It was not too long ago that I sat as a visitor in a thriving church. The music was really good, the people were nice and the preaching presentation was fine. Dring the last half of the sermon, the pastor shared about the people’s need for Christ. It was obvious that his talk was pointed to unbelievers.
The pastor asked if the people felt unfulfilled. He also asked if they needed a little something more in life to make them happier. The summation of his talk was that our lives may be pretty good, but they would be better if we would just accept Christ as our Savior. I left that day with a knot in my stomach because the amazing truths of the gospel were watered down to a self improvement strategy for wealthy Americans.
In Ephesians 2, Paul discusses why the gospel is really good news. Christ did not come to make our good lives a little better. Paul reminds these Christians that Christ came because they were DEAD in their trespasses and sins. They also walked according to the course of this world and were controlled by Satan himself. Their situation was even worse than that because they lived in the lusts of the flesh indulging in their sinful desires. By nature, they were children of wrath just like Satan, their father.
Will we take a moment to remember that this is who we were apart from Christ? You and I were children of darkness and had no hope. Dead people don’t have the option to cry out for life. We were without hope, destined for eternal punishment for our rebellion against a Holy God.
BUT (this is an amazing statement), BUT God, being rich in mercy (why?) because of His great love with which He loved us, made us alive with Christ. The GOOD news is so GOOD only because the BAD news is so BAD. Ephesians 2:6-10 explain more why God did this and I would recommend soaking in the chapter for a while and remembering why this precious gospel affects every aspect of our lives. Intimacy, identity, community… all of our lives are shaped by this amazing reality.
Let us never water down the gospel. If you are not in Christ today, seek Him. Not because He will make a good life a little better but because eternity depends upon it. Only two choices remain – either we pay for our sins for all eternity or we accept Christ’s payment for our sins and then follow Him as Savior and Lord for all our days.
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Interestingly, I’ve been thinking about this very thing for the past couple of days—who I am apart from Christ. It does make me rejoice anew in the gospel.
It is frustrating that many churches do not bring us to repentence and teach us where our new identity lies- In Christ.
What’s even more frustrating is how long it takes the reality of our new identity to sink in, even when we ARE being taught it by our churches.
I hear you chad. I guess I have a question about what we are supposed to do about it. I am sure that if you were to present your frustration with the pastor of that church he would agree with you and say that It is just a matter of symantics… but I am so tired of things being just a matter of symantics. I can justify and condemn any number of people or doctrines on words and what they mean. Sometimes I wonder if words are sufficient at all. I know that One word is… the one who became flesh.