An open letter to my "Christian" Facebook friends

We call ourselves Christians? Why do we smell like sulfur?

I know a vast majority of you would say to me, "Why yes I'm a Christian", and for various reasons. Please read on.

Some of you are offended by my obsession with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm confident that some of you would prefer if I would cut back on the "overly Christian" postings... all of the Bible stuff might turn people away from God. I can tell you emphatically that it is not a persistent pointing to Christ that turns people from His Gospel... it is an overwhelming love for self and for sin that keep people from God.

There is nothing in the entirety of our lives more important than a Biblical understanding of God and His Gospel and coming to a repentant submission to Him. This drives my love for God and His Word; it further drives my opposition to false Gospel.

"But you make yourself a hypocrite by preaching holiness and repentance." Yes, I am not perfect, however, there is in me a desire to serve God and surrender my sin to Him - and being of His Church, I am commanded to preach. And a great burden I feel, to do so. A recent meme expresses a clarifying sentiment:

"Not going to church because of hypocrites is like not going to the gym because of out of shape people"

As Christians we are called to preach the Gospel. That's it; love God (Mark 12:28-31) and disciple people (Matthew 28:19-21)... all the time. And I'm afraid that for so long, so many have been "discipled" in such a way that PREVENTED them from coming to know God.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’" Matthew 7:21-23

I must ask you, In what does the confidence of your salvation lie? Do you point to a prayer you said one time; or to a verse of scripture that says God loves everyone in the world; or is it because you have come to a place of repentance and submission to Almighty God?

I can tell you, it is not the utterance of a magical prayer that saves; you will not find that sort of ministry existing in Scripture. I can also tell you that not everyone will be with God in heaven (Revelation 21:8, Matthew 10:28, Mark 9:47), the idea that John 3:16 assures everyone of their salvation is an incomplete thesis of the Gospel; but further to that, it is universalism - and a horrific distortion of Scripture.

I must ask you, for what purpose did you pursue salvation? Was it so you could be forever in "bliss" or "Utopia"... the "big party"? Was it so you would avoid the fires of Hell? Was it at the manipulative prompting of an "evangelist"? Was it because you thought it would give you a better life now? Was it because you recognized that God is Almighty Lord and worthy of all praise, worship and submission?

I can tell you, if your own good is at the forefront of your decision to follow Christ, you have sought an idol - yourself; and God has nothing to do with it (Colossians 3:17). Salvation is a byproduct, a beautiful one, a gift of God, that is borne out of a repentant heart and regenrated life - that can only be granted by Almighty God Himself for Himself (Ezekiel 36:22-38). The pursuit of God is about God and is a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8). And it begins with the work of God in your life;

"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day." John 6:44

If you are finding yourself thinking about the things of God, His Word and His Gospel; that work has already begun in you. But do not be deceived that because you uttered a prayer, or sought a better life, or have found false assurance in false teachers, that you are firmly in the grasp of the Heavenly Father - it could very truly be that the only grasp that holds you is your own; and that is insufficient for anything but damnation.

If you are a Christian, it will show in your life (Matthew 7:15-20). In your desire for Holiness and your HATRED for sinful things, and in your desire for Christian fellowship (Hebrews 10:25). So often I see professing Christians revel in sinful carnality or in humanistic paganism, publicly, on Facebook (and various other social networks) - and it makes me sad; and it makes me wonder if they are "In the Faith".

"See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother." John 3:1-10

Please do not misunderstand me, It was not that long ago that I myself could be counted among the numbers of "questionably Christian". And perfection is a blessing found only in the death of the Christian. This is not a judgement, this is an imploring, a pleading... and a desperate one.

"Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!" 2 Corinthians 13:5

We find our assurance in Him. If you would like an excellent resource on assurance I would recommend you look at "Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart" by J.D. Graeer. It is time to devote ourselves to His Word and worship and discipleship (Mark 12:28-31).

