Just Follow Jesus!

Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, (Touch not; taste not; handle not; Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men?

-Colossians 2:20-22 (King James Version)

I shared the following quote from Augustine of Hippo last week on our Facebook page.

"If you believe what you like in the gospel, and reject what you don't like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself." --Augustine of Hippo

And then, I posted my thoughts after reading this quote:

"why is it that some pastor's and teachers of the Word, must twist it's meaning? If we pick and choose what we want to believe out of the Bible, we are robbing ourselves of the goodness of God. Pastors: Preach the WHOLE WORD OF GOD, not just what lines up with what your denomination believes!"

I've been thinking about that quote, and those thoughts a lot since I've posted them. My thoughts keep coming back to the last line of my thoughts, "Pastors: Preach the WHOLE WORD OF GOD, not just what lines up with what your denomination believes!" Is that the source of the problem? It seems as though the denominational lines run deep, and what is preached out of the Word of God falls within the lines for the denomination you attend. For instance, you'll probably never see a demon cast out of a person in a Baptist church. Is that Biblical? Yes, I believe it is.

Paul says, in Colossians 2:20-22, "Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, (Touch not; taste not; handle not; Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men?" Paul was writing to the church at Colosse, and they were going through some tough times. People had infiltrated the church and teaching that, even though they follow Christ, they still had to adhere to the letter of the Old Testament Laws. Paul was teaching them that they were no longer under subject to that Law, because their old life had been crucified with Jesus. But then we read, in verse 22, "after the commandments and doctrines of men?" If you study the Gospels, and see the interactions of Jesus with the Pharisees, the religious leaders of Jesus' time, you will see that, while claiming to follow the Law, they (the Pharisees) actually followed their own commandments and doctrines. It is a problem that plagues us, even today. 

Friends, I hope and pray that you don't subscribe to the "pick and choose" mentality. Meaning that you "pick and choose" what you want to believe in, and what you don't. It's not important if a demon is cast out of someone. What's important is if you have given your life to Jesus Christ. Don't let what a denomination teaches or believes rule your life. Follow Jesus, don't follow Gerry, don't follow ScriptureLinks, don't follow your church, don't follow your denomination. Just follow Jesus. Think About It.