5 Requirements for Being Used by God

Have you read, "5 Requirements for Being Used by God" By Rick Warren?  If not, read that article in it's entirety, here.

Highlights:

1.  Keep your life clean.

2.  Keep your eyes open

3.  Keep your heart grateful

4.  Keep your purpose firm

5.  Keep your mind on Jesus.

There are five things, (according to Rick,) that  you have to do.....or you will (evidently) not be used by God.

Number one, is that you have to have a clean life.  Rick explains this saying, " keep yourself pure"  and he uses a Bible verse, 2 Timothy 2:21, to prove it. The reason he gives that you have to keep a clean life is that,   

"God will not use a dirty vessel." Rick Warren

Not this sounds good and reasonable since we understand that God is holy.... and we are not.  It sounds good and reasonable to think that God would never really use a dirty vessel... but is is true? There is some truth behind what rick  is stating, because our sin needs to be washed away by the blood of Jesus, things do need to get cleaned up, but is God adverse to using you to serve his purposes if you are somehow "dirty"...messed up.... sinful or imperfect or impure?

In true Pharisaical form, Rick would have you believe that your life must be clean or you are not useful to God.  He says that you  have to keep your life clean...but he makes no mention of cleansing the soul, which really is the point of the gospel.  Throughout all history, God used a lot of imperfect, even "dirty" vessels to serve his purposes.  For example, God used Nebuchadnezzar and even the pagan King Cyrus of Persia.  So.... when it comes to how you must be "clean" for God to use you... it is just not true.  As for being "dirty".... or for that matter being "dirt" God himself became man as we are... the dust of the earth.  you might say, he even God his hands dirty doing the work necessary to redeem mankind from sin and death.

When it comes to having a clean life, what does it look like?
                                                                                   (Answer,  receive Jesus.  the sinless "clean" one.)

Does Rick give the reader Jesus?  No.  He tells them they have to have a personal cleaning.   He talks about Jesus later, but he does not give the reader the cleaning of Jesus for their sin, which is what will make them clean before God.  Personal cleaning will not do this... no matter how clean the person looks.  People need the cleaning that comes from Jesus.

And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make 

clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is 

full of ravening and wickedness.

Luke 11:39

Another point...

Rick is always quick to point out how the church "misunderstands" everything... and then he imparts to the church his own knowledge on whatever it is that they misunderstand.  In his second point he makes the case that people are not smart enough to know what "vision" means.

"One of the most misunderstood words in leadership circles is the word vision."  Rick Warren

Imagine, as Rick would lead you to, that, in "leadership circles" people cannot understand the word "vision." One would think that leaders could think and understand things... and use a dictionary to better understand words that might be difficult to comprehend.

Rick then quotes the Message's rendering of Psalm 104:4, which tells readers to keep their eyes open for God, watch for his works, and be alert for signs of His presence, but are Christians told to be on the lookout for signs so that we can have our vision stimulated by those signs... so that we can get on the right track with God? (Answer: No, we "walk by faith, not sight."  We walk by faith in the Son of God who gave his life for us.)

Rick ends his 5 requirement article, finally mentioning Jesus.
Instead of keeping your eyes on Jesus... the author and finisher of your faith, he tells the reader to keep their mind on Jesus.  (Keeping your mind on Jesus is one of the five "requirements" that God has for you..... if you want to be used by God. )  Quoting Eugene Peterson's invented wisdom recorded for us in "the Message" readers are told to meditate on Peterson;'s words... not a real translation of the scriptures.  Peterson suggest we study Jesus and, not trust in him, not recognize what he did on our behalf.  Peterson (and Warren) teaches that you can study Jesus and learn to do what he did.

"Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God."   The Message Hebrews 12:2
This is much different than "looking unto Jesus" as our savior and recognizing who he is.  

What does the Lord require? bible tells us... not Rick.  He just makes things up.


Micah 6:8

He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.