My Faith Isn’t Enough?

For years, I sought to create my own frameworks, beliefs, and body of work I felt would have an impact and help others. I paid thousands and thousands of dollars attending invite-only retreats with coaches, successful entrepreneurs, and entering and graduating from top programs.

Iconic with Ali Brown. B-School graduate with Marie Forleo. I wonder how much the rap sheet matters at this point.

The result was that I did, in fact, create some amazing bodies of work (plural). I coached introverted women, I created a program for these women unlike anything that’s ever been created called The Introvert Architecture. It was science-backed and ticked off all the “well executed marketing” boxes. It even changed a few of those women’s lives for the better.

When I fully came back to Christ a few years ago however, I really began to see the flaws in this. Not in being successful necessarily, but specifically, this need I (still) see in people, and I saw in me, to derive meaning from something they create as opposed to deriving meaning from something Christ creates within them.

What a distinction.

So when I see frameworks, bodies of work, or other launches of work explicitly saying that the creator’s extensive life experience coupled with some other external source of understanding (like philosophy) and faith (As just a part of the equation) are not enough each on their own, I get sad. I have immense compassion.

The message here is translated to me as this: “My life experience plus this other external source plus faith in Christ is good enough for you to get free. Is wise enough. Is what is needed. Is what you need.”

This is idolatry. Maybe not intentional idolatry, but it’s idolatry.

In 2 Kings 17, God brought lions from out of the wilderness on Israel for doing this exact thing – combining Yahweh with other gods (including themselves). Book after book after book after book He reprimands idolatry.

It also reflects to me that this person hasn’t had the same type of encounter with Christ I have had and many others like me have had. This is okay, and I will get to that (the compassion part), but this is a wheat and tares scenario. One of these is unlike the other, so to speak.

Christ is therefore deduced to some wise teacher among others who, by the shedding of his blood on the cross and the creator of all mankind and the earth and everything in it, isn’t enough for us?

“because his divine power has bestowed on us all things that are necessary for life and godliness, through the knowledge of the one who called us by his own glory and excellence of character,”
‭‭2 Peter‬ ‭1‬:‭3‬ ‭LEB‬‬

This means exactly what it says. That God is enough. For all things and all scenarios. And all healing. All being. All life. And all godliness. I don’t need an ancillary framework. And neither do you.

I’ve seen God heal mental illnesses, limbs, financial breakdowns, terminal illnesses, mindsets, marriages, and years of pain – just to name a few. Trust me, when it’s within God’s will to do it, he will do it, and it is ENOUGH.

Sometimes God heals and sometimes it’s not in His will to do so. He is sovereign and does everything perfectly, such that we never have to worry about his motives, his reasoning, or his ways. But in the event I do not obtain the healing or freedom I’m searching for in an area or areas of my life, that doesn’t equate to me needing to add to God’s will (with external sources, such as my own life experience) so another person can get the relief and freedom they’re searching for. Now, I’m not only committing idolatry, I’m inviting someone else into idolatry. You need Christ, me, and yourself to get free and get this done.

This is MIXTURE. Someone is inviting someone else into multiple forms of idolatry, which we know is sin.

“But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him that a large millstone be hung on his neck and he be drowned in the depths of the sea.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭18‬:‭6‬ ‭LEB‬‬

This is not a popular belief, but it’s what is true. In fact, Solomon in all his wisdom also rebuked this as a strategy:

“Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield for him who takes refuge in him. Do not add to his words lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭30‬:‭5‬-‭6‬ ‭LEB‬‬

“I am astonished that you are turning away so quickly from the one who called you by the grace of Christ to a different gospel, not that there is a different gospel, except there are some who are disturbing you and wanting to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should proclaim a gospel to you contrary to what we proclaimed to you, let him be accursed! As we said before, and now I say again, if anyone is proclaiming a gospel to you contrary to what you have received, let him be accursed!”
‭‭Galatians‬ ‭1‬:‭6‬-‭9‬ ‭LEB‬‬

Any framework or body of work (faux gospel) that is touting their own addition to your faith – without scripture nonetheless – is violating the exact thing the Galatians were warned about by Paul.

