Jude 1:3: "... earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints."
Recently I watched an episode of "Being Mary Jane" a series on BET starring Gabrielle Union. According to the heroine, she had gone nowhere in her relationships despite being a "good girl". There was a point during the programme when she was in the car with her niece and she was listening to "He's Able" by Deitrick Haddon. So I understood that she was supposed to some sort of Christian. However by the end of the programme I began wondering who shaped the creators of the story's perception of what it meant to be Christian.
I am a firm believer that the Bible is quite clear and explicit about most things. The trouble arises when we decide to put our own spin on things or begin to infer things that are just not correct. When we decide the Bible is like a non-binding guide. That's when we begin to split hairs and choose what we will do or not do. I remember reading a comment on a blog and someone saying that the Bible was against pre-marital sex because of STD's. Which implies that now that STD's are no longer a problem because of science, then we should all let go of our inhibitions and go out and have a good time. I wonder who or what shaped that perception of Christianity. I believe that perception is wrong but unfortunately that is the perception a lot of people have. I believe that perception stems from the deep rooted inclination toward rebellion in man. The thought that no one. not even God can tell me what to do.
There is a contention in the world today about what Christianity is all about. I recently read an article about how soldiers at a camp were told that a Christian organisation is a "hate group". That means that they think Christianity is all about hate. There are those who also say that Christianity is all about love. That no matter what you do, it's okay because God loves you. The first position comes from those who don't like like to be told that they are wrong while the second group don't wan't to be wrong. They both stem from the idea that nothing we do as human beings can be wrong. That for you to love someone means condoning what they do. And there are those who say they are Christians who agree with them. The lives they live are contrary to what Christ says. They therefore shape the perception of those who see them and they decide what it means to be Christian.
Nothing on earth can survive without a system, a structure keeping it in place. Even love has it rules. The first rule of love is that you must show it for it to be believed. You can't say you love someone without showing it. I have said before that I do not accept the labels like liberal or conservative that we put on Christianity nowadays. I am a Christian because I believe in Jesus and I have accepted him as my love and Saviour. I love him and I want to show him from my relationship with him and with men. I however have a responsibility to present an accurate picture of who he is to all men. Not who I think he is or who I want him to be. Who he is. No more, no less. I however have a responsibility to speak out when people misrepresent him or his people, one of whom I am. We all do.
Recently I watched an episode of "Being Mary Jane" a series on BET starring Gabrielle Union. According to the heroine, she had gone nowhere in her relationships despite being a "good girl". There was a point during the programme when she was in the car with her niece and she was listening to "He's Able" by Deitrick Haddon. So I understood that she was supposed to some sort of Christian. However by the end of the programme I began wondering who shaped the creators of the story's perception of what it meant to be Christian.
I am a firm believer that the Bible is quite clear and explicit about most things. The trouble arises when we decide to put our own spin on things or begin to infer things that are just not correct. When we decide the Bible is like a non-binding guide. That's when we begin to split hairs and choose what we will do or not do. I remember reading a comment on a blog and someone saying that the Bible was against pre-marital sex because of STD's. Which implies that now that STD's are no longer a problem because of science, then we should all let go of our inhibitions and go out and have a good time. I wonder who or what shaped that perception of Christianity. I believe that perception is wrong but unfortunately that is the perception a lot of people have. I believe that perception stems from the deep rooted inclination toward rebellion in man. The thought that no one. not even God can tell me what to do.
There is a contention in the world today about what Christianity is all about. I recently read an article about how soldiers at a camp were told that a Christian organisation is a "hate group". That means that they think Christianity is all about hate. There are those who also say that Christianity is all about love. That no matter what you do, it's okay because God loves you. The first position comes from those who don't like like to be told that they are wrong while the second group don't wan't to be wrong. They both stem from the idea that nothing we do as human beings can be wrong. That for you to love someone means condoning what they do. And there are those who say they are Christians who agree with them. The lives they live are contrary to what Christ says. They therefore shape the perception of those who see them and they decide what it means to be Christian.
Nothing on earth can survive without a system, a structure keeping it in place. Even love has it rules. The first rule of love is that you must show it for it to be believed. You can't say you love someone without showing it. I have said before that I do not accept the labels like liberal or conservative that we put on Christianity nowadays. I am a Christian because I believe in Jesus and I have accepted him as my love and Saviour. I love him and I want to show him from my relationship with him and with men. I however have a responsibility to present an accurate picture of who he is to all men. Not who I think he is or who I want him to be. Who he is. No more, no less. I however have a responsibility to speak out when people misrepresent him or his people, one of whom I am. We all do.
JC Cruz is the author of DECEPTIO published by WestBowPress, a
division of Thomas Nelson publishers.http://bookstore.westbowpress.com/Products/SKU000194087/Deceptio.aspx and LOST, BUT FOUND available at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DPLLEUQ/.
You can follow him on Twitter @Cruz_JCReal
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