What Christianity Isn’t…

 

10 Things Jesus Didn’t Die For

            Evangelist Ray Comfort once remarked that he didn’t feel confident in his knowledge of the Bible when he simply knew what it said, but rather knew what it did not say. In that spirit I find that so many non-Christians feel alienated or soured by the impression of Christianity that they receive from their Christian friends and contacts, as well as misconceptions of Christendom as a whole. There really is a lot of truth to the idea that Christians are their own worst enemies. I would love to sit here and write to you and tell you what Christianity is, and what Jesus actually taught and gave His life for, but I know that nobody would read it. Instead, I want to borrow your attention for the next few minutes to help dispel some myths and stereotypes to help you learn just what Christianity isn’t, (and yes, many of these people flock to the local congregations while exuding these completely anti-Christian qualities).

Christianity Isn’t:

1. A Set of Rules and Rituals

Just today I had a self-proclaiming agnostic ask me how many times a day Christians are supposed to pray, and if they are supposed to pray at every meal, or only at dinner. It was in the process of explaining to him the absence of any obligatory prayers that he became surprised when I said that I pray many times each day, many more than most Muslims, Catholics, or any other religions group that appears to be outwardly committed. Jesus Himself said the following during His most famous sermon given on a mount near the shores of Galilee:

“When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:5-8 NASB).

In the very same sermon Jesus addresses the overwhelming obsession with the law and rituals that were so prevalent in first century Judea.

“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill” (Matthew 5:17 NASB).

Here He shows us that we are not to be bound by the law, treat it with obsessive obligation, or substitute a personal relationship with Him for an adherence to the law.

2. A Hypocritical Excuse to Judge Others

            Of everyone I have ever met, professing Christians are often the most hypocritical, self-righteous, and condemning people of all. This should be no surprise to you non-Christians. While definitely a diverse group of individuals I have just described, I love you all nonetheless, and Jesus loves you regardless of your feelings toward Him. To all Christians, I ask you to look to the person of Jesus Christ yet again for divine guidance on how we should share our testimony to these people. We should share the gospel to all people without judgment or condemnation in the same way God viewed us before we accepted His gift of grace; as a unique individual made in the image of God, who He loves, and who has nonetheless rebelled against His perfect law and is in need of a Savior. Our example is, yet again, found in the Sermon on the Mount (seriously, go read Matthew chapters 5-7 right now).

“Do not judge so that you will not be judged.For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:1-3 NASB).        

3. A Political Agenda

            This may come across as a huge shock to quite a few people I know, but believe me or not, Jesus wasn’t a Republican! Neither was He a Democrat, gun owner, college graduate, Ford or Chevy man, or any other group we would like to use Him as our poster boy for. I’ll tell you a little secret if you promise it doesn’t leave this page, Jesus didn’t even have health insurance! All joking aside, Jesus was a radical activist. He fought to break social norms, empower the powerless, show love to the unlovable, and even took great pride in giving to people that which the self-righteous upper class said they didn’t deserve. He didn’t protest against homosexuals or condemn the impoverished as sinners. Oh what a great abuse and disservice (dare I even say blasphemy) we have done our Savior by connecting Him and His message to our petty causes. As He hung dying on two pieces of lumber, He wasn’t concerned with your favorite candidate’s stance on deforestation or public land use policies.    

“Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written, ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him’” (1 Corinthians 2:6-9 ESV).

4. Limited to any one Social Class, Ethnic Group, or Global Region

Let’s keep this one short and sweet. Don’t make the mistake of restricting God geographically or linguistically. Jesus is not the private possession of one people or one language or of one level of education or understanding. He came into the world for all of humankind, regardless of who they are, what language they speak, or where they live.      

“And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age’” (Matthew 28:18-20 NASB).

5. A Commitment Honored One Day Each Week

            Your weekly church attendance, or lack of it, makes absolutely no difference to the state of your eternal salvation. It should be no surprise that we have gotten into a time where church-goers will judge each other by how involved they are with the congregation or if they missed Sunday morning service for a week or two. Many of these same hypocritical people will go home Sunday afternoon and post a verse that they heard that morning to their Facebook or Twitter feed then totally shirk their personal relationship with Jesus (and end any attempt to follow His example) the remaining six days of the week. By the way, Wednesday evening Bible study doesn’t give you any lasting holiness for the remaining half of the week. While a great addition to personal Bible study that I would highly recommend, every Christian should search their hearts and seek guidance through prayer to make sure that they aren’t just trying to be “heard for their many words” by the rest of the congregation. Church involvement is a great time for fellowship, education, serving the local congregation of believers, etc., but God is never going to be any more accessible to you in a church building than He is right know at your computer screen. In Jerusalem, I witnessed many pathetic and heartbreaking attempts of people flocking to sacred sites just to “be closer to God.” I can only rejoice in knowing that my God got back on the plane with me.        

