Volume 14 Issue 5
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Second Feature Article
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Redemption
In whom we have redemption through
his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his
grace;
Ephesians 1:7
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It is quite true that God is a God of redemption.
Just as valuable a source of good, positive, sermon material is reconciliation; Many Scriptures seem to be saying that, ultimately, everyone will be saved. Among those verses are: John 1:9, John 3:17, John 6:33, John 12:32, Colossians 1:16-20, I Corinthians 15:22, 1 Tim. 2:4. Not to be overlooked is the verse from 2 Peter 3:9, The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. "Not willing that any should perish" certainly sounds very much like the Christian doctrine of hell is being called false. Wow, the collection ought to be good after a sermon like that is preached. Picture the audience throwing away their asbestos suits on their way out of church. Another Biblical "story" gone up in smoke. Life goes on as it is. No need to change anything we’re doing. Just like the disobedient ancient nation of Israel, we’re all heaven bound! Like for them, "The Red Seas will open, the Jordan will part, the manna from heaven will come, the water from a rock will happen." Halleluiah! What a sermon series! People love hearing that "God’s in His heaven and all is right with the world."
If messages such as these, laced with answered prayers and great miracles, are delivered over and over again by a forceful, renowned and respected "pastor," who is there to refute his words? Quite well, the title of such sermon series as these could be labeled the goose that laid the golden egg." Now that is a "story." A "story" laced with false hope, a false sense of security, a false doctrine. It is a one way street of demands with nothing given in return. The same Greek word used in Peter for reconciliation (katallage) is also translated as atonement which is variously translated as "exchange," "exchanging equivalent values" and "in the NT of the restoration of the favour of God to sinners that repent and put their trust in the expiatory death of Christ." The Biblical fact, central to Christian doctrine, is that Jesus died to redeem us, to reconcile us to the Lord God Almighty, on the condition (IF): #1 we repent and #2 put our trust in the sacrifice of Jesus the Christ.
Are we willing to pay the price for our reconciliation, our redemption? What is required of us is only a shadow of the sacrifice made so that we might have this opportunity. And what have we in exchange for His sacrifice on the Cross? Really nothing He wants or needs. He expects a mere token for what He gave for us. Several Bible verses telling us what He expects in exchange for His sacrifice. In Matthew 16:24 Jesus told His disciples they had to deny themselves to be His followers.. Mark 8:34b provides a message as does Luke 9:23b What is most noticeable about the passage from Luke is that Jesus tells us we must take up His cross daily, not just on Sunday or once in a while, but every single day of our lives. If we don’t Matthew 10:38 and Luke 14:27 tells us we aren’t worthy of Him. Jesus bore all the sins of all mankind. We deserve to be obliterated with the hammer of justice; to be crushed under God’s wrath. In order to save us He was crushed under His own wrath. In order to be saved, we must recognize what Jesus does for us every single minute by being as much like Him as is humanly possible.
Southern Baptist Founder of "Serious Christian Ministries," Gary D. Nation, coined a phrase, "Pop Christianity," that seems to fit how so many of today’s "Christians" regard "taking up His cross. It appeals "to the natural human desire to get something for nothing or not much. Pop Christianity, is mostly about what (and how much) God can do for the individual." It looks at just one side of God’s love; that He loves us with a love that doesn’t quit. The ancient Israelites thought "manna" was for free. Consider what finally happened to them.
And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me
. Matthew 10:38
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After that he poureth water into a bason, and
began to wash the disciples' feet,
and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.
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Some "evangelicals" think they can have their cake and eat it too. They believe they can make the church attractive enough and offer enough enticing incentives to attract and keep the "seeker crowd." One evangelical pastor had it all figured out. For Easter he had the interior of the church (what was once called the sanctuary) redone with the idea of making it more appealing to those who just might drop in. After all, Easter is one of the "prime-time" events (along with Christmas) when the non-attending public shows up at church doors. Surprisingly, those who showed up at his church door were primarily members, some of whom hadn’t been to church since Christmas, if even then. At least some benefited, however much, from the additional effort even if it weren’t the coveted "seeker" crowd he was anticipating.
Perhaps, between now and Christmas, this "evangelical" will find the time to reflect on the error of his ways; to assess what went wrong with his Easter preparations and make the necessary adjustments. He shouldn’t have too much trouble finding other "pastors" who have been quite agile at growing their churches by "successfully" drawing in the "seeker" crowd. After all, there is the granddaddy of all seeker churches who started out on a snack-bar roof-top and wound up conducting "services" in a facility for an audience of over 2,7000, a professional choir and orchestra to say nothing of a $6 million dollar organ. Surely he has many lessons to learn from an ambitions evangelical pastor struggling to find the formula for success. If granddaddy doesn’t supply the formula, just down the road is heir apparent who has far outshone his predecessor. Much like his predecessor, he started his church with virtually no resources at all. In a little over 30 years he has grown his church from around 205 to more than 20,000 with eight satellite campuses. Now that is the sweet smell of success. What evangelical examples!
What is the key (keys) to the success of these, and other, outstanding evangelicals? Most evangelical beginners are impressed with the cons used to entice seekers into the "services." Once in, they’ve learned the value of outstanding musical performances in enticing seekers to come back on another Sunday. They have learned the importance that, at best, these selections are minimally Christian. For those trying to attract the "contemporary crowd," these performances give the sound and appearance of a rock concert. Other musical genres such as punk, hardcore, heavy metal, and hip hop groups deal with neatly disguised "issues of faith" as well. If they are really trying to get into the "contemporary scene" beginning evangelicals will have an avant-garde website and their own "social network" (Facebook, Twitter, Vimeo, Twitter, etc.) connections. All of this is well and good. However, it is only half the hog and, in many ways, the least important half.
Unfortunately many beginners stop here, perhaps they think they can have their cake and eat it too – so to speak. The mistake they make at this juncture is to believe once in, and the doors are closed, they can begin espousing something like the "Christian message;" albeit considerably watered down. That’s where they fall flat on their evangelical faces. Even a superficial look at their mentors would show them the error of their ways. The truly big-time evangelical has learned to stand the "Christian message" on its ear by emphasizing the "positive" and de-emphasizing the "negative;" or what might be perceived as negative aspects of that message.
The first things to tone down in the Christian message are discussions of sin, heaven and hell. Then any suggestion that Christianity is the only "true" religion must be eliminated. Following this is the purging of anything that might be construed as intolerant. That eliminates from "pastor’s Sunday messages any hint of negativity toward other religions, one’s sexual preference, abortion, feminism, and even religious absolutes just for a start. In their place, master evangelists emphasize the Truthful statement that God is good and that His love for us is unconditional, inclusive unfailing, undeserved, and unilateral while overlooking the equally Truthful statement that He is a just God. In summary, the "whole hog" of modern day evangelism consists of three statements: #1. God has unconditional love for us, #2. We can fix what is wrong with the world, #3. We of many beliefs and opinions can all get along together. Yet, in
Mark 16:15 we are told to, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature, not tickle their ears with what they want to hear and makes them feel good.A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love
one another;
as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men
know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another
