Author: Kara M. Young

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Christianity, Capitalism, and Purpose

by David Shaw

“If you work hard, you’ll succeed.” “If you put in the time, God will reward your efforts.” “God loves a hard worker”. These are all sayings that we’ve probably heard at least once in our life, and they’re all used to motivate us to continue to put in just a little bit more time, energy, or effort into our jobs because with just a few more inches of effort we’ll hit gold. We’ve been taught from a young age about the importance of hard work, of finding a job and being successful at it as the keys to wealth and prosperity, and that God wants that for us. The problem with this line of thinking is that this isn’t a universal experience, and depending on when and where you were born, what skin color you have, your gender or sexual expression, your physical or mental abilities, or how much money is in your parents bank account, the “hard work = success” equation isn’t true at all.

While this may be a reality we must accept in the secular world, the capitalistic contradiction has found its way into religion, particularly the American brand of Christianity. The effect that it has had on Christians for generations are present but they aren’t mentioned nearly enough, because for many it’s seen as Christian belief functioning normally. However, the truth is that there is nothing normal about a belief which creates a mindset that contradicts the teachings of the religion. If you want proof of this, ask yourself the question “what is my purpose in life?”

The purpose of life is a complicated and long question. Thousands of years of philosophy have gone by and we still don’t have an answer that can apply to all humans across time. Religions have attempted to wrestle with this question too, and have produced their own answers which are accepted by their believers as the true answer. Christianity’s answer to the question can be found all over the Bible, sometimes explicit and sometimes alluded too. The most accepted answer to the question was said by none other than Jesus himself in Matthew 22:36-40. Every other answer given in the Bible revolve around this “love God and love your neighbor as yourself” theme. So to put it simply, our purpose in life is to love God and love each other. 

But for many Christians, that answer isn’t satisfactory. If it was satisfactory then there wouldn’t be an entire industry of Christian self-help books dedicated to help Christian’s “find God’s purpose for their life”. If Christians believed such a simple answer as “love God and love each other” was truly their purpose in life, then Rick Warren’s “Purpose Driven Life” wouldn’t be one of the best selling books of all time. The reason that these books exist is because Christians don’t truly accept “love God and love each other” as their purpose in life, and they don’t accept this answer because “what’s my purpose in life” isn’t really the question they are asking. 

The question Christians, and most people in a capitalist society, really mean when they ask “what is my purpose” is “what job/career should I have”. This is because for our entire lives we have been taught and conditioned to believe that our purpose in life is to find a job to work and be successful at until we’re able to retire. We are conditioned to believe that our lives only have meaning or purpose when we’re working. Capitalism has tainted our idea of purpose. When we become uncomfortable in our jobs, when we aren’t getting adequate pay, when the job isn’t making us happy, or when we find ourselves unemployed for a period of time, many Christians find themselves going down the “what is my purpose” rabbit hole. And where do many Christian’s turn to? To sermons, seminars, devotionals, and “God’s purpose for your life” books.  All of the “find God’s purpose” outlets are popular because they teach how to be comfortable with our place within, or better yet survive in spite of, capitalism. And all it takes is a “change in mindset” or a “spiritual shift in our worldview”, or any religious code phrase for “see your current suffering as a test from God that we must overcome.”

But how did we get to this point? How did our idea of purpose become so twisted? There are three parts that have aided in correlating work and purpose. The youngest part is the American Dream. The idea that anyone who works hard will succeed. We already know that this isn’t true for everyone, and anyone that isn’t a white, Christian, able-bodied, straight, cis-gendered male will face more difficulty and their “success” will be less than if they fit the mold. But even knowing this, the dream is still pushed by marginalized communities that are searching for salvation from their oppression through capitalistic means. 

The next part of the puzzle is the “Protestant work ethic” which is the foundation of the American Dream. The Protestant work ethic was a name given for a phenomenon that had been going on for almost a thousand years, in which Christianity was contributing to the growth of capitalism through its teaching. The teaching in question was about predestination, particularly “how would one know if they were saved”. The answer: “if you are rich, take that as a sign that God picked you to get into heaven”. But what if you’re poor? Then if you work hard enough, your work ethic will be a sign that you’ll make it into heaven. This thinking would be the catalyst for greed and inequality. Business owners would cut corners and lower wages to increase their own profits, and in turn the employees worked harder just to make ends meet. But on the bright side, both groups could rest assured that they would make it into heaven based on nothing other than capitalistic exploitation. This was the underlying thought process of the Christian capitalist world, which venerated the rich and pressed the poor to enjoy their suffering. This was so accepted, that when union organizers or communists threatened the capitalist idea of work, they were labeled as atheists, because if you don’t believe in capitalism you must not believe in God.

The final piece of the puzzle begins even farther back in time, thousands of years in the past in fact. This piece is the idea of “divine reward and punishment”. Divine reward and punishment are easy concepts to grasp. “If you do something God/the gods like, then you’ll be rewarded. But if you do something God/the gods don’t like, then you’ll be punished”. How strong is this thinking really? Imagine you’re a Bronze Age hardworking farmer that diligently takes care of their crops. God/the gods will reward your hard work, and come harvest time your harvest will be bountiful. But now imagine you’re a lazy farmer that doesn’t care to their fields. God/the gods will punish your laziness with a bad harvest. Obviously, this kind of thinking ignores real world conditions. What if I’m a hard worker but the soil was bad there was a famine, will the gods still punish me? Or what if I’m not that diligent but the soil is excellent and there were favorable rains, are the gods still blessing me?

This “good human action = divine reward” and “bad human action = divine punishment” thinking can fit to almost an scenario. Any human action could be perceived as good or bad and anything could be perceived as divine reward or punishment. Maybe being a hardworking farmer wasn’t what the gods were judging us by. Maybe it’s if we treat our family with respect, or if we pay our tithes, or if we give honor to the monarch, or if we worshipped the right god in the right way, or it may be all of the above. What if the gods didn’t reward us with a good harvest, they just sent a lot of rain, or they didn’t allow our country to be invaded, or maybe they allowed our army to conquer another country. We can mix and match any good or bad human action with any perceived divine action it will make perfect sense, as long as we ignore all other material possibilities. 

