An Uncomfortable Christianity

Do you want to hear a really sad statement from the Scriptures?

So they feared the Lord, and from every class they appointed for themselves priests of the high places, who sacrificed for them in the shrines of the high places. They feared the Lord, yet served their own gods—according to the rituals of the nations from among whom they were carried away. (2 Kings 17:32-33)

They feared Yahweh but served other gods. These were not the people of Israel. These were the people brought in by Assyria to resettle Israel after taking the people of Israel captive. It is what Assyria did after conquering a nation, they would resettle them in another place. It is actually an intelligent move, taking away the familiarity so the people would no longer have something for which to fight. It got rid of any underground, rebellious movement.

The people coming in learned of Yahweh, all that he had done for Israel, the great show of power, his promises, so they feared him, respected him, but they worshiped that which they were familiar. It seems to be some human trait that we have, sticking with the things that are familiar to us. We tend to stick with what our parents did. We tend to stick with their beliefs unless they prevent us from doing what we want to do.

When people are presented with Jesus and the great gift he has offered today, there can be general appreciation shown. When people are told of his love and his desire to rescue us from our destruction, there can be a moment of awe. They may respond to the invitation. They may even come to church but they aren't going to allow their "fear" of Jesus, their appreciation, to interfere with their life, their priorities. So what they become is a religious person, living the rituals, ceremonies, and doing what is expected, but nothing of the old has changed. They still worship the gods of their youth.

This is the reason Jesus did not send us out to make converts or to "win souls". He told us to go into the world and make disciples. It took him three years to prepare his disciples to become apostles and even then the work did not really take root until the arrival of the Spirit. But Jesus lived with, worked with, slept with, ate with his friends, teaching them as they went along, for three years. He invested himself into them. The fact is we can't disciple from a distance. If we want people to know Jesus we have to invest ourselves into their lives.

Too often evangelism is treated like the old gun slingers, where we put a notch in our belt for everyone who prays the sinners prayer, but they walk away unaffected and we never see them again. Maybe a seed has been planted for another time but the influence of their gods is pretty strong. They need someone who is willing to demonstrate Jesus' love by laying down their life, investing time and effort, to walk alongside, teach, support and encourage until they are strong in the Lord. Preaching is for those called to it but we are all called to make disciples.

We have made Christianity too easy, too comfortable and very few actually read, know and act upon the Scriptures. In some ways we are no better than those who fear Yahweh but serve other gods. To love Jesus is to obey him. To obey is to do what he has commanded. Among the things he has commanded is that we are to love others. To love others is to introduce Jesus. To introduce Jesus is to lay down our life in order to invest in their eternity. Not so comfortable.

Before The Beginning Of Time

It is difficult for us to imagine anything beyond this moment. We do it; we manage to imagine but often it is just within our own experience. We imagine things based on our past experience. It is hard for us to imagine anything beyond our own experience. Time is a difficult concept for us to handle and eternity even more so. It is hard for us to understand God and his relationship with time so we continue to think of him in a linear manner. So when we say that God knew everything before he created it we see ourselves fixed, engraved, stuck with a certain future.

God's foreknowledge does not rob us of our choice. We have freedom to make our own decisions, regardless of the consequences but God simply knows what they are and has made his plans accordingly. Psalm 139 is one of the great portions of Scripture that reveals this:

O Lord, you have searched me
    and you know me.
² You know when I sit and when I rise;
    you perceive my thoughts from afar.
³ You discern my going out and my lying down;
    you are familiar with all my ways.
⁴ Before a word is on my tongue    you know it completely, O Lord. (vv. 1-4)

And then this:

All the days ordained for me
    were written in your book    before one of them came to be. (v. 16)

Some people are threatened by this and feel they are trapped. like a character in a novel. However, foreknowledge does not rob me of my choice and decisions. Someone knowing what I will decide does not mean that I no longer have the power to make that decision.

Now knowing this about our God, does it not strike you as something incredible that he knew everything that would happen and still he went ahead with it? He knew the heartache we would cause him. He knew that we would reject him. He knew the hatred that would be produced in us. He knew the cost he would have to pay for us. He knew all this and made his plans accordingly. Can you see why the Apostle Paul stated:

This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 1:9-10)

Yes, nothing about God is new. He didn't just suddenly change over night. He didn't even gradually change. He is the same throughout the Word, it's only that we have gained a better understanding. Over time more has been revealed. The people of the world did not know of God in the same way pre-Moses as they did after Moses. It had nothing to do with Moses and everything to do with God making himself known. Further revelation was given through Jesus. Now possessed by the Spirit we can have an intimate knowledge of our God.

It isn't that God suddenly became a God of grace. In order for God to do all that he has done over human history, he had to make those decisions at the beginning. He had determined his grace before he commanded light into existence. The grace we enjoy today was given to us before he even started on creation. That is pretty awesome. When God makes a decision he does not change his mind or his ways. He has granted us grace, it is ours. He made that decision before he even started on his creation so don't deny him that glory. Accept his grace and live your life under that grace for his glory. What an awesome God we serve!

Making the Most Of Every Opportunity

I don't know if you have noticed but there is a sense of urgency in the Spirit. Time is growing short for this world. We can celebrate that because our great desire is to go home, but there is also a lot of work here left to do. If it was just about us we could sit back and relax. But it isn't about us. It's about all those lost in the darkness, who have no idea what is coming.

We are told in the Word:

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:15-16)

If we have been fooling around with our life, not taking our responsibilities seriously, it is time to set the foolishness aside. We have to be wise and look for every opportunity the Spirit creates for us to tell others about Jesus. We have to be obedient in the mission we all share. There are billions of people counting on us to allow Jesus' glory to shine through us.

There is only one thing that should occupy us these days:

Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. (Ephesians 5:17)

Anything you do outside of our Lord's will is a waste of time and opportunity. The last thing we want to do when Jesus returns is realize that we have wasted our life. What a sad day that would be.

So we should take stock of what we are doing with our life. What are we filling our days with? What occupies our thoughts? What are we pursuing? What are our desires? Have we checked them against Jesus? Do we even understand our mission? Are we giving priority to the will of God?

If we have been immature it is time to grow up. If we have been selfish it is time to die to ourself, take up our cross and follow Jesus. If we have been distracted it is time to refocus on Jesus. Whatever has divided us has to be caste aside. It is time for God's army to be mobilized around the world or the sake of the world. We don't have much time left.