The Spare-Tire Concept of God

I've found it helpful from time to time to stop and evaluate my thoughts about God and how I treat Him. Do I fly off the handle without thinking of God first and what He would have me do? Do I try to tackle tough decisions without praying to God for wisdom or without trying to discern His will for me from His Word? Do I rejoice or take pleasure in something without giving God gratitude and glory? Do I question Him over a circumstance in my life?

I have to admit that I've had to repent over and over and even today--several times--of putting God away from my thoughts when I would have been far better off to have remembered Him and His love and His words to me (in Scripture), and "use" Him in the normal course of life.

Here is a quote from R.J. Rushdoony on this wicked "spare-tire" concept of God:

"The spare-tire concept of God, as Otto Piper pointed out some years ago, is very prevalent. A spare-tire is not normally used; in fact, it is highly desirable if it is never necessary to use it. However, common sense requires that a man carry a spare-tire and always avoid being without one. For many people, God is a spare-tire, not to be used normally and an annoyance if required, but a good thing to have in case of trouble."

--Rousas John Rushdoony, from Salvation and Godly Rule, Ross House Books, 1983, p. 10

Excerpt from "The Crown Rights of Jesus Christ" by Andrew Sandlin

"This is what salvation is all about: restoring former rebels to their rightful place as obedient servants of God (Rom. 6:16-17).

Man's sin, like Lucifer's, constituted cosmic rebellion. The penalty was death (Gen. 2:17). God's program of redemption is calculated not chiefly to dismiss that penalty (though this it certainly does), but rather to restore man to his rightful place as an obedient son called to exercise dominion in the earth (Ps. 8:4-8; Eph. 1:3, 10, 18-23). Keeping sinners out of hell is merely the by-product of God's plan to reinstall covenant-keeping man in his original task as His vicegerent in the earth (Gen. 1:27-28). This is why the godly are placed in the earth: to extend His kingdom and His righteous reign throughout the whole earth (Rev. 2:26-27)...

...A salvation that merely keeps souls out of hell is, as Rushdoony notes, fire insurance; it is not biblical salvation."

from Andrew Sandlin's essay, "The Crown Rights of Jesus Christ" in Explicitly Christian Politics: The Vision of the National Reform Association, edited by William O. Einwechter, published by The Christian Statesman Press, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1997.