"Your life is transformed to the degree that your mind is renewed. Cornel's book goes a long way to removing the hindrances to that renewal."
-Curry R. Blake, John G. Lake Ministries
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When I was young(er) there was an animated TV series about a superhero called ‘Captain Planet’. I personally think he was the dumbest superhero ever invented. Lately I have come to realize that much of the church world sees God in a very similar way to Captain Planet. I call this distorted view of God, “The Captain Planet Syndrome.”
To start explaining this, I might need to give you bit of info about Captain Planet. He is a superhero whose main goal is to eradicate pollution on earth and there are 5 teenagers who need to combine their power-rings to summon Captain Planet. The reason why he is the dumbest superhero ever is because his only weakness is POLLUTION! The one thing that he is purposed to destroy is the very thing that makes him powerless. How dumb is that?! In every episode Captain Planet would be summoned to help fight pollution, but will inevitably get in contact with some pollution and instantly he loses all his powers and abilities. Then it’s up the teenagers to save Captain Planet and clean him up so he can regain his power and save the day.
Now when it comes to the Captain Planet Syndrome many believers walk around with, they view God in much the same way. They see God as having the ability to destroy sin, forgive them and save them, but they also see sin as the one thing that stops God from working. How often do you hear something like this from the pulpit: “God can’t do anything for you until you stop sinning.” Or “If you want God to work in your life, you must get rid of your sin first because that stops His power from working.” Then they imply a lot of human effort to essentially SAVE GOD FROM YOUR SINS so He is no longer powerless to help you. You have to work hard to remove all traces of sin otherwise God can’t do anything. Yeah, right!
Sin is not God’s kryptonite. He is not powerless against it. It is not the one thing that can defeat Him! Your sin does not stop His power from working. Your sin is not stronger than God. Your sin does not separate you. Your sin is defeated. Your sin is forgiven. Do not make God out to be as pathetic as Captain Planet. His power is limitless, His love eternal, His life indestructible and His family is the focus of His being! He is also not summoned or conjured up by human effort, He is the always abiding, living and indwelling Eternal Spirit, fully able to keep you, save and love you!
Now that is a superhero! Where sin abounds, GRACE ABOUNDS MUCH MORE!
Cornel
Religion defines words very differently to what they are commonly believed to mean. In order for you to not be confused, please make sure you get your definitions right!
All (adjective): some of; a part of; not everything, a limited number or quantity
Common areas of confusion: Ps 103:3, 2 Pet 1:3, Heb 7:27
Whosoever, Whoever (pronoun): not every person; only some people.
Common areas of confusion: John 3:16, Acts 10:43, Mark 11:23, John 11:26
Anything (noun): only certain; very specific; exclusive; predetermined.
Common areas of confusion: Matt 18:19, Luke 22:35, John 14:14
Will (auxiliary verb): indicating that something possibly might happen, uncertain, unsure.
Common areas of confusion: Mark 16:18, Jer 31:34, Heb 10:17
Free (adjective), Freely (adverb): incurring costs; the need to be earned; requires effort.
Common areas of confusion: Rom 5:15-18, Rom 3:24, Rom 8:32, 1 Cor 2:12, Matt 10:8
Every (adjective): not all; only some; limited degree.
Common areas of confusion: Eph 1:3, Matt 9:35
Perfect (adjective): not conforming to absolutes, in further need of improvement, can be improved upon.
Common areas of confusion: Matt 5:48, Eph 4:13, Col 4:12, Heb 10:14
Complete (adjective): only parts or sections of the whole, not entire, unfinished.
Common areas of confusion: Col 2:10
Remember (verb): to not keep in mind; to not think about; to not regard, notice or forget.
Common areas of confusion: Isa 43:25, Heb 8:12, Heb 10:17
Finish (verb): yet to complete; in the process of being completed; almost done.
Common areas of confusion: John 19:30
Abide (verb): does not remain, fluctuating occupation.
Common areas of confusion: 1 John 2:27, John 8:35, John 14:16, 1 John 4:13
We are glad to have helped you clear up any confusion you might have had over these words. Here at The Religious Dictionary Institute, we will continue to search for and properly define & explain more words that cause this kind of confusion and questioning of human traditions.
I once heard Bill Johnson say that to him Ps 103:7 is the saddest verse in the Bible. It stuck with me.
Psa 103:7 He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel. (NKJV)
What is sad about this verse is it shows us two very different perspectives people can have when it comes to God. Moses knew God’s ways. The Israelites knew His deeds. At face value it seems like the same thing, but it isn’t. If you have a Moses perspective, knowing God and His ways, you will be able to look at a circumstance and judge it according to God’s ways. On the other hand, if you only know God’s deeds, you will look at every situation or circumstance and judge God and people based on the circumstance. Let me show you the difference with an example.
Let’s say a friend of yours becomes sick. Having a Moses perspective, you know from God’s ways that He is our healer. You know Jesus bore sin in His body on the cross and that by His stripes we are healed (1 Peter 2:24). You know the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy but Jesus came to give life abundantly (John 10:10). You will look at your friend’s circumstance and be able to say: “This sickness is not from God. This is an evil, illegal attack on your health and life. In Jesus Name, be healed!” If you have an Israel perspective, you would approach this situation very differently. You know God’s deeds. The Bible showed you examples of when God punished people for sin and when He healed people. Your perspective is that God both causes sickness and heals sickness. You will say to your friend, ‘You have done something that is displeasing to God and He is punishing you for it with this sickness. You need to repent and seek mercy and forgiveness before God.”
Based on the accounts of God’s deeds in the Bible, there seems to be nothing wrong with the Israel perspective, except that it fails to take into account the covenant people were under at the time. Why is that important? Well, under the Law covenant, when you did bad, you got bad. When you did good, you got good. Whenever you did something wrong, it was your responsibility to go make it right. You had to do something in order to regain right standing before God. Can you see that the Israel perspective implies the same thing? “You have done something wrong, you need to go make it right.” Where is Jesus in this picture? There is no need for Him because the perspective places all the responsibility on the person, disregarding the sacrifice already made. They have to make atonement and they need to regain right standing. The Moses perspective on the other hand sees Jesus as the person who made atonement already, who did everything needed to restore right standing before God, who forgave the person’s sins already. The Israel perspective paints a picture of God as an angry impersonal judge while the Moses perspective reveals a loving Father. The Israel perspective will always be one of works while the Moses perspective will always be one of faith in Jesus.
Do you look at circumstances and judge Jesus and people, or do you look at Jesus and judge circumstances?
In Grace
Cornel
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