Tuesday, October 20, 2009

“In God We Trust”

Facebook has an application which sends out messages on a regular basis called “In God We Trust.” It's tag line is "Receive the Words of Divine Wisdom to inspire you to greatness, to strength, to passion for life. GOD wants You to Know!" Here’s what I found when I checked out the last three messages on a friend’s page:

Monday’s message: “The quickest way to find love is to give love. If you want it too badly, you will not find it. The most secure way to keep love is to give it space and care to grow. If you hold it too tightly, you will lose it.” That would mean “love” is dependent on us. Their statement disagrees with what the Bible says: “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10 ESV).

Ironically, there was no message on Sunday.

Saturday’s message: “You keep wanting to know how things will play out, keep asking to see the future. God doesn’t give anyone the power to know the future, because life becomes maddeningly boring when you know everything upfront. So, instead of struggling, enjoy the uncertainty – to be alive means to not know” (emphasis added).

Here’s what the Bible says about being alive: “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 2:13-14 ESV).

Friday’s message: “You're chasing in the wrong field. What you are looking for is inside of you, not 'out there'. Take a few days off to become quiet and look within, and you will find it.” The Bible says in Hebrews 12:1-2 (ESV): “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Notice the Bible shows us what we find when we look within – sin. It is Jesus to whom we should look. Where can Jesus be found? In the pages of Scripture, in the Word heard preached each Sunday by faithful pastors, and in the Sacraments.

What these messages teach us is to put our trust in ourselves. IN ME WE TRUST. This is essentially secular humanism. It is antithetical to what God says in His Word. All of the above Bible verses point to Jesus. They show us our sin and our need for a Savior. It is in Him that we live and move and have our being. It is through Him that all people are forgiven, and it is only through Him and what He continues to do in or lives that we can truly love. His life, His death, His resurrection – for us. Taking the “In God We Trust” messages to heart turns one into a Christless Christian, which, of course, isn’t a Christian at all.


photo credit: stallio

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for covering this as well. I made mention of it a few days ago in my own blog. Our sinful nature is so quick to seek God in ways that He has not ordained for us when we already can find Him in His Word and Sacraments. We just want to be the ones who "call the shots," and we have been this way since Adam.

Scott Diekmann said...

Hi Zelwyn. I've got your blog in my aggregator, but I'm about a month behind in my reading! Yes, we sinners tend to look for God in all the wrong places.

BW said...

Scott,

Before I became a confessional Lutheran I subscribed to a verse of the day from particular Bible distributing charity. Now when I get these daily emails I always sigh when I read them because they are alot like today's verse of the day:

"Acts 10:34
Then Peter replied, "I see very clearly that God doesn't show partiality." (NLT)

Meditation
Parents sometimes treat one child better than another. Employers sometimes treat one worker better than another. Friends sometimes treat one friend better than another. God treats us all with the same care. We are all His favorites. Have you ever been anyone's favorite?"

What does the above even mean!? How am I supposed to meditate on that?

Scott Diekmann said...

The "We are all His favorites" part of the quote sounds a lot like Pastor Rick Warren's theology. Maybe he's writing some of these things!