Today as I was studying, I was reminded of all the confusion as to the expected response when someone begins to follow Jesus Christ. I am not saying that Jesus was confusing – in fact He was clear:
“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”
Since Jesus spoke those words early in his ministry, as recorded in Mark 1:15, many have tried to clarify those words and in the process, damaged this simple proclamation and brought confusion to the masses.
We must be very cautious of ideologies
or supposed “theologies” that supplant Christ as the basis of our salvation and insert us into the equation. Here are just a few that came to mind:
· Easy believism – this would be on the far extreme side of the “works” mentality. It is the say a prayer and move on mentality, as if salvation is about an “open sesame” phrase we need to repeat. It is fire insurance for those who lack the desire to fully consider their sin and that Christ is calling them to life change. Christ is a like a lottery ticket instead of a Lord and Savior. This mantra is entered into with little understanding of their standing, but they want to be able to check a box on their list and move ahead with their own idea of life. They like the idea of “Jesus” and “love” and decide to give it a whirl. No sign of conviction of sin and no amazement of Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf. Although this has been termed “easy-believism” it is really no believism at all, at least not the belief that Jesus and the scriptures call us to. It’s easily believing in self, in a prayer, and in an entrance into heaven without even meeting it’s owner, creator, and King. Let’s be careful we guard against introducing our children to a prayer and instead introduce them to a God they can walk and talk with – that understanding and conviction doesn’t come easy.
more to come on other errors…. let me know your thoughts...
or supposed “theologies” that supplant Christ as the basis of our salvation and insert us into the equation. Here are just a few that came to mind:
· Easy believism – this would be on the far extreme side of the “works” mentality. It is the say a prayer and move on mentality, as if salvation is about an “open sesame” phrase we need to repeat. It is fire insurance for those who lack the desire to fully consider their sin and that Christ is calling them to life change. Christ is a like a lottery ticket instead of a Lord and Savior. This mantra is entered into with little understanding of their standing, but they want to be able to check a box on their list and move ahead with their own idea of life. They like the idea of “Jesus” and “love” and decide to give it a whirl. No sign of conviction of sin and no amazement of Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf. Although this has been termed “easy-believism” it is really no believism at all, at least not the belief that Jesus and the scriptures call us to. It’s easily believing in self, in a prayer, and in an entrance into heaven without even meeting it’s owner, creator, and King. Let’s be careful we guard against introducing our children to a prayer and instead introduce them to a God they can walk and talk with – that understanding and conviction doesn’t come easy.
more to come on other errors…. let me know your thoughts...
This is a great topic and I just had to put my two cents in here. I love what you said and I see this as a huge problem not only in the states but really all over the world. One of the beauties of teaching through the Bible chronologically is that it nullifies easy believism. In Dinangat we knew we needed to lay a solid foundation showing the people who they were in relation to a holy and just God. Showing them that because of their connection to Adam they were deserving of an eternity in hell no matter how many good or bad things they did. Then when we got to the law and it showed them (like a mirror) just how much they had fallen short of what God requires they knew they were in big trouble. These things were key to them understanding that they alone were not going to be able to ‘fix’ the problem, either by good works or saying a ‘special’ prayer or using some cliché like, “Ask Jesus into your heart,” etc. This was real and its serious stuff.
ReplyDeleteWe took 10 weeks cementing these concepts before even mentioning the name of the kidaak aamna (the saving man), Jesus. The whole time we were pointing towards their need of the Savior. Some people may think that we were/are crazy for taking so much time before getting to the good news, but I really feel like in doing that it helped them to really face their own personal need and it manifested Gods grace in a way that was overwhelming to them when they finally met Jesus. Not the typical, “Oh I’ve heard about Jesus all my life so you can’t tell me anything I don’t already know,” no this was a clear and miraculous solution to their dilemma. And yes because of other religious influences they had heard the name of Jesus and even knew that He had died on a cross, but had no idea what it meant for them personally.
Great insight Jeremiah, I think that the pattern you provide is not much different than what is needed in "deconstructing" misconceptions here in the western culture. Sometimes I wonder how much we need to "deconstruct" our own understandings and get back to basic concepts of following Jesus. Oh how badly the church needs to reflect followers who enjoy walking with their King and long for others to worship Him forever. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteTrue belief yields action in accord to the tenants of that belief. So maybe there is a belief, but it's a false belief if it claims to be a belief in the death and resurrection of Jesus without an active surrender to what "confessing with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believing in your heart that God raised Him from the dead."
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