Does God just want me to behave?

Addressing Moralistic Therapeutic Deism (See video at bottom)

On the surface it seems like God might simply want “good behavior” from His creation, doesn’t it? After all, in the creation story He gives Adam and Eve free reign over everything and only gives them one order: to not eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Seems simple enough, right? Maybe not.

That is when I was reminded of Adam and Eve. Had Eve made a different decision perhaps I wouldn’t be struggling with so much sickness and pain right now. After all, one of the repercussions of their actions was that women would have great pain in childbearing.

I thought, “What if I was Eve? Would I have ‘behaved?’” The answer is no. I would have made the same decision as Eve and Tate would have been right beside me, silent, just like Adam.

Referencing Satan, Isaiah 14 says, “How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the Earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the most High.’ But you are brought down to the grave, to the pets of the pit” (v.  12-15).

Talk about a bolt of lightening striking the night sky. That is how I feel when reading this scripture. More often than not, I intentionally or unintentionally attempt to ‘make myself like the most High.’ If we are honest with ourselves, we all know we would have made the same destructive decision as Adam and Eve. In fact, we all do it, probably multiple times a day.

We know this through the work of Jesus Christ. Scripture tells us that He was the only perfect person to walk the Earth (see 1 Peter 2:22, 2 Corinthians 5:21). Even Pilate, who condemned Him, said to the people demanding he be sentenced to death, “I am bringing Him out to you so that you may know that I find no guilt in Him” (John 19:4).

Rather than focusing on redemption, America’s newfound religious movement, MTD, teaches that being “moral” and “happy” can be obtained apart from God. (See this video for examples.) Rather than being good in and of our own self-control and behavior modification techniques, we can only gain righteousness when we admit that 1) we don’t have the ability to do it ourselves, 2) Jesus Christ is the only one who has the ability to do it for us, and 3) His perfect life, death, and resurrection cleanses our bad and replaces it with His purity, allowing us to be resurrected with Him after death.

Don’t let the subtle, inciting schemes of Satan blindly lead you to the desert. #reDISCOVERtruth #RaisingDefenders #BeautyofTruth #MTD

---

Just the Facts:

1. In MTD one attempts to be good apart from Biblical righteousness.
2. This attempt fails because none of us are good on our own. We are predisposed to sin due to the decision of Adam and Eve to disobey God.
3. We can be made righteous through redemption (2 Cor. 5:21). Since Jesus’ lived the perfect life that we cannot live, His blood in his death is our sacrifice (Hebrews 4:15). He took our penalty (1 John 3:5). 
4. We can know this is through by the miracle of Jesus’ resurrection, for without it, our faith is worthless.

Additional Resources:

• Christian Smith, Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers
• R. Albert Mohler, Jr., Moralistic Therapeutic Deism- - the New American Religion (April 18, 2005)
• Karen Jones, What is Moralistic Therapeutic Deism? (December 18, 2014)