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CHRISTIANITY OR CHRIST?By David-Ari Fournier
For the last 2,000 years, a new religion has spawned out of the sect of Judaism known as “TheFollowers of The Way”. The Leader of the sect, known to millions as “Jesus of Nazareth”, has beengreatly minimized and removed from His historical origins. Join me on this journey as we read someof the concepts that differ greatly from what Jesus started in the early beginnings of what soonbecomes a religion of over 2 billion adherents.
 
It’s 9:00am on a Sunday morning. Worshippers from all 50 states begin theirmorning ascent to the House of God. They will sing, pray, listen and learn. Then,right around the crack of 12:00pm, they will return to their regularly scheduledprograms. It’s Sunday and its time to be kind to God.“Men build ministries, ministries build movements, movements build machinery,machinery builds monuments and monuments become mausoleums”.When I first heard this quote, I found myself offended by its lack of respect. Thisstatement cannot be true in all cases, so I quickly dismissed it and went on with mylife. But, like most things, I found myself returning to it time and time again. Deepin my soul I found myself longing for a closer and more defined relationship withGod. But I was struggling to find that relationship in the church.I have known for a long time that I have issues and questions that have goneunaddressed. They have been unaddressed not because I asked and they wererefused to be considered, but because my own fear and shame. I was concernedbecause it seemed like I did not have the same level of security that my fellowbrothers in the faith always demonstrated. If I asked these questions, if I pressed thematter, would I be considered “less of a Christian”?Questions like, “Did Jesus come to earth to establish the religion we now know asChristianity”? “If Jesus was to attend our services, would He recognize ourpractices to be the ones He dictated some 2,000 years ago”? Are we practicingChristianity or Christ-likeness? Is there a difference?It is my hope to entertain some thought-provoking ideas on the next pages of text. Iask you to look deeply at what I am discussing in the pages ahead. As you journeywith me through the challenges I have faced that have led me to this writing, it is myhope and prayer that regardless of how you feel about what I write here, you canallow yourself to be challenged and motivated to look deeply into your own walk.But of you see shadows of your own walk with Jesus, your church or challenges inyour faith, cheer up. You are not alone. Like the X-files told us, “The Truth is outThere”. We must be willing to struggle with it in order to find it.The point to the salvation plan of God has to be restoration. God did not developHis plan of salvation just to start a wrecking yard. Restoration is central to theBiblical model and the Gospel message. We know from Scriptures that God hasdesigned and purposed to return us to our original intent, which is open andcommunal fellowship with Him. Without a doubt, the future coming world will be areturn to the Garden of Eden.It seems that Christianity has developed the ability (or, have we?) to salvage, but weseem to care little for true restoration. I say true restoration, because we do make
 
an effort to look saved. I compare this to a raging fire that consumes thousands of acres of land. Christianity will quickly work to get the fire out. And, praise God,thousands of acres are saved. But the damage remains untouched. The landbecomes non-usable. It can even become dangerous, susceptible to flash floods andother tragedies.I have met countless numbers of clients, Christians and non-believers that arechained to their past, with daily reminders of past failures, false accusations andhorrible events that follow them with the same impact today as when they originallyhappened. For Christians, it seems that we would be free from these events. Butunless the aim of our Christian walk is not just regeneration but restoration, we willfall terribly short of the mark.Today’s version of saving faith is very different than the saving faith that Jesusspoke of in the Gospels. Many people have faith in many things, but saving faith iswhat is needed. The Church, moving its evangelism efforts inside the Churchinstead of outside in the marketplace where they belong, causes themisrepresentation.Salvation is not cheap or easy. Statements like, “Just a simple faith in Christ” or“Just believe” fall way short of the true message of Jesus. The most important thingthat we must consider at this point is that there is a price. He paid the price for ourentrance. Now we must count the cost. Salvation includes faith, but confession,repentance; covenant obedience and a lifestyle bearing the fruit of repentance arealso proof of the change. It leads us all to our own place on the cross. And, in time,to a forward position in the battle right along side our Author and Finisher, Jesus.I offer this curious yet poignant illustration. Let’s consider…Everyone in country A is hungry. There is just not enough food to go around.Country B is a hundred miles away. They have more than enough food. To get fromcountry A to country B a person has to walk the hundred miles. The problem withthe hundred miles is that country C and country D are at war. So, as you walk thehundred miles, bullets are flying left to right and right to leave. A company startsselling bulletproof suits. It’s a great idea and people start walking the hundredmiles to the feast that awaits them. As the company works to increase profits overthe years, they begin to cut costs. They start using cheaper materials. They startedwith suits made of lead, but have worked their way down to a nice looking plasticsuit. Profits are up. The company is adding employees and profit; measurementsthat they have been told truly identify success.People are entrusting their lives to the new plastic suits.Now, because of the war, there are no phone lines. No one calls from country B tosay they made the trip safely. The people in country A are entrusting their lives towhat the company is telling them. These people are dying as they try to get to the
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