This week I began to read a book that is challenging me about my faith. The book is called Radical: Taking Your Faith Back From the American Dream by David Platt. He states, ”We are giving in to the dangerous temptation to take the Jesus of the Bible and twist him into a version of Jesus we are more comfortable with. A nice, middle class, American Jesus. A Jesus who doesn’t mind materialism and who would never call us to give away everything we have. A Jesus who would not expect us to forsake our closest relationships so what he receives all our affection. A Jesus who is fine with nominal devotion that does not infringe on our comforts, because, after all, he loves us just the way we are. A Jesus who wants us to be balanced, who wants us to avoid dangerous extremes, and who, for that matter, wants us to avoid danger altogether. A Jesus who brings us comfort and prosperity as we live out our Christian spin on the American dream.”
There was a book I read years ago that made me think about my faith, a book that made me feel uncomfortable in my plush comfortable church. The book was called Tortured for Christ, by Richard Wurmbrand. It was his life story of being persecuted for his faith, spending twelve years in a communist prison. As I went to church that Sunday I felt uncomfortable, not in a way when you fall into sin and don’t feel worthy, but uncomfortable with our comforts. I had to ask myself, “Is this what Jesus died for, so I could go to my suburban mega church, and enjoy all the comforts of home?” But this isn’t restricted to a mega church, it is true of a small church with only a few believers, because no matter where we attend church we need to ask, are we looking to our Americanized Jesus? Do we see Him as one who is there when we need Him, and wants us to be comfortable in our homes, jobs, and in our family? Does He want us to enjoy our TV programs, video games, and the internet? Is He one who doesn’t challenge us because we use our free time for ourselves, or because we don’t want to serve, or reach out to the lost? He wants us to be happy and healthy, but not so concerned about being holy. He doesn’t mind if we look down on those who don’t believe in Him, or avoid them altogether; a Jesus who looks past our self-righteousness when we says things that ridicule those who are different than us, even if that difference is a relationship with Him.
A question comes to my mind, “what were we saved for?” I hear a lot about what we have been saved from, but what was the purpose of salvation? Did Jesus die so He could have a personal relationship with us? Or is there more to the story? Jesus did die to have a personal relationship with us, but does He require something more? He died so we would be saved, but also to spread the message of the gospel to those who are lost. But when I look at the Christian world, I see Christians spending more time debating their beliefs with one another, than reaching out to the lost. Think about it for a moment, in the last month how many discussions have you had with other believers over doctrinal issues. I am not saying doctrine is not important, anyone who knows me knows I think they are very important, but what I am saying is do we spend all our time talking to others about our views over predestination, revelation, and other important issues, while leaving those who don’t know Christ in the dark? Satan has a plan for us; he wants to divide us, in doing so, we will spend time debating each other, verses seeking the lost. We as Christians do this in many areas of life, from politics, denominations, what church we attend, to all kinds of distractions to keep us from witnessing to those who don’t know Christ.
This brings me to the point of the book; which calls us to live radically different. It calls us to see if our view of Jesus is shaped by our American culture, or is he shaped by Scripture; if Jesus is shaped by Scripture than we would want to live radically different from our culture. But I think we live radically in the short-term. How many people do you know who have gone on short-term mission trips and say they have been changed? But months later they are still the same person, a person who only serves those in need when it is across the globe, but not across the city, over even the street? Or we go on a service project and feel we have given our time, or have we relieved our guilt? I am not saying that everyone who participated in these activities is guilty of this, but I am saying this to challenge your thoughts and motives about the issue of being radical. I know I am guilty of reading something or hearing a sermon and then being motivated to be radically different, well at least for a few weeks, and then fall back into my normal routine. Just like the book I am reading, I do hope it is not just something that challenges me to think differently for a while.
How about you, are you a short-term radical? Does your life as a believer change when you read something or listen to someone and then weeks later forget what you had learned? Falling back in to the norm of Christian living? Or maybe your one of those who tries to bring people back to a normal Christian existence when they are trying to live radically for Christ; for example, when I decided to go back to school, I had a few Christians do their best to talk me out of attending Bible College. The strange thing was that unbelievers who I knew thought it was a great idea; there is something very wrong with that picture, when unbelievers encourage me and believers discourage me. But that brings up a question for all of us, are we guilty of this, are we guilty of bring others back in line with a faith that is based on our American culture? I think the only way we can really answer this question is to ask the Holy Spirit to show us. We can be blinded by our own desires and ambitions and miss that we have manipulated Jesus into our image, instead of being transformed into his image. Reread the quote again and think about who Jesus is to you today.
”We are giving in to the dangerous temptation to take the Jesus of the Bible and twist him into a version of Jesus we are more comfortable with. A nice, middle class, American Jesus. A Jesus who doesn’t mind materialism and who would never call us to give away everything we have. A Jesus who would not expect us to forsake our closest relationships so what he receives all our affection. A Jesus who is fine with nominal devotion that does not infringe on our comforts, because, after all, he loves us just the way we are. A Jesus who wants us to be balanced, who wants us to avoid dangerous extremes, and who, for that matter, wants us to avoid danger altogether. A Jesus who brings us comfort and prosperity as we live out our Christian spin on the American dream.
"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:26
And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:27
In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.
Luke 14:33
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