Time to Live Differently (Jan. 2006)

“Jesus is calling people to live differently.” - Phillips
This statement needs to be shouted from the rooftops in Southern Illinois. I recently encouraged a group of students at our church to right this down and keep it somewhere they would be able to see it everyday. Why? Because Jesus is calling people, even them, to live differently. Even more so, Jesus demands that people live differently. See, we have this screwed up mindset that our lives are all about us: what I want, what I need, what I deserve. This may be true for society as a whole, but should never be for the Christian. Our constitution lines out a lot of these things for us. The sad part is, Christians are worshiping the constitution as their last line of instruction for living, quoting right and privilege, instead of the Word of God.

Jesus said in Luke 9:23-24, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it,but whoever loses his life for me will save it.” Christ demands that if we are going to follow him, we have to deny ourselves and take up our cross. There are two things at work here. The first is self-denial. When we come to Christ we have to deny ourselves. What’s involved in self-denial? You lose your rights, you lose your desires, and you lose your life. Paul says in Galatians, “And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” Self-denial means that you willingly give up what “rightfully” belongs to you because you owe your life to Christ and gladly give it up to Him.

The second thing at work here is taking up a cross. Thec ross of today has become nothing more than a trinket of fashion that anybody and everybody wears to accessorize or add “bling” to their wardrobe. But as A.W. Tozer put it, the cross “is a symbol of death. It stands for the abrupt, violent end of a human being. The cross made no compromise, modified nothing, spared nothing; it slew all of the man,completely and for good.” Paul says again in Galatians, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I that live.” Coming to Christ is a death of the old self and a new life with Christ in control.

So why do we have so many Christians walking around in the same sort of life that is described in the Bible as lost? The answer is clear and simple. These people are not Christians. They are not born again, repented, dead to sin, living in righteousness, obedient, saved people. These people have never tasted the wrath of the cross. Our popular salvation messages of the day often neglect death, declaring“pray this prayer” or “accepting” Jesus as the only necessary function for Christendom. They never tell these ignorant souls that without being born again, they will never see the kingdom of Heaven. (John 3:3, the words of Christ himself)

And what will being born again cause? It will cause a person to live a new life. A new life means living differently. Jesus not only demands it, he actually gives us the ability to do it. So, are you living differently? Or are you just another “Myspacer” with your site full of trash, cussing, sexual references and things that linger of lost life? Are you living differently or are you just another average teenager or young adult walking through life chasing your own desires? After reading this you have no excuse.

The Great Forgiver?

You may be like me and debate within your own mind on issues of the Bible. Sometimes my cognitive dissonance is so great that I spend long periods of time in thought over thinking. One of the areas that I debate myself over on a constant basis is the presentation of the "salvation" message. You know I mean...or...maybe you don't. I don't mean that I have a hard time presenting the gospel or preaching God's word, what I mean is that 5 minute plug that some preachers give at the end of a message or you may understand it better as the 2 hour rant that other preachers give.

And that is debate in my own mind. Because here is what I have found. How can we have true converts, true Christians if we don't call them to the right or true conversion? If we invite someone to "accept" Jesus, in someone's mind it might seem that Jesus is standing at the front of the church begging that you would let Him come live in your heart because he is cold and homeless. Nothing could be farther from the truth of the situation, and most of us know this, but our rhetoric to a world that doesn't understand our "christianese" can often make assumptions based on what we say and how we say it. I know I would.

For a while now I have been on a huge rant about "The Purpose Driven Life" craze that has swept the Christian nation. I have been quoted as saying, "If you need a book other than the Bible to tell you that your life has purpose than I have a hard time believing that you have the Spirit of God living in you and that you have really been freed from all your sin, become a new creation and are living for the Lord." It may sound harsh but that is really my heart about the issue. Yeah, I own the book...and the journal that comes with it. But I've opened neither of them. I received them as a Christmas present one year..."So what are you trying to tell me?" And I have seen non-Christians read it and stay that way and I have heard of people reading it and their perspective on life being radically changed.

But I guess that is one place where the Church as failed. If it takes a trendy new book to sweep the nation for congregants all over the world, let alone our own country, to see that God has a purpose for their life, then I don't know if we have called them to the right place of salvation.