Below is a video message that I had never heard in it's entirety until recently when Liz and I took the time to listen to the whole thing together. It is powerful and it is worthwhile and you should take the 2 hours to listen to it. So many professing "Christians" will talk about watching Big Bang Theory (which I used to watch), Game of Thrones or the Wolf of Wall Street; or listening to Katy Perry or Lady GaGa or Eminem or any number of God hating entertainers (none of which are appropriate for a lover of God to put through their eyes or ears by the way Proverbs 4:23-27); these things implicitly and tacitly oppose Him - Ephesians 5:1-21; yet will not take the time to listen to the expounding of God's Word for their own edification and the Glory of God. It is shameful that we value our time so highly, and value it for the sake of our own leisure alone. If we are submitted to God completely, our time is also His.

If we are truly to be a part of the Church... God's Church, we must know Him. There is no Gospel without a knowledge of the person of God; and the first inkling of the person of God that grows in our hearts will drive us to the ground on our faces and a complete repentance and turning from self. Don't let pride destroy your life and relationship with Christ, no matter what you've called yourself in the past, repent today. It would be better to admit that you were never a Christian to begin with than, for the sake of pride, go to Hell for the sake of appearances. There is new life in Him (2 Corinthians 5:17).

"Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh." Ezekiel 36:26

John 3:16 and Focus on the Family

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." ~ John 3:16

I will preface this blog entry for those of you who may have difficulty with my meaning here. I am not criticizing God's Word, in whole or in part - I am criticizing it's misuse and poor contextualization.

As Christians it is our purpose to evangelize (Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 12:28-31), and make disciples.

Yet, so seldom do we take into consideration just what that means, and by what method we might best achieve making disciples of Christ. It is a very common idea that we need do no work, that God's Word can and will do all of the work and we need to simply "get it out there"; that being stewardly in method is a waste of time.

We live in a culture that is absolutely bent on ease and on convenience, ultimately self is the supreme end goal of man (this is commonly known as humanism). Our "fast food culture" can be easily seen in the way many choose to live, to work, to interact, to worship, to pray, and (wait for it) to evangelize. We've allowed the attitudes of our culture to infect our Faith and the way in which we share it - or don't.

Focus on the Family (which is shrouded in controversy itself) produced and aired a new commercial on January 14, 2012 during the Denver Broncos vs. New England Patriots NFL Playoff game. The video was almost immediately available on YouTube accompanied by the following message;

"Nothing is more important than sharing the life changing message of Jesus Christ's love. Tell someone you know today."

Aside from the fact that The Gospel is about more than the Love of Christ alone and that John 3:16 teaches only one aspect of the Love of Christ; there is also the issue that Christ's Love also perfectly and completely includes God's wrath and fury (Romans 2:6-11), God's hatred (Psalm 5:5), His jealousy (Exodus 20:4-5), His Justice (Job 34:12), His judgement (1 Corinthians 5:13, Psalm 7:11), indeed ALL of His attributes. The Biblical definition of God's perfect Love is far deeper than the inference drawn from John 3:16 alone. So, for Focus on the Family to present this as the message of God's Love is not a complete picture and misrepresents just what the atoning work of Christ is.

It has long been a tradition for John 3:16 to be painted on faces, chests, and emblazoned on banners during football games. In 1993, Steve Taylor even dedicated a song to "Bannerman", touting the honorable brazenness at thwarting the establishment for the sake of the Gospel. Even very recently Timothy Tebow was seen to have the scripture reference painted on his face. Not to mention the mystecism developing around the fact that he passed for 316 yards against the Steelers, and set an NFL playoff record with 31.6 yards per completion; which only serves to prove out the varied response that can come from this sort of Biblical representation. It is true that the passage (John 3:16) was highly Googled following the game, and perhaps it will cause some people to "reach for a Bible", but what then? And what of all the people who now seem to recognize it as a totem instead of a passage from God's Word?

In kind, this is the offering of Focus on the Family to the cause of the Gospel (ostensibly);



God's Word is precious, and will not return void (Isaiah 55:11). It is inerrant and perfect and we must certainly hold tightly to the ultimate Truths therein. John 3:16 is a fantastic passage of scripture, it is filled with Hope and Promise. It is a piece of God's Word. But it simply does not give the complete picture of the gospel. It is a portion of the frame around a beautiful picture of salvation. Without the contents of the frame you are left with a deep mystery.

