The Unregenerate Mind

so often i read blogs from people about christianity and what they believe, the 'standards' they hold to and the doctrines they use to support those standards. i'm totally fine with people saying what they want; freedom of speech is great and i wouldn't want it to be limited in ANY way! i DO, however, have a problem with what it IS that these people are saying is 'christianity'.

just today i was reading a blog by someone who i'm sure is very fervent and sincere in their convictions, but they've completely missed the preverbial 'boat' of what, exactly, christianity actually IS; TRUE christianity, REAL faith, is me looking at God and saying 'I CANNOT'. that's it. that's the sum of everything that Jesus taught us, the core of everything that being 'seperate' and 'holy' is about; me admitting that i'm utterly and completely powerless. think with me on this... when you got saved, wasn't that essentially what you were saying to God? 'Lord, i can't save myself, only you can; please forgive me for thinking that i can. i accept you as savior' (please don't think i'm saying that THIS SPECIFIC PRAYER is what saves you or me or anyone; rather, i'm saying that, in so many words, we are all basically saying the same thing at the core when we truly 'get saved'; we're admitting that 'i cannot' to God). most people who have been saved should be able to at this point see exactly what i'm saying and agree; we ARE powerless, we CAN'T save ourselves, we NEED God. the point at which a lot of christians diverge is that they drift away from this simple, basic faith as they 'grow in Christ' (i put ' ' around that statement because that is exactly what they AREN'T doing when they let go of that faith; they may grow in 'doctrine' or 'teachings', but they completely die in faith. i'll explain this now). the problem with this is that christians--really the entire human race--mistakes beliefs with BELIEVING. Jesus taught that we as christians should be seperate from the world, this i agree on; what does that seperation actually MEAN though? does it mean i should dress differently? talk differently? listen to different music? it CAN mean that, but it goes MUCH deeper than that. TRUE seperation, REAL seperation, is me LETTING GO OF THINKING I CAN DO ANYTHING TO BE SEPERATE. what did we just say about salvation earlier? it was saying to God that 'i cannot'; this same faith is what governs the ENTIRE christian life! it's so simple; REAL faith says 'i can't have enough faith', real understanding says 'i don't understand', and furthermore 'i CAN'T understand'.

we as christians have for a very, very long time put God in a box of our descriptions, of our 'understanding'. this is not REAL understanding; it's foolishness. we have pastors who are esteemed as knowing more about God because they have 'doctorate' degrees given to them by other 'esteemed' pastors and teachers; how utterly foolish! God doesn't want you to learn teachings of men; rather, He wants you to LET GO OF LEARNING. does this mean we should stop trying to grow in Christ, or 'let go of learning' from His Word? no. emphatic no! it means we need to let go of teachings, let go of 'beliefs'; these are the very things the world holds on to so tightly! we as christians have 'left our first love', so to speak. we've forsaking real faith and replaced it with our own understanding. how sad, pathetic... how completely near-sighted and foolish!

WE'VE MADE TEMPLES OF FLESH FOR THE GOD WHO IS TO BE WORSHIPPED IN SPIRIT!

i ENCOURAGE you to reply to this, whether you agree or disagree with what i've said. i'm not here to tell you to believe what i'm saying, or to think like me; rather, i'm saying LET GO OF YOUR BELIEFS! LET GO OF YOUR UNDERSTANDING! we don't HAVE faith, we ARE faith. you should ALWAYS question what people tell you; that's not a sign of doubt, it's a sign of REAL understanding.

anyone that tells you they have the answers; mom, dad, brothers, sisters, teachers, PASTORS, uncles and aunts, ANYONE that says they 'know what to do', is lying, whether they know it or not. the truth is, we don't have any answers. we ONLY have questions. the answer WE HAVE are based on what we ALREADY KNOW; that's circular logic my friend, and it's a dead faith, a dead understanding. REAL faith and understanding is me saying 'i don't know'.

the unregenerate mind, the 'old man' as referred to in scripture, isn't JUST referring to the desire to sin; it's pointing DIRECTLY at the notion that we think we understand anything without God.

thanks for reading :]