Further Into The Deep

I am not one to chase after controversial topics, but evidently controversial topics somehow seem to find me. I've been told, in love, by friends, that I am a controversy magnet, and to a certain extent, all who are willing to stand for truth are just that.
For the past few hours I've been taking out my aggression on a squishy ball my wife bought me for my birthday, the source of which was an article a friend e-mailed to me this morning. Just when I think I've heard it all, just when I start to believe there isn't much more that could be done to twist scripture in this present age, that hope is dashed to pieces by the crushing weight of yet another masterpiece of pseudo-intellectual flatulence stinking up the spiritual aether. (If not for my blood boiling, and my heart thudding in my ears, I probably could have worded the previous sentence better.)
A new book has just hit the stores, a book that will shake the very foundation of all you believe, because it summarizes that Jesus did not come to die for our sins, He did not shed his blood that we might be redeemed, no, Christ died for mankind's negative self image. It's not the sin, it's the self-esteem friends, so you can take all those books on theology, all those writings on holiness, all the doctrine on the saving and redeeming blood of Jesus, and throw them out the window.
I usually go out of my way not to name names, but in this case I will make an exception. The book is called Self-Esteem: The New Reformation, by none other than Robert Schuller.
At first I didn't know how to react, anger and sadness were dueling for control of my heart, until they finally agreed on a truce and all I was left with was a nauseous feeling in the pit of my stomach. Just when you think it can't get any worse, the innocents are dragged further into the deep, further away from the truth and the light, further away from repentance, further away from Jesus.
Evidently for the past two thousand years, every follower of Christ has missed the boat, at least in Mr. Schuller's estimation, and both John the Baptist, and Paul, were uninspired fools since one said he was not worthy of loosing Christ's sandal strap, and the other considered himself chief among sinners. Both had such low self-esteem, such a negative self-image, that they never learned to love themselves, and always leaned on the grace and mercy they obtained through Christ, rather than on their own strengths.
So, who needs repentance, who needs the blood of Jesus to wash away their sins anymore? Just look in the mirror, crooked grin and all, and say, 'it's all me, I am overflowing with self-esteem and positivity, and I can do all things through me, since I strengthen myself.'
This is a travesty, my heart aches, and my soul is burdened, as I realize there is no limit to deception. Why bother calling ourselves Christians anymore, when all we do is spew line upon line from the New Age manual? What is a Christian absent of Christ? Exactly my point.
When men start to use the Bible only as a prop, never actually opening it reading it or believing it, the outcome is tragically predictable, a form of godliness, a purely human morality, absent the power, the presence or the glory of God.
John 15:5-6, "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them up and throw them into the fire, and they are burned."
1 Thessalonians 4:7-8, "For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness. Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit."
In light of this, and other new wrinkles in the Christian world, upon my return from Ohio this weekend, I will begin posting a series of teaching entitled "The Jesus I Know", at regular intervals. I take the time, and share my heart not because I believe a lone voice such as mine will cause this nation to repent, my self-image is not that inflated, but rather that it be a witness and a testimony against the prevalent deception in the church one day, as we all stand before the throne of judgment, to receive our just recompense. May you continually walk in the light, and keep yourselves from the shadows, for hungry and merciless doctrines lurk there, awaiting their next victim.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea Jr.