The Gospel isn't for everyone

The Gospel isn’t for everyone

Disclaimer: You probably won’t like this post. I know, I’ve been resistant to write it, but it seems like it is time. 

The other day I was on my way  to the post office and I saw a man walking down the street. I automatically assumed the man was up to no good based on his appearance.  He looked angry, disheveled and had that generalized glaze you see in the eyes of addicts. As I was judging this stranger by making assumptions concerning his lifestyle and history the Lord convicted me. Does this man need the gospel? Yes. Did I want to be the one that stopped everything I was doing to give it to him? No. My own fears, my own prejudices were preventing that. How many other people that are in need of the gospel that would never receive it from me because of my own fear? More than I want to consider. 

By this point I was at the post office and had completed my errand and on my way to the next one. It was then that God brought back an odd memory from 5^th grade. As I have mentioned before I did not grow up with an abundance of friends.  When I started 5^th grade most of my friends were in a different class then mine so I did not see them much, couple this with my parents’ divorce, and it wasn’t a great time in my life. Yet, I did make a new friend that year. We will call him Matt. Me and Matt had known each other for years and were friends but in 5^th grade we spent a lot of time together during school. We had a love for Ninja Turtles, Nintendo and professional wrestling. We also liked to draw and would draw video game related stuff frequently. In one particular class we would play a weekly board game that required you knowing all your state capitals to win. It was very competitive with Matt winning more so then I did.  We stayed friends through middle school, but by high school we never had any classes together and would just chat occasionally in the hall. I didn’t see him after graduation but did get to talk to his mom on occasion and he was doing well at college. Years later I would find out that sometime after college he got involved in drugs and had been in and out of jail since. 

Then it hit me. The angry man I saw walking down the street earlier was my friend Matt. I had condemned my old friend to hell because I didn’t like the way he looked anymore. 

“Fear’s a powerful thing
It can turn a heart black you can trust.
Take a God-filled soul,
fill it with devils and dust.” – Bruce Springsteen

It’s easy to be afraid these days. Just check some local headlines from this week.

     - Body of girl, 5, in vacant trailer home
     - Mom had son shoplift beer, diapers
     - UNC Professor dies after Chapel Hill Mugging
     - Ku Klux Klan hands out candy in SC

That’s local. That’s driving distance for us.  It’s not upstate NY or downtown LA. It’s not a far off place like the Middle East or Africa. It’s terrifying and depressing and makes you feel hopeless. It also makes you want to lock your doors and keep a gun by your bed.  It also likely reinforces negative stereotypes in your mind of people that commit these sorts of crimes. You likely have an image of those kinds of people in your head and make efforts to avoid them. We all know what parts of town not to go regardless of what city we live it. It’s prudent and useful information to know.  It’s also primarily fear driven.

If anyone has learned properly to harness the power of fear it’s the media. Fearful messages spread, especially those that play into our anxieties. They capitalize on it, after all fear is very lucrative.  They tell us to be afraid of terrorists, homosexuals, heterosexuals, law enforcement, criminals, the government, illegal immigrants, legal immigrants, liberals, conservatives, the rich and the poor, etc. etc.  There’s so much to be scared of! I wish someone would do something!

"'Cause everybody's so scared
We don't wanna go there
We don't wanna make a move
We got all our lives to lose
Screaming in the dark while we just play our part out
I play along
Like I don't know what's going on

Somebody make a move
Somebody make a move
Please somebody make a move
We all know
We all know what's going on” – ICON for Hire – Make a Move

There is nothing more contrary to God and the things of God than fear.

2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

1 John 4:18 “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.”

God is love. Per the above scripture that love casts out fear. Love and fear cannot co-exist. When God redeemed us He did so by giving us a new spirit that is to be of love, and a sound mind. Not the paranoia that fear drives us to. 

There should not be a more secured and proactive people than the church of Jesus Christ. Yet, we exist as one of the most fearful, reactionary, organizations in existence. The reason we are like this is because we believe the Gospel isn’t for everyone.Now we know what John 3:16 says:

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

We also have a good answer for when people ask “What are the most important commands in the Bible?”

Matthew 22:36-40 “36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

We know those, and quote those but it doesn’t go beyond that. 

So what’s the difference between loving your neighbor and loving your neighbor as yourself? We all love ourselves. We’re very concerned about our own welfare, our own comfort, safety, interests, health, etc. We have a hope we want to realize it. We have a desire we want to fulfill it. We have a need we see to it that it gets met. Is that how we treat other people? Are we even that good to our friends? Our family? Our spouse and children? What about random strangers? This is a difficult command. In fact it’s an impossible command. With a command so difficult you really need to figure out who your neighbor is don’t you?

