Heaven + Earth

Quite awhile ago we had an old school preacher and evangelist come through town who reminded me why I don’t like old school preachers and evangelists. Okay, that’s a sweeping generalization and Billy Graham was a pretty solid guy, I guess. But to my mind there has always been something in their approach that rankled.

Case in point, the gentleman I heard gave a fantastic challenge to our congregation to be Christians who “walk the talk”, then went on to illustrate what “walking the talk” meant by telling us everything we shouldn’t be doing as truly dedicated followers of Christ. Don’t drink, smoke, chew or hang out with those who do. You know, the typical stuff. I hung my head in despair and wondered why on earth we asked this gentleman to speak at our church. It was painful.

No doubt this type of preaching can be motivational. Guilt and fear are motivators. Consequently, several people in our congregation responded that day, and thousands of people around the world are saved today because of this man’s ministry over the years. But how many more have hardened their hearts to the Church and the Gospel of Christ because all they see in a message like this is a teaming sea of judgmental goody-two-shoes looking down their noses at them and everything they enjoy? It breaks my heart. Why? Because, Christ wasn’t like that. Because I’m not like that and my Christian friends aren’t like that, but because of messages like this, people think we are. Because when it comes right down to it, the Gospel has absolutely nothing to do with whether or not we can stop cussing, stop smoking, stop getting drunk, and stop looking at porn.

God does not love us any more or any less based upon what we do. We cannot earn His approval and we do not earn the title of “Christian” by adhering to certain standards of behaviour. This does not mean that God doesn’t care how we behave, simply that our behaviour is not a condition of His love, acceptance and salvation. This is why the Gospel is such good news! The one and only thing that is actually required of us is to believe in Jesus and strive to love Him in return. There is a reason that the verse John 3:16 gets hoisted at every concert and sporting event by some dedicated fan:

“For God so loved the world that He gave is one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

This is the Gospel in a nutshell. When we forget about the never-ending list of do’s and don’ts and focus instead on loving and knowing the Lord intimately through worship, prayer and Bible study, it has been my experience that the behaviour will take care of itself. In our own human relationships with those we love we often act out of our desire to please each other, to support one another and earn each other’s respect and trust. I do the dishes after dinner not because I feel guilty if I don’t (well, maybe sometimes), but because I love my wife and want to please her. Why should our relationship with Jesus be any different? When we love Him, we want to behave in a manner that pleases Him.

I like to think as a society that we are beginning to move past this perception that Christianity is just another religion of do’s and don’ts, but when I hear preachers like the gentleman mentioned above it reminds me that we still have a long way to go. Christianity is the exact opposite of another religion of do’s and don’ts.  In fact it is the only religion that tells us over and over again that what we do doesn’t matter, at least insofar as our own salvation is concerned. Salvation is a gift. Like any other gifts, all we have to do to make it ours is receive it.

So if you’re struggling with certain behaviours and wondering whether or not you’re measuring up to the standards of a “good” Christian, or whether or not God is pleased with you, relax – He is. He created you. He loves you. He even likes you. Love Him in return and see what happens.