The Treasure of Renounced Faith
Submitted by Trevor Wolf
Giving up my faith has been costly and challenging, and yet, has brought me a treasure that is more than worth the price I paid for it (funny, I think there’s a parable in the Bible about that 😉).
That treasure is that, every day when I wake up, I am free of the stress of wondering what God thinks of me at any given moment.
It used to be, What does God think of me right now? Am I in that “any tree that does not bear good fruit is cut off and burned” mode (John 15.6), or “nothing can separate me from the love of Christ” mode (Romans 8:38–39)? Is my faith a “firm and secure” anchor for my soul (Hebrews 6.19), or will I arrive confidently before the throne of Jesus, only to be designated a “goat” and sent off to the flames because I was insufficiently helpful (Mathew 25.41)? Do I get to go to heaven simply because I know Jesus (John 17.3), or will I find out I was insufficiently forgiving, and be tortured (Matthew 18.34–35)?
Over the years I had many fellow Christians come confidently to me with Bible verses, telling me exactly what God was thinking. Problem: They were quoting from a book that was not written to me, or even to anyone in my country, but to people in another part of the world entirely who’ve been dead for 2000 years. I don’t want to know what God said to certain people 2000…
