Repenting of Religion
Possibility of Love
Category: Sermons and Video Clips
Tags: Evil, Judgment, Love, Religious Idolatry, Repenting of Religion, Sin
Topics: The Problem of Evil
In this video, Greg explores the core sin that stands in the way of love. You might be surprised by what it is. Video by The Work of the People
Love OR Judgment – You Can’t Have Both
Category: General
Tags: Judgment, Living in Love, Love, Repenting of Religion
Topics: Following Jesus
Image by Morgan Sessions We cannot judge others because it is not our place as humans to function as the center—because God is that center—and judge other people. In addition, we cannot judge others because we…
Repent! … From the Sin of Religion
Category: General
Tags: Judgment, Living in Love, Love, Religion, Religious Idolatry, Repenting of Religion, Servant
Topics: Following Jesus
People often think that being Christian is about “being religious,” but loving others in the way that Christ instructs us is about as far removed from religion as anything could be. Religion, as I use…
The Kind of Sin Jesus Publicly Exposes
Category: General
Tags: Judgment, Love and Judgment, Religion, Religious Idolatry, Repenting of Religion
Topics: Following Jesus
Image by danny.hammontree via Flickr Religious sin is the only sin Jesus publicly confronted. The religious variety of the forbidden fruit is the most addictive and deceptive variety. Instead of acknowledging that judging others is prohibited, religious…
Jesus Did Not Teach Ethical Behavior
Category: General
Tags: Ethics, Judgement, Love, Repenting of Religion
Image by a2gemma via Flikr Paul teaches that love is not rude (1 Corinthians 13:4–5). If we forget that the New Testament is about the new life given us in Jesus Christ, we easily misinterpret this passage…
The Goal For Your Life in 2015
Category: General
Tags: Love, Love of God, New Year, Repenting of Religion, Trinity, Triune Love
Topics: Following Jesus
Love is the reason anything exists. God created the world out of love—to express his love and to invite others to share in his love. The central goal of creation is succinctly summed up in…
Is Having the “Right” Theology the Core of Christianity?
Category: General
Tags: Calvinism, Love, Non-Violence, Repenting of Religion, Violence
Last week, we posted a piece by Greg that challenges the practice being violent “in the name of Jesus” toward others who err theologically. (Click here to read this post.) Being that this piece got…
Should We Condemn Unbelievers For Their Own Good?
Category: General
Tags: Grace, Judgment, Repenting of Religion, Unconditional Love
We are to have faith that what God says about himself in Christ is true, what God says about us in Christ is true, and what God says about others in Christ is true….
The Most Subtle of Idolatries
Category: General
Tags: Religious Idolatry, Repenting of Religion
In our fallen state, separated from our true source center, we live from the knowledge of good and evil regardless of the particular idols from which we try to get life. [see yesterday’s post] Some…
What Went Wrong in the Garden of Eden?
Category: General
Tags: Garden of Eden, Idolatry, Judgment, Repenting of Religion, Sin, Temptation
Topics: Creation Care
When Adam and Eve ate from the tree, they imposed their will into the center of Paradise, and this was the act that destroyed Paradise. They invaded the proper domain of God. Instead of recognizing…
Are We Supposed to Balance Love and Truth?
Category: General
Tags: God is Love, Holiness, Love, Love One Another, Repenting of Religion, Truth, Wrath
Often people say, “Yes we must love. But we must balance love with truth.” “Love has its place, but we must not forget God’s wrath.” “Love must never take the place of correct biblical doctrine.”…
What Kind of Sinners Feel Welcomed by Your Church?
Category: General
Tags: Church, Homosexuality, Judgment, Kingdom Living, Repenting of Religion, Sin, Sinners
Perhaps the greatest indictment on evangelical churches today is that they are not generally known as refuge houses for sinners—places where hurting, wounded, sinful people can run and find love that does not question, an…
God’s Goal for the World
Category: General
Tags: Kingdom Living, Love, Repenting of Religion, Unity
Helga Weber via Compfight In a world that is all about doom and gloom… In a time when we never seem to have enough… In the midst of messages that tell us that we don’t…
Imaging God Wrongly: God’s Self-Portrait, Part 2
Category: Essays
Tags: Adam and Eve, Character of God, Essay, Idolatry, Imaginative Prayer, Picture of God, Religious Idolatry, Repenting of Religion, Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil
Topics: Christology
Our relationship with God depends on the way we imagine God. When we get the image of God right, the doors open for us to trust and relate to God in the ways we were…
Quotes to Chew on: God’s Love When We Rebel
Category: General
Tags: Jesus, Love, Repenting of Religion
“Despite the fall and its consequent curse, however, God’s love was not deterred. God is love. God doesn’t stop being God simply because the humans he created have rebelled against him. God does not abandon…