Away From An Easy Gospel

You will be lied to. You will be told that you can follow Jesus without any sacrifice. You'll hear that those you are sacrificing for aren't really worth it. You'll feel that you're wasting your time, that sacrifice is a little too extreme. You could be spending your time on something you enjoy. You will be told that you're wasting your money giving it to God. Imagine how many more things you could enjoy if you would keep that 10%, or even more, for yourself and spend it on things that you want around the house, trips, and whatever else your heart desires. You will hear lies.

And we like the lies. They help us justify our human desire to not sacrifice.

Jesus didn't come riding on a horse, a tactical missile, or a drone and take over the world. He came in love, suffering, eventually bearing a cross that He was nailed to. This separates Jesus from all the other false saviors of this world. They redeem by violence, power, and authority. While Jesus redeemed by love.

Here are a few verses to emphasize that.

He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2 .ESV).

For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—  but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.  More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (Romans 5:7-11 ESV).

He was willing to sacrifice for everyone, not just those who are worthy.
Are we willing to sacrifice for everyone - our enemies, the poor?

Paul taught,"Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.  And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God" (Ephesians 5:1-2 ESV).

We are called to follow Jesus' example. He gave Himself up for us. We must be willing to imitate Him and give ourselves up for others. But we have our own personal Gardens of Gethsemane where we often don't concede, "Not my will but your will be done." Instead, we try to take the easy road. We would much rather teach and instruct rather than sacrifice.

It's easy to tell the person considering an abortion, don't have one. It's harder to say, "I will adopt."

It's easy to tell the kid not doing their homework, "Get your homework done." It's harder to say, "I will help."

It's easy to tell someone poorly clothed and lacking in food, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled." It's harder to give them the things that they need.

Our problems aren't anything new. The early church was struggling with similar issues too. Hence the instruction of James.

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?  If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food,  and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?  So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.  But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. (James 2:14-18 ESV).

I had a preacher friend who preached on adoption. And as pastors sometimes get, he got a scathing letter about his sermon. The gist of the letter was that adoption is a great cause but that it really shouldn't be a concern of the church. The salvation of people's souls, not adoption, is the focus of the church. Loving actions like adoption should be in the realm of organizations outside the church while the church teaches salvation in Jesus.

You know the problem with that email is that it is so close to being right. Satan won't come into our churches, ask us to chop up pigs, cover ourselves in blood, and dance around singing songs to a pagan idol. He will just take us one step away from the truth. That's damaging enough.

You may be thinking that my preacher friend is wrong and the email writer is right-on because that email at its essence expresses the American gospel from the last fifty years. A gospel that is concerned about the truth over love, getting people saved rather than living redeemed lives. A gospel that surgically removed loving actions to the community and the world into outside organizations from the heart of the church. It expresses the gospel that ushered in the decline of America. It expresses the gospel that created a powerless church. For it's like this was the gospel.

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.  For I was hungry and you just told me the truth of the gospel so that I would believe, I was thirsty and you just told me the truth of the gospel so that I would believe, I was a stranger and you just told me the truth of the gospel so that I would believe,  I was naked and you just told me the truth of the gospel so that I would believe, I was sick and you just told me the truth of the gospel so that I would believe, I was in prison and you just told me the truth of the gospel so that I would believe.’ 

No! No! No!

The gospel has been spoiled if we think that is what the gospel is. Jesus modeled sacrifice to us. And we must live sacrifically for others.

This is the actual teachings of Jesus:

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,  I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’  Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?  And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?  And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’  And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ (Matthew 25:34-40 ESV).

We can't separate our spiritual life and the telling of the gospel from helping others. Likewise, we can't separate helping others from telling them the gospel. For our help is part of the gospel message. It's not the gospel without our sacrifice. The reason our communities aren't being reached for Jesus isn't because we haven't figured out the right program to reach them; it's because those of us who go to church on Sundays aren't surrendered to Jesus and living for Him. We don't model His sacrifice by becoming a living sacrifice for others.

