What lens do you wear?
By Ess-Jee
Rautenbach
We are living in
very interesting times. And the way we perceive the Bible and Christ is key to
how we construct our lives and make decisions. The way we view the Gospel is
also a great prediction of how we perceive marriage, divorce, re-marriage and
separation. In this article, I will try to show you that in our generation we
can get three types of Gospels. Most Christians fall in one of
them.
The Analogy of
three Gospels can also be seen as what type of lens you are looking through.
Your lens is the filter you look through -- at the Bible, Jesus, etc. This lens
also determines the way you experience other believers and how you will act in
certain situations. It is also the core of your belief system. Frank Viola names
the three Gospels in His book, “Reimaging Church,” and he discusses them in
detail. For this article’s purpose, I only touch on them shortly, just to give
you an idea of why we do what we do.
“A man's morality will almost always
determine his theology, not vice versa. People first choose how they wish to
live and then construct and conform their world view to suit their lifestyle. It
is a rare person who objectively looks at the Bible in inductive study to see
what is said and then brings his life in conformity with biblical standards.”
Craig Hill
In
the start of the first century and even to the present day, we get three
Gospels. They are: Libertinism, Legalism and the Gospel of Liberty and Lordship.
Libertinism is where the individual beliefs that Grace covers all his sins. He
believes that Jesus dying on the cross gives him a license to sin. He justifies
his actions with prophetic words: God told him, etc. Most of his actions are not
in line with the Word of God but, in his mind, he is okay because Christ died
for His sins. As we read Romans 6, we can see that Paul tackles this Gospel head
on, telling the reader that we should not give in to the desires of our flesh
because the fruits of listening to our flesh lead to sin, and sin leads to
death. The same is true in the book of James. James implores believers not to
fall for this type of Gospel. To make James’ and Paul’s cautions relevant to
today, we can find this type of Gospel in Hyper Grace movements and also in some
Charismatic Churches. Apply this lens to marriage and we find individuals who
divorce, re-marry and even commit adultery with no hint of remorse or
repentance.
The
second Gospel is Legalism. This Gospel is marked by the believer working very
hard to earn God’s acceptance. In my own experience, these individuals always
dig deep into old covenant scriptures and use the Old Testament to justify their
words and actions. They also judge those who do not do what they do or do not
have the same conviction they have. They are very prideful individuals who are
marked by self-righteousness. In some way or another, they have placed
themselves above other people. In marriage, these individuals have all the right
knowledge and they even sometimes speak the truth, but what they say and what
they do are two totally different things. They use scripture to justify their
sinful behaviors. In the Book of Galatians, we can see Paul addressing such a
legalistic Church.
“In short, the libertine lives as if there
is no God. The legalist lives as though she or he is God to everyone else. Both
attitudes are incompatible with the life of Christ.” Viola, Frank. Jesus Now: Unveiling the
Present-Day Ministry of Christ
The
third and final Gospel is the Gospel of Lordship and Liberty. This Gospel is
very scarce in our generation. This is a Gospel where believers take up their
crosses and follow Jesus. This can also be seen as the ecclesia of Christ, the
church most of the new covenant and New Testament talk about. When there is a
reference to Church in the New Testament, it is talking about ecclesia, not the
Institutional Church we know today.
“But the truth is, submission to Christ’s
lordship is the gateway to the liberty of the Spirit.” Viola, Frank. Jesus Now: Unveiling the
Present-Day Ministry of Christ
It
is a Gospel where individuals, in cooperation with other brothers and sisters,
make Jesus Christ Lord of their lives. They learn individually and corporately
how to live from Christ in them. In other words, they learn how to live from
Christ inside of them. This is a type of individual whose life will testify of
love and all the fruit of the spirit as is described in Galatians 5. His walk is
a sacrificial one. He strives to serve
others daily and denies himself as well. In marriage, this individual stays true
to his vows until “death do us part.” No matter what his or her spouse does or
says, he or she chooses to stay faithful till death even if there spouse isn’t.
They choose to stand for their marriages if need arises, sacrificing their lives
for a spouse who doesn’t really deserve it, but they choose to love them anyway.
When Christ
Jesus is the one who determines our Gospel and lens, nothing else matters. Our
priorities begin to fall into place, our values are rightly determined and, most
importantly, God is honored and glorified.
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