Because the possibilities of “divine reward and punishment” are endless, it was incredibly easy for human beings to make anything fit its structure regardless of how much harm it produced. This was exploited by those with political, economic, and religious power to keep the lower classes in line. When those in power began to acquire and hoard more and more wealth through feudalism leaving less resources for those below them on the social ladder, the foundation of the“Protestant work ethic” was set. As feudalism evolved into capitalism, those of the lower classes that struggled to make enough money to survive were assured that if they just worked hard they could make it into heaven. All the while the rich lived in comfort, not having to worry about their salvation at all as their wealth was their ticket into the pearly gates. Later on in the United States, those in power spread that same message but changed it to match an ever-growing secular rhetoric. Instead of heaven/hell being the divine reward/punishment for our amount of work, it was now success or failure, ignoring the conditions many people live through and the multiple oppressions they may face. Just like the only escape that many had from their oppression a millennia ago was their belief that they might make it into heaven, many today believe that their only escape from their oppression is to be successful. And it is this capitalist idea of “being successful” that has become the purpose of our lives. 

Is there a way to solve the capitalist problem within Christianity in regards to purpose? Even at my most optimistic, my best answer is “maybe”. While individual people can come to the realization that God’s purpose for their life has nothing to do with a job or a career but has everything to do with faith and how we treat other people, there are more factors at work. As a whole, Christianity has survived by becoming a valuable tools to those in power to control the lower classes, this is undeniable. If Christian institutions were to make a real effort to make their members see that their purpose is to love God and love each other rather than stressing over work, who knows how the political and economic powers would react. Without diving into speculation, it would take a wholistic effort to untangle capitalism from Christianity, as their are too many variables at play that reinforce the relationship. Without total effort, a true solution may be hopeless. Even still, it would be a greater comfort for the oppressed and lower classes to come to the realization that God’s purpose for them is to beings full of love rather than being complicit in capitalist exploitation. 

“The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God, and keep his commandments; for that is the whole duty of everyone.”

Ecclesiastes 12:13 NRSV-CI

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Christianity and Sexual Maturity

By Daniel Holder

Is Theology an Excuse to not Reach Sexual Maturity?

These pastoral sex scandals, either with men, women, or children, indicate to me that maybe theology does not encourage sexual development.  There is a blessing in the “hoe phase” (at least, that’s what I hear) because at least then you know yourself.  You learn your likes and dislikes, your vulnerabilities, and your pain points.  

In Christianity we are taught to deny ourselves and follow what we are told the Bible says, but can we deny ourselves?  Or do we just postpone our desires and wait for their surprise resurfacing when we have families and communities that depend on us?

If you preach well, it’s okay if you lie to yourself, and we’ll ignore the skeletons in your closet.  Maybe the pedestals that we place people on do not seat them out of reach of temptation.  Maybe we should encourage getting to know ourselves?

If God Made Man….

I read somewhere that in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Maybe you’re familiar with the text.  God proposed that humanity be made in the divine image and the human form was molded by divine hands and animated with divine breath.  

If men and women were created in God’s image, God breathed into us personally.  The task was not delegated to angels.  How then do we arrive at an understanding that we are inherently wicked?  Wouldn’t that mean that God is inherently wicked?  I would like to entertain the notion that inside us we have the potential for both good and evil.  We can be evil when we choose evil, but inside us is also the potential for good, beauty, and life.  

And Man Made the Bible

But the Bible says…, yes, the Bible does say that we are wicked on the inside, but that leads to my next question.  Many believe in the Bible’s inerrancy.  I do not prescribe to that belief and here is why.  The Bible says it was written by the hands of men who were inspired by the Spirit, but they were still men. 

Men and Women have the potential–whether intentional or not–for error, to insert bias, or to be influenced by the situations around us.  Can we believe the Bible is inerrant while believing it was written in the hand of “inherently evil” men?

I am not at all discounting the Bible. I just sometimes think that we use it incorrectly.  The Bible speaks differently to different groups and communities, but with our current theology, we believe that there is only one way.  If you want to go to heaven, then you must believe this.  Nobody that has ever penned a word of theology controls any celestial guest lists.  

Then we have a Journal or Human Experience throughout time.

Our Theology has developed into a system that teaches young men and women how to behave. Psalm 119:9 says “how can a young man keep his way pure?  By guarding it according to your word.” Those words were penned by a rapist and a murderer, is this who you want guiding your children?  

I am not perfect, and I don’t know many people who are, but I believe that it is through mistakes and indiscretions that we learn about ourselves and the world around us.  Maybe we should allow young people to explore and make small mistakes in their youth to prevent Bathsheba-sized mistakes in their adulthood.  

At this point, you are pointing out my double standard with David, and I guess the answer is yes.  I think our children are much safer being guided by someone who’s made mistakes, they know their vulnerabilities and they are willing to safeguard themselves among a community.  

How Can Faith Move you?

Spirituality is a revolution.  It is not safe inside an organization neatly wrapped inside religion, let’s move fast and break things.  If God created man in the divine image, then how could he or she be inherently evil.  It is absolutely easier to do evil things than good, but we reach the apex of our potential when we do good.  

But in order for us to do good, we need to understand the bad, and what the path for getting there looks like.  That is what we can begin to use the Bible for.  1 Corinthians 10:11 tells us that the Bible is to be used as an example so that we don’t have to make every mistake, but we need to read it right, see the mistakes and acknowledge how the Bible interacts with our experience  

So how do we create that community?  Let’s talk about it.  But will there be food?

Daniel Holder is a Husband, Father, and USAF Veteran, ex-seminary student, author, and Entrepreneur on a mission to accompany spirituality far beyond the walls of the traditional church.  A loving husband and father who realizes that his leadership shapes the world that his children will take flight into.  He is passionate about empowering a faith that erupts into action.  

Daniel lives in Huntsville, AL, and works in program management, but is passionate about his ministry, and his soon-to-be-released NFT project, The Black Jesus Project.  And if you don’t know what an NFT is, Daniel dares you to ask him or follow @outhouseministries on Instagram. 
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Ashley’s Truth

by Ashley McBride-Braswell

I love Jesus. 

As long as I can remember, church has been a part of my life, from my mother’s womb (so churchy, I know-LOL), I have been surrounded and steeped in the Black church. 

And I loved it. The friends, the lessons, the warmth. The after service dinners and second service repass. Vacation Bible School during the summers and Sunday morning school with the snacks. I loved the kids choir and our annual Easter/Christmas plays. I loved it all and I have fond memories but somewhere along the way, I became disenchanted. 

It started slowly when I really began to read the Bible for myself and learn the original translations, much of what I thought I knew as “Bible” as the saints say, was nothing more than doctrine. 