We want to follow Jesus without any self-sacrifice. We want an easy gospel. But Jesus modeled self-sacrifice. And if we have given our life to following Jesus, to walk as He walks, then we will model that same self-sacrifice. We will give of ourselves so that others may know God. Just like Jesus gave of Himself so that you may know and be right with God.

Words are cheap. Sacrifice is what is needed to walk as Jesus walked. Sacrifice is what is needed to change this world for Jesus. 

Help Me See Jesus

When Jesus said, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these  my brothers, you did it to me," we say, "Amen."

We immediately walk away, pretend to understand Jesus' teaching, and say with our lives, "Jesus, you won't mind if I have you work where the working conditions are horrible and the pay is not enough? I wouldn't work like that, but you will for me? It's capitalism. You understand? Right, Jesus?"

"You won't care that I take advantage of you because you are from an economically depressed and underdeveloped country. You understand that? That's just the way the world works. Right, Jesus?"

"As long as I remain sexually pure, study my Bible, go to church, do some good for some people, and pray, you're fine with working like that for me? You're so understanding. I need you to do those things so that I can pay less for my coffee, clothes, gadgets, housing materials, and everything else that I want to consume? I have to look good and be in style when I worship You."

"Jesus, will you still be my savior even though I make you do these horrible things for me? Right, Jesus?"

We hear Jesus whisper through the noise of our culture, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me." We still say, "Amen."

But our actions say something else. We consume and live like kings while Jesus starves to death, dies from bad drinking water, is uneducated because he doesn't have a school nearby, and slaves away to make our consumer goods. At least we still get our cheap prices.

Something is wrong. With me. With our world. It is so hard to live for Jesus in such a fallen world. We need to see Jesus. Help me see Jesus.

Opened Eyes - A Call To Help The Least of These

I had a conversation the other day with two good, well-intentioned, Christian friends who I could not convince that the needs of the poorest in our community are nothing compared to the needs of the poor in other places around the world.

I remember when we did the Rock 4 Water concert to raise money to provide clean drinking water to Liberians. The people from Hope 2 Liberia had a booth set up. Someone from Antwerp expressed to them, "I just don't get it. Look at all the people around here that need help. Why aren't we helping everybody around here?"

One of my friends told me about a poor person in our community who lives in a rundown house and has to live off of his meager social security check for the month. Imagine fifteen people living in that small, rundown house without a job anywhere in sight, no social security, no running water, and no electricity, then you will see how wealthy even the American poor are. Imagine that one in four of the kids born in that house won't live to the age of five, none of the kids will have an opportunity to reach their full potential because they have no access to education. That's the difference. American poor have needs, but some poor have greater needs.

My friends tried to convince me that it was the world's poorest's choice to live like that. That's a common idea in American because poverty in America is typically a result of the choices that individual has made in their past. It might be a choice hampered with addictions, but it's still a choice. But it's no choice to be born in a poor society, to not have access to clean drinking water, to feel fortunate to have only one meal a day, and to not receive an education. It's no choice to be born under a totally corrupt government. That's not a choice. It would be a choice if, like us, they have access to clean drinking water, yet choose to drink dirty water. We could all go down to the Maumee and drink straight from the river, but we are all blessed to have convenient and safe water from our taps. That's a choice that the least of these around the world don't have.

We deemphasize how blessed we are because of the faithfulness of those who have gone before us. The American "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" mentality is only available because of the great society we live in. The schools in our communities. The families we grew up in. The clean water we have available. The food on the table. The spiritual foundation of our society.  All things we take for granted, yet we barely have anything to do with. Things that aren't there for the poor around the world.

It's not their choice to live like they do. They can't choose to go to rehab or a counselor and get their life straightened. They can't choose to work hard in a fair society to have all of the nice amenities that we take for granted. They can't choose to load up in the car they don't have and travel with the money they don't have to a better place. They dream of the paradise we take for granted and know as normal life.

We are blessed. They may not have a choice, but you do. It's your choice if you will help give them a hand up. Jesus said, "What you do for the least of these you do to me." Are you going to do anything for the least of these?

I have a little exercise for us. This may seem strange but work with me here.

Say these things out loud as if they were true.

