"You need to be in the Word. It's where every principle, standard, and belief you have needs to be drawn from. Don't fall into the sin of pleasing man. Just strive to please God by following His Word." You ever hear that growing up? I sure did! But I never cared to do any of it before I was truly saved. I saw my goodness in direct comparison to how little or how much trouble I got into with my parents, school, or church. As long as I followed their rules, I'd be just as good of a Christian as the next person in the pew. And the cool thing was, these rules weren't just for kids like me! I could spend my whole life obeying them, and no one would even consider me to be an unbeliever. I wasn't basing my beliefs on Scripture. I was basing them on religious expectations. I was basing them on pleasing man.
Along with the quest I had begun through the Bible, I decided that I might as well just go all out and study about what Scripture says concerning how I should live my life as a child of God. That's when I picked up my first book, Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper. That took me about a month to get through, and I haven't stopped studying theology and doctrine since. I'll admit, I think reading that book did distract me from my initial endeavor to discover how I was supposed to be different than before, but in many ways it didn't. In my studying of theology I think I stumbled on (unknowingly being shoved by God's invisible hand) exactly what I was searching for! My new life wasn't about how differently I acted on the outside. It was about my new passion on the inside. In his rescuing me, God "renewed my mind". Check this out:
When God renewed my mind, He transformed me into a life of true worship. All that jazz I did before wasn't worship. It was religion in the "pattern of this world". Look at all the other religions around the world. What's the one thing they have in common? They all say that in one way or another, we have to do some series of actions to gain the favor of some higher being so that after we die we end up in some sort of paradise. To them, it's all about what we do. Sadly, to many Christians it's the same way. But not according to Scriptures. And that's a fact that I cling onto to this day. When I'm bombarded with guilt and shame over my sin, I can still look back and say, there's nothing I did do, nothing I can do, or nothing I will do that will fix this. But thankfully I have a God who "was and is and is to come", and He transformed me through His death and resurrection.
I'm gonna be real. This week I've been struggling with this. I know what Scripture says. I know what I believe. I'm doing my best to live it out. But for some people, that's just not enough. If it's not what they're used to, and it's not what has traditionally been done, they're automatically against it. I normally would just let this run right off my back, but I'm struggling cause I really look up to the man who's questioning my beliefs. I see him as a spiritual giant. I want to please and appease him. Actually, there's the potential for some pretty high fall out if I don't. But I can't change because of what he says. I gotta go to Scripture alone. I gotta go to Christ alone. He's my Lord. I'm his slave.
If you're reading this. Lift me up in prayer. I sure need it.
Then God saved me right before my Senior year of high school. Talk about falling in love! Wow, I was a new creature, that's for sure. All I wanted to do was please God. I desired change in my life so badly! It was my new passion. But what does this change look like? Because of my upbringing, my focus was solely on the externals. Christians are separate because they dress differently, and they listen to different music, and they hang out with different people. This caused a problem for me. I wanted to please God by being different than I was before He saved me, but how? Before I was saved, my Christian school still made me dress differently than the world. My church still made me listen to different music than the world. My parents still made me hang out with kids that were part of our Christian bubble. So if that's what Christianity is all about, how could I change? So, I did what I was always told to do, but had always neglected. I searched the Scriptures.
Along with the quest I had begun through the Bible, I decided that I might as well just go all out and study about what Scripture says concerning how I should live my life as a child of God. That's when I picked up my first book, Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper. That took me about a month to get through, and I haven't stopped studying theology and doctrine since. I'll admit, I think reading that book did distract me from my initial endeavor to discover how I was supposed to be different than before, but in many ways it didn't. In my studying of theology I think I stumbled on (unknowingly being shoved by God's invisible hand) exactly what I was searching for! My new life wasn't about how differently I acted on the outside. It was about my new passion on the inside. In his rescuing me, God "renewed my mind". Check this out:
I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. - Romans 12:1-2 NIV
When God renewed my mind, He transformed me into a life of true worship. All that jazz I did before wasn't worship. It was religion in the "pattern of this world". Look at all the other religions around the world. What's the one thing they have in common? They all say that in one way or another, we have to do some series of actions to gain the favor of some higher being so that after we die we end up in some sort of paradise. To them, it's all about what we do. Sadly, to many Christians it's the same way. But not according to Scriptures. And that's a fact that I cling onto to this day. When I'm bombarded with guilt and shame over my sin, I can still look back and say, there's nothing I did do, nothing I can do, or nothing I will do that will fix this. But thankfully I have a God who "was and is and is to come", and He transformed me through His death and resurrection.
I'm gonna be real. This week I've been struggling with this. I know what Scripture says. I know what I believe. I'm doing my best to live it out. But for some people, that's just not enough. If it's not what they're used to, and it's not what has traditionally been done, they're automatically against it. I normally would just let this run right off my back, but I'm struggling cause I really look up to the man who's questioning my beliefs. I see him as a spiritual giant. I want to please and appease him. Actually, there's the potential for some pretty high fall out if I don't. But I can't change because of what he says. I gotta go to Scripture alone. I gotta go to Christ alone. He's my Lord. I'm his slave.
If you're reading this. Lift me up in prayer. I sure need it.
An excited servant of God,
Cameron Francis
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