Personal Savior

Popular theology refers to Jesus Christ as personal lord and savior; however, "we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world" (1 John 4:14), not for a specific individual. "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light" (1 Peter 2:9). Note the plurality in Paul's writings to Titus: "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works" (Titus 2:13-14). The children of Israel, not a specific Hebrew individual, were called God's son: "And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn" (Exodus 4:22). Christianity should be examined from the perspective of covenant as opposed to the more familiar contract. "Covenant is a fundamental biblical concept for expressing a relationship in which one party initiates and establishes its conditions and the other accepts these conditions and receives whatever attendant benefits or liabilities accrue from the relationship. Covenant is a hierarchical relationship of the sort established by a last will and testament/covenant, and it is to be contrasted with the mutuality of parties in the more familiar contract. Moreover, the divine covenant—at least in the biblical sense—always involved God with a people. Covenant is a communal affair, and individuals share in its obligation and benefits only insofar as they are part of the community with which the covenant has been made."¹⁵² What's more, Jesus must first be received as Lord before he can ever be received as Savior. "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved" (Romans 10:9).

When we examine the meaning of the word "personal" from the Merriam-Webster dictionary, several alarming definitions emerge: of, relating to, or affecting a particular person: private, individual (relating to an individual or an individual's character, conduct, motives, or private affairs); having the qualities of a person rather than a thing or abstraction; of, relating to, or constituting personal property; and, intended for private use or use by one person. Based on these definitions: Jesus Christ as personal lord and savior is the individually owned lord and savior of a person for their private use, much like a personal chef. "And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say" (Luke 6:46)? Thus, "personal lord" is an oxymoron; Jesus Christ cannot be Lord of lords and at the same time cater to our whims: that makes us his lord. "O LORD... the foolish people have blasphemed thy name" (Psalm 74:18). We belittle Christ by referring to him as our personal lord and savior. He is not our little personal genie who will grant us three wishes when we rub his lamp. If we insist on using the word "personal" in relation to our Lord, then let us use it in this manner, "O LORD, truly I am thy servant; I am thy personal servant." This focus on seeing God from our viewpoint for our benefit is nothing short of humanism. Merriam-Webster defines humanism as a doctrine, attitude, or way of life centered on human interests or values. The purpose of Christianity, however, is to learn how to serve God—to think, speak, and live according to the Word of God; in short, to learn to "do always those things that please" (John 8:29) God the Father not ourselves (Matthew 16:24; Romans 15:1-3; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 1 John 2:15-17). For it is written: "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve" (Luke 4:8). Notwithstanding, God indeed has a personal plan for each of his children: "For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him" (Isaiah 64:4). Each plan, however, has the same objective: God predestinated us "to be conformed to the image of his Son" (Romans 8:29). Furthermore, each person's plan culminates in the same place—the body of Christ: "Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God" (Ephesians 4:13). "No religious group or movement, no matter how seemingly holy in its origins or purpose, can ultimately remain healthy or produce good fruit if it loses touch with the larger reality of the body of Christ."¹⁵³ Jesus came to save a body, the body of Christ—the church, which is comprised of many members (see "Understanding Salvation" for more on this). "For the body is not one member, but many" (1 Corinthians 12:14). "Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me" (Hebrews 10:5). "For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ" (1 Corinthians 12:12). "And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence" (Colossians 1:18).

Privatization of faith is damaging in the community of faith. Robert Mulholland raises a crucial dimension of true Christian spirituality: "individualized spirituality undercuts any vital witness in the social order we live in."¹⁵⁴ Mulholland further asserts that "corporate spirituality is essential, because privatization always fashions a spirituality that in some way allows us to maintain control of God."¹⁵⁵ In other words, privatization of faith nullifies the preeminence of Christ. For it is "only as living cells in the body of Christ can we truly allow God to be in control. As soon as we take control of our relationship with God, we begin to isolate ourselves from the other cells and become a cancerous, destructive presence in the body."¹⁵⁶ Moreover, Alan Jones adds: "Nothing could be more wonderful than a living encounter of saving power between the believer and God; but when it is made private and exclusive, it can be a terrible thing. It can be used to judge and hurt others. When this happens, conversion is made a mockery."¹⁵⁷ "What we have is some kind of pathological formation that is very privatized and individualized, a spiritualized form of self-actualization. Although such forms of spirituality may be appealing to look at on the outside, quite comfortable in their easy conformity to the values and dynamics of our culture, they are like a whitewashed tomb that has deadness on the inside if they are not live-giving, healing and redemptive for others."¹⁵⁸

