There are over 200 kinds of Baptists. The northern Baptists don't dance and the southern Baptists do. The Church of Christ maintains that musical instruments are not to be used. The Pentecostals say if you haven't spoken in tongues you aren't saved. The Seventh Day Adventists say you have to worship on Saturday (beginning on Friday night) to keep the Sabbath. The Catholics say you have to confess to a priest and that Mary has the power to forgive your sins. The Mormons believe that Jesus was a good man but not the Savior. The Jehovah Witnesses believe that you don't celebrate anything except celebrating nothing. The Lutherans and Catholics alike believe that infant baptism saves that person. The list goes on and on and on. What do they all have in common? They are all driven and based on legalism. Worshipping legalism is just wrong. It's like saying a set prayer over and over again for 12 times can wipe out your sin. Wait! That's what the Catholics and eastern religions do. You just can't get away from all the legalism. Let's not forget those who require you to show your pay stub so they are sure you are tithing the full 10%. Then there are the beliefs of when Jesus is coming back. Is it before the tribulation, during the tribulation or after the tribulation. Some even believe that the rapture has already happened. You might be wondering what's wrong with all of this. Plenty is wrong! It's like driving down the main drag of a city and having to choose which fast food place to stop at. Some families even stop at several to placate a member of the family.
We've gone from proclaiming Jesus to proclaiming whatever rocks our boat. The interest in attendance at church is as much for the fame of the pastor as it is in the bringing in of the money. What are the programs that the church has to offer to draw people of any age into their grasp? There is little of proclaiming Jesus as the Savior and much about what color to paint the downstairs bathroom. I've personal knowledge of a church that split because they couldn't agree on the color of that downstairs bathroom! What's got into us? I'll tell you what I think but first we need some historical perspective. The religious program at the temple were for power, money and fame. That's why Jesus did what he did in driving out the money changers and others from the temple. The religious then are what many groups are now. Claiming themselves to be wise they revealed themselves to be fools. The early Christian church formed after the death and resurrection of Jesus. They were perceived as a threat and hunted down and killed. These home churches went underground just to stay alive. When the Christian would meet they had each other to keep them safe. If you were a believer and you sinned the guidance of Jesus would either bring a believer to repentance or they would be set free from the group. Outside the covering of the home church the option was to repent or take your risk on your own. Other home groups wouldn't accept the ousted believer into their midst because of their unrepentance. That is where the solution and problem began. If you disagree with pastor A or church B then just move on to a new pastor or church. That's today's solution. No accountability. None.
So, here we are with churches that cater to everyone and everything but Jesus. That's unacceptable to God in case you didn't know. We the believers should want to belong with other Christians to serve Jesus. That's it. Nothing so complex there. The standard for membership in the first church was that you were a sinner saved by the love of God through Jesus. That may be somewhere on the list of the religions and churches listed above but it's not number one. Being a "believer" has gone from that "saved sinner" status to "well, he/she is a good person and God wouldn't send good people to hell so they are okay." There is something wrong here. Here is what is wrong in my opinion. Christians in the above categories have made themselves god. They may say that they love the Lord and even take communion while holding much against their brothers and sisters. They may have a baptism right after believing but miss the point that believing is the only requirement to being saved. I know I've stepped on a lot of toes today. Yet, I doubt that there will be much of a discussion on the point of this blog. That point is that ALL of our lives should reflect Jesus. Should we take the incredible step to simply do what Jesus asked, people will be attracted to Jesus and not us, not our programs, not our fake theologies, and certainly not the promises of false prophets bent on how much money they can fleece out of the elderly.
I am a sinner saved by the grace of Jesus Christ through his birth, death and resurrection work for my soul. That's it. As such I'm accepted by the very God who created me before the foundations of the earth. He knows everything I did, said and did not do and did not say. He knows my day today and all the days of my eternity. Should I be asked what my hope is, I won't be saying the name of the church I attend or my status in that church. I'll tell them Jesus and buy them lunch, give my coat to the homeless who need it, open my house to the stranger and deny myself that which does no good anyway. That is what we're supposed to do. I fail most every day. God forgives me and each day I try again. There is nothing good about me except Jesus living through me. Do you get it? The draw is meant to be simple. When it's simple it will offend some and attract those who are seeking to be saved. Those who are perishing will either realize their state or ignore it. What does my witness do amongst them? What does your witness do amongst them? It's my choice and it's your choice. Joshua said "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." 24:15. What do you say?
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