I don’t usually do reviews on my blog. I love to cook and have used a variety of pots and pans. I am a big fan of cast iron and stainless steel because they can be used at high temperatures and don’t scratch easily. That being said, simple meals on no-stick pans makes sense. Me writing about no-stick doesn’t but me writing about NoStick does if you give me a chance and read on.

If you say NoStick but instead of NO you pronounce it Naw…

…you will start to see where I am coming from. I believe we are living in a new era of gnostic leaning practises. While most who call themselves Christians still embrace the trinity as 3 persons one God, and the death and resurrection of Christ who was fully God and fully man as a fact upon which our salvation rests, the way many live out their faith is what I call NoStick Christianity.

 John’s 1^st letter was a correction of gnostic beliefs.

One of the hardest books in the Bible for Christ followers to read is 1^st John. John seems to place a high value on what we do with very little talk of grace. If you want to read through 1 John, I suggest you start with: “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. ²He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” 1 John 2:1-2 (NIV) The foundation of Christian grace is we can’t do it all in a way that is right with God, at least not all the time, so we need grace. John says this in 1 John 2:1-2 but He also says His instructions are designed to teach us to avoid sin. It even goes further than that. He insists that there is an in or out of the faith based on what we do.

Works are important to some Gnostics.

There are different practices within Gnostism. Some believe that by denying the flesh they attain a level of salvation through inner enlightenment. The belief separates body and spirit. Enlightenment through body practices equals a level of connection with a godlike figure beyond the lesser deities. This connection was salvation. So far these ideas are way out there for most, if not all Christians. When we read 1^st John, this is not the first thing that would come to mind. This duality of body and spirit evolved into a belief that the body could continue in sin at no cost as long as the spirit had hidden knowledge because it was created good and that could not change. In other words, NoStick sin because sin was a function of the body which was evil and unredeemable while the spirit was good and therefore all that mattered.

John is constantly saying that there is no such thing as NoStick sin.

“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” 1 John 1:5-7 (NIV) This is just the beginning of John’s insistence that those who do not live out their faith are still in the darkness, those who continue to sin are condemned by their sin.

Were John to write to the church in western culture especially North America…

…the message would be much the same. Stop with this NoStick theology. I am writing this so you will not continue to sin, if you slip up God’s grace will cover you but if you claim to be a believer but fail to keep His commands you are a liar (1 John 2:3-5 NIV). In or out, there is no such thing as NoStick sin. The actions of the body directly affect the spirit and our salvation. To deny this truth is to deny oneself the opportunity to repent. To not repent leads to God’s full judgment because without repentance sin sticks (I say this understanding that we are not and never will be able to fully repent and that God is merciful so unchosen ignorance is covered by God’s grace).

Are you living out NoStick/Gnostic beliefs?

You wouldn’t be alone. As much as most of the gnostic ideas about God would be considered heresy by all who call themselves Christians, I would like to propose to you that many modern-day Christians embrace a lifestyle that suggest that the sins of the body do not affect the final outcome of the spirit (soul), eternal life. Our sins don’t stick either because they don’t matter or because we think we matter so much to God that He will overlook our willful disobedience. Our WWJD? bracelets proclaim we act based on the answer to the question what would Jesus do? but our actions suggest a different bracelet, a different question. WWTWD? What would the world do? NoStick sin beliefs say the body is free to sin because my works mean nothing. God’s grace makes me holy no matter what. Gnostic beliefs say I have NoStick sin because my spirit was created good, my body is evil but the two are separate therefore my works mean nothing. These ideas are not far apart.

Read 1^st John while asking yourself if you have NoStick sin beliefs?

Never loose sight you are saved by grace not by works. Never loose sight that faith without works is dead. 1 John 2:14-26 (NIV)