If you’ve
been in ministry for twelve years like I have, chances are good that you’ve
been cussed out by a church member a time or two. The first incident happened in
my early years the day after I observed one of my youth workers teaching a
guys’ Sunday school class. Not surprisingly, the issue revolved around the
simple words of Christ.
He was
teaching my students a lesson on Matthew
7, specifically these words of Jesus:
“Enter through the narrow gate; for
the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are
many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that
leads to life, and there are few who find it. … Not everyone who says to Me,
‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My
Father who is in heaven will enter.
Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name,
and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And
then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who
practice lawlessness.’” – Matthew 7:13-14, 21-23
The youth
worker was advocating his belief that because God is such a merciful God,
eventually, most people are going to go to heaven. Before I walked in the room,
I had planned on not saying anything during the lesson, but when I heard those
words, I couldn’t hold back. I immediately asked the group if that’s what the
Scripture we just read teaches. I felt the man’s eyes digging into me like daggers.
Needless to say, it got a little bit
awkward.
One student
pointed out that the text seemed to teach that most people will reject Jesus to
their own destruction. Others agreed with him, and I affirmed their simple
reading of Jesus’ words. I then asked the group how we should live if Jesus
really meant what He said. They said that it was imperative to obey His
commandments and teach others to do the same… to walk the walk and not just
talk a good game.
The next
morning I was given the opportunity to practice Jesus’ command to bless those
who curse you. Though that didn’t feel good, it was worth it to teach my
students to not first pass Jesus’ words through the filter of their feelings.
Today’s
American Christian culture is quite feelings-driven. For instance, ‘loving God’
is often defined as embracing one’s complete acceptance in Jesus, rather than
the biblical definition of choosing to obey God’s choices by His power.
Nick Hall
is the founder and chief communicator for Pulse and Together 2016, an enormous
faith-based event that just took place in Washington DC. He also wrote the
book, Reset. Hall has been called the Billy Graham of the next generation, so
if you haven’t heard about him yet, you probably will.
In the YouVersion devotional plan
for his book Reset, Hall writes this about the kind of relationship Jesus wants
to have with us:
Rather than being our own personal
genie, God is much more like a true friend. He’s someone we can come to when
we’re happy or when we need to vent – and He welcomes us either way. … God
isn’t interested in weighing us down with rules and requirements. – Excerpts from the 7-Day Reset
with Jesus Devotional Plan
I used to
believe that it was only Hollywood that promoted the buddy Christ. Now, it
unfortunately appears that the Church is waving his flag.
Fellow
Christian, are you afraid of suffering for your faith? Are you worried about
being persecuted for following Jesus? Then here’s a solution for you: Join up
with the buddy Christ crowd who says that God isn’t interested in you obeying
His rules and requirements.
Do you
know why? That kind of Christianity is the sort that governments are more than okay
with. That kind of Christianity isn’t threatening to the domain of darkness or
any system of the world. You’ll be safe and sound. (At least until you meet
God.)
However,
the kind of Christians governments and rulers of darkness fear are the kind that
unwaveringly believe and live out the simple words of Christ. So like the early
Christians, may you display your discipleship more with an obedient life than with
merely your lips. And in doing so, may you emit the fragrance of the life of
Christ to a deceived and dying world.
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