God Without Religion_ Can It Really Be This Simple_ - Andrew Farley [6]
Everyone under the old way “did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them” (Heb. 8:9). In the Old Testament, even the most dedicated religious servants failed to impress God and stay in his good graces. That’s a problem, since most of us today won’t exert the same efforts! Old Testament servants worked tirelessly to get it all right. And God still turned away from them. It just wasn’t good enough.
But God said, “I’ll throw out the old plan” (Heb. 8:9 Message). And this new way came on the scene to solve everything. The secret to this new way is this: it’s not about us. Instead, it’s about God’s faithfulness to himself!
It’s Not about You!
God’s new contract is very different. Our performance is not in focus. We’re not the ones signing the contract. Sure, we benefit from it. But we don’t enact it or sustain it. The old problem of faithfulness is cured by God’s new solution. Now it’s about someone else’s faithfulness.
Under the old way, “God found fault with the people” (Heb. 8:8). Under the new way, God made a promise to himself. He didn’t want to involve anyone else who might waver or change. He’d already been down that road!
God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. (Heb. 6:18–19)
What are the two unchangeable things? God and God. We’re not involved in the bargain, because God knew how that would turn out! Instead, this new contract is about God’s promise to himself. God’s no liar. That’s why his new plan is “an anchor for the soul, firm and secure” (Heb. 6:19).
Picture the mythological Greek character Atlas, carrying the world on his shoulders. This reminds me of Christians who are overcome with guilt about their relationship with God. They suffer from an Atlas complex, thinking the weight of the world is on them. In their minds, it’s up to them to remain obedient, faithful, and in good standing with God. If they fail God too much, they may lose their salvation. If they find their moral strength failing them, they fear the consequences could be eternal. So with flexed, tense muscles and sweat on their brow, they live life suspending their salvation on their shoulders.
Every Christian I’ve met who believes they can lose their salvation has always given a reason that involves them. What if I commit suicide? What if I get a divorce? What if I stop believing? What if I . . . ? You fill in the blank there, but it’s all the same. Every hypothetical scenario puts ourselves at the center of the equation.
But our faithfulness to God is an old-covenant problem that is solved by the new. Under the new, God has accomplished the unthinkable: he has taken us out of the equation. Our salvation and our faithfulness are all about him:
If we are faithless,
he will remain faithful,
for he cannot disown himself. (2 Tim. 2:13)
Even our spiritual growth is about him:
He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion. (Phil. 1:6)
The head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God. (Col. 2:19 NASB)
Religion tells us that we’re at the heart of the equation. We must “do.” And we’re never done until we hit heaven and find out if it was enough. In contrast, this new way is all about what Jesus has done to provide an unbreakable connection with God and guaranteed growth in him.
God’s new way is not about us. It’s all about him. And God’s new way allows us to embark on the lifelong adventure of knowing Jesus intimately, without any religion to kill it.
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One day as I walked down the hall at the University of Notre Dame, I heard a conversation I’ll never forget. Just as I passed by a classroom door, a student asked her professor, “Why was God so different toward people in the