5 Signs You May Have a Wrong View of God

If the truth sets us free, it's safe to say that a lie holds us back.

If the truth sets us free, then it's safe to say that a lie holds us back. What we believe
about the nature of God is of infinite importance. We are either growing in freedom or
we are becoming disenfranchised.
There is one foundational truth about Gods nature by which every other aspect of His
nature should be measured: God is love (1 John 4:8).
Jesus is the perfect expression of what love looks and sounds like, of what love does.
He is perfect theology.
A true view of God will free and empower sons and daughters to live like Jesus. We
have been designed and created to know God as love and to be transformed in this
truth. But slipping into a false view of God as angry, vengeful, waiting for you to live up
to His standards or whatever else can tamper your witness and your personal spiritual
life.
A TRUE VIEW OF GOD WILL FREE AND
EMPOWER SONS AND DAUGHTERS TO LIVE LIKE
JESUS.
There are many different false ideas we put on God, but here are a few signs that you
have a wrong view of God.

1. You're Motivated by Shame Instead of Love.
Feelings of shame or condemnation are often the evidence that you believe Gods
opinion of you is determined by how much you have pursued Him or, obeyed Him or
loved Him.
First, God never communicates using shame or condemnationthose feelings come
from elsewhere.
Second, you get no say in how God feels about you. God is love, and His heart toward
you is perfectly displayed in the life, death and resurrection of His Son.
Third, we love because He first loved (1 John 4:19). Your devotional life is always
meant to be a response to your revelation of His love, not motivated out of a fear of His
anger or disappointment.
2. Youre Scared of Being Outside of Gods Will Instead of Trusting
That He's Guiding You.
Gods will isnt a mystery. Its not some giant puzzle Hes waiting for us to figure out or
forever live outside of what He wants for us.
Being overly worried about figuring out what God wants for our lives betrays a lack of
trust that He has a good plan for us, that He is the one in authority and the one
ultimately guiding our lives.
If we get too caught up worrying about what were supposed to be doing, we may miss
what God desires us to see right where we are. Jesus also told us in Luke 12:32, Do
not be afraid, little flock, for the Father has been pleased to give you the Kingdom. We
can pray with confident faith for things that are of the Kingdom of heaven to come on
earth and for God to use us in His bigger plan.
3. You Feel a Need to Defend the Gospel Instead of Reveal the Gospel.
Theres nothing wrong with a healthy conversation about faith, but when you feel a need
to defend the faith" at all costs, you have a misunderstanding of Jesus. Jesus didnt
live, die and rise in order to defend a set of ideals, principles or beliefs. He never
defended a Gospel, He revealed it.
Jesus had one mandate: reveal His Father. He said, If you have seen me, you have
seen the Father. He said, I am in the Father and the Father is in me (John 14: 911).
God doesnt need to be defended, but He loves to be revealed. To be honest, the best
defense of the Gospel is sons or daughters living as expressions of love in every
aspect of life.
Our main responsibility as a Christians is to reveal love.
4. You Equate Hardship With Holiness.
If you tend to equate pain and suffering with holiness and a Godly life, you have a
misunderstanding of Gods heart.
The verse in Matthew 16, take up your cross and follow me is certainly an invitation to
follow Jesus in every way, and pain and suffering are part of the Christian life, but
theyre not the point. In fact, even Jesus suffering and death were not the main point
resurrection life was always the destination. For the joy set before Him he endured the
cross (Hebrews 12:2).
Take up your cross is not a celebration of suffering with Jesus; its an invitation to live
in the power of the resurrection. Yes, sacrifice is a part of the journey, but suffering is
not the high road to holiness. A Godly life is about living in the joy and power of
resurrection life.

5. You're Trying Harder Instead of Being Transformed.
JESUS DIDNT LIVE, DIE AND LIVE AGAIN SO
YOU COULD TRY HARDER. HE OVERCAME IN
EVERY WAY SO YOU COULD BE TRANSFORMED.
Jesus didnt live, die and live again so you could try harder. He overcame in every way
so you could be transformed.
Feelings of spiritual inadequacy are often the evidence that you may have a
misunderstanding of His perfect love.
Jesus lived 30 years without doing any miracles. Then, after He was baptized, His
Father declared, This is my Son, whom I love, with Him I am well pleased (Matt 3:17).
It begs the question, what was the Father pleased about? Jesus hadnt done anything
yet.
It was the Fathers pleasure that empowered Jesus to do all the things He is famous for.
Discipline and principles are important, but the Christian faith was never meant to be
about trying harder, its about becoming sure in Gods love. Only through the discovery
of Gods love and pleasure are you empowered to do the greater works Jesus
promised and the pastor is preaching about.