There is a little boy who will die if I don't give him clean drinking water.

There is a little girl who will not reach her potential if I don't provide her with an education.

There is a family who will lose a child to hunger if I don't feed them.

If you really believed these statements you just said, would you do something about them?

Now, I'm not asking you to stop loving your neighbor in the town you live in. We have people in our community in need. People we can help. These needs are different and, typically, not as fatal, but God has placed us where we are for a reason. To love our neighbors. But it's not an either/or situation. I am not asking you to stop loving people in our community, but to also love your neighbor just across the ocean. A neighbor you could send money to tomorrow if you wanted. A neighbor who can receive help from organizations that are just a phone call away. We're so blessed that we don't even have to go overseas to help.

When Jesus gave his tough teaching about loving our neighbors, one of the guys asked, "Who is my neighbor?" He didn't ask to know who to love; he asked to get out of loving. What's the bare minimum that I have to do to follow Jesus' teachings? That's not the question we should ask. Jesus replied with the story of the Good Samaritan teaching that our neighbors are anyone who we see in need. A better question is, "What opportunities do I have to be the hands and feet of Jesus?"

William Wilberforce once said, "You may choose to look the other way but you can never say again that you did not know."

Those of us who have been blessed are blessed to be a blessing. Not to selfishly indulge in our blessings. Our communities suffer from selfishness of all sorts. I suffer from selfishness of all sorts. But God calls each one of us to something greater. The least of these around the world need something greater. Jesus is waiting to be loved.

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Below are a few videos that emphasize the same point, albeit in a sarcastic, comedic way.

A Privilege to Bring Relief

Tragedy struck the South last week in what could possibly be the worst tornado in American history once the missing are all accounted for.  Currently, this disaster sits at number two on the most destructive tornado list with over three hundred dead and over four hundred people still unaccounted for.  Beside the immeasurable cost to life, the tornadoes have also destroyed towns and cities.  Despite the size of the disaster and its recent occurrence, it is already old news.  When I write this early Monday morning, the story is already off the headlines and off of the main internet news sites. 

The apostle John and his letter to the churches always challenges me in times of disaster like this.   “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth” [1 John 3:16-18 (ESV)].

The media has shrunk the world.  In a way, this is a good thing.  We can see the needs of people on the other side of the world.  But in another way, this can be a bad thing.  We can grow immune to the suffering and plight of others because it is always in front of us.  Let us heed the teaching of John.  If we say we love God, then we need to love our brothers and sisters in need.  Now is one of those times that we have that opportunity.

Sometimes I encounter the idea that we do not need to help others because we should use all of our resources to help our own.  The thought goes, “We have enough needs here in Antwerp and Paulding County.  Why should we send money to help others?”  Scripture teaches that God blesses in order for those whom he blesses to be a blessing (Genesis 12:1-3).  In God’s logic, he blesses those who have shown that they are willing to use what he blesses them with to bless others (Matthew 25:14-30).  We must be careful not to view it selfishly like an exchange in the marketplace.  “We bless others, God blesses us.”  It doesn’t work that simply.  God cannot be tricked by ur actions.  He can see our hearts and know whether our loving actions spring out of love or selfishness.  May we strive to learn how to genuinely love others and use our blessings to be a blessing.

The world does not have a problem with lacking supplies, food, and resources; its problem is in distribution.  Those in need could have all their needs met if those with plenty would choose to sacrifice and meet them.  There is enough to go around.  In God’s economy, we can always sacrifice to be a blessing.  That is the example that we should learn from Jesus on the cross.  Through his suffering, he showed us what humility really looks like (Philippians 2). 

So if you are looking to help during this time, there are many ways.  If you are in a denominational church, you can always contact your church’s relief wing and see what opportunities they have available.  There is always the American Red Cross.  My favorite disaster charity is International Disaster Emergency Service.  Ides ranks higher than the American Red Cross at Charity Navigator with their charity rating.   

If you are interested in doing more than just sending money, Riverside Christian Church is planning a relief trip down there next week to deliver some needed supplies and help out wherever help is needed.  The details are not finalized yet, but get in touch if you are interested in joining in our relief efforts.

