An introduction

I’ve been working on the framework of this blog for about a month. In that time I've been testing my ideas against theologians and early church fathers, and I almost gave up. Honestly I came to doubt that I could publish a blog about faith, but I stuck it because my story is a story of hope for those who feel cast out or disconnected. Please bear with me while I ease into this.

Over the last year I’ve been keeping a journal of my thoughts. Initially it was a way to deal with the perceived spiritual slide I was feeling after the weekends of playing bass guitar in the worship portion of our services. Gradually it became a realization that I didn’t have a foundation for faith in Christianity, so I was leaving these weekends feeling full of grace, but bottoming out by the following Tuesday.

The more I started to understand God’s love, the more I understood grace. I wanted to write a song that would express these feelings, but I found myself without the slightest theological background to write something that would be considered worthy of an expression of praise. So I was compelled towards listening to sermons, learning, reading, testing, and I grew with God. I’m not sure how I came to this belief, but one day I found that faith in Christianity was a faith in one's ability to declare belief. I simply understood that I desired the Kingdom.

Yesterday I was researching the heretical views on ‘Inner Light,’ something that bumps heads with evangelicalized ‘born again,’ and this notion hits me as I read further along in Matthew. I started writing, and once finished I realized this is where my blog will begin.

I also realized that I do have a foundation.

So to begin...

Nicodemus calls Jesus, ‘Rabbi,' honoring Jesus by declaring him to be a doctor in the knowledge of divinity. I found this also could be translated as “my great one," or used to declare “my master.”

There is reference in the commentaries referring to Matthew 23:8; here Jesus instructed the disciples not to take the title of Rabbi, and within this instruction is a declaration that the disciples are equal in authority, or a more biased reading would render there to be no greater distinction between ministers. It begs to question, does anyone have the right to assume this kind of rabbinical dominion over faith? This teaching makes a lot of sense in corresponding to the way I’ve found the greater sources of truth to be rooted in humility, and not in those hiding behind the privileges of a title. We are not accountable to a title, to our congregations, or anything that would uproot the authority that God should have over our lives. Sometimes people want a to hear a different gospel, but our mission is kind of like in Paul saying, “If I were trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.”

To sum up what I come to understand about laws and practice of religion, nowhere does it say that we should stop following God’s laws. Found all over New Testament is this truth, a truth telling the reader that laws should not become the religion, and laws are not a substitute for faith. See Israel under the Pharisees. I believe that Jesus liberated us from the bondages of sin, and from the bondage of a religion based in legalities. Through Jesus we are offered a life that can be lived through grace.

It has been said many times over that laws do not prevent sin, and laws do nothing to redeem the sinner. Test what I say here, sin is literally defined as breaking divine law. Think about it for a minute. People are going to do what is in their heart, and the only way to live through grace is by a change of heart… to repent, a change of mind, to be born from above in the Spirit of God so that we may live through grace.

I come to the conclusion at this moment, possibly a key truth to the Christian religion is found in this; you can copy down every rule found in the bible and follow it to the teeth, or you can follow Jesus and honor what he taught. The more you follow his teachings, the closer you live in harmony with God. Brown commentary suggests that the teachers of Christianity should not take on titles to distinguish themselves; they are not obeying the teachings of Jesus, which could be viewed as just another sin to hold over your neighbors head if you practice through legalities. I think that if you follow Jesus in practice, acknowledging the truth of what he taught, having faith that he is the Logos, voice of God, possibly for these two millennium of what could be considered his kingdom. In this you acknowledge the true doctrine of God, and this in my opinion is how following Christ becomes a matter of faith. I’ve heard the Torah was considered to be law of ‘the way,' but Jesus comes back and corrects all the false doctrine of the time, looses 613 commandments into a handful, and he declares that if you want salvation, “I am the way.”