more than a few misunderstandings in Christianity over the course of centuries. In this context it is important that St. Paul, in the same Letter to the Galatians radically accentuates, on the one hand, the freely given nature of justification that is not dependent on our works, but which at the same time also emphasizes the relationship between faith and charity, between faith and works:
"In Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love" (Gal 5:6). Consequently, there are on the one hand "works of the flesh", which are "immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry..." (Gal 5:19-20): all works that are contrary to the faith; on the other, there is the action of the Holy Spirit who nourishes Christian life, inspiring "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" (Gal 5:22-23). These are the fruits of the Spirit that blossom from faith.
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