ReJesus Posts
Pillar 1 -- ReJesus, Emulating/Imitating Jesus
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Jesus Our Cornerstone
Alan Hirsch and Michael Frost
June 13, 2025
In this book the authors are calling for a refounding of the church on the life and ministry of Jesus. Over the centuries the church has drifted from the model of Jesus. Yes, this seems hard to believe but through this volume Hirsch and Frost fill the pages with illustrations of where this has happened and speak extensively of our call to return.
One reference that has been heard often is to polls that have been taken showing that people like Jesus in great numbers, while at the same time they do not have positive thoughts about the church. This is the church that Jesus founded and all expressions and actions flowing out should be representative of Jesus. Yet a great number of people in western culture today do not see it this way. Hirsch and Frost call to the church to recalibrate the entire enterprise along Christological lines.
I will give you two thoughts from the book to chew on and we can look at more in other posts.
“Following Jesus means more than just a prayer of commitment. We must also emulate him.” (p. 6)
“Christology determines our missiology, and missiology determines our ecclesiology.” (p. 6)
I know that second quote was too theological for most of us, so hit the link here and we will break it down for both of these quotes.
www.anakainosisforthechurch.com
Let’s talk about emulating Jesus. I remember when I was young the song was popular titled, “To Be Like Jesus.” Today that theme does not seem to resonate. One might hear, “No one is perfect,” or “I am just struggling to survive myself.” The goal of being like Jesus, though it is clear in the Bible as a central call, has diminished into believing, receiving, and loving him. Hirsch and Frost give some guidance as they say, “Jesus fed thousands with bread and fish and we can be like him through hospitality and generosity. We cannot die for sins but we can embrace selflessness, sacrifice, and service to others.” (p. 6)
(Central Bible call to be like Jesus - What Does the Bible Say About Being Christ Like? )
No one can question that Jesus’ work for salvation continues to hold center stage among believers. That is without doubt. It is the idea of emulating his life and ministry that has faded generally from the picture. People tend to feel that is a goal far too high for the common believer. Much like Jesus walked the roads of Israel looking for those the Father was pointing out, we who would follow Jesus can live life daily with eyes looking for those that Jesus brings to cross our paths. There are hurting desperate people filling our cities today and our loving service and care could be the hand of Jesus for them.
Let’s touch those strange theological terms mentioned above. In plain language the writers are saying the model of Jesus ought to determine our mission ministry, or how and to whom we reach and touch. Then the mission ought to determine what church will look like, how we get together as Christians and what we do then. This little formula just seems logical. Jesus is the model for mission and mission will determine what church looks like.
Drift can happen slowly and through the centuries this formula has actually become reversed. Take the second part here. What we do at church should be established by the mission, how to touch lost people. Today in church we ‘hope’ the lost will come but regrettably they rarely do. This mode was set a long time ago and now it has crystalized into the expectation for most believers. Very few realize that only believers are coming to church mainly and our target audience is out there beyond our walls. The tradition of how church is done now dictates more than our mission. Much can be discussed about this and this simple formula. Hirsch and Frost will lead us in that as we move forward.
ReJesus
Alan Hirsch and Michael Frost
If Jesus is the prototype for a Christian and if we are to take his words and actions as exemplary and authoritative for all of his followers, then we must make this dangerous comparison of Christianity as a religion to Jesus.
We believe this will reveal the church is on the wrong side of Jesus’ type of barbarian spirituality mainly because it cannot be considered civil. It was subversive. Jesus undermines any status quo not built on the demands of the kingdom. (p. 12)
Hirsch and Frost talk about the idea of the subversion of Christianity. They quote Jacques Ellul who asks, “How does it come about that the development of Christianity and the church has given birth to a society, its civilization, and a culture that is completely opposite to what we read in the Bible? Certainly, Christianity did transform from a dangerous and revolutionary spiritual force into a religious civilization.”
They ask, “Was it God’s intention to produce a domesticated religion?” (p. 7)
We agree it is hard to live the way of Jesus, and so it is hard to create a religion out of the way of Jesus. We must constantly return to Jesus to authenticate as well as legitimize ourselves as his people. What other guide do we have? (p. 8)
Go to the link here and we will chew on these ideas a little more.
www.anakainosisforthechurch.com
Tradition has always been a force trying to domesticate and control the church that Jesus built.
Here is an insightful and piercing revelation: “It is easy for agendas to take Jesus captive rather than the other way around.” (p. 9)
Remember, “Jesus will not lead us to hatred, violence, greed, excess, earthly power, or material wealth. But he will call us to a genuinely biblical faith that believes in him, not simply believing in belief. This requires an ongoing encounter with Jesus.” (p. 11)
C.S. Lewis says “The church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christ’s. If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time. God became man for no other purpose.” (p. 17)
I personally hesitate to drop this quote in, but I do find it accurate and this blog aims to create dialogue, discussion, and discourse.
“A good church upbringing seems to prepare a person to know that Jesus is to be worshiped but not followed.”
We have sanitized and tamed Jesus. (p. 19)
People have been turned off to the church because our faith seems bland and insipid to them. Punk rocker and screenwriter Nick Cave tells about reading about the Jesus in Mark and discovering a passionate radical. (p. 21)
We need to accept Jesus as our guide, as well as our Savior. We need him to teach us how to live, not just how to worship. (p. 22)
We need a re-discovery of our foundation, the person Jesus. It will require us to let go of our much loved but inaccurate assumptions about him and be prepared to venture back to the gospels to see him and all his strange radical ways.
It was possibly Voltaire who said “God made us in his image, and we returned the favor.” (p. 87)
What do you think about these thoughts from Hirsch and Frost? Let’s talk as you comment on Facebook.
July 7, 2025
The Surprising Jesus
Jesus was flat out surprising to almost everyone; the disciples, the religious, and the world. No doubt following in the footsteps of such a surprising Jesus will not be a tame, mundane, business as usual experience.