“If a prophet stands up in your midst or a dreamer of dreams and he gives to you a sign or wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes about that he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods (those whom you have not known), and let us serve them,’ you must not listen to the words of that prophet or to that dreamer, for Yahweh your God is testing you to know whether you love Yahweh your God with all of your heart and with all of your inner self. You shall go after Yahweh your God, and him you shall revere, and his commandment you shall keep, and to his voice you shall listen, and him you shall serve, and to him you shall hold fast. But that prophet or the dreamer of that dream shall be executed, for he spoke falsely about Yahweh your God, the one bringing you out from the land of Egypt and the one redeeming you from the house of slavery, in order to seduce you from the way that Yahweh your God commanded you to go in it; so in this way you shall purge the evil from your midst. “If your brother, the son of your mother or your son or your daughter or your wife whom you embrace or your intimate friend in secrecy says, ‘Let us go and let us serve other gods!’ gods that you and your ancestors have not known, from among the gods of the people who are around you, those near you or those far from you, from one end of the earth and up to the other end of the earth, you must not give in to him, and you shall not listen to him, and your eye shall not take pity on him, and you shall not have compassion, and you shall not cover up for him. But you shall certainly kill him; your hand shall be first against him to kill him and next the hand of all of the people. And you shall stone him with stones and let him die, for he tried to seduce you from Yahweh your God, the one bringing you from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery.”
‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭13‬:‭1‬-‭10‬ ‭LEB‬‬

I think it is just a very dangerous game to play to deviate from leading people straight to the cross for what they need and instead lead them to our own versions of how they can or need to be free.

I do not want to play around with that, and I take that very seriously. I don’t want to be held responsible by God that I told people “well your faith really isn’t enough. You need my framework because it has extra stuff in it that makes your journey to freedom complete.”

This is idolatry rooted deeply in pride. “You don’t just need Christ. You need me and my life experience and my interpretation of philosophy and my understanding of this and that.”

The moment someone tells me I need to couple my faith with their life experience and philosophy to feel like I’m getting “good enough” framework for freedom, I run for the hills. Fast.

“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.”
‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬-‭17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

When we elevate our own life experience (managed by God by the way) to being what someone ELSE needs to be free, we’ve just idolized our own experience. And this is sin. I’m not saying our own life experience doesn’t matter, but look how it’s supposed to be done and who is supposed to take credit for that life experience:

“You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. But you, Timothy, certainly know what I teach, and how I live, and what my purpose in life is. You know my faith, my patience, my love, and my endurance. You know how much persecution and suffering I have endured. You know all about how I was persecuted in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra—but the Lord rescued me from all of it.”
‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭3‬:‭1‬, ‭10‬-‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Paul consistently set the tone for giving Christ ALL the glory for his experiences and what he had been through. He also consistently pointed people toward their “faith” to reconcile those experiences.

Speaking of which, this is another problem I see. When you see people who can’t use the name of Jesus openly and with absolute joy, be discerning of that person. If they can only seem to wonder around in the non-biblical air of both words and language:

• They will talk about God but NEVER mention Jesus
• They will talk about faith but not use the words believer or Christian or Christlike
• They never quote scripture in their body of work
• They use new age language and terminology

These are just some examples. There are many more.

There’s so many red flags here, not to mention the most obvious one – not leading people to the cross of Christ (I guess because it’s not enough?), but instead leading them to their framework.

Man oh man. I do not want to be on that side of things right now. God is going to deal with these people and swiftly.

Please study and know the Word of God inside and out, so you can grow in all discernment (Philippians 1:9) and snuff these people, frameworks, and programs out.

There’s nothing wrong with frameworks, success, life experiences, or programs, if we’re ultimately fulfilling the great commission.

But if someone is not fulfilling His commission, whose commission ARE THEY fulfilling?

Be as wise as serpents but as harmless as doves out here, because we are definitely among the wolves. (Matthew 10:16)

In sheep’s clothes…..

Love, T