The Escape From Religion
Jesus came to save something… that is at the core of everyone.
There is a story that has been shared often in recent years:
Years ago, before transatlantic flight was common, a man wanted to travel to the United States from Europe. The man worked hard, saved every extra penny he could, and finally had just enough money to purchase a ticket aboard a cruise ship. The trip at that time required about two or three weeks to cross the ocean. He went out and bought a suitcase and filled it full of cheese and crackers. That’s all he could afford. Once on board, all the other passengers went to the large, ornate dining room to eat their gourmet meals. Meanwhile, the poor man would go over in the corner and eat his cheese and crackers. This went on day after day. He could smell the delicious food being served in the dining room. He heard the other passengers speak of it in glowing terms as they rubbed their bellies and complained about how full they were, and how they would have to go on a diet after this trip. The poor traveler wanted to join the other guests in the dining room, but he had no extra money. Sometimes he’d lie awake at night dreaming of the sumptuous meals the other guests described. Toward the end of the trip, another man came up to him and said, “Sir, I can’t help but notice that you are always over there eating those cheese and crackers at mealtimes. Why don’t you come to the banquet hall and eat with us?” The travelers face flushed with embarrassment. “Well to tell you the truth, I had only enough money to buy the ticket. I don’t have any extra money to purchase fancy meals.” The other passenger raised his eyebrows in surprise. He shook his head and said, “Sir, don’t you realize the meals are included in the price of the ticket? Your meals have already been paid for!”(1)
There are times when we miss out on all the Lord has won for us due to a lack of knowledge. Luke 19:9-10, the conclusion of the story of Zacchaeus eating with Jesus, states:
And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
Jesus declared of Himself here in verse 10 that he came to seek and save “that which was lost.” The original language is not “those who are lost.” However, that is how paraphrased, modern versions of the Scripture often interpret the original language.
When Jesus announced that salvation had come to Zaccheus’ house, he said it was “because he, too, is a son of Abraham.” Jesus indicated that Zaccheus’ salvation restored his identity as a son of Abraham. So the “that” or “what” which was lost that Jesus came to save was our identity. Jesus hadn’t died and risen from the dead yet. The only identity that was available for Zacchaeus to be restored to was that of “a son of Abraham.” However, Galatians 4:4-7 promises our restored identity as sons/children of God:
But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.
When you put your trust in Jesus, when you were born again, and when you were saved, Jesus fulfilled the Father’s intent that He stated in John 14:23:
Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.”
Just before this promise, Jesus declared in John 14:16-18:
I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
This is why Jesus prays in John 17:20-21:
I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.
Paul understood this mystery when he wrote:
to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27).
Paul recognized the importance of understanding this truth when he wrote:
Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test? (2 Corinthians 13:5)
This is why Paul describes that our reality as followers of Jesus is:
for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, “For we also are His children” (Acts 17:28).
Equally, John affirms that our role in the world is to be like Jesus in our daily lives:
Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world (1 John 4:15-17).
Without the revelation of these truths, we do not live lives that give Jesus His full reward. We do not realize the extraordinary inheritance we have been given through our restored oneness with God and a new identity as children of God:
giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light (Colossians 1:12).
Nor do we pursue Him in the transformation to fulfil our destiny to be like Him in every way.
For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren (Romans 8:29).
So the whole earth is groaning that we live fully in our new identity, our restored oneness with God, so that His Kingdom would come and His will be done for the benefit of your family, friends, neighbors, work colleagues, and those we study with.
Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:16-21).
In His unbounded love, God became what we are (human) so that we might become what He is. Christ in us means we can live in the same realm as Jesus.
Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:1-3).
We are to learn through a relational process of transformation to live and walk with God from a place of abiding in Him.
I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing (John 15:5).
If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you (John 15:7).
Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love (John 15:9-10).
God wants to walk with us in and through the complete confidence that we are accepted by Him as we are:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him (Ephesians 1:3-9).
Oneness Lost and the Consequences
Luke 19:9-10 makes it clear that Jesus came to seek and save something that was lost—that is, a that or what which is a part of those who put their faith in Him. Jesus came to seek and to save something at the core of everyone—our identity—because whoever believes in Him receives eternal life and begins living with God as His child.
What other evidence is there that our identity was lost?
Great question.
Genesis 3:1-12 holds the key.
with them as their Father. They were living in the garden in oneness with God, deeply loved by Him and accepted as His children. Satan then came into the garden to tempt Adam and Eve to do what their Father had asked them not to do.
The temptation was designed so that they would exchange their oneness with God for being like God in knowing good from evil.
The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:4-5).
When Adam and Eve believed the temptation and ate of the fruit, they exchanged one father for another on behalf of all mankind.
You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44).
The Great Exchange took place. Adam and Eve exchanged being one with God, and they exchanged fathers. They lost their, and our, identity as children of God. The great mission of the second Adam, Jesus Christ, was to restore those who put their trust in Him back into the family of God and their identity as His children.
The Great Exchange took place based on judgement and accusation. That is, they ate the fruit because they judged what God said, they judged what God intended, and they judged God’s motive. Not only that, but they also condemned themselves and mankind to a life of judgment and accusation. This is evidenced by their first responses. They judged themselves: “we were naked.” They judged God: “we were afraid of You.” They judged others (she made me do it): “the woman You gave me.” They judged that they knew better than God, as they saw something was lacking—we don’t know good from evil—and decided it was up to them to get it.