Alan and Debra Hirsch in their book “Untamed” say, “Jesus, the holy one, often went out of his way to connect with, or to be seen with, those the ‘holy ones’ of his day would have never even thought of entertaining. The holiness of Jesus is a redemptive, missional, world embracing holiness, that does not separate itself from the world but rather liberates it. (p. 46)
No doubt about it, Jesus’ holiness was compelling. The Gospels clearly show us that social rejects loved to be around Jesus. They couldn’t get enough of him. By hanging out with people like these, Jesus shows us that one cannot achieve holiness by separation from the unclean. We need to resist the temptation to see holiness only in moralistic terms, or else we will do violence to the idea of the redeeming God and end up seeing God as the ultimate moralist. (p. 46)
Jesus was more of a prophetic non-conformist than a tame ethics teacher. He calls people to throw everything away and follow him (Mat 13:44), to a cross (Mat 10:38), to a love for God that will make all other loves seem like hatred (Mat 10:35-37). This was no divine ethics lecturer speaking! His was a wild holiness that called to account those who preferred instead to follow the lame dictates of a religion of ethical codes and pious rituals. (p. 47)
The Hirsch’s say, “Greg Boyd is correct in his assessment: The church as a whole does not look like the Body of Christ whose outrageous love attracted people who would otherwise have had nothing to do with a ‘religious establishment’ or ‘ethical system.’” (p. 47)
Jump over to our blog page by clicking the graphic below and read the rest of these thoughts by Alan and Debra.
www.anakainosisforthechurch.com/today-s-post/
The even more amazing thing is that not only did the social outcasts and sinners want to be around Jesus, but Jesus wanted to be around them! His mission was to save sinners. He practiced ‘active proximity’ with them. (p. 46)
One of the greatest counterfeits for following the untamed Jesus comes from the substitution of morals and decency for Jesus’ untamed kind of holiness. One of the standard attempts to stereotype Jesus, and therefore domesticate Jesus, is to make him into a moral teacher, someone who taught us how to live decent, rule-based lives. He was much more dangerous and subversive than that. (p. 47)
All through the history of Christianity the temptation to make the law primary rather than the heart has been a major distraction. That contrast is one illustration of domesticating Jesus, making following him a set of rules and rituals rather than following the passion and fire of his heart and walking in his steps.
Listen to this quote: “A sanitized Jesus is a misrepresentation of him and leads us to live sterile lives.” (p. 51)
Or this one from Soren Kierkegaard: “There is a demand by ‘the crowd,’ the mass of people, to live an ordinary and passionless life in which God is essentially irrelevant, and yet they want this life to be regarded as Christian.” (p. 50)
Yes, words like these seem hard, yet renewal for the church will only come with honest evaluation of ourselves as the people of God. We might ask, “Do we want renewal more than we want our present comfort and status quo?”
July 9, 2025
Jesus in our image
Voltaire is often credited with the saying, “God made us in his image, and we returned the favor.” (p. 87 ‘ReJesus’ by Hirsch and Frost)
We need a re-discovery of our foundation, the person Jesus. It will require us to let go of our much loved but inaccurate assumptions about him and be prepared to venture back to the gospels to see him and all his strange radical ways. (p. 87)
Our understanding of Jesus can be so easily shaped by our own psychospiritual needs. Some say, “Show me your Jesus and I’ll tell you who you are.” If we limit Jesus to the meeting of our psychological needs we end up only following part of Jesus. Sometimes the authentic Jesus will even challenge those needs. (p. 88)
Many are familiar with the scene in C. S. Lewis’s ‘The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe’ when Lucy is about to meet Aslan the lion, the allegorical Christ figure in the book. She asks Mr. Beaver, “Is he safe?” “Safe,” said Mr. Beaver, “Who said anything about safe! Of course he isn’t safe, but he is good. He’s the King I tell you.”
Following Jesus is never safe when it comes to our culturally adopted lifestyles, but it is always good. (p. 89)
Remember that even though Jesus deeply loved his disciples (ie. John 17), he also continued to surprise, amaze, disturb, frighten, and challenge them. There are widespread tendencies to limit Jesus to a spiritual tap that can be turned on and off according to our need for affirmation and of course this is a terrible mistake. It leads us to remake Jesus in the image we desire rather than being molded into his image. (p. 89)
This is not a new phenomenon for our day. Think about Christian history and the centuries that have gone by. With the influence of Constantine Jesus in the fourth century became Lord of the Empire with all the elaborate trappings, exquisite basilicas, official levels of ecclesial authority and high ritual. In the day of the crusades Jesus was the conqueror of the Holy Lands where Christ in the flesh had walked, now controlled by heathen. In the days of the Inquisitions Jesus was the powerful chastiser of public sins and heretics that blotted the purity of the church.
These descriptions could continue and walk through nearly every stage of Christian history. Man has been molding Jesus to fit his own context for centuries. It is also amazing that revival and renewal movements often were born as some aspect of Jesus was uncovered and inspired a return to the character of Jesus in that revelation. Stirred by the cry for renewal may we all run back to the Gospels and once again be confronted with the radical Jesus found there. He is certainly not safe!
Click the graphic below to finish this blog on Jesus in Our Image.
www.anakainosisforthechurch.com/today-s-post/
Let’s join together to lay down our domesticated pictures of Jesus, and our tame versions, and our sanitized versions of Jesus that are so safe. Naturally each of us feel we have not made this mistake to remake Jesus in our own images. Anne Lamott gives us one small test saying, “You know you have remade Jesus in your own image when he hates the same people you hate.” Think about it. At some point we have all tried to shoehorn Jesus into our own agendas, making him hate those we hate, whether its gay, Muslim, liberals, Catholics, fundamentalists, or postmoderns. But Jesus will not be forced into our box. (p. 90)
We can find a taste of this shocking Jesus that will not be coopted by any religious system, or political, or cultural, or personal. Look at his first sermon in Luke 4. We love his quote from Isaiah 61 about setting the captives free. But what he says next caused his audience to want to kill him. What did he say?