God Has No Grandchildren - A Challenge to Raise Our Children In Jesus

As a pastor, I run across people who want their children to be spiritually-minded, loving toward their neighbors, and in love with God.  These are great and noble goals for a parent to have.  They are better than wanting your child to be smart, a great athlete, or the most popular.  But when it comes down to it, we, as parents, invest in the lesser goals rather than the more important ones.  Unwittingly, due to the pressure of society, we do this to the detriment of our children’s souls.  We must remember that the most dangerous distractions are usually not the most obvious actions.  Danger waits in the good things, for when we focus on them, at the exclusion of the great things, we stray off course. 

We have been steered off course into thinking that the spirituality that was passed on to us will automatically transfer to our children without the investment that our parents, grandparents, neighbors, and teachers made in us.  On the other hand, maybe we didn’t have a spiritual life growing up, but we want our children to.  The harsh truth is that they will not be spiritually-minded unless we make the investment and model it ourselves. 

God has no grandchildren.  He only has children.

John wrote, “The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.  He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” [John 1:9-13 (ESV)].

To be born of God.  This is what must happen to our children for them to be called “children of God.”  Total rebirth, dying to their old self, is the investment that it takes.  And it starts with us.  We must die to our old selves, the one where we believe that our intelligence, our sports, our cars, our house, our money, our job, and our popularity are the most important aspects to our life.  We must be born of God. 

Throughout history, churches have argued and fought over exactly what it takes to be born of God.  I am not going to go into that here.  What I want to briefly show is what your life will look like after you have been born of God. 

Jesus tells a story of the final judgment in Matthew 25.  In the story he talks about people who thought they were in with God.  I can imagine the dire face that many scornful churchgoers will face some day.  They will be like those people in Matthew 25 who are told that they do not know God because they have not fed the hungry, given water to the thirsty, helped the immigrant, given clothes to the naked, nourished the sick, and visited prisoners.  On the other hand are those who do know God and done those things. 

So if you want your children to be God’s children, take time out and invest in them spiritually.  Take them to church with you.  Study the Bible with them.  Pray with them.  Feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, help immigrants, give clothes away, nourish the sick, and visit prisoners with them.  They won’t just learn to be God’s child through wishful thinking.  It’s going to take hard work on your part.  Invest in your children spiritually more than you invest in their sports, their careers, or their education.  All of those things will fall in their proper place in a life that has its highest priority properly aligned. 

A Swiss government study published in 2000 showed that if a mother and father go to church regularly, 74% of their children will attend church as adults, with 33% of them regularly attending.  But if the mother goes without the father, only 39% of their children will attend church as adults, with only 2% of them regularly attending.  Where neither father nor mother attend church, only 19% of their children will attend church, with only 4% of them regularly attending.  What that tells me is that we, fathers, must step up. (from “The demographic characteristics of the linguistic and religious groups in Switzerland” by Werner Haug and Phillipe Warner of the Federal Statistical Office, Neuchatel. It appears in Volume 2 of Population Studies No. 31, a book titled The Demographic Characteristics of National Minorities in Certain European States, edited by Werner Haug and others, published by the Council of Europe Directorate General III, Social Cohesion, Strasbourg, January 2000.)

Now some will be thinking church attendance is irrelevant to spiritual growth.  That might be true at an unhealthy church.  But the writer of Hebrews wrote that the purpose of gathering together is to spur one another on toward love and good works.  If that is what happens at church, which is what should be happening at church, then the church gathering together is an  irreplaceable tool to encourage one another on to be who God destined for us to be.

God has no grandchildren, but he does want your grandchildren and children to be His children.  This happens through parents and grandparents stepping up and being the people God wants them to be.  I pray that you will find the strength to do that. 

Legalism brings about Division, Love Knits Us Together in Unity

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.  For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory (Colossians 3:1-4 ESV).

