yesterday, a man visiting vintage said to me that if the church was really living out its call, that it would not settle right with most people, because it would be so radically different than what most of the world looks like. he goes to different churches in the area to see what they are doing and then has a website that is a resource for people looking for a church to be part of. most churches, he says, are hidden away in suburban areas and rarely put themselves in a place to be confronted with the ills of whats actually happening in the world. as we talked, he looked me square in the face and just said that jesus angered most of the leaders around him by doing what he did. and that if a church today was living the way he did, it would cause some serious reaction in those around them.
then dan, in the message he gave yesterday, recounted in the book of john how jesus basically told the religious leaders to their face that they did not know God.
then, i was listening to one of derek webb's live albums today and he was talking about the danger of following Jesus and how those of us who try to make this endeavor our lifes work are not in for a life that will not offend people- that living for jesus will get us into trouble and will not be easy. i love it, because he wasn't saying that we should be jerks about our faith, but that when we present the gospel and live out the gospel, it should not feel cozy and nice all the time. and it should not make everyone happy. and then he goes on to say that loving people is not efficient.
and I am just utterly intrigued, because it feels like in some strange way, these words are shades of my new color.
Monday, June 19, 2006
loving people is not efficient
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2 comments:
I think if we actually were living like Jesus did it WOULD settle right with most people. Just not the majority of people in the western world - ie the people in power. the powerful were the ones who were most rebuked by Jesus. most of the population of earth is NOT powerful - the are the weak and oppressed and exploited. just the ones Jesus gathered around him and showed preference for. and who showed preference for him.
Living for Jesus Christ in truth is going to be offensive to a great deal of people. The closer we walk with Him, we'll begin to see our surroundings a bit differently than before and we will despise the things we once enjoyed doing with our time. Christ came to seek and save the lost, and this will become a part of why we exist here on Earth in our daily lives.
I agree that we must be careful with how we speak to others about the gospel to not appear as "jerks". We must also understand that confronting some people about their need for the Savior will automatically be abrasive to them since alot of us don't like to have to admit our wrong or have our pride lowered an ounce. Christ was nearly killed/ stoned several times merely at the offense of His words spoken to his hearers.
To avoid the offense of the cross, we shouldn't be filling our churches with skits and fluff to attract sinners en masse, but we need to enlighten people to their true sinful state in front of a Holy God to whom we must one day give an account. The punishment of Hell will then make sense, and they will humbly come to Christ in truth and not just give Him some form of mental assent as so many people do who now crowd our churches today (repentance & its meaning is mostly foreign language nowadays).
Christ told us if we follow Him that we will live as He lived (1 John 2:3-6). He was hated by most and if we our like our teacher (Luke 6:40; John 15:18-19) we will be treated in the same manner.
For an eye opening picture of what is happening in our churches today, it will do you wonders to listen to 'Hell's Best Kept Secret' by Ray Comfort and also 'Shocking youth Message' by Paul Washer. Both audios can be found on Sermonaudio.com or by using Google.
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