Luke 4:25-27 --- There were many widows during the famine but Elijah was only sent to the widow in Sidon and there were many lepers in Israel but only Naaman, the Aramean warlord was healed.
Jesus picked two stories that he knew is Nazareth audience would hate. They were outsiders, enemies, and despised by Israel. He dares his audience to admit that God loved them as much as anyone in Israel. Jesus will not be coopted, even by Israel, to a cause fueled by hatred and racism.
I don’t know about you, but I am going back to the Gospels for a fresh look at our radical untamed Jesus!
July 11, 2025
To Be Like Jesus
Emulating Jesus is the first of the Four Pillars. Let’s think about this in the light of a well-worn phrase today.
Nobody’s Perfect
I believe the question of motivation is critical to the popular phrase used by believers today, ‘nobody’s perfect!’ We hear this so often it causes one to ask, “Is anyone pursuing living like Christ or is everyone satisfied with, “nobody’s perfect?” Some may not realize there is a big difference. We have always heard that if you aim for the moon you might at least escape the atmosphere. For me that seems to be the difference between aiming for the image of Christ and settling for “nobody’s perfect” (satisfied with mediocracy). When we settle for “nobody’s perfect” it seems all motivation for reaching the heights is lost. It leaves so much room for low expectations or no expectations, and certainly gives no motivation for striving for and attaining something glorious.
I am afraid Christianity today has bought into the bumper sticker doctrine of “nobody’s perfect” and has missed the thrill and life consuming challenge of giving our all to aim for living like Jesus. It can be an exciting adventure to awake each day with the aim of ‘being with Jesus’ through His Word, through His Spirit, through his people, and through joining Him in acts of mercy or piety that day.
The conviction here is like that of Isaiah, Job, and John the Revelator, we believe that getting in His presence brings transformation. Isn’t that one of the lessons to be learned from Moses with God on Mount Sinai? Moses had spent time in God’s presence and when he came down he was aglow from associating with God in His glory. The journey emulating Christ intends a life that aims to walk in the presence of Jesus as often as possible so that this kind of transformation can take place often. ‘From glory to glory’ is the biblical phrase that hints at the promise that repeated moments in His presence will move us toward the image of Christ. (2 Cor. 3:18) This is a fundamental motivation of biblical Christianity, discipleship, and the call of Jesus.
Yes, this conversation of ‘Nobody’s Perfect’ quickly gets pulled down into the question, what is perfect, or who is perfect, or is it possible? But that was the genius of a Christian hero of mine, John Wesley. He continued to draw attention back to the ‘pursuit’ of holy love, the journey, and the passion for going on toward attaining such a prize. Wesley would not be distracted by the question of defining perfection and nailing it down to how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. The calls from God’s Word were sufficient and strong enough to convince Wesley this was, not only a goal worthy of Christian focus, but it was ‘the great goal’ of Christian calling. Yes, to Wesley the great cause was not to be saved, but to accept the noble and high call to become like Christ and to be filled with His Holy love.
Motivation was the key for Wesley and must be for us today. Again let me ask, rephrased: “Who is pouring all of your energy into being like Jesus every day and believes it is a goal worthy of your life, blood, sweat, and tears? Or who is satisfied to live making the excuse, ‘nobody’s perfect?’” Some are going to aim for soaring with the eagles (Is. 40:28) while many are going to settle for hanging around with the turkeys. The choice is ours.
Jump over to our blog page for the conclusion of this post. Simply click the graphic below.
www.anakainosisforthechurch.com/today-s-post/
Of course there are many resting points between those two poles where believers have taken up refuge believing they have gone far enough, they are fatigued or feel they do not know how to go any further. Once more this was the genius of Wesley, he offered biblical paths for believers to use to help them continue on the journey of imitating Christ with far less premature derailments. This blog will dis such paths in the days to come, but it is safe to say right now as we speak of motivations and the demise of the imitating Christ message, this great goal is not the high goal of faith today. John Wesley offered words of tried and practiced success to help in his ministry. This blog will share many of these as we believe emulating Jesus is a great key for renewal in the church.
One Word For Jesus!
September 15, 2025
One Word Describing Jesus
Every Christian could give you five great words to describe Jesus without even thinking. Pause right here for a moment and three of four words describing Jesus will come to your mind quickly. In this post I want to give you one word that will not show up on 90% of the lists of words people will use to describe Jesus. Here it is.
OTHERS
I think you will agree that everything we know about Jesus through the Gospels tells us that he lived and gave his life for others. His aim in life was others. This aim was as wide as all humanity that would ever live for all time or it was as narrow and individual as Peter, to name one. Jesus lived for others.
Here is the kicker.
When we are asked to live like Jesus we are, in one simplistic way, being asked to join his example and live for others. Possibly you have never thought of the call of Christianity in these terms. I know that this concept has eluded me for about six decades of attempting to walk with Jesus.
I don’t think anyone can deny this declaration is true of Jesus, “He lived for others.” So, our human rationalizing turns to ask, “But is Jesus really asking me to live for others like he did?” Some might say that is far too radical. It definitely goes against human nature as we know it today. It certainly disturbs our ego centered psyche. And even most Christians would say, “This is not what I signed up for.”
Of course they would be correct in one way since the Christianity many were sold had more to do with what Jesus had done for them than it had to do with what they could in turn do for others. But just imagine with me what a renewal would come to the church if a significant number of believers began to live out this call to emulate Jesus and live for others.
The longer I think about this word/idea --- OTHERS, the more I see that it is actually the heart and soul of all the Four Pillars we talk about. Yes, it applies to emulating Jesus. It also applies to loving God BY loving OTHERS. It also applies to inviting OTHERS into Koinonia/Community with us as the family of God. And of course it applies to Living Missionally, reaching out and walking with OTHERS.
