When I was a kid, I thought I knew better than my parents (kind of like most other children). I can distinctly remember an argument with my mother in which she offered to 'slap the tar' out of me. I in return asked her, "what tar?" And, the rest you can say, is history.
While most of us hate to admit it when we are wrong, I think its time to stand up and do just that. The church in the U.S. has forgotten one of it's true and most important callings and that is to preach sin. I think we have forgotten the message. In a world where there is seeker-driven, purpose-driven, emerging, emergent, seeker sensitive and the like, we have forgotten our original command: Preach the gospel.
The gospel is this...Jesus took our sins upon himself on the cross. He died for us. Three days later, he rose from the grave, conquering death and sin. The righteousness of Christ was then given to us whom repent and believe. You see, we have all sinned. None of us are "good people." No one seeks after God (Read Romans Ch. 3). Jesus endured the wrath that was meant for us.
Unfortunately, we don't and probably can't fully realize what that means. If God treated his only begotten son that way, take a moment to think about what you actually deserve. This is what drives me crazy about this 'prosperity' gospel that people like Joel Osteen preaches. The only hope that you have of becoming a 'better you' is to recognize how utterly bad you really and believe that God is going to finish the work that he has started in you. The Bible teaches that Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith.
The wonderful part in all of this is that God chooses us! He redeems us! Not based on our good works, but based on his grace. I like the story of Noah in the bible, I think it is a perfect example. God sees that all of humanity is evil and that every thought of man is constantly on evil. And then it says something marvelous..."But, Noah found grace in the eyes of God." Notice that this was before Noah built the ark. God wasn't looking forward at what Noah would do for him. Grace was given to Noah for no reason in particular other than the fact that it was God's will to extend grace to him. Noah was a righteous man, declares the Lord, but it was only after he had found grace in the eyes of God.
What a powerful account that is! If Noah can find favor in the eyes of God before Christ was born, then how wonderful it is to have the righteousness of Christ accredited to us!
I hope that preachers will see that unless you are preaching about Christ and him crucified for our sins, you are probably on a big adventure in missing the point. Jesus was a man on a mission. He accomplished his mission. Are we going to accomplish ours?
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