A Moral Superiority Apart from the Person of Jesus Christ: There ain't no such 'animal' !!
God gave man the most precious of gifts at creation--the gift of choice. He placed within the garden two trees, the Tree Of Life, which was to personify Jesus (John 14:6, Rev. 22:2), and also the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. God told man not to eat of that second Tree or he would die. The serpent lied to man and said that he would not die, but that he would be like God, knowing good and evil (Gen. 3). The woman was deceived and the man freely ate and both of their eyes were opened. The sad fact is that the devil told a half-truth [at best] for they became like God knowing good and evil...but that was as far as their "God-likeness" would go. Their being made in God's image was marred, and they did indeed die.
Across this nation and around the world, you have untold numbers of people who--either as individuals or as groups--are committed to proving their own righteousness apart from the person of Jesus Christ. For some it is a political agenda, for some it is a doctrinal agenda (maybe from the Qu'ran; maybe from that person's understanding of the Bible) and maybe it is just a personal agenda/vendetta. And this will offend some--it's not even WWJD.
It is, what did the person Jesus Christ tell you to do or not do when you met with Him in your prayer closet? For some of you, you really don't know what to do with that paradigm. Jesus said "My sheep hear My voice" (John 10:27). He did not say my sheep will read what the gospel writers put down as what I said. God has not stopped speaking. If we are not hearing, it's our responsibility to get in relationship with Him in such a way that we DO hear Him. It is only as we hear and obey that we will have peace, because it won't be about us, it will be about doing what He said.
He can be found and He can be heard if we devote ourselves to finding Him (Jer.29:13) He wants to speak to us more than we want to listen--but we must first decide that what He has to say will have more weight than our own self-talk. He will forgive and heal and cleanse and change, but we must first accept the fact that we must turn from our own rightness and accept His correction and His changing of us (Is.64:6).
Relationship requires change and growth. In eternal terms, it requires the intervention of God (and that's our choice). Relationship with God takes place within the framework of a Covenant. Like a marriage, it begins at a point in time, it begins with a commitment. But it will require the rest of your life...in more ways than one.
Jesus is my righteousness. If I am in the wrong, He is more than able to bring me up short and correct me.
The most "not-at-peace-within-themselves" people I know are those who are driven to rise up each day to find more proof [if only to themselves] that they are right and others are wrong.
And, yes, there are those who claim to be Christians who fit that pattern (Westboro Baptist Church comes to mind as an extreme example).
As Jesus told Peter (John 21:22) "what is that to you? You follow Me."
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