Don't misunderstand me here. I am not saying that I want to nor would I ever condone the preaching of "God has a wonderful plan for your life." I have read Ray Comfort's books. I think if I did that I would want that 5'1" fireball of a man to come and kick my butt six ways to Sunday. But the truth of the matter is, God does call us to salvation for a purpose, His purpose. And that purpose is an extremely wonderful plan; a plan devised in the heart of God for the heart of God. God's plan for every single human being He calls is for them to worship Him. Jesus died so that we may live. Not so that we may live and live for our own desire, pleasures, and purposes. That is what got us lost and hell bound to begin with. Jesus died so that we may live to do nothing else but worship Him.

Whoa, at first this may seem like our God is a narcissist. But we can't look at it as such. God knows what is best for us. He knows what will satisfy our every longing. He knows what will give us the biggest and most intense rush. He knows what our bodies, souls, and spirits long for and that is Him. God meets our every real need by giving us Him. So its a win-win situation.

But that's not the end of it. If Jesus died so that we could just raise our hands, sing songs, and occasionally sway to some music for Him, what is life for? Well, I'm glad you asked. Paul explains to us in Romans 12 that giving our bodies to Him is our spiritual act of worship. Worshipping God is doing anything that says, "God, you are in control and I want to follow you and obey you and trust you and listen to you...because you are good." Yeah, digging a ditch can be worship. Jesus told a group of Jews, God's people chosen to be a light to the gentiles, that they were the light of the world and shouldn't hide that light. He told them that if they would live according to the purpose God set our for them (I will be your God and you will by My people) that people would see what they were doing and praise their Father in Heaven. God receives glory when we live out the life He has for us. (Matthew 5)

But back to the central idea here. What is God's purpose for the convert? Here is what I think is one of the largest fallacies we could preach or teach: Jesus is the Great Forgiver.
At first sound it may sound like I am being totally unorthodox in my message here, but believe me, I'm not.

But once again, let's examine why Jesus died, what He taught, and what He left us with.

When Jesus came on the scene for the first time an angel told His parents that He would be a king that would save His people from their sins. Remember that. He would "save" His people from their sins. Later in life, John the Baptist sees Jesus and shouts, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world." Remember that. Later Jesus says that He came to "seek and save that which is lost." Jesus refers to himself like a medical profession when He says, "It's the sick who need a doctor, not the healthy." Read Pauline scripture. You will see a great theme; one that states that Jesus died because reconciliation between men and God had to happen for man to be in right relationship with God again. Sure, Jesus forgave sins while on the earth, He even spoke that to a man that was paralyzed, but to call people to that, the forgiveness of sins, is a falsehood and at best an incomplete image of what He actually wants to do in their life.

If Jesus' purpose and desire was just to forgive sins and therefore die and make everything better and everyone good to go, then why did He tell His disciples it was vastly important that He go away? Because when Jesus left, He sent the Holy Spirit, whose purpose is to convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment. If forgiveness was the end, the what need would there before conviction? If forgiveness was the end then why did God send John the Baptist to lay a foundation of repentance for Jesus' ministry? If forgiveness is the end then why would tell us that we shouldn't go on sinning so that grace may abound?

Forgiveness isn't the end. Forgiveness can't be the message. The message is one of repentance, reconciliation, freedom, righteousness, wholeness, eternity...and yes, forgiveness of sins. So let's not tell people that Jesus want to forgive their sins and if they would just put their trust in Him, He will do that. For those with a heart of repentance, that works, its the last element they may need to hear, that while they are separated from God because of their sins, a Loving, merciful, Judging God wants to forgive them of their repented sin and therefore bring them back into perfect communion with Himself. But for those whose fallen conscience even tells them what they have done is bad, all they want is the removal of guilt and approval of freedom. They want the heavenly "get out of jail free" card. And what Jesus did meant more than that. He forgave us all our sins, He cancelled the debt that we owed for our sins, nailing it to the cross and therefore paying it for us. The Word declares to us that we are not our own and pronounces this: "You were bought with a price."

Jesus Christ did more than forgive our sins. He bought us back. He paid our debt. He died our death. Of all the names the Bible gives Him, 'the Great Forgiver' is nowhere to be found. I would ask that we not invent it with our actions. Amen