Luke 10:29 “But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

The teaching of the day was to love your neighbor. However, there also was a very narrow definition of neighbor. It consisted of people that you liked. Tax collector? Not your neighbor.  That prostitute? Not your neighbor. Those people caught in adultery? Not your neighbor. Criminals? Not your neighbor. Gentiles? Definitely not your neighbor. 

Jesus then answers his question, and by proxy our question, with a parable. The parable of the Good Samaritan. Who is your neighbor? Everyone. The world that Jesus died for. You know who that includes? Everyone. Also, that guy you just made an exception for. Annoying neighbor? Your neighbor. Person you blocked on Facebook? Neighbor. That co-worker you wish would quit/get fired? Neighbor. Relative you wish would move to another state/country? Neighbor. Woman who is teaching her son to shoplift? Neighbor. KKK  member handing out candy? Neighbor.  Atheists trying to get all public expressions of Christianity outlawed? Neighbor.  Young men that mugged and killed the UNC Professor? Neighbors.

It’s difficult to love folks, because love is messy. What’s the most loving thing you can do for someone? Give them the gospel, both in word and deed. But Glen! You say. Those people aren’t deserving of the gospel. Agreed. Neither are we. No one is. 

Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast”

We so quickly transition from grace right back to the law. “That’s not true!” You say. Sure it is. We all do it. We have an image of what people at our church should look like. We know their skin color, clothing choices, background, personality, sexual orientation, political preferences, etc. etc. When they don’t immediately look like that when they walk in the door they can either conform or walk right back out. It’s no different than telling someone they are too sick to enter our hospital. We can’t help you we say. The gospel is not for you. Is it any wonder the headlines are so horrible? 

“Pointing my fingers the problems still linger
They keep getting bigger and I hold the trigger
Running with fire, I live like a liar
Please somebody make a move” – ICON for Hire – Make a move

This is all contrary to the teachings of Christ. Contrary to the gospel. You see as Christians, in theory, we believe that the absolute worst thing that could ever happen has already happened. The torture and crucifixion of Christ. We killed the one person who had never done us any wrong, that only had our benefit in our mind. Who loved us more than anyone would ever love us. We also believe that that absolute depravity of man cannot touch the power of the resurrection. That there is no sinner so far from God that His grace cannot bring him back. The Bible teaches us that the resurrection of Jesus changed the world. Even if the world doesn’t want to admit it yet. In fact, since the resurrection we have been on an unalterable course towards renewal and rebirth. The power of the resurrection heals all, including our fear. 

“This is not the time for labeling, blaming, condemning, conserving, protecting, defending.  For those of us who really believe in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, this is the time to speak with tenderness, compassion, confidence, love.  It is not the time to answer every question that is asked us or accept the terms that are given to us by the world.  When the wrong question is asked, we offer better questions.  When we are given a multiple choice test, we answer in essay.   When we are asked for a clear answer, we respond with a parable.  When we are asked for a position, we give our testimony.” – Jonathon Martin - Renovatus Church

Shortly after you read this you are going to get a chance to witness to someone in word and/or deed. What are you going to do with that chance? It doesn’t require power, fame, money or influence. It just takes the Gospel. 

Matthew 28:18-20 “18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore[a] and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen”

Are you going to church on Sunday?

Since I became a Christian in Feb of 1998 I have been inviting people to church. With what most people would consider a low success rate. One aquaintance of mine whom I had repeated multiple times "You keep inviting me and I keep not showing up." I remarked "There's always tomorrow." What might surprise you is that the majority of people whom I have invited to church consider themselves Christians. Somehow, we have disconnected Christianity from the church. The church is the body of Christ (however, imperfect it may be) and you can't disconnect Christ from the very church He gave his life for. I also hear " I don't need to go to church to be a Christian." True. However, the scripture is very clear about the importance of being involved in a local church as part of your walk with the Lord. Below is an excerpt from Dr. John Bechtle concerning the importance of church attendance. Enjoy!

Glen

RE YOU GOING TO CHURCH SERVICE TOMORROW?
Some people joke about the “Bedside Baptists” who attend the "Chapel of the Tube" on Sunday mornings. But it's more than a joke. Many people refuse to get near a church unless their nephew is playing the role of a sheep in the Christmas pageant! They claim they can get more out of a walk in the woods than from the typical sermon.

Can a Christian survive apart from a church? Some Christians have no choice. They are trapped in a hospital bed, or working in an isolated area where no church exists. And God is certainly sufficient to care for their needs. You can still get to heaven if you can't go to church.

But even though it's technically possible to live the Christian life in isolation, it's certainly not the norm.

When you become a Christian, you are called into a relationship with God (1 Corinthians 1:9). But I John 1:3 makes it clear that we enter a fellowship that goes two ways: with God and with other Christians.

