Life under the sun (life apart from God)

Ecclesiastes 1 reads; 10- Is there anything whereof it may be said, See, this is new? It hath been already of old time, which was before us. 14- I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit. 15- That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered. Life as we know it or life under the sun or life apart from God is seemingly the life most Christians have chosen as fundamental. Quote unquote Christians have diluted the true substance of the word of God. Instead, a more worldly tradition theyve adopted. Modern Christians portray spirituality as an act of service rather than an act of love. A sense of obligation is implied by Todays Christians as it pertains to churchly activities. In contrast, a sense of incumbency in relation to intimate praise, worship and charity should be conveyed. So why has man once again turned away from life under the Saviour to life under the sun? But why, when in addition, Jesus Christ has incarnated into this world to reconcile mankind from their sins and sinful, corrupted nature? Why? After the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, man have become an imperfect, impotent being, exiled from a perfect, potent land [Genesis chapter 3]. Since then man have lost all right standing with God and were in desperate need of a perfect Saviour to administer reconciliation between man and God. In mans pursuit for a Saviour and reconciliation, man had no other alternative but to live life under the sun [apart from God]. However, presently with the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord and personal Saviour Jesus Christ, man has regained right standing with God and now has no more valid reason to leave life under the sun. Anyway, to understand the sole reason why Christians are still living in a way contrary to the New Testament teachings of the Holy Bible, one must observe this Old Testament bookEcclesiastes. In Ecclesiastes 1:9 the bible says that; The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. As born again, protestant, or even Full Gospel, Charismatic Christians, you may be tempted to deny the fact that youre living a life apart from God. Conversely, when youre trusting in your own self effort over Gods intervention, youre living life under the sun. Matthew 6: 24 says it very clear, that "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. According to the online website- gospel.com, the word mammon taken in context in this passage of scripture refers to not just tangible money, but rather greed and selfishness as a whole. From my own personal understanding, the word mammon can also be perceived as one trusting in his own self and in his own effort,

Ecclesiastes 2:17 says Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit. King Solomon has made it very vivid that a life apart from God is a life that vexes and grieves the spirit. Whether youre Christian or non-Christian, your spirit man hungers and thirsts for intimacy with God, the creator of one and all. After youve been born again and has been made right with God through the grace of Jesus Christ, the devil no longer has dominion over you. The only power that the devil can now exhibit is the power of deception. Wiles and craftiness are all the devil can throw after you, and hell use whatevers possible to optimize his weakness. I call it weakness because wiles and craftiness are effective only if youre receptive. In addition, probably the number one deceiving strategy the devil uses against born again, spirit-filled believers is the trick of getting believers to refrain from living under the Saviour to living under the sun. Now, what do I mean by that? After youre born again, your spirit man is perfected, but your free will [soul man] is still in imperfection, meaning that you get to choose the way youre going to live your life, and your decisions are also self-dependent [not dictated by Gods intervention]. Hence, the devil exploits this opportunity, urging born-again believers to turn away from Jesus amazing grace to mans own void self-effort under the sun. What do I mean when I say mans own void self-effort under the sun? Im referring to a biblical term called legalism! According to an online dictionary source; dictionary.com, the term legalism can be simmered down to the following: strict adherence, or the principle of strict adherence, to law or prescription, especially to the letter rather than the spirit. Im rather surprised that this secular online source used this expression; especially to the letter rather than the spirit. Most Christians today reckon that their right standing with God is coherent to their performance. See how the book of Galatians deter this misunderstanding; For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: You shall love your neighbour as yourself. But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. [Gal 5: 13-15 ESV]. Lets now examine Titus 3:5 (ESV) as follows: He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit. The 2nd chapter and 8th verse of The Book of Ephesians states that For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God (ESV). After diligently scrutinizing these passages of scripture, I can boldly stress that salvation is not and can never be attained by ones own self effort. In other words, your right standing with God is not dependent on how regularly you attend church services, nor is it on how much you part take or how long youve participated in churchly activities, nor is it on how smart you dress or how well you do music or sing , scream, yield, pray, preach, teach, minister or disciple. Its simply all of what Jesus has done over 2000 years ago, and how well you respond to what he has done.

Apart from the devils wiles and evasiveness, mans major devastation is pride. Pride is with no doubt a key contributor to mans depiction of life under the sun. Self-conceit has made man cling more and more to their own self effort rather than what God has already done. Mark 8: 34 highlights the following; And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. According to chapter 16 of the book, Shaper than a two edged sword, by Pastor and TeleEvangelist- Andrew Wommack, a cross is something you die on. To take up our cross means that we are supposed to die to ourselves and follow Jesus. But conversely, today most Christians are rather timid to take up their cross and follow Jesus. Instead, they prefer to stroll bare-handedly under the sun. In conclusion, todays Christians have tripped themselves into a ditch by depending solely on their own useless self-effort in regards to maintaining their right standing with God. Additionally, this self-inflicting malice has deterred the true meaning of Gods grace, and has watered down the geniality of the New Testament. Man clinging to their own self-righteousness have made the wiles of the devil more effective, thus positioning themselves in the path of deception. Also, in mans selfish pursuit of righteousness, man has somehow crawled out of under the shell of the Saviour, and into the bare beam of the sun. In other words, man has negated what Jesus has done by what theyre trying to do own their own. Pride, a key contributor to mans distant from God has hardened the heart of man into self-conceit. I trust and pray that this article has impacted your life in some way. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you!

Written by: devon da poet Date written: Saturday July 27, 2013 @11:04 PM