A Placebo Faith

We may think that because we're spiritual that we're right with God.

We may think that because we are part of a church, we're right with God.

Both seem to be popular approaches to feeling good about ourselves depending on the circles we are in.

We post "praying" on Facebook at the appropriate times. We read popular spiritual or Christian books. We tell our hurting friend that we will pray for them. We read our Bible. Whatever it is that we do to think we're right with God may just be a placebo.

A placebo "is a simulated or otherwise medically ineffectual treatment for a disease or other medical condition intended to deceive the recipient." It's given because some people get better just from the thought of being treated. It's fake. It's not real.

And we fill our spiritual lives with so many placebos.

James wrote, "If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless" (James 1:26 ESV). Talking religion can make people think that they are religious. The right answers. Impeccable theology or witty spiritual guidance. James recognized the danger in words. It can lead to a worthless religion. Just talking, even though it may make us feel like we have done something, is not religion. The focus of James' letter was to emphasize that having the right beliefs or saying the right things is no substitute for actually living out true religion.

When we think that we're right with God, yet it is not leading us to love the lease of these, we're just taking a spiritual placebo. It may make us feel good, but it is not true religion.

James continued, "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world" (James 1:27 ESV). To visit orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep unstained from the world. True religion is living the life that we read or hear about. True religion is truly helping rather than just saying that we will pray in passing. True religion is living out what we read in the Bible and not just memorizing it. It's about living the sermons we hear rather than just listening to and critiquing them. It's keeping ourselves free from the chains of this world that will bind us, so that we can love the way God wants us to love.

Our times spent together as a church and learning together are important. That is not to be discarded in our search for true religion. For those outside of a flawed yet reclaimed community, it is something to be part of. True spirituality is not found outside of relationships with God and other sojourners. Without authentic relationships where we learn together, we will not know the direction God wants us to go. But we always must remember that talk is not the goal. Knowledge is not the goal. Attendance is not the goal.

God has a different plan for humanity. When we are in touch with Him, our hearts hunger for that reality. We know it is there. We know things aren't supposed to be this way.  We can see something greater than what we are experiencing. Glimpses grow greater.

Jesus wants us to love like He loves. He doesn't need a bunch of people being spiritual or going through the religious motions. If our hearts aren't breaking when we see injustice around us or when we see suffering - if our hearts are calloused to the pain around us or we have developed excuses to just let people suffer, then Jesus is asking us, whether we profess that we are already Christians or not - Jesus is asking us to follow Him. To bring His kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven. His kingdom. His love. May we learn to follow Jesus. May we learn to love sacrificially and completely. God, help us.

Sharing the Gospel is Surrendering our Life

There is a pendulum swing in Christianity. For so long, the church has focused solely on words. Following Jesus, in this paradigm, was a belief statement to be believed. If you believe that Jesus is Christ, the son of the living God, repent and are baptized, then you are saved. So evangelism naturally focused on getting people to believe the right things in their head. Salvation, in that world, comes through having the proper beliefs and doctrine combined with a few religious practices, not through having a transformed life of love. A good evangelist would present the gospel to people through sharing it and asking them if they accept it. It was about bringing them to a decision point. And if they accepted the belief statement proposed, we would baptize them. As a follower of Jesus, if you weren’t presenting it in such a way as to make the person come to a point of decision, then evangelism was not effective.

If you were with me at Hilsboro Family Camp this year, you would have seen the death throes of doctrine only. It seems like a session could not go by without one of the sermons being on us having correct doctrine as if correct doctrine alone mattered. If you were to preach a sermon on love and not mention proper doctrine, then you were doing a disservice to the gospel according to the preachers of doctrine only. But in that world, it is okay to preach a sermon on doctrine and not mention love. Oh, how they must hate the teachings of Jesus in the gospels. He preached on love many times without mentioning doctrine.

Now, we are seeing a shift to not using words but just being loving. This is just as much of an error as the previous error. It’s the pendulum swinging back and forth. In this model, people just do loving actions with no intention of sharing the gospel because what people believe is fine for each person. We should not meddle in people’s beliefs.

It’s like someone watch one too many Star Trek episodes and has taken the Prime Directive, “Nothing within these articles of Federation shall authorize the United Federation of Planets to intervene in matters which are essentially the domestic jurisdiction of any planetary social system, or shall require the members to submit such matters to settlement under these Articles of Federation; But this principle shall not prejudice the application of enforcement measures under Chapter VII”, too seriously.

The happy, or should I say difficult, middle is where we need to be. We need to love people and also look for opportunities to share the verbal message of the gospel, but we realize that Jesus’ love, like the color blue, cannot be described through just words; it is best exhibited through our loving actions. This most often comes about through natural Christ-filled living among friends, co-workers, and family members. We need to broaden our natural sphere of relationships, whether through nurturing hobbies we do with other people or joining clubs or groups, in order to have more people we come into contact with.

And we need to create ministries within our churches that will allow us to show God’s love to people outside of our normal sphere of relationships. I think we are doing a good job, but we’re only beginning. Being a Christian is living with two, on the surface contradictory, beliefs. We understand that we are fallen sinners yet we realize the potential that God has designed us for. We live in grace when our fallen nature wins out, but we strive toward perfection.

Sharing the gospel is about surrendering our life, dying to our own will and desires, and living life the way Christ would have us live. It’s about letting Jesus live through us and reflecting Him for those around us to see. We need to live in such a way that when people see us, they really see Jesus.