And then I struggled. I struggled with my sexuality and being a 20 year old woman who just couldn’t stop sinning and having sex. I couldn’t stop going out and partying, living my best young adult life, and I couldn’t escape the condemnation I felt on Sunday and how I just needed to be holy and pure in God’s eyes. I couldn’t reconcile the rhetoric of the church where almost everything and every feeling is a sin. The constant threat of hell and it all became so arduous. Would I ever make it in?

I really tried. I followed Heather Lindsey and all the women in her purity movement. I committed myself to purity and giving up worldly things, and being the chaste, Godly woman so that God could reward me with a Godly husband, except all the church guys I dated where the worst.

So I stopped and I just started praying. I wrote my heart’s desires on sticky notes and pasted them to my wall. All my prayers for myself, family, friends, and issues in the world. I opened myself up to learning about different religions and stopped seeing people through Christian lenses instead as seeing them as people. 

And I slowly started to let all of it go. I didn’t care about someone’s faults or sins, I stopped caring about who others sleep with or their gender. I stopped requiring the world to hold on to my square box of beliefs and standards. I embraced people for who they are and what they are and I learned that the same grace God has given them to figure it out, He has given to me.

Do I still struggle with the indoctrination of church still? Absolutely. But I remind myself that I don’t know and I don’t have all the answers, and what I do know, is I’m still learning. And so I give others the grace I want to receive and treat them how I would treat myself. After all the two greatest commandments are 1) to love God with all your heart and 2) to love your neighbor as yourself. Matthew 22:36-40

Ashley McBride-Braswell

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Why I Left Christianity

Since I was a little girl, I’ve always loved reading. The way an author could weave words together to create a world my mind could escape to was always fascinating, and as I got older, words became even more meaningful. I learned that the purpose of vocabulary wasn’t just to know a lot of words for the sake of knowing them. The purpose was communication; to have the tools necessary to be able to say exactly what I was thinking or feeling at a given moment. As such, I try to be very intentional about saying what I mean and meaning what I say….and that is why I could no longer continue calling myself a “Christian.”

A label is “a descriptive or identifying word or phrase,”  and the purpose of any kind of label is generally to provide additional information about the person or thing it is being used to describe. A lot of people don’t like being “labeled”, and I get that. Labels can be restrictive and even inaccurate if applied incorrectly. However, I do think they’re useful when they’re used correctly because an accurate label can tell you a lot about a person without them having to say much at all. And I think, in the context of spirituality, calling yourself something is supposed to do just that: give context about who you are and what you believe in. So what exactly is a “Christian” and why isn’t that an accurate reflection of my beliefs? 

A Christian is “a person who has received Christian baptism or is a believer in Christianity.” I think this particular definition is important, because I think people like to classify themselves as “real Christians” based on a very broad conception of what it means to be a “follower of Christ.” However, what “following Christ” actually looks like in practice depends on who you ask, and I think we need to be more intentional about defining how much of “Christianity” is actually a reflection of Jesus. 

Christianity is “the religion derived from Jesus Christ, based on the Bible as sacred scripture, and professed by Eastern, Roman Catholic, and Protestant bodies.” Christianity is the largest religion in the world with over 2.4 billion adherents worldwide. There are 30,000 different groups, branches, or denominations that fall under the banner of “Christianity”, and more than 1,200 in the United States alone. 30,000 groups of people reading the same book, examining the same beliefs, and coming to very distinct conclusions about what it all means. Most, if not all, of those groups teach that they have a monopoly on “the truth” and anything that conflicts with “the truth” is inherently false. That in itself was reason enough to make me stop and think for a second, because using such a broad umbrella to describe the beliefs of that many people is bound to create some confusion. 

Further, I don’t think enough attention is given to the second half of the definition. I think a lot of people stop at “the religion derived from Jesus Christ” and don’t necessarily understand how much of what is “derived” from Jesus Christ gets filtered through the Bible as professed by Eastern, Roman Catholic, and Protestant bodies. Now, don’t get me wrong. Most people who read any kind of “holy text” just do the best they can to understand what someone who lived thousands of years ago was trying to communicate. That isn’t the problem. The problem is taking something that was originally communicated by an imperfect human being, translated multiple times by multiple imperfect human beings over a period of time spanning hundreds of years, interpreted by multiple imperfect human beings, millions (if not billions) of whom cannot reach any remote sort of consensus on what’s actually being communicated, and then calling any of of those interpretations “absolute truth” as it pertains to a supposedly infinite God. Even if all of that boils down to some basic belief in Jesus’ role as the Son of Man and His blood as atonement for sin, how that belief ultimately translates to the life one lives and the way one treats the people they encounter, particularly people who don’t identify as “Christian,” often presents a stark contrast to the Spirit of the Man that person is supposed to be representing. 

Let’s just be honest for a second, okay? If “just” believing in Jesus was really enough (John 3:16-17, anyone?), why is there a need for tens of thousands of different denominations and doctrines? Why isn’t it enough to just say “I’m a Christian” as a full expression of your beliefs? Or, if calling yourself a Christian only communicates that you believe in Jesus, why do so many people feel the need to follow up a statement of “I’m a Christian” with a long list of things they don’t agree with or subscribe to? If being a Christian were really just about Jesus, wouldn’t the teachings, the culture, and its standing in the world reflect that? 

A popular argument I encounter often (and one that absolutely drives me crazy) is that people are imperfect and any group of people coming together is going to have its flaws, which is true. However, you cannot have it both ways. You cannot believe in a theology that hinges on reaching a state of spiritual perfection and then blame your humanity for your group’s inability to achieve said perfection, especially as you put your “truth” on a pedestal over those who don’t aspire to the same standards you do. You cannot say “God is all-powerful,” “God can do anything,” or “God is not the author of confusion” and then argue that God is “still in control” of mediocre institutions that often cause more harm and damage than they do good. You cannot say “nobody is perfect” when someone tries to hold you accountable for your shortcomings as people fill your pews (or watch your services online) week in and week out just to hear how terrible they are and that they haven’t “overcome” yet because their faith isn’t strong enough. You can’t tell people to have a “real” relationship with God just to dictate what that relationship and the fruits of that relationship are supposed to look like. You can’t scare people into submission to what you believe is the truth by insinuating in any way, shape, form or fashion that disconnecting from toxic, dysfunctional people automatically means disconnecting from God. You cannot center yourself as a victim when people who have been marginalized, abused, and left spiritually destitute by your institutions aren’t interested in hearing your version of the gospel. You can’t call that “Jesus” when what you’re reaping isn’t something He would have sown.

