Holy Life

Because religion is a construct designed by men, it promotes “morality” as a way to reach God.  If Christianity also promotes this same religious system to reach God, then it has completely failed in its unique “gospel message”.  It is no different than Buddhism, Islam or Judaism.  How can this be, you ask?

The word “gospel” comes from an Old English word “god (good) – spel (story/news)” which was a translation out of the Latin Vulgate from the Hellenistic Greek term εὐαγγέλιον, meaning “good news”; this may be seen from an analysis of ευαγγέλιον (εὖ “good” + ἄγγελος “messenger” + -ιον diminutive suffix).  [Why didn’t the translators just use the literal word “Evangelism” as a direct translation from Greek to English?]

Be Good

What is this “Good News”?

• If you are a GOOD PERSON, you deserve to go to heaven not hell.  Hell is for bad people and that’s not you.
• If you try really hard to BE GOOD, God will accept you into heaven.
• If you accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, you will by YOUR GOOD FAITH receive eternal life.
• You have to believe that Jesus saved you from all your sins to now be accepted as GOOD ENOUGH.

I know you have heard some kind or form of this rendition before, but biblically speaking, none of these statements above represent the actual “Gospel” because the “Good News” is that you were ALREADY loved, accepted and forgiven.  It has nothing to do with you.  Meaning YOU are just the recipient of God’s UNconditional Love but not just for you but for everybody in the past, present & future.  THIS IS REALLY GOOD NEWS!  For once, the gospel has nothing to do with who you are or what you have done or will need to do, but more so all about who God is and what His plans and purposes are for all humanity.

Be Holy

God simply tells them that due to Him choosing them, by association and by being “called out” by Him that that simple designation of WHOSE THEY WERE made them “holy”.  Again, it was not about them, but all about God.  Because He called them so, they were so!  They didn’t have to earn it.  They didn’t try to work for it.  They didn’t need to prove anything.  They simply just became “holy.”  Like over-night!

The phrase: “BE HOLY” in Hebrew is not in the imperative verb tense as a “command” to DO something, but rather, it is in the indicative verb tense of “already being” – you are now.  This changes dramatically what God was actually saying to the Hebrew people.  This grammatical and linguistic understanding puts a whole new light upon what God was telling the ancient Hebrew people 4000 years ago!  God was not telling them to just be good or try to be holy, but that they were ALREADY HOLY by association and by calling before they had done anything right or wrong.  Again it was all about God and His eternal plan!

Be You