God Demands Distinction In His People

“Do not worship the LORD your God in the way these pagan peoples worship their gods. [Deuteronomy 12.4] 

God demands distinction in His people.

You must not worship the LORD your God the way the other nations worship their gods, for they perform for their gods every detestable act that the LORD hates. They even burn their sons and daughters as sacrifices to their gods. [Deuteronomy 12.31]

Let me just say that "relevant" is a term of idolatry. 

Jesus' demand says it all:

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24 (also, Mark 8.34 & Luke 9.23)]  

God did all the 'blending in with man' that He is going to do when He gave His only Son. Now it is time for man to 'blend in with God' by following Jesus. 

Notice both of the Deuteronomy passages above are not specifically about worshiping other gods, but are about not worshiping God the same way.

Interestingly enough, the modern Church looks nothing like the early Church. The way we worship God today is the product of years and years of evolution - or should I say devolution? The way we worship God today has become much more about the convenience of man than the holiness of God. 

The Church has stooped to the level that it is not about Jesus and His Body together glorifying God in word and deed as much as it is about a one-man-show complete with an emotional opening act music sideshow. Consequently, the people walk out in the same condition they walked in except for perhaps they got emotional. They call this emotion a "move of the Spirit" even though it is strikingly similar to the "good vibes," "tears shed" and "hands raised" at an entirely secular music concert. The blind do not see. The deaf do not hear. The lame do not walk. The dead are not raised.

So low has the Church digressed that when an infirmed or sick person is encountered, the first question asked of that person is "what do the doctors say?" What the hell? Literally, what the worldly HELL? Doctors and medicine are the same way the world (going to hell) treats sickness and disease. In fact, the Church today resorts to all the same major solutions as the world (debt, insurance, medicine and technology) regarding blessings and curses instead of being distinguished as God's people.

“Look, today I am giving you the choice between a blessing and a curse! You will be blessed if you obey the commands of the LORD your God that I am giving you today. But you will be cursed if you reject the commands of the LORD your God and turn away from him and worship gods you have not known before. [Deuteronomy 11.26-28]

 Just sit tight... it gets worse!

To worship God the same way the world worships their gods is to effectively worship those worldly gods instead of God!

About now it should make much more sense that Jesus would demand (not suggest) that a true follower must "give up his own way (the way of the world and its gods), take up his cross (the way of faith even in the face of death), and follow Jesus, Who makes the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame to walk, and the dead to live.

Yes, the paragraph above describes what "church" today should look like. Does our current church model reflect this? No. Is it redeemable? Not likely because the modern church model, at its foundation, is the way of man (an IRS compliant business) when it should be the way of God.

The details that define the True Church model should be the same as Jesus defined:

John the Baptist, who was in prison, heard about all the things the Messiah was doing. So he sent his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?” Jesus told them, “Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen— the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.” [Matthew 11.2-5]

If the Church today is not built upon Jesus in His description of Himself, then there is only one solution in a two-part action: repent and believe. In fact, that is how Jesus ministered:

Later on, after John was arrested, Jesus went into Galilee, where he preached God’s Good News. “The time promised by God has come at last!” he announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!” [Mark 1.14-15]

The popular "faith movement" has proven that faith alone has only underwhelmingly come to this solution. There must be repentance - and lots of it. We will know we have repented enough when our faith makes us look and act like Jesus in all His ways. Without repentance, we areworshiping God the world's way - man's way - the same way pagans worship their gods - and we are just wasting God's time.

Father, the words written here are hard. We are on the road to hell and expecting to arrive at heaven. May we be found repentant because our faith does not have us looking like Jesus. May we be found repentant because our church does not have us looking like Jesus. May we be found repenting and believing in proper proportions! May we recognize that proper proportion when Your glory manifests all Your power among us. May we understand that we are tasked to give up our own way. May we understand that we are tasked to take up our cross. May we understand that we are tasked to follow Jesus. So be it.