You might be thinking, “So what’s the answer? If Christianity is so bad, what are people supposed to do?”, but that’s not a question I can answer for you. I don’t believe you can call yourself a “Christian” and separate a pure belief in Jesus and His sacrifice from the harm Christianity has caused and continues to cause so many throughout the world, but that’s me. I cannot call myself something that isn’t a truly accurate reflection of what I believe and the God that I worship. Personally, I just did the work to find a label that did accurately communicate what I believe. I’m a Christocentric Agapist, which means that I believe that love is the highest moral imperative and that my belief in love is centered around my belief in Jesus…and only that. There are no boxes I have to fit into. There is no long list of doctrines I have to adhere to. I can ask as many questions as I want and I don’t have to limit myself to one perspective in my pursuit of the answers. I can say, “I don’t know” if I don’t find the answers right away, or if I don’t find them at all. I can say, “I don’t think I need to change this,” or “I know this is a problem but I’m not ready to change it” without feeling like I have to stay away from my spiritual community until I’m ready to live my life on their terms. I don’t have to worry about whether I’m doing everything “right” or who is going to judge me if I do something “wrong.” My beliefs aren’t reflected in the clothes I wear, the day I worship on, the kind of food I eat, or the doctrines I claim. My beliefs are reflected in how I try to treat the people I encounter on a day-to-day basis, the kind of person I try to be, and the peace I have within. I’m not perfect, but it is a keen awareness of just how flawed I am that allows me to have compassion for the imperfect people I can relate to and that allows me to pray that God gives me compassion for the imperfect people I struggle to have compassion for. 

I do not believe in a theology that hinges on a state of spiritual perfection. I believe in a theology that teaches that Jesus lived a perfect life to pay the penalty for sin so that I could live a life of gratitude, compassion, empathy, and security in the fact that I am loved wholly and completely by an infinite, all-powerful, all-knowing God who has not only began a good work in me, but will see it to its completion. On God’s terms. In God’s time. All I have to do is let God be God.

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A Manifesto on Transparency

By Kara M. Young

I’ve been doing a lot of contemplating recently, and one of the biggest revelations has been that I have been tailoring my social media presence to people who are not my audience. I’ve been afraid to say certain things or post certain things because I’ve been afraid of being judged as “unworthy” or too flawed. I’ve been afraid of the sentiment being “You have a church, so how can you be doing x,y, and z?” But that’s a flawed way of thinking, for a number of reasons.


1. I live my life in alignment with my beliefs. I am very intentional about that. And the truth is that my beliefs do not fully coincide with those of Adventists, nor those of mainstream Christians. Further, I do not identify as either, because I believe both are irredeemably flawed and, to be perfectly clear, I do not believe that either entity is “the truth,” nor do I believe either entity has a monopoly on truth. I am an Agapist. A Christocentric Agapist, but an Agapist just the same. As such, I can’t be held to a standard that I don’t agree with, don’t believe in, and refuse to hold myself to because I genuinely and firmly believe that it facilitates an inaccurate and damaging depiction of the character of God.


2. I can’t preach unconditional love and acceptance while maintaining an unrealistic portrayal of my life. I can’t tell someone else to “be who you are” while simultaneously being afraid to publicly own ALL of who I am, especially when I am not ashamed of me. In fact, I’m really proud of the growth I’ve achieved thus far and the person I am continuing to become. I like me, and that’s something I have fought long and hard for.


3. I am aware that I am probably not “qualified” by many people’s standards to do what I’m doing, but I believe I’ve been called to it because I can’t be anything other than what I am. Life literally isn’t worth living to me if it means spending even one more second trying to fit myself into other people’s boxes. I have tried. My entire life, I have tried. And I’ve finally come to accept the fact that I can’t. That acceptance has opened my eyes to the fact that there are plenty of people out there who have had a similar experience and have ultimately opted to just be alone spiritually rather than compromise their liberty of conscience and liberty of thought for the sake of community. But those people…my people…need community, too.


4. Church as it stands isn’t designed for people who don’t “fit”. It’s not meant to accommodate people who want the benefit of community without the pressure to conform. So many people feel like you’re being disingenuous if you say you believe something and then don’t adhere to its tenets, and in a lot of ways, that’s not entirely untrue. If being a Christian means living my life like ________, and I don’t believe in that, am I really a Christian? And if I’m not, is that such a bad thing? I would call myself a Christian if doing so meant that the only thing anyone assumed about me was that I believed that Jesus is the Son of God and that He died to be the propitiation for sin itself. But realistically, saying you’re a Christian comes with a ton of other premises that MUST be relied on, otherwise your spirituality gets called into question, i.e. “How can you say you’re a Christian if you ________?”

The establishments that currently exist can only change or evolve so much before they become something they are not. And I realized some time ago that there’s no amount of change that could occur that would ultimately make room for me and all the other people that organized religion has either pushed to the fringes or excluded completely. So many of us wanted to belong, but even after the church began to say “come as you are,” it added, “once you get here, you’re supposed to change, and this is what your journey should look like, your questions should look like, your conclusions should look like….this is what you will look like. And if you don’t, something is seriously wrong.” There’s an underlying acceptance of certain fundamental “truths” that you are required to internalize and you literally cannot belong the the community if you don’t accept them. Some may call that “godly”. Some may call that “accountability.” Some may call that “the truth.” Personally, I call it presumptive, limiting, and unreflective of the God I have come to know and love. I want community that doesn’t require me to limit who God can be for me, doesn’t ask me to draw the same conclusions as everyone else, and gives me room to journey on God’s terms, not anyone else’s.

5. I’m not perfect, but I don’t think I’m supposed to be. I think that’s the point of real transparency…it’s the only way God’s strength can truly be made perfect in my weakness. If I’m too afraid to own that, how can I inspire anyone else to own it for themselves? How can I tell people that God is with them when they aren’t struggling, when they’re not wrestling, when they don’t feel the need to “repent,” when they’re asking questions other people don’t have answers for and drawing conclusions that other people condemn….and then be unwilling to transparent about how God does that for me every day? I know and believe in the depths of my heart that I am loved unconditionally and I know that because that love has been tested….tried with fire….and it hasn’t failed me yet. People think that they have to believe a certain way or live a certain way to experience God’s presence fully and I’m here to say that that simply isn’t true. Nothing can separate me from God’s love and my experience has been that God will always give as much of the Spirit as I am open to receiving. It’s in my darkest moments that God has shown up for me in the most profound ways and if God has done that for me, I have no doubt it can be done for you, too.

