MZTV 1604: Knowing God Vs. Using God

You can tell whether Christians are interested in knowing God vs. using God when you listen to their evangelism: "Believe in God and you will escape hell and go to heaven." The motivation is obviously, at its core, selfish. Would we expect the so-called believers/evangelists to become more noble from here? No. The motivation goes from getting to heaven by avoiding hell, to outperforming others in the morality department, i.e. who can be a better Christian? From start to finish, it's a selfish enterprise.

Contrast this with the words of Job, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him" (Job. 13:15). The true seeker does not pant after God in order to get something from God, but rather to know him. As the apostle Paul says in Philippians 3:10, "...to know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, conforming to His death."

Knowing God is a blessing greater than any trinket of morality or ticket to heaven that the most God-grabbing Christian disciple can imagine.

Martin's homepage: https://www.martinzender.com

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