6. Tithing for Salvation

            Many people will pay top dollar for plastic surgery, designer clothing, luxury automobiles, etc. but these same people want assurance about their eternal residence and salvation provided absolutely free of charge. Tithing is a vitally important duty of the church congregation. Tithing supports the church facilities, missions, evangelism, staff salaries (so they can pay back their many years of required education), and should be taken seriously by anyone contemplating membership in a local congregation of believers, but it does not gain you a special seat in Heaven. The idea of being able to buy your way into Heaven is not new and contributed to the Reformation that gave way to the many Protestant denominations we see today. The selling of indulgences has to be one of the most blatantly unbiblical heresies to come upon the church in the last five hundred years. The obvious example to explain my idea would be The Widow’s Mite in Mark 12:41-44, because the widow didn’t give much, but all she had. However, The Rich Man and Lazarus is a little more blatant in its message.

“Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day. And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man’s table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores. Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried” (Luke 16:19-23).

This story’s highest value is as “a testimony of one surprised to be in Hell” (sermon series by John MacArthur), but it still illustrates that poor people unable to contribute are just as welcome into Heaven as the most pious philanthropist.             

7. Volunteering for Atonement

            This point follows along with the previous point, you will never be able to earn your way into Heaven, so don’t even try. The problem with “works-based religions” aren’t that they require obligatory work in the areas of service, charity, evangelism, etc., but rather the blasphemous insult it slaps across the face of our Almighty God. We learn from Ephesians 2:8-9 that:

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NASB).

If we accept that works will allow you to earn your way into Heaven, then we are saying that eternal life in the presence of God is something that He owes you because you did some “good” deeds. Even Mother Teresa was still guilty of transgressing against God’s holy law, destined for Hell, and was in need of a Savior. It certainly wasn’t the poor children in India that earned her place in glory, but a poor carpenter hanging between two thieves on the cross. Christians shouldn’t do good to others expecting some kind of divine reward, but because they are trying to outwardly display and exemplify the person of Christ and be a servant with the same love that God shows us.

“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in;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, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me’” (Matthew 25:34-40 NASB).

8. An Exclusive Club for Perfect People

            The first followers of Christ were made up of radicals, low-lives, and shysters. They were looked down upon by the social elite and persecuted by many, yet the message spread from lowly peasants to imperial elite. If a revival is to take place in the modern church it is going to be with the misfits, degenerates, hoodlums, and ne’er-do-wells. The church is made up of imperfect sinners and to strive to reach anybody but sinners is like hunting for unicorns. Jesus died for people from all walks of life, if you don’t believe that, I have a good book you should read (66 actually).

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16 NASB).      

9. A Gift That Any Person Can Give You

            I already talked about how there is nothing you can do on your own to make yourself a Christian. In the same manner, nobody can make you a Christian, “raise” you as a Christian, or insist that you believe in the incarnate Son of God. The only thing even the most Spirit-led evangelist can do is plant the seed and point you in the right direction. The decision to become a Christian ultimately hinges on the individual’s own knowledge of sin, desire to partake in the gift of eternal life, and have personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:13-14 NASB).   

10. Anything but a worldwide group of believers who are in love with their Savior, desire a personal relationship with Him, and strive to emulate the person of Christ in all things they do.    

            I know that much of what I said may sound harsh and even counter-productive to the preservation of the church, however I wrote this to help eliminate misconceptions that non-Christians may rightly have, and to remind Christians that Jesus Himself came to reform the religious system of the time. If I sound too harsh for your taste, I’m sorry, but I hope that you will take what I’ve said to examine your own life to be sure that you are safeguarding your own heart and mind against the unbiblical issues we face today. Accept Jesus’ gift of salvation and, “Let all that you do be done in love” (1 Corinthians 16:14 NASB).