NEWS Religion and the Cross
I've been doing a lot of meditating in regard to the Cross over the past several weeks. The Spirit has shown me that the only entrance into Christ and His Church is through the Cross. The Holy Spirit - the eternal, life-generating force that allows us to follow the Lord and walk in love (Ephesians 5:1-2) - comes only on the ground of death, burial and resurrection. We receive the Holy Spirit only through the Cross. The Cross is central to all things spiritual. It is central to all things of Christ.
Today, I began reading a book by T. Austin-Sparks titled "The Cross, The Church, and the Conflict." While reading, I came across a few things that resonated strongly with my heart. I would like to share them with you.
In this book, Sparks discusses the function of the Cross and all the things It does. The first thing he mentions is that the Cross puts an end to idolatry. Sparks says:
"Firstly, the Cross puts an end to all idolatry. Take that away and think about it. It is a long story, and it is a very far-reaching stor. I am going to say something which would take a very long time to verify, so far as the data and events are concerned, but which can be verified from the beginning to the end of the Scriptures. It is this: if we knew the truth, idolatry lies behind everything for which the Cross of Christ came into being, and when the Cross is really made active, what it is doing is to deal with idolatry in some form or another."
What a powerful statement this is! The Cross of Christ came into being to deal decisively with idolatry. Sparks then tell us what idolatry is:
"Idolatry is all that is not God as the basis or object of man's life."
As we can see, idolatry is a very big thing, indeed! Sparks goes on to say:
"We think of idolatry, of course, in terms of heathen idols. We might perhaps bring it into a closer realm, where people clearly put things in the place of God but oh! it goes much deeper than that, and, in the Scriptures, idolatry is never regarded as merely negative or passive. There idolatry is always seen to be an active thing, inasmuch as it is the work of an intelligence which is opposed to God; and that Satanic intelligence is always making it its first object and aim, persistently, continuously, and by every means, to get something into the place of the Lord personally. You see, it is possible to have the things of the Lord in the place of the Lord Himself; and that is idolatry in principle. Yes, it may be the things of Jehovah not other gods. In place of the Lord, Who is the object of man's life, His things may be given precedence, and in principle that is idolatry, and the Cross is ever being used by the Holy Spirit to strike at everything, no matter what it is, that comes to occupy the place of the Lord Himself, the place that the Lord Himself should occupy."
After this, Sparks says something that the Spirit has been telling me for years since my revelation:
"Idolatry is always religious, and it may be the Christian religion as well as any other religion that is marked by idolatry. "
Oh, what a tremendous statement of truth! Religion and religious things always get in the way of Christ. The Scriptures are full of stories that verify this truth. When we read the New Testament, we see the Holy Spirit radiating greatly through Jesus and yet the Pharisees - the religious leaders of Israel - are having none of it. All they can do is pick up stones and try to kill the Lord. How tragic and sad.
Sparks does a nice job of explaining of how idolatry, in the form of religion and religious things, stand in the way of the Cross:
"You see, idolatry exists in principle whenever or wherever anything, even good in itself, becomes an object in itself rather than God, the Lord Himself. There are many things which are not only harmless but good in themselves, which have, nevertheless, been allowed to take the place of the Lord Himself, and good things can therefore embody the principle of idolatry in the one in whom the devotion is found. Touch some Christians, or Christian institutions, and let the touch be even in relation to something more of the Lord Himself, and you will find an uprising of jealous regard for the institution which utterly blinds to that possibility of an extra measure of the Lord Himself. You can be so devoted to a denomination, a missionary society, a piece of Christian work, that there is no room for any extra measure of the Lord. The thing itself has become the end, the object for which you live, and when the Lord wants to get you moved on into something more of Himself, the obstacle is that good Christian work, association, institution, tradition, connection. Yes, and that is idolatry in principle, and we see from history how the Lord again and again has had to smite with smashing blows things which in themselves were good, in order to save His people unto Himself personally. Even things which He gave at one time, have had to be taken away or shattered because the gift has become the end, the object. That is what is happening: and a very necessary thing it is too. The Lord is not protecting good things today. If those have become something to which men have become devoted, with which they have become bound up, He is allowing them to be broken and destroyed."
The Lord has no tolerance for idolatry. The Cross is designed to put an end to it. There is a piece of Scripture from the New Testament that powerfully illustrates how the Lord deals with idolatry:
Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down." (Matthew 24:1-2)
We know that the temple fell and that not one stone was left. What the religious leaders viewed as sacred and holy was completely destroyed. This Scripture is testimony to the power of the Cross. In due time, the Cross will deal decisively with religion and religion things. They have no place in Christ.