Those who have followed this blog may have seen a few posts where I share about walking beside friends (OTHERS) when their lives were broken. I am just returning to my computer after getting a call for help from Ellis, my homeless friend, some of you may remember from another post. He got burned and spent four days in a burn unit near Atlanta, GA. Today we took him gauze, hydrogen peroxide, burn care, food and more to provide some relief. As he left the car, he held the handshake saying pray a prayer for me friend. And we bowed to pray.
Following Jesus and giving our loving service to OTHERS is one of the most enriching things a person can do. Lena and I certainly have been thoroughly enriched. As a matter of fact Richard Beck wrote the book, “The Shape of Joy: The Transformative Power of Moving Beyond Yourself.” He says, “The first step toward joy is to step away from yourself.” (p.xv) He writes that humanity and culture today is ‘curved inward.’ “Getting lost within ourselves makes us unhappy.” (p.61) I love his words, “The power and potential of transcendence (his word for God stuff) is the possibility of being pulled out of yourself into a richer, deeper, fuller reality. (p.111) Wow! This actually can happen as we follow Jesus to loving and serving OTHERS!
If you love the life stories I share here every now and then, please go to Facebook --- ‘Astonishing by Mary Nelson’. There you will find dozens of stories of people that are all unremarkable, yet they have made remarkable impact by serving OTHERS in simple and diverse ways. Jesus has made it so that anyone can do this. Anyone can help OTHERS. And if we just open our eyes and look around there are many OTHERS near us that need a helping loving friend. This concept was created by God and modeled by Jesus, and as we walk it out it can literally change the world! And on the way, it will change your world. I guarantee it!
OTHERS! continued...
September 17, 2025
OTHERS continued…
In the last blog post I said that this concept could literally change the world!
What concept? (For those that need catching up.) I said:
Jesus has made it so that anyone can do this. Anyone can help OTHERS. And if we just open our eyes and look around there are many OTHERS near us that need a helping loving friend.
Let’s start an OTHERS awakening! Wow!
Let’s take the love that Jesus has given us and follow Him in pouring it out on OTHERS.
Think of the early church movement. History shows it was really three centuries of an OTHERS awakening that saturated through the Roman Empire. Amazing!
Think of the great Celtic Revival. After the barbarians had defeated Rome, Saint Patrick and those Christ followers took an OTHERS awakening to the barbarians and won them for Christ. Without this we would not have western civilization.
Think of the Wesleyan Revival. Wesley mobilized small groups (called bands) to go out into the slums of England (to the OTHERS). It was massive Christian love, care, and serving penetrating and ultimately transforming the nation.
Think of the world sweeping Pentecostal/Charismatic Revival. Harvard professor, Harvey Cox in his book, “Fire from Heaven” declares it was an OTHERS awakening. He describes how poor rural people migrated to the developing mega cities of the 70’s and 80’s. When it looked like they would be gobbled up by the burgeoning industrial machine, small store front churches empowered by the Spirit invited them to find care, love, belonging, identity, purpose, and destiny.
OK I get carried away just thinking about an OTHERS awakening!
Last post Richard Beck said “culture has turned in on itself.” Jesus has the remedy. He designed His church to turn out to the world with his love, compassion, care, mercy, grace, help, and more, the fullness of his Gospel. Just look above to see how that has worked when the followers of Christ caught the vision.
We will conclude with words from Beck:
Happiness, peace, wholeness, and resiliency are found in connecting your story to something bigger than yourself. Study after study has shown this.
In experiences of wonder and awe, transcendence creates a small self, turning away from internal chatter to connect with a larger reality. Transcendent emotions, joy and gratitude create an upward, emotional spiral, enabling you to look beyond material circumstances, to experience life as graced and blessed. This is the shape of joy. The transformative power of living beyond yourself. (The Shape of Joy, p.143)
Love is the final step in stepping away from ourselves. Recall that awe creates the experience of a small self (large ego blinding from true reality). This small self promotes compassion and love. Love is the most beautiful thing in the world. Love is the fabric of a meaningful life. (p. 147)
Meaning in life flows out of transcendent concerns, looking beyond my own interests to care about the needs of the larger world. (p. 148)
Pope John Paul II called this the law of the gift. You find yourself to the degree that you give yourself away. You receive your life to the degree that you share it with others as a gift.
As Jesus said, the one who loses his life will find it. (p. 148)
Wells and Fences
September 30, 2025
Wells and Fences
Alan and Debra Hirsch began ministry in Australia. There in the outback there is a different philosophy for tending cattle. In most places it is common to build fences that will keep the cattle secured. But in the vast open spaces of the outback the ranchers know fences would be too expensive and also unnecessary. They know that cattle will never drift too far from the water supply the well offers in the arid outback climate. The well offers water that the cattle know is life sustaining. They cannot live without it. They don’t go far from it.
This well and fence contrasting illustration applies nicely to Jesus and the religious institution of his day (the Jews). Jesus represented the well concept for people he touched. He had come to give life and thirsty people clamored to hear and receive. The religious (the Pharisees in particular) had their rules, thousands of them. They had fences that marked their religious territory, whether one was ‘in or out.’ If a person wanted their brand of spiritual benefit (become God’s people) then they had to live in their fences.
People that did not qualify for the Jews were labeled as bad people, unclean, or heretics, or such. A good Jew would never consider mingling with people like this. That would have been degrading. Jesus comes along, raised as a Jewish boy, and he seems intent to seek out the very ‘riff raff’ that the ‘ruling class Jews’ reject and scorn. He seems to evaluate people not by fences but by thirst for the living water well.
