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The Gospels
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 Man, That's Dumb! If you didn't read the blurb at the section introduction, this page contains some of the daft uses I have heard christians call upon the blood of Christ for... A nearby church in my home town was visited by a couple of travelling itinerant preachers who received more than they gave but furnished us with a story where they had come so close to realising how God looks away from his Son's blood but missed the goal by a mile. The story went that they were down to their last few cents and didn't know how they would reach the next stop for fuel. They discussed covering the gas tank with Christ's blood so God wouldn't notice it was empty and they could drive on regardless. According to the couple it worked for hundreds of miles. Hang on a minute? isn't the Holy Spirit the transformative part of our lives and His works the miracles we witness? I can't help but feel this lesson of theirs was leading their listeners in the wrong direction. In retrospect I think God was more interested in getting them further from the damage they had left behind so it could be properly fixed. The same couple told how they did the same to their bank account - that there was always more money that would come out of the teller machine - !. At the end of the church meeting they went away with a more than modest whip-around. I can't help but feel sorry I put money in the can. There was a phase a few years back when all sorts of strange stuff seemed to come from the mouths of church leaders. Not being a church goer any more I am blissfully ignorant of most of the newer ones. Whilst I was in London and attended the church at Holy Trinity Brompton - made famous for being the originator of the "Alpha course", there was an idea that the world should be converted to Christ before he would return, and every Christian should make the effort to do so "and paint the world with the blood of Christ". Incredibly - they used this idea in a geographical context - painting the ground red street by street and country by country. (Not sin by sin or person by person) The net result of this would be that if it were possible and completed, God would no longer pay any attention to Earth or anyone on it. Just goes to show even christians who are highly respected come out with some clangers. (By the way, this amongst other heresies are documented in the set of broadcasts of the "Hour of the Time" radio show series on the new age religion.) Any time you hear anything other than the Holy Spirit acting in a transformative personal context from a Christian, run a mile and don't stop to look over your shoulder. As the next page can show, not only can these blood heresies be foolish, they can also be down right dangerous. - Not just to your beliefs and the truth of the matter, but they can effect your health and your placing of trust in God. It is not just the blood of Christ that is often put through the mangler, or even the Holy Spirit. I have often heard a couple of "cross heresies" spoken openly amongst Christians without any one picking up on them. Worst still, these are often used to new "young" Christians in the place of sound advice. Talk about getting off to a bad start! See what you think... If you have a problem with sin, "Take it to the cross", or "put your sin on the cross" - even "nail it to the cross". Utterly stupid! I would have referred to these in the first instance as "crass heresies" if it would have made the connection. Jesus died on the cross and was "made sin for us" so that His likeness on the cross would cover our sins. There is no spiritual mechanism in Christianity for placing our sin onto the cross so it will "die with him" or be somehow inverted into an antidote for sin. If you have a problem with sin, join the club - but this recipe is a stupidity. Why would any one wish to be part of the act that performs the nailing, or be convinced that they are spiritually empowered to have any part in God's perfect work of the cross? This idea is a dialectic that muddies the blood of Christ rather than accepting the grace that comes thereby. That a person can take part in spiritually saving ones self at the cross - so that the cross is more successful or more reliable or more powerful for one person than another is bullshit. It is as powerful for the repented as it is for the unrepentant with regards to salvation and grace. What this heresy has become is a synthetic gospel that permits Christians to believe that the work of the cross is diminished for some, and they can make excuses for the sins of others. You do not take your sin to the cross - neither does the cross come to your sin - the cross stays where it is, and the Lord looks away if you belong to Christ. This dialectic - a synthesis of an opinion that the cross will not work for some combined with another view that empowers sin over the responsibility of the sinner, is a form of intellectual witchcraft. I hate to wonder what power this witchcraft can have. Whether in his love Christ, (knowing all his own that keep hold of this idea) had extra anguish on the cross is up for consideration. Christ wept tears as blood praying over the cup he would drink. Flinging back what amounts to a curse on the cure in the face of Christ can not be ignored unless it is dealt with at the source or destination. "If this cup will not pass from me unless I drink it, not my will but yours be done" - Thanks the Lord God in his loving kindness those sins are covered also. |
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