All of that being said, I am committed to doing my best to be more vulnerable and to live transparently. My target audience isn’t the people who think they have the truth. My target audience is anyone who is seeking truth, those who believe that truth-seeking is the journey of a lifetime. My goal is to be a part of a community that prioritizes love in a way that heals rather than does harm. And I just want to be myself. I want others to know that they really can be who they are and not be treated differently because of it. I don’t care who you are or what you believe. Boundaries are drawn based on how we treat each other. Do your best not to do harm. If you mess up (as we all inevitably do), acknowledge it, take responsibility for it, and try to do better moving forward, understanding that the love doesn’t change and grace is sufficient.

My hope and prayer is that we can all find freedom in the journey, and thus a greater sense of compassion, patience, kindness, self-awareness and acceptance, personal accountability, and unconditional love. -ky<3

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The Love Series: Whatever You’ve Done to the Least of These

We’ve reached the end of the series and I hope you have enjoyed studying the theology of love as much as I have. Last week, we talked about salvation and how love is ultimately what is required in order to be saved. This week, we’ll be talking about why love is the standard by which we will all be judged and why that means that ANY doer of the law can and WILL be justified. 

Earlier in the series, we talked about God’s reason for bringing us into existence despite knowing what the consequences would be. We established that it was because of sin that mercy was brought into active exercise. Again, unconditional love without someone undeserving to give it to is essentially just talk. Thus, I believe it’s fair to conclude that when all of this began, God had something to prove: one, that His love truly is unconditional; and two, that unconditional love is the only way to have a life more abundant. Revelation 15 describes a scene where a song is being sung:

“And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,

“Great and amazing are your deeds,
    O Lord God the Almighty!
Just and true are your ways,
    O King of the nations!

Who will not fear, O Lord,
    and glorify your name?
For you alone are holy.
    All nations will come
    and worship you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.” Revelation 15:3-4

In order for the lyrics of that song to ring true, God has to show that He is all of those things. For such praise to be given, He has to reveal why He’s worthy. How are His ways “just and true”? Are His rules fair? Is the method of salvation consistent and fair for everyone, no matter what? I believe they are, but foundation is key, and it is especially critical to have proper context when thinking about the final judgment. 

First, we have to understand that love is true freedom. If God is love and everything He does is out of love and the law is a transcript of His character that is fulfilled through love, then I think it’s fair to conclude that heaven is a society based on the principal of love. “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.” Galatians 5:13-15. A society built on love depends on everyone caring about everyone else. A society built on love polices itself because love does no harm to another. A society built on love doesn’t have to protect people from each other or from themselves because love is self-sacrificing. Everyone lives out the principles of loving God above anything else and loving your neighbor as yourself. There is no room for things like selfishness, greed, envy, or self-righteousness. People who understand unconditional love now will be able to appreciate that kind of society. People who don’t understand unconditional love now and don’t care to probably wouldn’t enjoy heaven so much. 

Second, we have to understand that we don’t have to save ourselves. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:8-10. I didn’t ask to be here. I didn’t ask to be the person that I am. I didn’t ask to be flawed and finite. But here I am. If I put my child in danger, isn’t it my job as a loving parent to save them? And if I leave them to figure it out on their own or create a bunch of hoops they have to jump through in order to be deemed worthy of salvation, what does that say about me? If God is love, He has to be the one to save us….because not only are we incapable of saving ourselves, but we shouldn’t have to. 

Lastly, we have to understand that judgment is not based on moving targets of who knew what, when and varying standards of morality depending upon who you are and where you come from. Judgment is based on the one standard…the one rule…that always has been and always will be universal: love.

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” Matthew 25:31-46

This is the reason why we started the One Rule Church. This is the reason why I felt it was necessary to create a space where people could maintain their respective beliefs while coming together in agreement about the one thing that matters more than anything else. Perspective is always limited to what we can see and no human being anywhere is capable of having a complete perspective on an infinite God. I don’t believe for a second that the God who confused the languages and scattered the people at the Tower of Babel abandoned everyone in that moment and then eventually chose to only reveal Himself to Abram (who was a “heathen” at the time, mind you). There are so many religions in the world and most people on this planet feel the need for some sort of spirituality or belief in a higher power, but that’s coincidental? And the golden rule…love….is fundamental to every world religion in existence today, but people have to hear the gospel and specifically believe in Jesus Christ to be saved? The Bible says otherwise. 

“For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law.They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.

But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law; and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness,an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”

“For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law.For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.” Romans 2:12-29

 Conclusion

It’s there in black and white. It’s the same thing Jesus said to the rich young ruler. There is no “good deed” that any of us can do to be saved and we have not been called to be obedient to a man made list of do’s and don’ts. That’s pharisaical. We have been called to ask the question, “What is the most loving thing I can do in this situation?” and to do that. No matter how hard it gets. No matter how much we may not feel like it. No matter how much easier just sticking to a list would be. We have been called to love each other the way that God loves us. And it is BECAUSE of our differences….it is BECAUSE of our flaws….it is BECAUSE of our humanity that mercy is called into active exercise in our lives every single day. If you believe that God is a God of love and you believe that it is our privilege to love each other as He loves us, then you know salvation isn’t about ego. It’s not about being right and punishing people who didn’t see. It’s not about looking for any reason to keep people out of heaven. It’s about looking for any reason to let them in. And that’s the difference between people who love and people who don’t. Heaven isn’t a reward for the people who did everything right (prodigal son’s older brother, anyone?) and Christianity isn’t some exclusive club that you have to be a part of to get in. Heaven is about God redeeming His children…all of His children…and reconciling us to Him. If we can’t learn to love each other and respect our differences and leave the authoring and finishing of faith to God on earth, how we can expect to be happy doing it in Heaven? I can’t speak for anyone else….but I don’t want to miss out and I don’t want to wait until the last minute to figure it out. I want to experience true, Godly freedom right now. Don’t you? 

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The Love Series: What Must I Do to be Saved?

We’ve almost reached the end of the series and I really wanted to use these last couple of videos to talk about a topic I avoided earlier on. I left his until the end because I wanted to lay the groundwork for what is probably the area where I differ from mainstream Christianity the most…and that area is Salvation. 

