Life Beyond the Pews

Growing up in the South, in the Bible Belt, going to church on Sunday was as normal as going to work on Monday. It's what we did. What amazes me about this type of upbringing is that it didn't create security in me. In fact, I find more and more people raised in the same environment who lack genuine trust in the love of God. Why? What is it about life beyond the pews that keeps us from resting in Him?

Is it the idea that you are just not good enough? Is it the belief that despite your best efforts that you just don't live up to the standard? What is it that we are teaching about God that creates such unrest in people? Why aren't there more "believers" who are confident in God's love for them? I cannot answer for everyone. I can only ask the question: Is there something that we are saying (or not saying) that is breeding fear filled children of God? Is there something that we are saying (or not saying) that keeps people locked in a striving mentality? I don't know that I have the answer, but I do believe I have discovered a major problem.

There are plenty of different camps of thinking. However, it seems as though the majority of people I know fall into two as it relates to their salvation in Christ.
Camp #1 - Believe in eternal security - the belief that you cannot lose your salvation.
Camp #2 - Believe you can lose your salvation - the belief that you can somehow fall out of God's favor.
Now...before you think that camp 1 has it all figured out, let me share with you some personal experience. I grew up with this camp the majority of my life. They never questioned that salvation could be lost. What they questioned was the genuine nature of your faith. The question was/is: Are you TRULY saved. The people in this camp are always trying to "nail it down." Always going back to Jesus to ensure that it is all taken care of. They may have moments of security, but once something creeps in to their life they begin to question if they are a true believer. Camp 2 can never get settled. They may have a season of great zeal, but the question remains: Did I lose it? This approach to salvation is a bit harsher, and maybe a little more demanding than the other, but the outcome is still the same. They can never rest. They can never breathe.

Both of these camps have issues. They seem to place a lot of emphasis on what they do. Rather than trusting in what Jesus did, the issue always comes back to performance. Therefore, the faith they are exercising is not on the Lord. It is in themselves.
Did I do enough?
Did I trust enough?
Did I repent enough?
Either my performance proves that I am truly saved or it can actually disqualify me from being saved. Sound familiar? If you grew up in the environment that I did, you may have heard some of these statements. To be honest, there's a lot of people in my family who don't believe you can actually know that you are saved. You basically have to wait it out. Do what you are supposed to do and hope it is enough. I know...it's a different camp, but life beyond the pews is no different.

Do you really think that this is all Jesus has to offer us? Do you really believe that the Father would send His Son so that we would live in limbo? When will what Jesus accomplished be enough?

Several years ago, I was wrestling with these questions. I was tired of the ups and downs. I had grown weary of the insecurity. I would experience great moments of zeal and passion, only to see them replaced with the feelings of my inadequacy. Trust me. The feelings were winning. It wasn't until I grabbed onto the reality of His grace that I began to emerge from the darkness of my own thinking. It wasn't until I came to really believe in His finished work that I began to live with hope. Suddenly everything about my focus began to shift. Life beyond the pews would change forever.

Many of you are saying right now, "BUT I DO BELIEVE!" Do you?
Do you believe that everything that needed to be done has been done?
Do you believe that ONE sacrifice for ALL people is enough?
Do you believe that God was in Christ reconciling US to HIMSELF?
Do you believe that Jesus redeemed, rescued, and restored humanity?
If you cannot answer "YES!" to all of these questions, then there will still be room for doubt about your relationship with the Father. You will continue to place an incredible amount of emphasis upon what you do. As if getting and maintaining salvation is all about you. I've been down this path. There is no peace, no security, and no sense of love. Everything is performance based.

I live in the Bible Belt. So do many of you. We have churches on every corner. And in spite of the presence of these communities of faith, we are still consumed with fear. Rather than being perfected in love, we are only perfected in our own sense of lack. Only a true faith and trust in the love that the Father has for us in Christ will change any of that. Only a genuine belief in the finished work of Christ will get you off the not so merry-go-round. What do I mean by true faith and genuine belief? I mean a resounding "YES!" within your spirit to all that the Father has accomplished in Christ. This is the only path of peace. The only door to salvation from self-salvation. Rather than trying to save yourself, you will begin to rest in His salvation. That is the difference. You take your faith (or lack of it) off of yourself and put it firmly and fully in Him.

The truth is (according to Ephesians 1) that before the foundation of the world (before Adam fell...in fact, before Adam was ever created) the Father would adopt us in Jesus Christ. Adam would no longer be the head of the human race. Jesus would be. Jesus Christ, as the Last Adam, made an end to Adam's race. In His resurrection He became the Firstborn of the New Creation. A creation where He would be the firstborn among many brethren. The understanding of the Gospel in this light demonstrates that our salvation was not as individual as we have supposed, but familial in it's relationship to us. The Father had a dream for humanity that would not die. He would not allow us to slip away into nothingness. He would give everything to restore us to His original design. Jesus, fully God and fully Man, seated at the right hand of the Father, would become the head of the human race. We would be His inheritance.

Doesn't anyone find it interesting that when the Father established the New Covenant that Jesus would be the Mediator?
Not you.
Not me.
Not another group of well established people.
Not even His disciples would mediate.
Jesus alone would be the mediator of this New and Better Covenant. A Covenant that was founded upon Better Promises. A Relationship with the Father that could not be broken. Well...at least until the Father and the Son have a falling out. Then we would have some serious issues.

My point in all of this is that life beyond the pews can be so much better.
I dare you to believe that what Jesus did was/is enough.
I dare you to trust in the Father's unconditional love.
I dare you to rest in His grace (His Divine Enablement in your life).
I dare you to stop striving, to stop living in fear, and to stop thinking less of yourself.
I dare you to live as a much loved child.
This is my challenge to you. This is life beyond the pews. Enjoy the journey.