Do you misunderstand Christianity?

To misunderstand Christianity is to miss out on the life-enriching fruit and the life-empowering gifts of the Spirit. It is to set aside the Holy Spirit’s inward leading for following your own opinions, desires, and feelings. It is to shift from “Christ in you, the hope of glory,” to you in church, the hope of Heaven when you die.”

Christianity is not understood by the proud mental analysis of religious information, but by ongoing heartfelt surrender and obedience to the risen Jesus. Stop trying to figure out Christianity and begin to live it out in your everyday life.

When the Bible is misunderstood, Christianity is misunderstood. The Bible contains the writings of Christ’s earliest followers. Church history clearly shows that we Christians have consistently chosen and continue to choose to obey our own opinions, feelings, desires, beliefs, and traditions rather than the commands in the Bible.

Here’s a challenge. Read the New Testament. Every time you see a commandment you aren’t obeying, put a checkmark by it. Be prepared to do a lot of checking. Then ask yourself: “Could my ignoring of these commandments be causing me to misunderstand Christianity?”