Personal Experience

Popular theology also likes to redefine relating to God based on personal experiences rather than as defined by the Word. In other words, your personal experience in relating to God is more valuable than what is recorded, objectively, in the Word of God. This form of "worship" is not worship at all; it is mysticism. Merriam-Webster defines mysticism as the belief that direct knowledge of God, spiritual truth, or ultimate reality can be attained through subjective experience (as intuition or insight). Mike Oppenheimer states emphatically:

When experience replaces Biblical knowledge, we have abandoned God's standard. Knowledge can be painful when it corrects us, but it can cost much more to follow falsehood, which by its nature is easy to swallow and soothing to those who refuse the truth.¹⁵⁹

"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron" (1 Timothy 4:1-2). Besides, it is "In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established" (2 Corinthians 13:1); because, "no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation" (2 Peter 1:20). Thus, this redefinition is invalid and simply is a mask for unbelief, idolatry, covetousness and hypocrisy. Look what happened when people put more belief in their personal experience than in what was right before their eyes.

And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence. And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things? And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house. And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief. (Matthew 13:53-58)

Notice, the personal experience of the people gave them a false view of Jesus; hence, they did not belief the truth that was in front of them. Their unbelief caused God to stop working on their behalf: "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13). If God the Father is not working on our behalf, then Jesus is not working on our behalf. Jesus said, "I and my Father are one" (John 10:30) and "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work" (John 5:17). If Jesus is not working on our behalf—making intercession for us (Romans 8:34), then we have no mediator. If there is no mediator, then we lose the promise of eternal inheritance: "How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance" (Hebrews 9:14-15). What's more, if Jesus Christ, our head, is not working, then we, as part of the body of Christ, are incapable of working out our own salvation (Philippians 2:12); we are, in effect, in a slumber: "According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear; unto this day" (Romans 11:8). It should be noted that the Greek word for slumber is katanyxis, which means torpor of mind: "a state of mental and motor inactivity with partial or total insensibility" as defined by Merriam-Webster. Thus, we are in a state of spiritual laziness unable to act even though we are admonished to "be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless" (2 Peter 3:14).

Individual Worship

Popular theology's push for a personal savior produces a corollary problem: a growing percentage of Christians that believe it is not necessary to partake in corporate worship. They do not belong to a particular church or they attend church on the Internet or they do not attend church at all. This is nothing more than pride, judgment and idolatry in full swing. This practice is in direct contradiction, of course, to Hebrews 10:25, which states: "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching" (see also Psalm 50:5; Psalm 102:21-22; Psalm 111:1; Isaiah 43:9; Acts 11:25-27). In addition, we are charged to deny ourselves and to "Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits" (Romans 12:16). "So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another" (Romans 12:5); "And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you ... That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another" (1 Corinthians 12:21, 25).

"Wherever there is something in our life that is not conformed to the image of Christ, there is a place where we are incapable of being all that God wants us to be with others; there is a place where our life with others is hindered and limited and restricted in its effectiveness and in its fullness; there is a place where our life will tend to become disruptive and even destructive to others. We can never be all that God wants us to be with others as long as that point of unlikeness to the image of Christ exists within us. You see, the points of our unlikeness to Christ are areas of our life where we are lord and not Christ—areas where our agenda, our will, our desire, our purposes rule. Wherever this is the case, our relationship with others will be controlled not by God's will but by our own agenda. Our relationship with others at that point will become manipulative as we attempt to impose our agenda on them. If others do not readily succumb to our manipulations, we will tend to become abusive with them or break the relationship entirely. ... Our relationships with others are not only the testing grounds of our spiritual life but also the places where our growth toward wholeness in Christ happens. There is a temptation to think that our spiritual growth takes place in the privacy of our personal relationship with God and then, once it is sufficiently developed, we can export it into our relationships with others and 'be Christian' with them. But holistic spirituality, the process of being conformed to the image of Christ, takes place in the midst of our relationships with others, not apart from them. We learn to be Christ's for others by seeking to be yielded and obedient to God in the midst of our relationships."¹⁵⁸, ¹⁶⁰

Jehovah-who?

