Josh Benner

Category: Theology

  • Jesus and eternal life – studying John 3:16-21

    Jesus and eternal life – studying John 3:16-21

    The result of belief 

    In John 3:16, Jesus says: 

    God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

    One of the things that this verse teaches is that belief in the son is necessary. Our society really struggles with that idea. 

    I know that 75% of Americans identify as Christians but when you talk to people about their beliefs, far too many people seem to think that Jesus is this really good guy and that most of us are pretty good too and we’re going to get the benefit of heaven because we’re good and he’s good and wants to bless us. 

    That’s not the gospel. 

    The gospel is that Jesus is good. You’re not. He died in your place. Believe in him as your Lord. 

    Eternal life is reserved for the one who believes in Jesus.

    John refers to eternal life more than any other writer in the New Testament. We saw it referenced in our passage last week when Jesus was talking about his crucifixion. 

    John 3:14-15:

    And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. 

    It is through his death and resurrection that we have eternal life. 

    Couple more noteworthy examples of Jesus talking of eternal life. John 5:24: 

    Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. 

    We are spared eternal death when we turn to Jesus. 

    In John 10, Jesus talks of himself as the good shepherd and talks of eternal life when he says: 

    27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. (John 10:27-28)

    There he is, among other things, talking about the relationship he invites us into. 

    The eternal life which Jesus offers to all who believe in him is both a future promise but a present reality. 

    It’s not that those who believe in Jesus are eligible for eternal life or may get eternal life. 

    But the person who believes and trusts in Jesus as Lord and savior HAS eternal life. 

    And that assurance is there because it is in the work of Christ that the gift of eternal life is given. 

    It’s an eternal promise which also bears present-day results in the life of a believer. 

    That’s actually how the passage ends in verse 21. 

    whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” 

    Not sent to condemn

    Continuing to speak about the salvation which comes through Jesus. 

    Verse 17: 

    For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 

    Verse 17 is not saying that there is no condemnation ever. It’s saying that condemnation was not the purpose for Jesus coming into the world. 

    Jesus came into the world to bring salvation. And that salvation comes through his life, death, and resurrection. 

    Part of what I love about this passage is how simple it all is. 

    Some passages are difficult to understand and are enhanced by a lot of digging into historical context. Some passages are best explained when comparing them to numerous other Biblical passages. 

    These verses are simple enough to understand just through honestly reading them for what they say. 

    God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

    What do you believe in? 

    Is it that Jesus is the Son of God and through him and him alone we have eternal life? Or do you believe in something else? Is your faith in Jesus? Or is it in yourself? 

    We’ve seen the love of God. We’ve seen the result of believing in Jesus. 

    We close this passage with a warning of the consequences of unbelief in Jesus.

    The consequences of unbelief

    John 3:18:

    Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already

    We again are reminded of the catalyst for eternal life. Believing in Jesus. No matter what you do, what you say, how you live, none of that gives you standing before a Holy God. 

    It’s believing in Jesus. Whoever does not believe in Jesus is condemned because there is no other way to God. 

    Jesus did not come to bring condemnation, but you are already condemned and dead in your sins without him. 

    That’s your starting point. 

    So we can either turn to Christ and find life or we can reject Jesus and still be dead. 

    If we could earn our way to God, then God would not have needed to send his son. 

    This passage is not saying “believe what you want.” It’s not saying you’re pretty good.

    It’s saying the opposite. John 3:19-20:

    19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.

    Those two verses sum up the human condition apart from Christ. It confronts us with reality. We are dead apart from Christ. 

    We either believe that or we don’t. We either believe Jesus is the way or we don’t. 

    What do you believe? Jesus is the light, the truth, the goodness, the salvation which has come into the world. And in a dark world, a world of sin and death, Jesus shines. 

    People loved darkness rather than the light. 

    This is why the world needs Jesus. Because we love our sin more than we love the righteousness of God. 

    A lot of sins make us feel good in the moment. 

    Being drunk can feel good at the moment. Looking at things you shouldn’t look at online feels good at the moment. Gossip feels good at the moment. Selfishness and doing whatever you want to do feels good at the moment. 

    A lot of sinful behaviors feel good. Don’t look at me like you don’t look at me like you have no idea what I’m talking about. 

    That’s why the world loves them. The Bible is the realest book that’s ever been written. 

    And in Hebrews 11:25, it talks about the “fleeting pleasures of sin.” 