This part of the letter from Paul to the church at Colossae came immediately after Paul dealt with two attacks on the church there.  The first attack was one on the nature of who Jesus was.  The second attack was legalism in the form of philosophies, Judaism, angel worship, and asceticism.  Paul's remedy to legalism and losing focusing on Jesus was to seek Christ in the things that are above rather than the things of this world.  This echoes Jesus' teaching during the Sermon on the Mount: 

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you (Matt 6:33 ESV).

When I was a kid and would play hide and go seek, I always liked to hide with someone.  Although less effective, it made the game all that much more enjoyable.  Earlier (in Colossians 2:3), Paul wrote that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Jesus.  Paul (in Colossians 3:3) is saying that we are hidden with Christ in God.  Unlike when I played hide and seek, hiding with Jesus is still enjoyable yet more effective for our life.  For us who are in Christ, the secrets that are hidden and do not make sense to the world are revealed.  If we live in that same mystery, our lives shouldn't make sense to the world around us.

We're supposed to set our mind on the things that are above, we're supposed to seek His kingdom and His righteousness, and we're assured by Jesus that if we seek we will find (Luke 11:9-10).  What if what is above is actually all around us?  What if His kingdom is here in our midst, yet we fail to see it?  What if finding Him is much easier than we thought?

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Dr. Karl Menninger was a psychiatrist who was revolutionary for his time and his thoughts are still challenging to the psychiatric field today.  Before World War II, when mental asylums were overcrowded, conditions were terrible, and the mentally ill had a stigma with society, Menninger opened up a clinic that actually loved patients and cured them of their problems rather than just isolating them from society or medicating them like they do now.  

"Love cures people-both the ones who give it and the ones who receive it."

"Love is a medicine for the sickness of the world; a prescription often given, too rarely taken."

"Love is the touchstone of psychiatric treatment ... to our patient who cannot love, we must say by our actions that we do love him" (1).

When Menninger was asked, "If you knew for a certainty that you were going to have a nervous breakdown, what would you do?"

He replied, "I would close my house; I would move over onto the other side of the tracks; I would knock on doors until I had an opportunity to meet somebody who had more problems than I did; and then I'd spend my time helping them solve those problems" (2).

Meninger knew that loving others is the best cure for the problems we face.

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Jesus taught:

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,   I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’  Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?  And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?  And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’  And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,  you did it to me' (Matt 25:34-40 ESV).

It seems that I have taken a tangent from the idea that legalism brings division while love knits us together in unity, but Jesus' teaching that we love Him by loving the less fortunate isn't a tangent.  It's the cure to legalism.  Loving others, especially those who society deems unlovable, is exactly how we "seek the things that are above."  We can get hung up all sorts of crap when we are the church together.  We can get hung up on what music style we us, what songs we sing, whether we sit on pews or pew chairs, whether we have the lights dim or brighter, what programs we should or should not do, or one of the hundreds of other inane subjects.  But the real heart of our life together is love.  Love for one another and love for those around us.  When we let the other issues get in the way of us loving each other and loving those around us, we have become legalists.

A healthy family is not a family who always agree with one another.  A healthy family is one who works through their problems and disagreements because they love one another.  They don't give up on one another when times get tough or family decisions do not go their way.  "Hatred stirs up strife,  but love covers all offenses" (Prov 10:12 (ESV).  Hatred toward one another causes a family to disintegrate while love frees them to disagree.  The same is true of a healthy church.  We need to love one another through thick and thin because we have been knitted together in Christ.

"Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving" (Col 2:6-7 ESV).  This walk in him does not come through self-centeredness that manifests itself in us warping Jesus into who we want Him to be or morphing our walk into a series of legalistic obstacles that we expect others to traverse.  This comes from living a transformed life, a life that is focused on loving others no matter what others might think of us.  For we have been "knit together in love" and hold "fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God" (Col 2:2, 2:19 ESV).  

Legalism brings about division, but love knits us together in unity.


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1. Quoted in "Menninger's long history began with a small idea."  Menininger Institute. Web. 27 Nov. 2010.

2. Quoted from Clarke's personal file in Clarke, J. Richard. "The Royal Road to Happiness."  Brigham Young University. 30 October 1979. Web. 27 Nov. 2010.