Listen to how missiologist Darrell Gruder describes the situation:
Incarnational witness, as it was practiced by Jesus, challenged the accepted patterns of interpersonal relationships and community formation. It began with Jesus’ own roots in Galilee, which marked him as a man from the margins. He was not identified with the religiously prominent and respected circles of his day. He came from the wrong side of the tracks. His choice of disciples continued the pattern of incarnational reversion of the acceptable structures of society. He called people to follow him who were ritually unclean (fisherman,) nationally suspect (publicans), and politically dubious (zealots). He demonstrated the revolutionary character of the in breaking reign of God by reaching out and touching lepers, by conversing publicly with women, by healing the children of Gentiles, allowing prostitutes to touch him, and going to parties with an acknowledged Con man. (“Untamed,” by Alan and Debra Hirsch, p.160)
Remember this blog is about renewal for the church. How can the church produce people that walk like Jesus, love like Jesus, offer koinonia like Jesus, and live missional like Jesus? (Four Pillar Living) Every church and denomination starts pout believing they are a well offering fresh ‘life.’ But in time they all shift to a fence building operation.
Alan and Debra go on to say, “The more religious we get, the more exclusive we tend to become. But the Gospel undermines religion. It won’t be narrowed down for our own private concerns. God wants to be all inclusive. Religion has a sinful tendency to close ranks, thus marginalizing outsiders and people different than ourselves. But when it does this it becomes a high conformity, culturally closed, and ultimately oppressive click. The church is meant to be a motley collection of imperfect people included in the family of God by means of God’s sheer grace.” (Untamed, p.158)
With a vision for wells of living water rather than seeing people as ‘in or out,’ Christian or non-Christian, (fences) we could see people by the degree of distance they are from the center.(wells) Everyone is somewhere on the path toward Jesus. Even not yet Christians can be seen and embraced on the path. Some are near the center and others further away, but all are openly invited to join in on the path. This allows for belonging before believing. The idea is inviting people into a journey that leads to Jesus. (the spring of living water)
I love the bi-line on the cover of Andy Stanley’s book, “Irresistible.”
“There was a time when the Gospel was Irresistible!”
Let’s live and proclaim that IRRESISTIBLE message again!
Malchus, Peter, and Jesus
October 8, 2025
Living the Four Pillars life is challenging and often demands mind and heart renovation. Just ask Peter here.
Recently Chancelor of Lee University, Dr. Paul Conn, spoke about Malchus, Peter, and Jesus in chapel. Here are a few thoughts from that sermon. (John 18:10, Mat 26:51, Mark 14:45, Luke 22:49)
Three questions to consider:
Why did Peter cut off the ear of Malchus?
Why did Jesus rebuke Peter?
Why did Jesus heal Malchus?
First, Peter is the unsolicited outspoken right hand man for Jesus. He had the faith to walk on water. He had left everything to follow Jesus and help build this new Kingdom. Malchus was the enemy. The threats had been going around and now they were here to take Jesus and kill him. They already tried to stone him. Peter was not going to stand still and let this happen. He would fight for the Master and for this kingdom that was coming. He drew his sword in an instant and cut off the ear of Malchus. He might have intended to do even more harm with that blow since this was the moment to stop these evil men from taking Jesus.
So “Why did Jesus rebuke Peter?” It would seem Peter should have been commended. It was a clear cut case of good versus evil. Peter knew Jesus was the ‘Son of God’ and he would do ‘whatever it might take’ to defend him. At the very least Jesus could have said, “Thanks,” for the effort Peter made. But no, Peter was rebuked.
Let’s jump to the final question. “Why did Jesus heal Malchus?”
Jesus loved Malchus just as much as he loved Peter. So, he had compassion on this child of God’s own creation when he lost his ear. Jesus did not see an enemy and a friend/defender at that moment. His empathy flowed out naturally to a man that bore the image of God, held the breath of God, and was created by Father God.
This is a reality that Christianity has failed to grasp fully all through the centuries. The world has always been divided between good and evil. The church has spent centuries, possibly every century, fighting against evil forces incarnate in human forms. The temptation has been too great to see the evil as an evil Malchus and draw the sword of attack. Peter’s action has been repeated beyond number through time. Men attack men, women attack women, Christians have attacked non-Christians, and Christians have attacked other Christians. The words of Christ fall repeatedly on deaf ears, “We fight not against flesh and blood, but against principalities…” (Eph. 6:12)
Jesus models his love by healing Malchus and Jesus models his Lordship by rebuking Peter. He knew what was in Peter’s heart. Jesus knows what is in all hearts. He alone sees and knows this. Paul affirms “There is none good, no not one.” (Romans 3:10) He later states “All have sinned and come short…” (3:23)
In so many situations we know beyond a shadow of doubt that we are the ‘good guys.’ We are on the right side while others are on the side of the wrong. It is such a human temptation to demonize those other people who see a situation differently than we. Like Peter we are moved to draw our sword and attack with words or other weapons, overlooking the fact that Jesus loves them too, Jesus sees our hearts, Jesus wants to heal them, and Jesus aims to reconcile them to himself just as he has us.
I personally remember being asked to speak at a devotion only days after 9-11 happened in New York City. Just like Peter I drew my sword of Christian history and took a page from Augustine’s ‘Just War Theory.’ Today I know better and have felt the rebuke of Jesus and his love for all the created treasures of God.
Dr. Conn told of his mother being on the streets of Amsterdam many years earlier. Her minister husband was approached by a prostitute there. He would have expected his strict religious mother to be vindictive or at least harsh and judgmental. But in her journal to be read decades later she wrote, “What a pitiful life that young girl must have.” She had the grace to avoid the temptation of Peter that day and let compassion’s love flow.
Recently the nation has mourned the shooting death of Charlie Kirk. The national reaction has been huge, almost as if a president died. The Christian testimony of Kirk has been marvelously spread all over the world. Many conservatives have been ‘up in arms’ about the shooting. Some lines have been drawn, my side and your side, good versus evil, liberal or conservative, and more. As I heard Dr. Conn speak about Malchus and Peter I wondered if there might be application here for our moment in time? Does Jesus love the shooter as much as Kirk? Does Jesus have followers on both sides of the line? Is Jesus calling all sides to himself? Could it be like the epiphany to Joshua who was preparing for battle asking “Are you for Israel or our enemies?” The answer, “Neither, but as Captain of the Lord’s host I now come.”
