The New Reformation

In case you are missing it, the "New Reformation" is underway. At the forefront of this reformation, the church is moving from a self-centric focus, sin-centric focus,  and prophet-centric focus, to a Christo-centric focus. 

Those who believe in taking the self-centric focus, and sin-centric focus, often say that Jesus came to help us live the Christian life, and we follow him. That is, we ask, "What would Jesus do?" and then we try, with God's help to do the same thing. The problem with this approach is that it places all, or most of the emphasis on self, sin, and Old Covenant teachings, instead of on Christ, and what he has accomplished for us, and as us.¹

Experiential Reality or Experiential Lie

There are two lies that the devil has propagated. The first lie, is that we must work to get sin out of our lives, and to become holy. It's the lie that was told from the beginning. The lie that says you need to partake of certain knowledge, and embark on a journey to become like God. But this is a false paradigm. The reality is that from the beginning God created us in his image, and in his likeness.²  

The gospel is the good news of Jesus. It isn't a path to a successful life. We are deceived into thinking that similar to achieving the American dream, our own efforts, combined with God's help, will allow us to achieve salvation. So under the old paradigm, believers incorporate the same philosophy that they have about achieving the American dream into the gospel. They believe that it's mostly about being smart, working hard, and being diligent. They say the more diligent we are in praying, studying, attending church services, etc., the more successful we will be at becoming like God. But that's a lie. Nothing we do can make us become like God. Nothing we do can make us holy. God alone has made us in his image, and in his likeness. God alone makes us holy. Jesus came to remind us of who we already  are in him, to give us abundant life, and to bring us back into relationship with the Father, through the Spirit.³

The second lie is believing that since God alone makes us holy, we can live outside of the truth as a dead man and not live as the resurrected son or daughter that God has made us to be. We are deceiving ourselves or just neglecting our salvation. We are called to live in the reality of who we are as the sons and daughters of the Living God,⁴ not as captives held in bondage by the father of lies.⁵      

Those who believe in the New Reformation, are Christ followers, who by the grace of God, have come to acknowledge that Christ is the only one who can live the Christ life⁶, and it's Jesus who lives his life within us.⁷ They believe that it's Christ who has saved us in his life, death, resurrection, ascension, and sending of the Spirit.⁸ That when he said, "It is finished," he actually meant it. The difference between a believer, and a non-believer, is that the believer believes it, and makes a conscious decision to yield to Christ, and the unbeliever has not yet had his eyes opened to the "Way, the Truth, and the Life." 

Those who believe in the New Reformation, are Christo-centric, or Christ-centered. They believe that we are all children of God. There's no way of being "in him," without being in Christ. For being "in him," means being in Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.⁹ Those who go off into a far country are still sons and daughters. The prodigal was living outside of his true self as a son. He didn't lose his identity when he lived outside of it. He may have been lost, and living as a dead man, but in reality, just like you and I, he was always a child of his loving Father.¹º 

Watch my latest You Tube video, "Reality, Can You Handle the Truth?"

¹ Those who believe in the New Reformation take a highly Christocentric view of the gospel. They believe that Jesus is our life, and they place more weight on him, the resurrected, last Adam, than on the dead, first Adam.  

²Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;  God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good  (Gen 1:26 first part-27, 31 first part NASB).

³The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent (John 10:10; 17:3 KJV).

⁴The Psalmist wrote:  I said, “You are gods, And all of you are sons of the Most High (Ps.82:6). When Jesus quoted the Psalmist he knew that his listeners would be familiar with the entire Psalm, so he quoted only the beginning of it, and said, “Has it not been written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? (John 10:34 NASB). The Apostle Paul wrote: For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God (Rom. 8:14 NASB). The Apostle John wrote: See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother (1 John 3:1-2, 10 NASB). The devil is a created being, a fallen angel, and in reality isn't the father of anyone. What the Apostle John meant, is that although everyone is a child of God, some knowingly, or unknowingly, live in captivity, in the lies of the devil. Thus they are living as though they were his children, and not in the reality of who they really are. 

⁵Jesus speaking to the Jews who rejected him, and his teachings: You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44 NASB).


⁶When Christ, who is our life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory (Col. 3:4 NASB).

⁷I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me (Gal. 2:20 KJV).

⁸who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, 10 but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, (2 Tim 1:9-10 NASB).

⁹The Apostle Paul preaching to the idol worshiping Athenians said, for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’  Being then the children of God…(Acts 17:28-29 NASB).

¹ºBut when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.”’ So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son. But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate;  for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate (Luke 15:17-24 NASB).