Fig Leaves

There are two theologies that battle for the souls of people. This battle has been going on for thousands of years. Am I accepted by God because of my goodness (religion) or am I accepted by God because of His goodness (grace)? What I do versus what He did, who I am vs who He is. Not a minor detail, but rather polar opposites with enormous consequences.
The erroneous rumor theology of a righteousness by works has been so prevalent throughout history and in virtually every major religion, that it seems to pass as unquestioned truth. The scope of this error is best described as pandemic; one must be diligent to avoid this trap.
Works righteousness, legalism, religion and other labels describe a theology that is actually the default setting of people. Religion, or our effort, our solution, is symbolized by the familiar fig leaves of Eden. It is the very first thing Adam and Eve do right after the fall. Yet despite its popularity, religion is a game where even if you “win” you lose. We will explore this in detail in the coming chapters but suffice it to say, for now, the only play is to not participate.
Religion is the toxin that causes great harm to both believer and unbeliever, it is a lie that damages every relationship we have. But the reason we believe it is indicative of an even deeper problem. Fig leaves are a symptom of faith in self, rather than faith in God. When we see this Achilles heel of self-reliance in people, everything in the Scriptures seems to transform from a collection of odd stories to a cohesive narrative. Every pain we observe in life, can be understood in light of this fatal flaw of humans: pride.
However, God does not abandon us to our fate. Within the first few pages of the Bible, we see that the stage is set for a drama that will right this wrong. The grand drama that we follow is the battle of religion vs the cross, “Fig Leaves” is the title of the play. Cain and Abel, Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau, David and Saul, Jesus and the Pharisees, Paul and the circumcision group, all are players in this Biblical battle between the two theologies that has gone on for thousands of years. The core message of this Biblical drama is called the “Gospel”. It is the Greek word for “good news”. The Gospel reveals a God that will rescue us and restore us, for the reality is that we cannot accomplish this by ourselves. The hero of this drama will be Jesus, not us. Humbling as this may be, it remains the key to our rescue.
Our pride, our self-supremacy caused our destruction. Religion, ultimately rooted in this pride, doesn’t solve anything, it simply locks us into our demise. Conversely, humility and the supremacy of Christ, reverses everything and puts us on a path of restoration and the path to the summit, the original master plan for our existence.
Thousands of years ago the wisest man ever, had this figured out. Solomon pegged the big picture when he saw that all of humanity fell into two camps; the proud and the humble. How God subsequently deals with these two groups is really quite simple. James, the brother of Jesus, requotes Solomon with the concise axiom.;
“God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble”
Pride, the lowest common denominator, is the root cause of all our turmoil, alienation and pain. Pride and religion we will find go hand in hand. Conversely, humility and the cross are the keys for both healing and eternal life. Discovering Biblical grace is the catalyst for escaping the quick sands of religion and becoming more like a mountain goat dancing on the solid rock of the summit, or as the Prophet Habakkuk pens:
“The Lord my Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like those of a deer and enables me to walk on mountain heights!”