Links Players Atlanta representative Josh Nelson’s new book, Stop Calling Me Christian: Discovering the True Gospel of Jesus, has just released. You can find it on Amazon here, but we’re headstarting you with an excerpt today.
The inability to recognize God’s true nature is the first sign of Phariseeism. The problem is that it is difficult to recognize our own inability to see something that is invisible in nature, especially if it is not “of this world,” as Jesus said under trial about the kingdom of God. A Pharisee relies on human effort to be “set apart” from the world. Jesus and later the apostle Paul, a reformed Pharisee himself, spoke often against this human tendency, but eventually it worked its way right back into the beliefs and practices of the very people who claimed to be adherents to Jesus’s and Paul’s teachings.
Today, these people are most commonly called Christians.
The word Christian has many connotations, and depending on one’s personal beliefs and experiences, they may be positive or negative. Regardless, we must acknowledge that it has become an extremely polarizing word today.
Many people are very proud to use the word Christian, just as I did for many years. It is hardly a coincidence that pride can be a good Christian’s greatest stumbling block. Ever since the enemy of God used human pride to trip up man in the garden of Eden, God has warned us to guard against pride.
It was not just an issue for the Jews in the old covenant, but it continues to attack Christians in the same way it did for many years before Jesus. Many of the ancient prophets, such as Isaiah and Hosea, expressed God’s distaste for what Israel’s religious practices became, yet despite repeated correction, these devoutly religious people did not turn from their self-reliance or man-created traditions. Woefully, some of the very things from which Jesus came to free humankind have reemerged as the focal point for many Christians today, even as they wave the banner of Christ.
It is because of my personal background that I know this all too well.
(excerpt from Stop Calling Me Christian: Discovering the True Gospel of Jesus, copyright 2018 by WestBow Press)