Indeed there will be many who will see the video of the cute children reciting the well known passage and be filled with a warm feeling, comforted that they have done their part in standing for Christ in America simply by being a Christian. It is true, that there are those who come to Christ simply by reading His Word, in fact I have some good friends whose testimony of Faith is just so. They had no personal influence in their life, they simply had a Bible and they read it and the Holy Spirit worked in them. I am not suggesting that God's Word has no power - but God's Word out of context, in a single verse, is a different story altogether, and often it paints a picture contrary to God's Word.

My concern here lies in the presentation of the gospel, and the utter inadequacy of simplifying it to the point of making it palatable. John 3:16, all by itself says; God sent Jesus, His Son - and whoever believes in Him will go to heaven forever. As Christians we have a context for all of these phrases. But, break it down for the audience and you have a sheer plethora of possibilities;

• Who is God? This will get as varied an answer as the number of times you ask the question. So, we've assumed right off the mark that our audience (whoever it may be) understands God from a purely Biblical perspective. This is as dangerous as it is naive a place to begin from. (Romans 3:11)
  
  
• Who is the only Begotten Son? We have the same problem here as we did for the last question. We live in a World that is filled with false "christs". (Luke 21:8, Ezekiel 22:28) We are sorely remiss to assume that our audience is understanding Christ as He is.
  
  
• What about whosoever believeth? Is it enough to simply believe in Christ? Is this the only relationship we must have to be reconciled to Him? What does the Bible teach about "salvation"? In James 2:19 we are told that even the demons believe and tremble; this does not, however, mean that demons qualify to go to heaven.
  
  
• What about eternal life? So in order to live forever, all I have to do is believe in Jesus? Even if we disregard all of the previous problems that have arisen, we have just presented the gospel as a way for people to save themselves for eternity. We have ensured that their understanding of their relationship with God is strictly for their own benefit. This is prosperity gospel worldview - and it is wrong.

What of Sin? What of Repentence? What of God's Wrath? What of a real and humble relationship with God! John 3:16 is the end of an excellent presentation of the gospel. Yet, in a corrupt world, it is a misleading piece of scripture that can, by itself, potentially do more harm than good. It provides people with enough information and a false confidence to be permanently insulated against ever coming to a real saving knowledge of Jesus Christ in repentance. Pared down, it is cultural syncretism at best. The two most commonly know scripture verses, outside of the Church, are John 3:16 and Matthew 7:1 (though often, not even understood in context of being from scripture), yet both are taken out of context and misunderstood, and used to build worldview. It is sad, and it is a reflection on how we, the Church, present God's Word to the world.

Let's not forget the aspect of this issue, that this commercial by Focus on the Family is so very clearly NOT intended to be evangelism, as is evidenced by the plea for funds at the conclusion of the 40 second clip. This is a commercial intended to elicit an emotional response, while presenting a familiar and comfortable feeling to the viewer. It is a marketing campaign targeted at Christians, thinly veiling itself as evangelism. I would go so far as to suggest that this somewhat sinister approach to fundraising is something that Christ would take great exception to. read Matthew 21:12-13, Mark 11:15-18.

Know God's Word, read it daily, fellowship with other Christians, attend your church regularly, pray as often as possible and be equipped to share the gospel. Know it yourself first, then in all obedience and adequacy, preach the gospel completely and with great clarity. How you present the gospel, taking into consideration those to whom you are speaking, is vital to allow you to be certain that they are hearing what you are striving to convey; attention to method has merit. It's what we're here for. It is time to stop lazy evangelism, poor evangelism and strive to have full, rich lives in Christ.

I highly recommend that you take twelve minutes to hear an excellent and complete presentation of the Gospel, in the video below Paul Washer brings clarity to the Truth, and offers an example of how to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a World that does not want to hear it!

The Gospel of Jesus Christ

This is a short video I put together using a few audio bites from various sermons by preacher and evangelist Paul Washer. The truth is, that coming to Christ is not about simply keeping ourselves out of Hell. It's about seeking after righteousness, it's about falling on our faces before a terrible and awesome and Holy God (Nehimiah 9:32) and repenting for the vile sins in us and continuing to seek after Him in ALL things. Without Christ we are damned.

In All Things, Christ!