I know I keep saying this, but what we believe depends entirely upon who we believe God to be, and that includes how we conceptualize what determines whether we are saved or lost. If you believe God created you for selfish, obscure, or arbitrary reasons, then you may believe in a God that feels justified in setting moving targets regarding what constitutes “righteousness” and burning people for all eternity if they reject Him. However, if you believe that God is a God of love who allowed freedom of choice to be exercised in a way that would give Him an opportunity to demonstrate the true depth of His love, then your conception of salvation and what it looks like should reflect that, and that’s what I’m going to talk about today. 

What Must I Do to be Saved? 

We’ve established that God is all-knowing, all-powerful, and that God is a God of unconditional love. We’ve established that God gave us freedom of choice, knowing what the consequences would be, so that He would have the opportunity to demonstrate the depth of His love by sending His to be the propitiation for sin itself. We have established that it was BECAUSE of sin that mercy was brought into active exercise. We’ve established that unconditional, Godly love is the fulfillment of the law and thus, it is the way we overcome sin. And we’ve established that God’s plan accounts for the decisions He knows we’re going to make and that community is about love, encouragement, support, and creating invitations to hold each other accountable, not behavioral modification, judgment, and presumptions. Why does any of that matter? It matters because it informs the answer to the question, “What must I do to be saved?” 

“And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.”He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?”Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” Matthew 19:16-22

This passage is crucial because, again, it helps establish a foundation.  The man asked, “What good deed must I do to have eternal life?”Jesus’s response was, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good.” Jesus then told him to keep the commandments, which is stated more than once throughout the Bible, and when the man asked “Which ones?”, Jesus named the Ten Commandments, adding “and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But here’s where it gets interesting. The young man said “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” And to that Jesus responded, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Now a lot of people think that passage refers to material possessions, but I believe this young man is an example of what it means to be “lukewarm.” Stay with me. 

“And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.

“‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.” Revelation 3:14-18

Now let’s go to John chapter 9. One fine Sabbath day, Jesus healed a man who was born blind and it sent the Pharisees into a tizzy. I won’t read the whole thing, but when you have time, you should read it because the shade the Pharisees were throwing to everybody was completely out of pocket. They even cast the man who was healed out of the synagogue because he said that He believed that God was with Jesus. This is what Jesus had to say about that:

“Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.”He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.” John 9: 35-41

So what do these passages of Scripture have to do with each other? The rich young man came to Jesus asking what good deed he needed to complete in order to be saved. He essentially asked how he could “earn” his salvation. Jesus’ answer may seem straightforward, but if you know that love is the fulfillment of the law and that it’s a character trait…a state of being that only God can make manifest within a person….then you know what Jesus was really saying to him. But if there was any doubt, it should have been removed by Jesus’s response to the young man saying, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” Because at that point, it became clear that the young man was lukewarm. It became clear that the young man was neither hot nor cold, because he was unable to see that he wasn’t perfect, which meant he was unable to TRULY see his need for a Savior. He came to Jesus seeking what DEED he needed to complete to be save….what LIFESTYLE he needed to live to be saved….what he could do within his own strength to be saved…and he thought he pretty much had it under control. But the problem the Laodiceans had in Revelation…the problem the Pharisees had in John 9…and the problem real “lukewarm” believers have today is the belief that they are “rich,” have “prospered,” and are in need of nothing, not realizing that they are “wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.”And Jesus essentially says the same thing to both: Follow me. Because following Him is a direct path to a life of love, which in turn is a direct path to salvation. 

Love isn’t some abstract, intangible theory that you can’t really base your way of life upon. It’s a principle that has been explicitly outlined in Scripture over and over and over again. It’s not a coincidence, an afterthought, or a caveat. It’s the essence of God’s character. It’s the fulfillment of the law. It’s the reason for our very existence and the ONLY way anyone get anywhere spiritually…the only way any of us build a lasting, meaningful relationship with our Creator….is by letting go of what we’ve been conditioned to believe and opening our hearts and our minds to the fullness of who God wants to be for us. “What is the most loving thing I can do in this situation?” isn’t an easy question to ask, but I don’t think there are very many scenarios where the answer is something displeasing to God. Love is the one thing in this life that transcends literally any barrier human beings can think to put in front of it. It overcomes time, space, religion, culture, gender, race, socioeconomic status, political affiliation, and so much more. It is a universal law that everyone who has ever existed has had the opportunity and the capacity to experience and understand. And history has always been defined by those who acted out of unconditional love and self-sacrifice, and those who acted out of selfishness and malice or indifference. Love always has been and always will be the standard by which all of us will be judged. No exceptions. No excuses. 

This week, I challenge you to ask God to give you eyes to see. I challenge you to ask God how you can let go of what you think you know that may be holding you back from seeing and knowing God more deeply. I challenge you to stop trying to be perfect and live “right” and to start trying to surrender daily and follow the Lamb wheresoever He leads. I challenge you to ask God to show you the breadth and depth of His love and to enable you to share that love with others. 

Next week, I’ll be concluding the series by explaining why love is the standard by which we will all be judged and why that means that ANY doer of the law can and WILL be justified. 

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The Love Series: Accountability and God’s Plan

Last week, we talked about how unconditional love overcome sin. Love is the greatest commandment. It is through God’s love for us that we are justified and we are sanctified through our love of God and our love for each other, because love is the fulfillment of the law. 

This week, we’ll be talking about personal and communal accountability in the context of understanding God’s plan.

God has a unique, individualized plan for each of us, and it is not “one-size-fits-all.”

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:11-13

“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” Psalm 139:13-16

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,not a result of works, so that no one may boast.For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:8-10

Growth begins with personal accountability stemming from a personal, direct relationship with God. 

“Judge not, that you be not judged.For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye?You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” Matthew 7:1-5

“The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.” Psalm 37:23-24

“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” Philippians 2:12-13

“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. . . And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment,so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” Philippians 1:6, 9-11

“Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you;
    bind them around your neck;
    write them on the tablet of your heart.

So you will find favor and good success
    in the sight of God and man.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
    and do not lean on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge him,
    and he will make straight your paths.

Be not wise in your own eyes;
    fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.

It will be healing to your flesh
    and refreshment to your bones.”  Proverbs 3:3-8

Communal accountability is an invitation, not a presumptive right, and even with an invitation, it does not involve “judging” behaviors/appearances without context and “counseling” absent divine inspiration/direction.

“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh,and since we have a great priest over the house of God,let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” Hebrews 10:19-25

Keep 1 Corinthians 6:2-3 in context (Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? 3 Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life!). 

“Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him.For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” Hebrews 12:3-11

“My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline

    or be weary of his reproof,

for the Lord reproves him whom he loves,

    as a father the son in whom he delights.” Proverbs 3:11-12

“About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching.The Jews therefore marveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?” So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me.If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority.The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill me?”The crowd answered, “You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?”Jesus answered them, “I did one work, and you all marvel at it.Moses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man’s whole body well?Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” John 7:14-24

1 Samuel 16:7

“Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.” —Blaise Pascal

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The Love Series: Unconditional Love Overcomes Sin

Last week, we talked about why God created humanity and how that impacts the way we conceptualize sin. I’m going to skip over dealing with being saved vs. being lost for now, just because one, I believe trying to be “saved” is a selfish and ultimately sinful pursuit, and two, I think it’s more productive to focus on how people can live a life that’s pleasing to God rather than approaching things from the perspective of avoiding being lost. 

I often ask this question, and I think it’s relevant to ask it today: without the reward of heaven, and without the threat of hell, would you still choose God? How you answer this question is a good way to determine whether you’re motivated by selfishness, fear, or true love. If being saved is your motivation, you’ve got a problem, because according to Luke 17:33, “whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it.” If you’re afraid of being lost, you’ve still got a problem, “for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” 2 Timothy 1:7. But if loving God is your only goal and it would still be your goal even if this world and this life were all there is, your heart is in the right place….and that is where I’d like to begin. 

And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?”Jesus answered, ‘The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him.And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” Mark 12:28-34

Loving God and loving each other are the two greatest commandments, and to understand how adhering to those commandments helps us overcome sin, we first have to have a “big picture” understanding of what sin actually is. 

What is “sin”?

“Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.” 1 John 3:4 (other translations refer to sin as “transgression of the law”)

“I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men.So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.” Romans 14:14-19

“The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. . . . For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.” Romans 14:22, 23

“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you.I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.” Galatians 5:1-6

I think it’s really important to have a big picture understanding of what sin is because it helps to keep a more detailed understanding in context. It’s easy to get caught up in the “do’s and don’ts” if you don’t understand that sin stems from the heart—from our motives and intentions—not from the act itself. Paul specifically says in Romans 14:14 that he was persuaded that nothing is a sin unto itself. I believe that means that nothing is inherently “sinful”. The reasons why we do something are what makes it “good” or “evil”, and I think that’s an important distinction to make. 

For example, I mentioned earlier that I believe trying to be “saved” is a selfish and ultimately sinful pursuit. That might sound crazy to some people, because wanting to be saved is a “good” thing, right? But if you understand that “sinfulness” is defined by what’s in your heart as opposed to the act itself, it’s easier to see how working for or trying to earn salvation doesn’t proceed from faith, and according to the Bible, anything that does not proceed from faith is sin. 

I believe that if you have a big picture understanding of sin, the focus shifts from avoiding individual acts of “sinfulness” to building a relationship with Christ and allowing His character to manifest itself within you. Another way to think if it is like an oil leak in an ocean. Focusing on avoiding “sinful behavior” is like cleaning the oil from the surface of the ocean. No matter how much you clean the surface, the leak is still there and it will continue to pollute the ocean and everything in it. However, if you fix the leak, the pollution stops.

I believe many of us have been conditioned to clean the “surface” of our lives and to encourage others to do the same (i.e “upholding the standard”) rather than focusing on the heart problems that limit our ability to allow God to have full access to us and enable us to be who He created us to be. I believe one of the most fatal flaws within traditional religious communities is “accountability” that focuses on outward appearances rather than on empowering people to be transparent with what’s going on internally and supporting them in taking all of that to God without fear of judgment/rejection/condemnation. And in the coming weeks, I’m going to get into the pitfall that is presuming to know what God’s plan is for someone and telling them how to live their lives based on YOUR convictions rather than directing them to the source and giving them room to take that journey without getting in the way. It’s so easy to forget that “man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart.” Only God knows the plans that He has for any of us and GOD has ordered the steps we need to take to fulfill that plan. And that is ultimately why I believe that true, Biblical love overcomes sin. Godly love is transformative in a way that nothing else is. Godly love addresses the leak, which stops the pollution, which transforms the surface into HIS image, not anyone or anything else’s. And the only way to recognize that is to experience it for yourself. Full intimacy with and reliance on God is the only way to love Him and love each other the way we’ve been commanded to.

So how do we love God? 

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. . . . If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.Whoever does not love me does not keep my words.” John 14:15, 23-24

“For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous.Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you.We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.” 1 John 3:11-24

What are the commandments and how do we keep them? 

“Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” Romans 13:8-10

What is love?

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

How should we love each other?

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35

“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” Colossians 3:12-14



I think Scripture kind of speaks for itself here, and I believe that the message overwhelmingly points back to love. Not the selfish pursuit of mere sinlessness, because remember, that is what the Pharisees were after, and Jesus told His disciples that “unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:20. Not self-loathing and depreciation. Not pointing the finger at each other and condemning one another or trying to push people to live their lives based on someone else’s convictions. Sin is an issue of the heart that only God can heal and the best way to “fix the leak” is to continuously point people back to the source. 

I wholeheartedly believe that community and fellowship are meant to uplift and encourage and to give people a safe place to be human and authentically pursue a personal, intimate relationship with the Creator. It’s not my job to be God for anyone else. My job is to love God as He convicts me within the context of MY relationship with Him and to be a living example of that love to others so that they, in turn, will seek it from God for themselves.

This week, I challenge you to ask God to reveal to you the truth about the condition of your heart. I challenge you to shift your focus from trying to live “right” to BEING “right”….like David, asking God to create in you a clean heart and renew a “right” spirit from WITHIN. And if you see someone doing something or promoting something that you believe is wrong, instead of condemning the action or trying to make them see the “error of their ways”, I challenge you to point them back to God and to encourage them to draw close to Him and seek Him and His will for themselves. I challenge you to pray for them and to ask God to open their hearts and minds to whatever HE would have them see and to ask Him to enable you to be for others whatever it is that HE would have you be. I challenge you to be intentional about asking rather than assuming. I challenge you to let God be God and to allow Him to define the part He would have you play. 

Next week, we’ll be talking about how God effectuates His plan in our lives and how that impacts how we should view accountability. 

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The Love Series: Why Are We Here?

Why Are We Here? 

Last week, we finished setting the foundation for our ideological frameworks by establishing that not only is God’s essence unconditional love, but God is also all-knowing and all-powerful. 