    It’s not calling sin good. But it is saying that sin is often pleasurable. At least for a season. At least for a little while. If sin didn’t feel good, then the world wouldn’t love it so much. It wouldn’t be a problem. Nobody grudgingly sins. Nobody sins like it’s a chore that you have to do. “Ok, I guess I’ll say this really nasty thing about my coworker.” Nobody has to work at being prideful. 

    No kid had to be taught to sin. It comes naturally. 

    Eve wasn’t tempted with something she thought was bad. It was the promise of knowledge. David didn’t see Bathsheeba and think “oh what an ugly woman.” The world loves sin. 

    Some of those things might be different for different people. But make no mistake. We love sin. Again, please don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying that that’s a good thing.It’s a horrible thing. It’s why we are condemned and separated from God. By the grace of God, there is redemption. 

    But the world hates the light of the gospel, because the light exposes sin. 

    The world is dead in sin. That’s the bad news.

    But there is good news. 

    Borrowing a quote from Kent Hughes in his commentary on John that I’ve slightly modified. 

    God. The greatest being.

    So loved. The greatest act. 

    The world. The greatest company.

    That he gave. The greatest act. 

    His only Son. The greatest gift. 

    That whoever believes. The greatest offer.

    In him. The greatest savior. 

    Shall not perish. The greatest promise.

    But have. The greatest certainty.

    Eternal life. The greatest hope.

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  • The Old Testament and believer’s baptism

    The Old Testament and believer’s baptism

    Baptism is not this arbitrary practice that Christians just decided to start doing. 

    During the ministry of Christ, John the Baptist had a ministry where he was the forerunner to Jesus and he baptized with a baptism of repentance. 

    But John the Baptist didn’t invent baptism. Before he was born, baptism was being practiced. When a non-Jewish person – a gentile – converted to Judaism, they made him or her get baptized. 

    And if you go back further, while you don’t have baptism in the Old Testament, you do have various washing rituals both for ordinary people and for the priests which were meant to show purity and to prepare a person for various religious activities. 

    Especially in a book like Leviticus, there’s this strong emphasis on cleanliness and purity and avoiding that which is unclean. All of that was meant to show the purity which a holy God requires. 

    In Exodus 19, before the giving of the Ten Commandments as part of the covenant with Moses, the Israelites were told to wash their garments. 

    There are also Old Testament passages which seek a deeper cleansing from God. 

    In Psalm 51, as David reflected back on his terrible sin of having an affair with a married woman, he prayed to God for cleansing. 

    1 Have mercy on me, O God, 

    according to your steadfast love; 

    according to your abundant mercy 

    blot out my transgressions. 

    2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, 

    and cleanse me from my sin! (Psalm 51:1-2)

    7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; 

    wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. (Psalm 51:7). 

    David sought that cleansing. Baptism is a symbol of sin being washed away. 

    Jesus died for our sins and when we believe in him, we are washed clean but not only that, we are united with Christ. We are dead and raised in Christ. 

    Baptism is a symbol of that. 

    Romans 6:4-5: 

    4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 

    5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 

    Baptism points us to that. It points us to the gospel. It points us to the death and resurrection of Christ. 

    Baptism also points us to the Church. That’s another reason why I teach believer’s baptism. Because of the theology of the church itself. 

    What is the Church?

    I’m not talking about a building. I’m not even talking about this church. 

    What is THE Church? 

    The Church is comprised of all who are part of the body of Christ. The true church are those who have faith in Christ.  

    Colossians 1:18-23 talks of the imminence of Christ over his church when it says:

    And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. 

    21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast

    The true church is a church comprised of faithful believers in the gospel. 

    It is true that in the Old Testament, you had an ethnic Israel. 

    But the Old Testament also talked of a future time when God would usher in a new covenant where the people of God would be set apart based on faith, not ethnicity. 


    Jeremiah 31:31-33: 

    31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 

    So in that passage, it is pointing back to the Old Covenant and how the Israelites repeatedly broke it.  The passage is also pointing forward to a future time of a new covenant that will be different from what came before. A distinguishing mark of this covenant is that God will put his law in his people in their hearts. 

    That is pointing to people who are true believers. 

    And then in the same passage, the very striking verse is verse 34: 

    34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” 

    What the passage is saying is that in this time of a new covenant, God’s people will know him. It is clear from the Old Testament, that you had many in Israel who were not walking with God, who didn’t love or honor God. 

    But that is not the case with his new covenant community. They shall all know me. 