The New Testament never divides Christians into the church members and the non-church members. All the way through, it assumes that everybody participates in their local assembly. It gives no samples of Christians who belong to the “universal church” but have no link with a local church. One scholar has said that "any idea…of enjoying salvation or being a Christian in isolation is foreign to the New Testament writings" (Alan Stibbs, God's Church, p. 92). Wherever Christians are within range of each other in the New Testament, they meet. Every time the apostle Paul comes to a town in the book of Acts where there are no Christians, he wins a few converts and immediately organizes them into a small group - a little church.

Acts 20:7 reveals the practice of the early church: "And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached to them." For Christians in every location, regular gathering was a part of life.

It's illogical to say that you are merely part of the worldwide, universal church, yet refuse to gather with the segment of that universal church that exists in your geographical area. It would be like claiming you have a car, when the right fender is in Phoenix, the engine is in Tucson, and the wheels are in Paradise Valley! You don't have a car; you have the beginning of the inventory for a junkyard. It just won't function until the pieces are put together.

The church must be together to carry out many of its purposes.

Here are some irreplaceable pieces of the Christian that cannot happen when you live in isolation from the church:

USE OF SPIRITUAL GIFTS - I Corinthians 12 makes it clear that God has given spiritual gifts to every Christian. And verse 7 states unmistakably that these abilities are not provided to make you feel good; they are abilities to minister that should be used for the common good! I Peter 4:10 commands us to use spiritual gifts to help each other.

The same passage makes it clear that we meet with other Christians so they can use their gifts to strengthen us. God's gift of a preacher or teacher is wasted if no one comes to hear them speak.

MUTUAL MINISTRY - The church is pictured as a body in I Corinthians 12, and Paul explains that each part of the body exists to meet the needs of other body parts. In the same way, God intends each of us to meet the needs of other believers, using our strengths to help in their areas of weakness. I Corinthians 12:21 expresses it this way: "The eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you." Neither can a Christian claim to be self-sufficient today.

The New Testament is full of “one another” commands. We are to comfort one another (I Thessalonians 4:18), build up one another (I Thessalonians 5:11), confess our sins to one another (James 5:16), pray for one another (James 5:16), and many more. How can we obey these directives if we stay away from the gathering of believers?

ACCOUNTABILITY - God designed the church as a place where spiritual leaders could watch out for our welfare, as a shepherd guards the sheep (I Peter 5:1-4; Hebrews 13:17). A Christian who answers only to himself can easily rationalize sinful attitudes or actions; regular contact with other Christians can keep us sharp.

A single verse should actually be sufficient answer for this question: Hebrews 10:25 warns its readers against “forsaking the assembly of yourselves together, as the manner of some is.”

Author: Dr. John Bechtle.

Like no one else

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts I have some anxiety issues. When the anxiety builds it gets hard to eat or sleep or really do much of anything. The most nervous I’ve ever been in my life was roughly the day of my wedding and the few days before it. That was on July 9^th 2005 which is 9 years ago this coming Wednesday.

By this point 9 years ago the anxiety was in full swing. The apartment lease was signed and all the furniture was moved in. We had the flowers, the dresses, the tuxes, the food, the venues, the favors, and the very large number of extremely helpful and loving family/friends that were making all those things happen and keeping me and Lindsey sane. Well, at least as sane as they could. 

With everything running smoothly why was I so nervous? Because this lovely woman had agreed to marry me and was following through on it! 

Talk about the grace of God!

By my wedding day I hadn’t really eaten or sleep hardly any in at least two days. I woke up on my own at 6am and could not go back to sleep and this was after not doing to bed until almost 1am. All my stuff was in Greensboro and I was staying with my friend Shea. I went down to this room (while he was still asleep) and started playing his Playstation 2 to try and distract myself.  That worked for about an hour or so and then it stopped being effective. I went ahead and went to the church so I got there about 8:30 or so and didn’t need to be there for several more hours. I don’t remember a ton of what all happened from that point until it was time for wedding other then constantly chanting to myself in my head “don’t throw up, don’t throw up, don’t throw up”. David was so concerned he thought I was going to pass out before the wedding started. He told me “Well if you do pass out in the service, I can catch you with one hand and hold you up since you are so skinny.” Or something very similar to that. 

Finally, after all of that, David said those magic words “All rise” and “Here comes the bride” started playing. I looked at the front of the church and there stood, and who remains to this day, the most beautiful woman I have ever seen walking towards me with the biggest smile. We say “I do” and the next thing I know. It’s been 9 years later and my house is full of these!

 

 

Want to know a secret? She still makes me nervous. Yesterday at lunch we were eating at bojangles with our church family and we had this brief moment where no one was at our table but the two of us and I remark “It’s kinda like a date?” and she said “So what should we talk about?” and I looked at this beautiful woman whom I wake up to each morning and got super nervous and tongue tied! I love it!

Honey, it’s been such a wonderful 9 years and I pray for many many more. I love you! Happy Anniversary!

Glen