At this point, two things happened. The first was that sin entered the world.
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines sin as “an offense against religious or moral law; an action that is or is felt to be highly reprehensible; an often serious shortcoming; transgression of the law of God; and, a vitiated state of human nature in which the self is estranged from God.”(2)
There are elements of truth within this definition. However, when sin is associated and constructed within a religious framework, a performance-driven culture is established. Then a “right and wrong” paradigm defines a person’s identity. For example, if I do not sin—do the wrong thing—I am loved and considered a good person. However, if I do sin, I am considered a bad person—a sinner.
As a result, the concept of sin is tied to a set of religious dos and don’ts. Whereas sin ought to be considered and understood within a relational framework. Sin is a real issue, and I believe we will all one day stand before the Judge and be judged (see 2 Cor. 5:10; Rom. 14:12). I am pointing to the thought that sin is less about “right and wrong” based on a set of religious ideologies. It is more about being in right relationship with God, others, ourselves, and creation. Sinning involves attitudes and behaviors that create division in the relationship between God and us, each other, ourselves, and creation. Sin is a barrier to flourishing and whole relationships. As an enemy of God, sin destroys His perfect plan for the created order.
Sin is more than breaking the law and being disobedient. Sin results in the dividing of relationships and stops us from truly knowing the Father. Sin eclipses the truth of who the Father is, and as a result we project our own brokenness onto the Father.
If sin was only a matter of legality, then to make things right God could organize a legal solution to cover humanity’s sin. While this view is “consistent with the mythology of the fallen mind,” it does not address the crux of the issue! The reality of Jesus’ birth, life, death, and resurrection were not to fulfil some legal contract so that we might behave appropriately, giving us a ticket into some ethereal place called heaven! No, the reality of Jesus points us to the good Father. That we might know the Father through Jesus and, as a result, be free from the darkness of the fallen mind and of wrong belief.
The beliefs we hold about God, ourselves, and others will influence how we respond to the presence of sin in our lives. When responding to sin, we must look past the symptomatic behavior and attempt to identify and correct the wrong beliefs.
Christopher Marshall expounds on righteousness as the relational working out of just relations:
“The biblical notion of righteousness refers broadly to doing, being, declaring, or bringing about what is right. Righteousness is a comprehensively relational reality. It is not a private moral attribute one has on one’s own. It is something that inheres in our relationships as social beings. To be righteous is to be true to the demands of a relationship, whether that relationship is with God or with other persons.(3)”
The second thing that happened when Adam and Eve exchanged oneness with God for being like God was that they exercised their lordship over the Lordship of God.
We have been made in the image of God. He has a Kingdom. God created us to rule over and subdue a domain—the earth. He also gave us a free will to exercise in how to rule over and subdue our domain, which includes our lives. So, as God created us in His image, He empowered us to make choices as we rule and subdue the earth and our own lives. That is, we are all lords. The first evidence of this in children is around the age of two. They find the word “no” and the power of a tantrum. Then there is the expression with siblings and friends of “these are my toys,” “this is my space,” and “you’re not my friend anymore.” In teenage years, “lordship” can be expressed by such behaviors as open rebellion and withdrawal. Most of us will likely recall our own conduct and attitudes during these years.
God’s original intent, as evidenced by having two trees in the garden, is that we would partake of His life—the tree of life. We are to surrender our lordship by not eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Before coming to put our trust in Jesus, we center our lordship on making our own judgements. These are based on thoughts and decisions that are primarily focused on benefiting us. We discover how to rely on ourselves rather than relying on the Lord’s all-knowing insights and judgements, thus creating personal and ethnic cultures anchored in judgement.
Where acceptance was freely given by God to Adam and Eve as an expression of oneness, the exchange to knowing good from evil resulted in finding acceptance through the evaluating filter of good and evil. That is, we receive and acquire acceptance, worth, and value on the condition that our knowledge of good and evil approves of behavior. Acceptance is found in performance where we strive to display and acquire all we deem good, and we strive to suppress and avoid all we consider evil.
We see this in Adam and Eve. When their eyes of judgement were opened, fear (hiding from God), shame and condemnation (covering their nakedness), and blame and accusation (defending themselves) dominated how they now related to God, self, and others. That is, they moved from a relationship with God and others with acceptance at its core to a relationship with satan, with judgement expressed based on performance, at their core.
The nature of satan as a father is to make false judgements about everything: “Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). He is the father of lies and judgement because he conceived of judgement in himself when he judged he was better than God.
How you have fallen from heaven,
O star of the morning, son of the dawn!
You have been cut down to the earth,
You who have weakened the nations!
But you said in your heart,
“I will ascend to heaven;
I will raise my throne above the stars of God,
And I will sit on the mount of assembly
In the recesses of the north.
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High” (Isaiah 14:12-14).
Notes
Beliefnet, “Step up to God’s Banquet Table,” https://www.beliefnet.com/inspiration/christian-inspiration/2004/11/step-up-to-gods-banquet-table.aspx.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary, s.v. “Sin,” https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sin.
Chris Marshall, “Divine Justice as Restorative Justice,” Center for Christian Ethics, (2012) http://www.baylor.edu/content/services/document.php/163072.pdf.
Boyd, Repenting of Religion, 9.