    You’re not in the new covenant if you don’t know the Lord. In a few minutes, we’re going to take communion. That’s the other sign of the new covenant. Everything in communion revolves around remembering. Remembering the blood of Jesus shed for sins, his body broken for our sins. It’s for people who know and believe in the gospel. 

    There are churches that have hundreds of members on their rolls and a tiny fraction of those people come or have anything to do with that church, but they were baptized one time.

    I do appreciate arguments for infant baptism. But a danger in some churches is that for churches who teach things like salvation through baptism or baptism literally washing away sin or baptismal regeneration, it can give a false since of eternal security to a person who is faithless and cares nothing for the things of God. 

    And again, there are different positions for infant baptism. Not everyone who believes in infant baptism believes that the baptism itself saves. But there are those who do. And when we believe that a baptism can save a person apart from faith, we are resorting to works.

    We also run the risk of turning baptism into a superstition. 

    Ezekiel 36 

    Another key Old Testament passage which looked forward to a new covenant people of God who would have the Spirit of God and live lives for God is Ezekiel 36. 

    What metaphor does Ezekiel use to describe this new spiritual life? Water

    Ezekiel 36:25-27: 

    25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

    The Spirit is talked about as a cleansing in water. It is the Spirit of God in the people of God who have been given a new heart by God and who are enabled by the Spirit to live lives in obedience to God. 

    And this cleansing with water which is compared to the Holy Spirit is for believers. 

    We saw the beginning of that in Acts 2.

    Believers in the gospel have the Spirit of God. The new covenant is people who are united in faith, not united along ethnic or familial lines. 

    Baptism is a response to faith, not a precursor to the hope of future faith. 

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  • The love of God and john 3:16

    The love of God and john 3:16

     “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

    –John 3:16: 

    It’s one of the best known and most beloved verses in the Bible. Still a verse that remains a part of popular culture. 

    In the 1970s and 80s, it was a popular verse to be seen in the background of sporting events. Most notably, it was a man who traveled the country in a bright rainbow colored wig in the 1980s with a John 3:16 banner. At his height, he was traveling over 60,000 miles a year to different games. 

    More recently, football star Tim Tebow wrote John 3:16 in his eye paint for the 2009 national championship game. 

    The John 3:16 reference is found on the bottom of cups at the popular west coast restaurant chain Inn-N-Out burger, as well as at the bottom of shopping bags for the clothing retailer Forever 21. 

    With a Bible verse that’s so well-known, I think we can sometimes become tone deaf to it. 

    It’s a great verse because it tells the gospel as succinctly as any verse in the entire Bible. 

    God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

    It points us to the love of God. 

    But because of passages like this one, I think it’s easy for us as Christians to take the love of God for granted. 

    The idea of a loving God is not universal to world religions. In many religious systems, their gods are not loving, they’re not personal, they’re not perfect, and humanity basically has to do what it can to appease them. In most religions, the pressure is put on man to live up to a certain standard. 

    I’ve heard people argue that “all religions are basically the same.” 

    Have you ever heard that one? 

    I think that’s something that Americans say who have generally never studied other religions and who are basically making an arrogant assumption that all other religions have a similar worldview to Christianity. 

    Not the case.

    Because here in America, no matter if someone is a Christian or the most ardent atheist, we are influenced by Christian teachings and beliefs. It’s at the core of our nation’s founding. It influences our ethics, laws, literature. It influences our understanding of a seven day week, it influences how we see the world. 

    Because it’s so fundamental to America, it’s easy take certain Biblical teachings as self-evident assumptions. 

    It’s kind of like how when you grow up, there’s often a certain assumption in the normality of how you’re raised. It’s what you know. But you get older, and sometimes you realize that things that were always part of your life and which you always took for granted were actually not what everyone else experienced. 

    And in America, that happens with Christianity. And it happens with the idea of a loving God. 

    We hear a phrase like “God so loved the world” and are tempted to think “well…yeah.” 

    Because we think we’re pretty good. Pretty loveable. Why wouldn’t God love us?

    Why would God love you? 

    A perfect and holy God. He can have whatever he wants. He is totally self-sufficient, self-sustained. He doesn’t need any favors. He isn’t bored or lonely. 

    Why would he love you? Who’s your dream person to meet? 

    That’s a frequent ice breaker question to ask. If you could meet any person and I’ll say it can’t be a relative. And it can’t be someone from the Bible. 

    Who’s your dream person to meet? Maybe it’s a famous pastor, or an athlete, a movie star, a writer, a musician, a president. Whoever it is. Imagine you actually got to meet that person. 