With Jesus there is no Jew or Gentile, bond or free, male or female. (Gal. 3:28) We could expand to say no liberal or conservative, no immigrant or citizen, no black or white, no democrat or republican, no English speaker or Spanish speaker, no rich or poor, and much more. Jesus, the Lord of all stands on his own side and invites us all to put down the sword and come join him. That is a concept that is all too easy to forget. Thank you, Dr. Conn for reminding us of Malchus and Peter.
Conn closed his sermon with a classic joke told about a Christian who saw a suicide jumper on a bridge and attempted to rescue him. The Christian found the jumper believed in God, was a Christian, and was a Baptist (as the rescuer). The joke goes through many areas of religious belief they held in common to the joy of the rescuer. But after so much in common the rescuer came to one area of discord. At that point he became angry, called the man a heathen, and pushed him off the bridge.
You will want to chuckle at this complete joke. Click this.
May we all pause and take inventory for situations where we believe we are the good guys wearing the white hats and drawing our swords to deal with those enemies, just like Peter. Four Pillars life challenges us to 1) emulate Jesus and his acceptance of the supposed enemy as God’s dear one, 2) Love God BY sharing his unconditional love to ALL, regardless of sides, 3) Extend koinonia/community (family) even to the opposition group member, and 4) walk with them on the journey to Christ (mission).
From Paper to Pavement
Novenber 3, 2025
Malcolm Smith said, “The Pharisees were religious students. They consumed the old covenant law and thrived on it. They could quote it verbatim, interpret it and explain it’s fine points. They could do everything except live it! (Hirsch/Ford, Right Here, Right Now, p.101)
Jesus did not say, “Come and study me.” He said, “Come and follow me.” (p.111)
I love the inspiration of the blog title here, “From Paper to Pavement!” It actually comes right out of the inspiration of the familiar words of James, “But be doers of the word and not hearers only.” (James 1:22) Yes, the Word has got to go from ‘Paper Pages to Pavement!’
John Wimber would hold up the Bible and say, “This is the menu folks, it ain’t the meal.”
It only becomes a full course meal when we add the ingredients of our lives to it and allow it to take over our mind, will, and body. When we mix the word of God with real ‘feet to the pavement’ living we can experience a kingdom feast and invite others to join us at that table. Until we let this happen, the words of the Bible remain as dormant as garden seeds left in their original envelope. The words just languish as possibilities, ideas, and options. (p.102) 1 John 2:6 says “Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.”
A growing number are praying and seeking for renewal in the church today. It seems critical that the dilemma of ‘no difference’ in Christian lives and non-Christian be resolved.
Philosopher Jacques Ellul has said, “We have to admit that there is an immeasurable distance between all that we read in the Bible and the practice of the church and of Christians. It is impossible to legitimately follow the biblical Jesus and not end up being molded by the mission of God and a growing reflection of Jesus’ character. When our hearts and minds are truly seized by the Lord, we cannot help but see people, the world, even the church differently. (p.103)
Engagement with Jesus must move us beyond being spectators to participants. If we wish to become like him, we must learn to participate with Jesus, actively applying him and his teachings to our lives. In the New Testament, the desire of people to remain neutral observers is in a sense the real sin. The Pharisees want to check him out, objectify him, line him up against their understandings of the faith, and because of this they are judged for their hardness of heart, for holding themselves back from what God is doing in Jesus. It is those who allow Jesus to get into their hearts and heads (and lives) who end up advancing his kingdom. (p.110)
Many Christians act as if they believe the path ahead is by more Bible study or through hearing more sermons. They are convinced their spiritual strength is the responsibility of the Pastor/preacher or teacher to produce more moving presentations. Jesus did not say, “Come and study me.” He said, “Come and follow me.” (p.111)
Remember the old question, “If you were on trial for being a Christian would there be enough evidence to convict you?” Many Christians believe Jesus existed, but they fall short of demonstrating that they believe in him. It is up to us to look at our pattern of day-to-day living and ask if our lives corroborate our stated belief in Jesus. (p.114)
Johann Metz asks, “Are we living as disciples, or do we just believe in discipleship and, under the cloak of this belief in discipleship, continue in our old ways, the same unchanging ways? Do we show real love, or do we just believe in love and under the cloak of belief in love remain the same egoist and conformist we have always been? Do we share the suffering of others, or do we just believe in this sharing, remaining under the cloak of a belief in sympathy as apathetic as ever? (p.114)
Brenan Manning said, “The problem with all this intellectualizing is that it allowed us to wrap the crucified Christ up in words… [By this] we separated ourselves from his humanity. We marked him only for our minds, so there was never any pressure in our guts to change our lives.” (p.115)
Think about it, ‘Changed Lives’ is really the core reality of the Gospel. Today we think the core of the Gospel is forgiveness of our sin, but the message of Christ was never satisfied to stop there. Paul said, “If any man be in Christ he is a new creature.” (2 Cor 5:17) The pardon of sin is a wonderful blessing but the advance of the Kingdom of God is fueled by lives that have been transformed.
Ellis (my homeless friend) and I were thrilled last week as we drove to Miracle Lake Discipleship Center where Ellis would walk through their discipleship addiction program for 3 months. It was impressive as we sat and talked with the Student Director and he shared his testimony of being in most of the jails in the area and totally addicted and consumed with drugs. It controlled his life and he had no interest in the discipleship angle of Miracle Lake. But one day Jesus confronted him and he walked away with a peace that he never had before and has never been without since. Impressive. His life was changed and now he walks with others into their change. (Ellis story --- see our July 28 blog in the Love Pillar 2 archive)
This Change is the core of the Gospel and the fuel of the Kingdom. I love the Gospel stories like the blind man of John 9. After receiving his sight he was interrogated by the religious leaders. His response was, “I don’t know if this man is this or that. All I know is I was blind and now I see!” Bingo! That is the Gospel power that will get the attention of the world and attract hungry hearts , or hurting, or desperate.