May you willingly allow the Cross to deal decisively with any religion or religious things that are standing in the way of your relationship with Love.
Agape,
Steve
Today, I began reading a book by T. Austin-Sparks titled "The Cross, The Church, and the Conflict." While reading, I came across a few things that resonated strongly with my heart. I would like to share them with you.
In this book, Sparks discusses the function of the Cross and all the things It does. The first thing he mentions is that the Cross puts an end to idolatry. Sparks says:
"Firstly, the Cross puts an end to all idolatry. Take that away and think about it. It is a long story, and it is a very far-reaching stor. I am going to say something which would take a very long time to verify, so far as the data and events are concerned, but which can be verified from the beginning to the end of the Scriptures. It is this: if we knew the truth, idolatry lies behind everything for which the Cross of Christ came into being, and when the Cross is really made active, what it is doing is to deal with idolatry in some form or another."
What a powerful statement this is! The Cross of Christ came into being to deal decisively with idolatry. Sparks then tell us what idolatry is:
"Idolatry is all that is not God as the basis or object of man's life."
As we can see, idolatry is a very big thing, indeed! Sparks goes on to say:
"We think of idolatry, of course, in terms of heathen idols. We might perhaps bring it into a closer realm, where people clearly put things in the place of God but oh! it goes much deeper than that, and, in the Scriptures, idolatry is never regarded as merely negative or passive. There idolatry is always seen to be an active thing, inasmuch as it is the work of an intelligence which is opposed to God; and that Satanic intelligence is always making it its first object and aim, persistently, continuously, and by every means, to get something into the place of the Lord personally. You see, it is possible to have the things of the Lord in the place of the Lord Himself; and that is idolatry in principle. Yes, it may be the things of Jehovah not other gods. In place of the Lord, Who is the object of man's life, His things may be given precedence, and in principle that is idolatry, and the Cross is ever being used by the Holy Spirit to strike at everything, no matter what it is, that comes to occupy the place of the Lord Himself, the place that the Lord Himself should occupy."
After this, Sparks says something that the Spirit has been telling me for years since my revelation:
"Idolatry is always religious, and it may be the Christian religion as well as any other religion that is marked by idolatry. "
Oh, what a tremendous statement of truth! Religion and religious things always get in the way of Christ. The Scriptures are full of stories that verify this truth. When we read the New Testament, we see the Holy Spirit radiating greatly through Jesus and yet the Pharisees - the religious leaders of Israel - are having none of it. All they can do is pick up stones and try to kill the Lord. How tragic and sad.
Sparks does a nice job of explaining of how idolatry, in the form of religion and religious things, stand in the way of the Cross:
"You see, idolatry exists in principle whenever or wherever anything, even good in itself, becomes an object in itself rather than God, the Lord Himself. There are many things which are not only harmless but good in themselves, which have, nevertheless, been allowed to take the place of the Lord Himself, and good things can therefore embody the principle of idolatry in the one in whom the devotion is found. Touch some Christians, or Christian institutions, and let the touch be even in relation to something more of the Lord Himself, and you will find an uprising of jealous regard for the institution which utterly blinds to that possibility of an extra measure of the Lord Himself. You can be so devoted to a denomination, a missionary society, a piece of Christian work, that there is no room for any extra measure of the Lord. The thing itself has become the end, the object for which you live, and when the Lord wants to get you moved on into something more of Himself, the obstacle is that good Christian work, association, institution, tradition, connection. Yes, and that is idolatry in principle, and we see from history how the Lord again and again has had to smite with smashing blows things which in themselves were good, in order to save His people unto Himself personally. Even things which He gave at one time, have had to be taken away or shattered because the gift has become the end, the object. That is what is happening: and a very necessary thing it is too. The Lord is not protecting good things today. If those have become something to which men have become devoted, with which they have become bound up, He is allowing them to be broken and destroyed."
The Lord has no tolerance for idolatry. The Cross is designed to put an end to it. There is a piece of Scripture from the New Testament that powerfully illustrates how the Lord deals with idolatry:
Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down." (Matthew 24:1-2)
We know that the temple fell and that not one stone was left. What the religious leaders viewed as sacred and holy was completely destroyed. This Scripture is testimony to the power of the Cross. In due time, the Cross will deal decisively with religion and religion things. They have no place in Christ.
May you willingly allow the Cross to deal decisively with any religion or religious things that are standing in the way of your relationship with Love.
Agape,
Steve
posted by Steve at
11:17 AM
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