    That would be a pretty big deal. Right? Just to meet them. 

    Because it’s someone famous, someone influential, someone people know, someone the world loves. You wouldn’t expect them to know you. You certainly wouldn’t expect them to love you. 

    And those are just people. 

    We have such a habit of putting our celebrities up on a pedestal. Finite, fallible, fallen people. 

    But then you compare that to the infinite and almighty God. A God who spoke the universe into being by the power of his word. The God who sustains all of creation. 

    And he knows you. 

    Little ole you. 

    He’s righteous. Meanwhile, you don’t even live up to your own standards. You don’t even live as good a life as you know you could. And you certainly don’t live up to God’s standards.

    We sin so much that become numb to it and often don’t realize it. The times where we act selfishly or manipulate someone. We have a justification for it. The times we lie. The bad things we think about others. The times we disregard God. The times where we know what we should do, and actively decide not to.  

    But that God knows you. And he loves you. 

    God created humanity and he knew would sin. He made us anyway. 

    God made a covenant with Abraham and made a promise that he knew we would not deserve. He gave it anyway. 

    God sent his son into the world. Jesus was perfect, without sin, came to spread light in a dark world, and God knew the world would kill him. He sent him anyway. 

    God knew that you would be a sinner. But God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. He forgave you anyway. 

    Through Jesus and what he did on the cross. Nothing about this passage lifts up the goodness of man. This is entirely the goodness and love of God. 

    I wanna know what love is 

    Our era has twisted the meaning of love. The culture acts as though real love is accepting whatever someone wants to do. No matter if it’s sinful. No matter if it’s harmful. We call that love. I call it apathy. 

    Love is a righteous God who would forgive people and give them heaven, and spare them hell, even though they are unrighteous and unholy. 

    Romans 5:6-8:

    6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

    God so loved the world. 

    Even though it was fallen and sinful. 

    Even though people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.

    God loves the world so much that he sent his son. 

    Abraham and the son

    In the Book of Genesis, God makes a great promise to Abraham. He’s promised him land, he’s promises him descendants, God promises that he will make of him a great nation. 

    But time goes by, Abraham and Sarah grow old and in their old age, they’ve never had a child, but God makes a promise that Sarah will still have a son. 

    Genesis 17:17 tells us that Abraham fell over laughing. She was so old that it was such an absurd promise. 

    But miraculously God gives them a son. Isaac. Ironically, the word Isaac in Hebrew means “he will laugh.” 

    God gave Abraham this promised son. 

    In Genesis 22, God asks Abraham to sacrifice Isaac.

    An unimaginable, unfathomable thing to be asked. Parents would do anything to protect their kids. You love them. You’d give up your life for their life without hesitation. 

    But God tells Abraham to sacrifice his own son. 

    Abraham trusted in the Lord. 

    He took Isaac to the top of the mountain and was prepared to sacrifice his promised son when the Lord intervened at the last moment. 

    Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide.” (Genesis 22:12-14)

    The Lord provided another sacrifice in that story. He provided a ram. 

    But that was ultimately meant to point to a greater sacrifice which the Lord provided. 

    God would not ask Abraham to go through with the sacrifice of his son.  

    But God gave up his. 

    He gave his only son. 

    No other sacrifice was worthy, no other sacrifice could bear the weight of our sins, and atone for our sins. 

    But Jesus could. God so loved the world and the only way for that world to be forgiven was through Jesus. We see more about the work of Christ as this passage continues. 

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  • No, heaven will not be boring. It will be awesome!

    No, heaven will not be boring. It will be awesome!

    In Randy Alcorn’s wonderful book, “Heaven,” he tells a story of an English minister who was asked by a colleague what he expected after death. The man replied: “Well, if it comes to that, I suppose I shall enter into eternal bliss, but I really wish you wouldn’t bring up such depressing subjects.”

    Our views of heaven are too lowly. In life, things often times leave us disappointed.

    A movie looks hilarious in the previews….and then you see the movie and realize every funny scene was basically shown in the preview. People rave about a restaurant, and you think it’s just ok. We vote for a politician who we think will fix things, and they disappoint.

    Perhaps that’s part of the reason why our views of heaven are too low. Because of earth. We live in a fallen world where there is sin and hurt and where things are never quite right.

    But heaven will be a perfect place

    Heaven should be a source of joy. I think of the things we have on earth. The beauty of nature: spectacular beaches and rainforests, mountains and sunsets, the artworks in Europe, the great architectural achievements.

    Those are all just on this earth.