This is the Gospel that Jesus has given to His Church. It is more than Bible truth, or Christian religion, or dogma, or theology, or tradition, or history. It is a person. The person, Jesus has come to make us new, with new life, new hope, new peace, new power, new joy, new love, and more. The Gospel is meant to rise off the paper and hit the pavement alive. Yes, ‘From Paper to Pavement!’
A Book or a Person?
November 6, 2025
Brennan Manning says, “It is possible that we have placed more faith in the Bible than we have in Jesus. The majority of Christians today are bogged down in a Bible faith that often stops short of a Jesus faith. (Hirsch/Ford, Right Here, Right Now, p.115)
I spent most of my days living in the south but I have had the opportunity to travel in the west and the north. The quote here comes out of the northern and western direct style of communicating. They don’t pull their punches, mince around with words, try to be coy and subtle, etc. They say it like they see it and that is basically what Brennan Manning has done. We may think it is a little harsh, or could have been said more sweetly, but regardless we hope he has your attention and you are willing to consider what he has said.
I would like to take a shot at stating his idea using a slightly different theme. I would say, “Christianity in the most recent decades has given far more emphasis to the Bible than it has to the life and ministry of Jesus.” Think about that and see if your experiences affirm it or not.
Let’s go one step further and consider narrowing the criteria. Take away the discussion, teachings, and promotion of the work of Jesus in salvation. Without this theme there is an even greater gap between the emphasis on the Bible and emphasis on the life and ministry of Jesus in Christianity. What I mean here is along the lines of our last post. We Christians do a lot of hearing the Bible in sermons and teachings, but James chapter one still challenges us to live it, or in my words, “Live like Jesus!”
Hirsch and Ford go further, “The primary problem we evangelicals have inherited from the Enlightenment is its emphasis on the foundational nature of scripture. Says Robert Webber, “It was during the Enlightenment that the foundation of the Christian faith shifted from the centrality of the person and work of Jesus Christ to the centrality of the Bible. Theology shifted from the God who acts to the God who spoke. In the worst scenario, faith shifted from trust in Christ to trust in the book. Therefore, the first question we must address as evangelicals in a postmodern world is this: do we believe in a book or a person?” (p.116)
Jesus confronted this challenge in his own life. He said, “You search the scriptures because you think that in them, you have eternal life; it is these that testify about me; and you are unwilling to come to me so that you may have Life. (John 5:38-40)
Jesus made it very clear that it is possible to frequently go to the Bible, and remain unwilling to come to him. The Pharisees and leaders of the synagogues proved this. No one before or since could come close to matching the Pharisees knowledge and devotion to the scriptures. And we know they were not willing to follow Jesus. (p.116)
Focusing on the development of the speculative doctrines, the early church lost the vital focus on the historical and practical implications of the faith. (ie., the life, example and ministry model of Jesus was surpassed by rationale about doctrine.) (p.117)
Theologically, thick words sometimes do more harm than good in conveying a meaning, but we may find them helpful on this point. Orthodoxy conveys the idea of right thinking. Orthopraxy speaks to the issue of right action. The successful Nike shoe campaign of years ago would have failed miserably if it had said, “Just think it!” On the other hand, “Just do it!” hit the nail on the head. (p.117) Applying this to Christianity today we seem to have lost the “Just Do It!” punch, or the “live it” aim, or the “follow His steps” call, or the “WWJD” guide.
Reflecting on Webber’s words above, I often think we are following a book more than a person. Like the old saying goes, “The emPHAsis may be on the wrong sylLAble.” Give that some thought as we pray for renewal in the church.
Emulating Jesus
December 6, 2025
Emulating Jesus
What does this look like?
Our blog has mentioned the first pillar often to live daily attempting to follow the model of Jesus. We have mentioned the youth movement some decades ago asking, “What would Jesus do?” Some may even remember the classic inspirational book “In His Steps,” by Charles Sheldon that dreamed of a movement where believers made their aim to walk in the steps of Jesus as Peter wrote. “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.” (1Peter 2:21)
Naturally several scriptures are familiar that call Christians to emulate Jesus:
"Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked." 1 John 2:6
“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.” Ephesians 5:1 (and 1Corinthians 11:1)
“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” Phil. 2:5
"And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into same image from one degree of glory to another." 2 Corinthians 3:18
If this is indeed a very important call for believers then the question, “What does this look like?” is essential.
Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch walked through the Gospels and put together a list of actions seen consistently in Jesus. Let’s take a look at these.
LOVE---Demonstrates the love of God for this world
I believe this one is the most important since it is the application of the Great Commandment that Jesus gave. This blog has repeatedly discussed the fundamental place of love in Christian faith. Jesus indicates how significant this love will be when he says, “By this shall all men know…” John 13:35 (Frost and Hirsch, “ReJesus”, p.50)
Mercy---Mediates grace and mercy from God
Offers forgiveness
Offers new beginnings
John 3:16 is the most well know verse in the Bible. In the next verse Jesus announces that “God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world.” Over and over Jesus models mercy, forgiveness, and the hope for new beginnings. These qualities are wonderfully attractive to the broken, burdened, lowly, hurting, and struggling. All around they may feel rejection in culture, but the followers of Jesus have a vision and passion for making all things new.
Religion or Love---Lives anti-religious loving and worshiping God
It is clear in the Gospels that Jesus was a stark contrast to the prominent religion surrounding him in Jewish culture. Of course the Pharisees were the epitome of that religious environment. That could be described as life by the Law. Jesus lived out a different mode, life by the Heart, Love for Father God and for all man. All through Christian history the church has been tempted to revert to law and religious ways. But the life of Jesus and the presence of his Spirit will always call us out of religious life and into the life motivated by love.
Hypocrisy---Hates hypocrisy which is far worse than sexual sins
Added to the anti-religious aspect Jesus saved his most hostile reactions for hypocrisy most often found in religion. All through the centuries the church has been called into question for hypocrisy while the church herself has given its strongest condemnation for sexual sins. This contrast might be an interesting study.
