The greatest enemy of the gospel throughout history has been a spirit of religion. It comes across as being so sincere and pious.
It seeks personal holiness at great expense to self, it can be so self abasing. But make no mistake it is full of false humility and moldy holiness. It is unacceptable to God because it opposes His grace.
Colossians 2:18 Don’t let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self–denial or the worship of angels, saying they have had visions about these things. Their sinful minds have made them proud, 19 and they are not connected to Christ, the head of the body. For he holds the whole body together with its joints and ligaments, and it grows as God nourishes it. 20 You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, such as, 21 “Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!”? 22 Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them. 23 These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self–denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires.
You and I will never be beyond our need to grow in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Grace teaching is not something we need only when we are young in the Lord and then we move on to personal holiness issues.
We must remain connected in relationship with Christ through grace so that as we behold Him we can be changed from glory to glory.
There is no set time or formula for your transformation in Christ. Only God knows your pace and process so there is no list we can give you to follow.
There is just a person (Jesus Christ) we can point you to and an assurance of His grace to keep you coming before His throne for help in your times of need.
Praise Him for His wonderful grace and mercy shown to us through Jesus Christ our Lord!
About The Author
- Tim Atchley
- Knoxville, Tennessee, United States
- I currently serve as Senior Pastor of Harvest Church in Knoxville, Tn. I was sent out from Trinity Chapel of Knoxville in 1993 accompanied by my wife Sheila our four children Sarah, Hannah, Josiah & Isaac and a handful of bold, brave and committed believers determined to plant our first church. Pioneering is hard work but well worth the journey. That is why we desire to make disciples of Christ who will, like us, also embrace the call to plant churches.