    But God is making a new heaven and a new earth.

    And the point of the new earth is not for God to make a place that’s WORSE than where we currently live.

    With all of the confusion about heaven, there should be no confusion about this: heaven is going to be perfectly awesome. It is not going to disappoint. You’ll never be there and feel like it didn’t live up to all of the hype.

    We have a lot of stereotypes about heaven. We do tend to have the cartoon view with harps on clouds in white robes.

    We aren’t going to be standing on clouds, wearing white robes and playing the harp. It’s a new earth. And we are going to live there eternally.

    Now just think about this earth…

    There’s a lot to it. Imagine if money were no object, you had the time, you could travel everywhere on earth you wanted to go to? Think about how much there is to explore? The great mountains and oceans.

    You might secretly fear the idea of heaven because you find yourself thinking “is it just going to be like a worship service for the rest of eternity?”

    I think part of the answer to that question relates to what you consider worship…

    For you, is worship just something you push through on a Sunday morning? If even then?

    Or is it a way of life? Is going to church worship? Is raising your kids worshipful? Growing with your spouse? Enjoying a good meal? Seeing the beauty of a sunset? Do you turn to God in prayer? Do you enjoy music that honors God? Do you care about loving and serving people, because it’s honoring to God?

    In short, do you live a lifestyle that revolves around worship? Revolves around God?

    Or do you compartmentalize? I’ll go to church for 90 minutes, for the church box…but for other things I do, those are for me?

    Yes there is worship in heaven! It’s the presence of God. In heaven, it’ll be a better and truer form of worship. In heaven, you won’t be dealing with the stresses of life: missed appointments, issues with finances, family stresses, health concerns. Because God is awesome. God is good and heaven is the place that he has made for his people.

    And there are things about heaven we can’t even imagine.

    Many people in America are social Christians. They’re good, moral people, but they’re lukewarm about God. They know he exists but really they just want to do their own thing. Is that you?

    Ultimately we can have a taste of that now. But to just know that it doesn’t compare with the reality that it will be to actually be in heaven in the presence of a holy God.

    In the Great Divorce, CS Lewis says: “The Blessed will say ‘We have never lived anywhere except in Heaven,’: and the Lost, ‘We were always in Hell.’ And both will speak truly.”

    I’m not saying this to be cynical or snarky. But if you dread the idea of worshipping God in heaven, I think you might need to develop a greater love for worshipping him on earth.

    But no. Heaven will not be a church service for all eternity.

    It’s a new heaven and a new earth and a New Jerusalem.

    Other images that the Bible uses: it’s a great feast! Who doesn’t love a great feast?! Great conversations and laughter. Music, not just from harps! And dancing.

    The Bible talks about it, calling it a wedding.

    In America, we go pretty over the top with weddings. But there are other cultures that take it further than we do. And in the first century world in which this book was written, wedding celebrations could last for a week.

    Wonderful times of joy and laughter.

    A wedding, a feast.

    It’s not “come, join us at the jury duty selection pool of the Lord!”

    There will be wonderful company in heaven. You’ll be able to see Jesus. The Lord who took the penalty for your sins. You’ll be able to see him face to face.

    We’ll have greater perspective in heaven. We’ll be able to continue to learn in heaven. For the things that have been struggles. For the things where we’ve suffered, in heaven, somehow, some way, they will be made right. Perhaps heaven will be so glorious that we just won’t care.

    Or perhaps we’ll have a different perspective and see how all things really did work together for our good.

    It will be a place where God will “wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4). And it’s a place that will be perfectly awesome.

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    Originally published November 21, 2016.

  • The American gospel and the meaning of Easter

    The American gospel and the meaning of Easter

    Statistically, we know that the vast majority of Americans believe in some form of a higher power. There are relatively few who are atheists. Since people do believe that there is something, and since it’s so easy to think of the majority of Americans as Christians, many simply attach themselves to Christianity.

    But what does it mean? Christianity?

    For so many, we call ourselves Christians but then never pray, or read the Bible, or go to church, or experience fellowship with other believers, or show any actual desire to have a relationship with Jesus. Without these, how can a person be Christian?

    We live in a culture where it is accepted to be a “Christian” so long as we have a faith that is extremely passive, watered down, and without conviction. In the eyes of the world, when we have a faith that actually impacts the way in which we live our lives, we’re labeled as extreme, strange, ignorant, or bigoted. For people who actually have faith, they’re thought of as being “really religious.”

    I argue that to be religious but not really religious is to be religious, not really.

