THE ALL MUSHY GOD?
Posted by: prophetic <prophetic@...>
"The All-Mushy God?"
-by Bryan Hupperts. (27 Apr, 1999).
"When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to
Abram, and said to him, "I am the All-Mushy God; walk before me, and,
though I know you're an absolute slave to sin, just try a little harder -
pretty please?" (Gen 17:1, Squirming Flesh Bible, Uncrucified Edition).
Alright, I know that's not at all how the verse reads, but with the way the
fluff "gospel" is presented, you'd think someone had rewritten the Holy
Book. The verse actually says, Genesis 17:1 "When Abram was ninety-nine
years old the LORD appeared to Abram, and said to him, "I am God Almighty;
walk before me, and be blameless."
When God gives a command, with that command comes the divine impartation of
grace and power to live that command out in the world. God revealed himself
to Abram as "All Mighty" and, because of his absolute Might, he commanded
Abram to walk before him and be "blameless." Our walking blameless before
God does not rest in our ability to work till we can walk blameless before
God. Rather it is contingent upon us abiding moment by moment in the
presence of the Lord trusting Him to uphold us. It is our relying on His
power that allows us to walk blameless before him.
There are two "gods" in Christian circles, the All Mushy God, and the All
Mighty God. One is a pretender and the other is the absolute Lord of all.
And which God you bow before and worship will make an eternal difference in
your own destiny. So chose wisely.
The All Mighty God invites fallen man to new heights in Christ. He offers
the opportunity to become "new creations" in a fallen world. It is He who
sees value in prostitutes, deceived religious professors (thank you,
Charles Finny), in outcasts and He came to invite people such as these into
His eternal kingdom. Why, He even loves "good" people! The price of knowing
this God is uncompromised love and absolute obedience to His Word and ways.
He invites fallen man to cast off his carnal life in order to be raised
"up" to be seated with him in heavenly places in Christ.
Now consider the All Mushy God. He's the god of the Christian pop culture
conferences. He's always "contradicting" the standards of His Word in favor
of a new revelation/new move of the Spirit. He kinda winks at sin because
he understands that we are but dust. He knows that we are "only human." The
All Mushy God cringes at judgmental words like sin, repentance, godly
sorrow, and such. He exists only to make men happy and to make us "feel
good" about ourselves. He knows one day we're all going to be gods anyway
and wants to stroke our self-esteem. He doesn't demand much of us, just
faithful attendance, some money, occasional spiritual activity, and keeping
our noses as clean as we can.
Contrast the All Mighty God with the All Mushy God. The All Mighty is the
supreme Creator and Redeemer who came to save men from their sins. The All
Mushy God came to sanctify the ego and make good people feel even better
about themselves. Might implies great strength. Mush is a goo that just
sort of sticks to whatever and requires no backbone. So which "god" are you
serving?
The real issue is not in the character of God. Malachi 3:6 "For I the LORD
do not change;" and, Hebrews 13:8 "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and
today and for ever." God is who and what He is.
The problem with the All-Mushy God is that he is a figment of the
imagination of deceived men. He is the god we find when we grade on a
curve. He is the "dumbed down" God of the Bible. The All Mighty God is so
lofty and holy that certain pop Bible teachers try to "humanize him" even
as the pagan ancient Greeks did with their lustful, wrathful, petty gods.
They diminish His eternal glory and create a fictional god in their own
image. And after robbing God of His glory, all that is left is a dumb idol
they can peddle for financial gain through the sales of their books and
tapes in the market place.
The liberating Truth is that God already humanized himself in the person of
Jesus Christ! Phillip asked Jesus to see the Father. And Jesus classic
reply is fit. John 14:9 "Jesus said to him, 'Have I been with you so long,
and yet you do not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father;
how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?" If you want to see the face of the
Almighty God, look into the face of His Son. When you've seen the face of
the Son, you've seen the heart of the Father!
We do not need to "dumb down" the Gospel to make the message of the Cross
effective and relevant in our modern hip culture. It is only when Jesus is
lifted UP that he draws men unto himself.
When you appear before God to give an account of your life, do you expect
to see the literal fulfillment of, "Every knee shall bow and every tongue
confess that Jesus is Lord?" Or do you expect to hear, "Never mind your
numerous adulteries, the children you molested, the thefts and cons you
scammed on the unsuspecting, I know your heart. Come on in and party, kid."
Those who serve the Almighty God will joyfully bow the knee and enter into
the joy of their Lord. Those who serve the All Mushy God get answer #2 - as
the flames are stoked a bit hotter.
Bryan Hupperts,
© 1999 SheepTrax.
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