That foundation is crucial because this week, we’ll be talking about the purpose of humanity’s existence and how that impacts how we conceptualize sin. 

Why did God create humanity?

I believe the answer to this question is layered. 

First, we have to think about who God is. God is love. Everything God does is born of that love. God is all-knowing, meaning that God knows everything that will happen before it happens. God is all-powerful, meaning that nothing is impossible for God. 

Second, we have to think about what God did. God created beings and gave them the ability to make decisions for themselves. Let’s dwell on that for a second. 

What is a choice? A choice is “an act of selecting or making a decision when faced with two or more possibilities.” The important takeaway from that definition is that a choice cannot exist without the existence of at least two possibilities. What does that mean on a practical level? Simply this: the CHOICE to do good cannot exist without the CHOICE to do evil. And we see that demonstrated by the existence of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden: 

“And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. . . . And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘You may surely eat of every tree of the garden,but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’” Genesis 2:8-9, 16-17

Is it possible to “create” something like “good” or “evil”? I don’t know. Some people believe that God “created” evil, but I don’t know if that’s true. If God has no end and no beginning and God is love, it’s reasonable to conclude that love has no end and no beginning. And if God and love have always just….existed….the antithesis of love didn’t necessarily need to be created.

I like to use light and darkness to illustrate this point. Light does things. It illuminates. It makes things visible. Darkness doesn’t do anything and can’t do anything on its own because it can only exist in the absence of light. If light exists, the possibility of darkness also exists, but darkness only becomes “real” if the light goes out. If love is “good”…if love is “light”….then darkness is the exact opposite: selfishness. Evil. Sin. Destruction. The possibility was always there, but it didn’t become “real” until Adam and Eve chose it. 

This is where God’s foreknowledge and God being all-powerful come into play. If God is all-powerful, then God had the power to decide whether to give created beings the ability to CHOOSE good by allowing the possibility for us to choose evil. To be clear, God didn’t HAVE to give us a choice. God didn’t HAVE to do anything. A Garden of Eden without the Tree of Knowledge is perfection, and it’s perfection that can’t even possibly be ruined. God could have given “free will” in the sense that He could have allowed Adam and Eve to make decisions about what to eat or what tasks to complete during the day. The only difference would have been that there wouldn’t have been any possibility of them making “bad” or “wrong” choices. Everything they did would have been inherently good and they would have loved God completely without ever even being aware that rejecting God was a thing that could be done. 

But God didn’t do that. 

And if God has foreknowledge, then God knew what the consequences of giving created beings the ability to choose to do good or choose to do evil would be. God knew that Adam and Eve would ultimately eat the fruit. God knew that they would be kicked out of the Garden and that their decision would cause separation between humanity and the divine. God knew that the only way to make things right would be to sacrifice God’s Son as atonement for sin. Revelation 13:8 calls Jesus “the Lamb who was slaughtered before the world was made.” (NLT) God knew what HIS decisions would cost HIM. 

And He made them anyway. 

So the question is….why? Why allow all of this? Why create us knowing the baggage that would come with living in a world dominated by sin? 

I believe that this quote by Ellen G. White sums the answer up nicely: 

“God’s love for the fallen race is a peculiar manifestation of love—a love born of mercy; for human beings are all undeserving. Mercy implies the imperfection of the object toward which it is shown. It was because of sin that mercy was brought into active exercise.” Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 7

The word “unconditional” means “not [being] subject to any conditions.” “Mercy” is “compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one’s power to punish or harm.” It is easy to say that my love for someone is not subject to any conditions when that person has never done anything that would justify me putting conditions on my love. It’s much more meaningful to say “I love you unconditionally” to someone who is undeserving.

I believe that God gave created beings the ability to choose to do evil, knowing that we WOULD choose to do evil, because it gave Him the ability to demonstrate the true depth of His love for us. It wasn’t enough to just say that His love was unconditional. He had to show it. And He did. 

How should we conceptualize sin?

That said, if you understand why God created humanity in light of who God is, it flips the traditional narrative surrounding sin on its head. Sin was not the result of God’s plan gone wrong. Sin was not an unanticipated consequence of giving us the ability to choose. Jesus’ death was not a favor God did for us to save our lives and cause us to be indebted to Him for all eternity. Jesus died to pay the penalty for sin itself (1 John 4:7-12) and God planned for it to be the ultimate revelation of His love before “let there be light” was even said (Revelation 13:8). I believe that the ability to choose or reject God’s love is still as voluntary as it was in the beginning. The legal term for the alternative is “duress”, i.e. “compulsion by threat or force; coercion.” Choosing God because you believe your options are to love and “obey” Him, otherwise you’ll burn in Hell for all eternity, isn’t a voluntary decision. It’s duress. Someone saying “love me because I love you or I’ll kill you” is duress….not to mention psychopathic. That flies directly in the face of everything God is supposed to be. And there’s more to be said about the implication that Jesus only died for the sins of those who would ultimately accept God and those who reject God must bear the weight of their own sins and be punished for them, but that’s a conversation for another day. 

Sin was (and still is) an opportunity for God….and it’s an opportunity for us. It’s an opportunity for the true depth of God’s love for us to be revealed to us on a personal level every single day, and it’s an opportunity for us to put that love into practice by showering it on each other, despite our differences and despite our flaws. THAT is how God’s character can be manifested in us. 

This is so, so important to understand because if you believe that sin is the result of God’s plan gone wrong, then you might believe that sinlessness is God’s ultimate goal and desire for us. If you believe that God is hung up on sin and His top priority is to eradicate it rather than using it as an opportunity to reveal a deeper understanding of Himself, then you might believe that God’s love for you somehow coexists in equal measure with the hate he feels toward the things in you that are imperfect. If you try to understand the concept of unconditional love in the context of sin rather than understanding the concept of sin in the context of unconditional love, you might see love and mercy as exceptions to God’s “justice” rather than love being the highest moral imperative, through which sin is ultimately overcome. 

This week, I challenge you to really examine how you conceptualize sin and why you believe we’re here. If love is the exception to you rather than the rule, think about where that stems from and evaluate what you believe about God’s thoughts towards you and His purpose for your life. Ask God to reveal Himself and His love to you in a truly personal and meaningful way, and ask Him to prepare your heart and your mind to receive whatever it is that He has to show you.

Next week, we’ll be taking a look at how and why love is the highest moral imperative through which sin is overcome.