Privatization of faith also leads those that claim a personal lord and savior to give names to God to suit their desires. The authority to name, however, flows from the greater to the lesser as in the case of Adam and "every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air" (Genesis 2:19-20), parents and children (Genesis 21:3; Judges 13:24), kings and their subjects (2 Kings 24:17; Daniel 1:7), and God and his creation (Genesis 32:28; Matthew 16:18). Does the creature name the creator? God forbid. Popular theology uses Jehovah-Jireh, Jehovah-Nissi, Jehovah-Rapha, Jehovah-Shalom, Jehovah-Tsidqenuw, and Jehovah-Shammah as names of God; however, they are not. They are names, given by men, of places. "And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them" (Exodus 6:3). The preceding verse clearly stipulates that Abraham knew God by the name of God Almighty ('el Shadday) and did not know God by his name Jehovah; thus, Jehovah-Jireh is a symbolic name given by Abraham, as stated, to the place on Mt Moriah and means "In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen." Let's examine the scriptures in question:

And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen. (Genesis 22:14)

And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovahnissi (Exodus 17:15)

Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and called it Jehovahshalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. (Judges 6:24)

It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there [Jehovah-Shammah]. (Ezekiel 48:35)

Should we call God by every name used to remember his lovingkindness? "And David came to Baalperazim, and David smote them there, and said, The LORD hath broken forth upon mine enemies before me, as the breach of waters. Therefore he called the name of that place Baalperazim" (2 Samuel 5:20; see also Genesis 32:30; Genesis 35:15; Numbers 11:3; 1 Samuel 7:12). Should we also call God Baal? God forbid. There are many instances throughout scripture that give a descriptive label for the Lord. Labels like Jehovah-Rachuwm (merciful), Jehovah-Channuwn (gracious), Jehovah-'arek-'aph (longsuffering), Jehovah-Rab (abundant), Jehovah-Checed (goodness or lovingkindness), Jehovah-'emeth (truth), Jehovah-Mishpat (judgment), and Jehovah-Tsedaqah (righteousness) are all descriptive labels which highlight an aspect of God's sovereignty, omnipotence, and love. "And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation" (Exodus 34:5-7). Now, there are references in Scripture to names of God prefixed with Jehovah that are given by the Lord himself; namely Jehovah-Rapha and Jehovah-Tsidqenuw. Jehovah-Rapha is given as a name for the Lord: "And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee [Jehovah-Rapha]" (Exodus 15:26). Jehovah-Tsidqenuw is also given as a name of God: "In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS" (Jeremiah 23:6). Interestingly enough, this name is also given to Jerusalem: "there shall be a place which the LORD your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there" (Deuteronomy 12:11), and "In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The LORD our righteousness [Jehovah-Tsidqenuw]" (Jeremiah 33:16).

The lesson from this is that we should only use names of God given by God; and God has given a name, which is above every name, to call upon the Lord: "I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee. I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name" (Psalm 138:1-2). "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:9-11). Our salvation rests on the name of the Lord: "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Romans 10:13). Furthermore, we no longer have an impersonal relationship with God: "that men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth" (Psalm 83:18). Now, we can call on him as his children: "But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ" (Galatians 4:4-7). Thus, those that continue to call God by names that are not his own or by names that are but a mere shadow of his greatness, are proclaiming they do not want a relationship with our heavenly father—our only spiritual father. They want God for what he can do for them—a personal savior, not for himself (see "Prosperity").

DRAFT V2010-08-13T12:18:24 PM