Gospel Basics – Part 4

I have really calmed-down a great deal from studying the Bible. I now realise that a lot of the time I was studying the Bible because I was anxious and desperately in need of something. Some Christians believe that they can claim wealth and power – only if they have enough faith; this equates to basically praying and reading the Bible over and over again. I wrote about this in my blog entry entitled The Harvest Mentality – Part 1 and The Harvest Mentality – Part 2.

For other Christians, they read the Bible and pray a lot because they believe that it is the only way they will be happy and transformed on the inside. Have you heard some Christians pray? Most of the time they sound anxious, desperate and frustrated – does that sound like faith to you?

I also feel that there is a category of Christians who just basically get carried away with spiritual concepts: they love the theology aspect of it all and get rather obsessive with the study of the Bible. I suppose what keeps such people motivated is the desire to be an known expert in something; I would also add that perhaps there is also a measure of one of the above motives at work as well.

Unfortunately, it seems that merely believing in the basics of the Gospel is not enough for most Christians. There is an incessant demand to “bear fruit” in the lives of those who believe. This distracts people away from accepting themselves as they are, and others as they are, leading to guilt and judgementalism.

But we are left with the question of why those who believe in Christ do not experience transformation in their lives and abundant happiness and blessings. Some would say it is because of sin; others would say it is because people don’t pray enough or read the Bible enough; whilst others would say it is because people don’t serve in the church enough; some would even insist it is because Christians don’t give enough in the offering! This is a particular favourite amongst church pastors and Televangelists.

Having become acquainted with releasing and inquiry techniques, I can say emphatically that the reason why Christians don’t experience the fullness of what belongs to them in Christ – is because they are too contracted around thoughts. That really does explain everything, I believe. There is no need to study myriads of spiritual concepts, read the Bible over and over again or attempt to adhere to all sorts of principles. Contraction around beliefs explains everything when it comes to understanding the reason for dysfunction in a person’s life.

I have noticed that when I use inquiry – I often touch base on the Gospel basics, including the Four R’s which I have mentioned: righteousness, redemption, remission and reconciliation. I don’t believe I use Biblical concepts in my inquiry sessions which could be construed by anyone as “excessive”. Quite often I find that I don’t even quote Bible verses at all during inquiry and I don’t even mention “God” or “Jesus”. I don’t refer to the Bible during inquiry in a coaxed fashion because I feel I have to out of religious duty – I just do it spontaneously and naturally, because it is what I believe. Why, for instance, would I fear death when I know I am saved and will go to Heaven when I die? Why would I fear never getting my needs met when I know that I am right with God the way I am and I am redeemed from the curse of the law?

I don’t believe that a person will necessarily experience inner transformation or incredible blessings from God as a result of listening to Christian grace teaching over and over again. But what this grace message does do is that it sets you free from religious obligations and your own efforts to please God – whilst maintaining a person’s Christian integrity and belief in Him. This leaves a person free to live their lives without a sense of condemnation hanging over their heads like a dark cloud. I think this Gospel message gives a person hope without them having to study scripture incessantly and repeat Bible verses, over and over again.