I am a Heretic

Yesterday I started my blog out with this opening paragraph.

" I was listening to a lecture for my Church History class last night. The Professor stated something that has stuck with me all day and I think has made a huge impression on my life for years to come. He stated, "heresy is anything that stands in the way of salvation" Wow, this sentence hit me hard. I had to go back and play it a few times just to make sure I heard what he was saying. I truly believe there is nothing wrong with his statement. And it should hit us as lovers of Jesus hard. "

Tonight I want to explore 2 more areas I believe that I am a heretic in the way I stand in front of the work of the Gospel.

The third area I believe I am a heretic is in my relationship with others in Jesus' church. We as members of Jesus Church are called to love one another. This is a command in the Bible because there are 36 different verses alone in the New Testament that deal with the "one another" relationship in the family of God. The world is watching the church too. The world is waiting for the "hypocrites" to fall victim to sin and defame the name of Jesus by their actions. And I fall continually into the camp of a Christian and lover of Jesus who does not always act like my Savior. I sin and I definitely sin against my fellow children of God. When I sin against my brothers and sisters in Christ it hurts the gospel the most. When the church does not love one another or care for one another or are generous to one another, the world sees. That stops the work of the Gospel in the lives of others. Hurting our cause when we stab each other in the church or fight over small details is a huge barrier for the Gospel to climb. And I fall victim to this camp a lot of the time. I do not care for my brothers in the Lord, I do not always show them mercy and grace like God has shown me. I fall victim to this heretical act a lot. 

The fourth area I am a heretic is in my own life and the power of transformation. God is continually calling for His children to grow and be changed more and more into the image of His son. If I truly claim to love Jesus with all my heart, soul, and mind, I should truly become more and more like Him and less and less like the world. But when I refuse to change and grow because I like how I am, I am standing in the way of the Gospel at work in my life and I am a heretic. The Gospel is supposed to change me and make me grow as the Holy Spirit works it deep into the dark parts of my life. But if I fight the Spirit and do not respond to His conviction I am ultimately rejecting the Gospel and am a heretic. The gospel is designed to change and grow me more into the image of Jesus so that the world can see Jesus through me. The world should be seeing the change that the Spirit is doing in my life and desire through seeing that growth to first praise God and second desire to experience that change also. But when I refuse change and do not respond to the conviction of the Spirit it hurts the power of the Gospel. I need to let the Spirit transform me so that I stop being a heretic and be more like my Savior. 

I hate thinking of myself as a heretic but I have discovered that I am a lot of the time. When I sin openly and purposefully against the world, when I do not do something Christ glorifying when I should, when I hurt my fellow believer, and when I reject transformation by the Spirit; I am a Heretic. This has changed my view a lot because I do not want to be a heretic or called one.