    Contrary to popular opinion, the gospel isn’t that we just need to be a “good person.” To say that this was the basis of the message of Christ is a complete misunderstanding of the New Testament because He never says nor implies that our moral goodness is the thing which will save us. In fact, the point of the gospel is that our own actions cannot save us.

    All of us sin, and our sin separates us from God. But we are saved because of God’s grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. That is the heart of the gospel. That we need Christ. Some might not like that because it’s exclusive. But the gospel is meant to be inclusive. Jesus died for all who will accept His gift of grace.

    Throughout the history of the church, there have been those who have unfortunately distorted the gospel or misused it. We can point to events like the church’s Crusades or her Spanish Inquisition. In modern times, we hear of abuses within the Catholic Church, and radicals like the Westboro Baptist Church who protest funerals. It’s easy to look to these things and to become disgusted with Christianity.

    But if Christ really died and really rose from the dead, the fact that people distort the message doesn’t change the reality that He came to forgive you of your sins. It’s not the message of the gospel that is the problem. The problem is man’s selfish usage of the gospel.

    But why should we be Christians? In our daily lives, we see people who claim to know God but who are hypocrites…

    That’s the point!

    Man is sinful! We are immoral. We were incapable of morally cleaning ourselves up.

    We needed a savior.

    And a savior came, and died, and rose, and lives.

    Some may argue, if there is a God, why does He allow people to tarnish His message?

    It’s because people aren’t spiritual robots. We are willing, moral beings. And there are people who choose to do morally egregious things in the name of the gospel. But that isn’t a shortcoming of the gospel. Like a shinning light, it clarifies the darkness of our hearts and shows our desperate need for grace.

    Some may want to live as Christians, but feel that they can do a better job on their own, instead of through organized religion. But the idea that you can be a Christian apart from church contradicts the teachings of Christ. Certainly, there are bad churches. But there are also a lot of very good, Christ-centered churches. One bad experience, or years of bad experiences are no excuse for someone whose trying to live as a Christian to ignore church.

    In discussions about religion, I’ve often times said that the gospel is either the most important thing in the universe, or it is completely irrelevant. Jesus was the God who died for our sins, or He wasn’t. If He was, we should worship Him. If not, then He is useless to us. The idea that Jesus might have just been a great moral teacher contradicts Jesus’ own teachings. His message revolved around Him being the savior of the world. If He lied about that, He cannot be a great moral teacher.

    So what do you believe? Where do you stand with Jesus? Was He God or was he just some guy?

    Jesus said “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for you souls.”

    No matter what you’ve done, no matter who you’ve hurt, no matter what addiction is suffocating your life, no matter what dark thoughts you have, it’s nothing so great that the risen Lord cannot forgive you.

    But where to start?

    As I’ve already said, I think it comes down to prayer, studying His word, getting involved in a good church, fellowship with Christians. Jesus said that we are to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” If you do that, I believe that God will lead you to truth.

    It’s not a self help message. Belief in the gospel isn’t a promise that you won’t have financial problems, or illnesses, or family issues, or countless other stresses and frustrations. The gospel is that you get God, and no matter what else is happening in this life, His truth will strengthen, and give purpose, and sanctify you.

    Maybe you’ve lived your entire life and said you were a Christian, but you’ve never really had faith. The gift of grace and the offer of salvation is just as real for you today as it is for a person whose never thought about the gospel.

    It’s easy to associate Christianity with a bunch of rules and a list of things that you can’t do anymore. If you truly accept the gift of grace by faith, no sin can separate you from God’s love or from the forgiveness that you have. A true faith in the gospel will also result in a transformed life. Certain things will become less appealing. But acting a certain way and following a particular list of rules is not what makes you a Christian. If it were, you would be earning your salvation which would have made Christ’s rising from the dead pointless!

    However, a person who is a Christian who has faith will have a life that is changed and will naturally live differently. This transformation is what shows that the faith is genuine.

    On the first Good Friday, when Jesus suffered that horrendous death for our sins, the Bible says that two other condemned criminals were also crucified with the Lord:

    39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” 
    -Luke 23:39-42

    Two condemned thieves found themselves condemned with Jesus. Both were guilty. One wanted Christ to work on his terms, the other recognized his guilt, and through faith sought forgiveness.

    All of us our guilty.

    Which thief will you be this Easter weekend?

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    Originally posted April 6, 2012

    Photo credit information: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en

    Other scriptures in this essay from:
    Matthew 11:28-29
    Matthew 22:37