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Christianity Is Outside the Box (1) Great men have the ability to "think outside the box." They are not trapped by the same old paradigms as everybody else. They are not afraid to challenge the establishment. It may sound strange, but true Christianity is outside-the-box religion, just as true worship to God in the Old Testament was "outside the box." God gave the children of Israel the Law at Mount Sinai. This law forbade worship of idols and the making of graven images. You see, everybody else was worshipping different gods and were making statutes representing their gods, but God did not want them to be like everybody else. They were not worshipping a god but the true God, Jehovah. Furthermore, they were told what they could and could not eat and what clothing to wear; the priests were told how to cut their hair, and they were told how live.The children of Israel were a different or peculiar people because they were worshipping a Holy God. Today, religion has a couple of different boxes. One box is a legalistic box. This means we become robots and simply do what God says without any emotion or feeling. This is a religion by rote. We learn to say the same prayer over and over, we go through the same rituals every Sunday, and we never see the purpose or intent of the Law. This box leaves man feeling cold and lifeless. His religion may be compared to cooking a cake. You check off all the ingredients as you put them in without a lot of thought. You go and sing three songs, say a prayer, give a few dollars into the collection plate. As you do each one, you check them off your list but your heart was not involved. This is an empty religion. ,Another box is the emotion-only box. A lot of religious groups place a great deal of emphasis on emotion. They speak of loving God and each other, they sing with the heart, and everything they do is very emotional. Turning off the lights, clapping their hands, hearing testimonials, and holding hands may be emotional but not necessarily religious. What is missing in the above sentences? The Bible. They do not feel compelled to actually study the Bible and do what it says in the way God prescribes. To them worship is little more than a pep rally. They may feel good and excited about being a "Christian," but they have no substance to their service to God. Jesus says, " God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth" (John 4.24) NIV "In truth" means according to God’s word. We must study the way He tells us to worship Him. "In spirit" refers to the emotion of man. There is nothing wrong with heartfelt worship. In fact, without the heart and the word of God, our worship is in vain."'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men'" (Matthew 15.8-9) NIV You may wonder, how is this outside-the-box religion? Let me ask you, how many religious groups are actually doing what God’s word says? How many places or groups of people are studying the Bible? How many are truly dedicated to spreading the Gospel, being a light to the world around them, condemning sin, and encouraging the weak? Religion has become a time of play and empty ritualism. That is why true Christianity is outside the box; it is neither child’s play nor a burden to bear. Think about it. -- Dennis Tucker. |