Care and Compassion---Shows love and compassion for the poor and oppressed
Befriends the outcast and misfit
An existential call to the whole person
The ‘manifesto’ of Jesus in Luke 4 is clear and beautiful. In his first sermon he declares his anointing for the downcast. Followers of Jesus walk under the same manifesto of care and compassion. Jesus would later say if such care is given to the needy, it is actually being given to himself personally.
Redemption---Follows and joins in God‘s redemption of all
Lives and proclaims the good news of the kingdom
Brings Salvation
This may be the most considered aspect of the Life of Jesus. All believers give assent to the call and need to proclaim the good news. But I love the inspiration of Diario Rodriguez, “Jesus is not just the preacher of the kingdom he is the bearer of the kingdom and it’s fulfillment.” (The Liberating Mission of Jesus, pp. 46, 36) If the church will emulate Jesus they will also bear the kingdom gospel as much or more than preach it.
Lays down his life for others
When this characteristic of Jesus is shown most have a picture of the cross. Indeed that has been the pinnacle point of focus for the church historically. Here I would like to touch another perspective. The ‘kenosis’ passage of Philippians 2 tells us that Jesus laid aside his existence in glory to come to us. I believe we can find illustration on nearly every page of the Gospels how Jesus laid down his life to fulfill his ministry. My thought is that as followers of Jesus we are called to lay down our lives for others like Jesus. This is a call to unselfish loving self sacrificial service and care. Again Philippians says, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” 2:5
What should the church look like?
Frost and Hirsch add a small section for the church saying, “We must constantly be checking to see if we are on target with Jesus. He didn’t found any churches so what would a Jesus church look like? (ReJesus, p.51)
A Jesus community will ———-
Follow the example of Jesus
Equip full followers
Move outward to serve others
Understand that worship is a whole of life exaltation of Jesus
Practice the presence of Jesus
Insist that we need to be continually re-evangelized
Learn and live the values of Jesus
Let’s take some time to consider these practical actions for imitating Jesus. May more and more of these be seen in all followers of Christ.
Make Paul Happy
January 31, 2026
Make Paul Happy!
Check this blog post out to see where Paul literally said, “Make Me Happy!”
I was reading along in the Bible the other day and I ran across these words of Paul. I had to chuckle that I had not seen this in all the years I had read over this pretty famous chapter in scripture. Let’s take a look at it.
Philippians chapter two has got to be on the top twenty list of scriptures for the description of how Jesus chose to leave the glorious eternal existence with God to come and join mankind. There are two words we often use to label the step Jesus made here. One is incarnation and this blog has done a few posts focusing on that alone, the idea that Jesus took on flesh and blood like us to minister to us and bring us salvation.
The other word is less known since it is Greek, the word ‘Kenosis,’ and means Jesus poured himself out to make the step and join us in our world. From verse five through the end of the chapter Paul describes this ‘condescension’ of Christ which he did for each of us. These two words, even three, each paint stirring pictures of the action of Jesus to carry out the mission of salvation and the launch of His Kingdom on earth. He poured himself out, he condescended, he became incarnate.
No wonder this chapter is one of the more important in all the New Testament. But I want us to look at the first two verses before Paul steps into those profound and wonderful thoughts. Actually these first two verses speak a strong word affirming both Pillar 1 --- ReJesus, and Pillar 2 --- Love. Check it out.
Phil 2:1-2 Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any [a]affection and compassion, 2 make my joy complete [b]by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.
Encouragement
Paul basically says, Have you felt any encouragement in Christ?” One version says is there any consolation? No doubt each of us could tell of many moments when Jesus has come along and encouraged us or brought us consolation in our despair. Yes, we have repeatedly felt that lifting encouraging work of Jesus breathing new strength and hope into us.
Comfort
Then Paul asks, “Have you felt any comfort of love in Jesus?” Oh my, this is possibly the greatest expression from the presence and touch of Jesus, feeling the comfort of his love. All of us have felt this. It doesn’t take a crisis or moments of difficulty. In any moment, potentially every day, we can be warmed by a sense of the love of Jesus and it is instantly comforting. Yes, this loving comfort soothes us often. The Psalmists write of this repeatedly.
Koinonia
Paul adds, “Have you felt his fellowship in the Spirit?” The word is ‘koinonia’ and it is the classic word for the unique unity and togetherness the early family of God felt. Now Paul uses it of Jesus and his promise of his constant presence with us. Remember the promise, “I will never leave you or forsake you?” I think of John Wesley’s last words, “The best is he is with us.” All his children sense this anytime they think of Jesus. He is with us!
Deep Compassionate Mercy
Paul asks his final question, “Have you felt his affection and compassion?” The Greek words point deeper to gut wrenching feelings stirring compassion and bringing mercy. From the instant of our salvation to this very day we have received these from Jesus. The Lamentations writer says, “It is of the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, his compassions fail not, they are new every morning, great is your faithfulness.” Lam 3:22
Yes, all four of these qualities Paul mentions are fountains of blessings for us from Jesus. It is moving to reflect on them today.
So this is where Paul declares, “Make me happy!” That is my version. So what will make Paul happy here, or fill up his joy?
“Be of the same mind!”
Paul is literally saying just like Jesus has done these wonderful things in your life, now you go and do the same for someone else. Go encourage others, comfort them with the love of Jesus you have received. Go walk with someone that is low showing them deep authentic compassion and swelling mercies. Like Jesus this is the way to touch people all around you.
He expands on this command saying, have this same love, be aligned with this and be intent in this purpose. In this important chapter of the Bible and in these two verses we see a strong affirmation from Paul for the first two pillars of Christian living, emulate Jesus and love others.
Vertical and Horizontal
It is easy for us Christians to get excited about verse one. Yes we rejoice that we have experienced these glorious benefits from Jesus, and so often. We can identify with verse one and join the praises for these vertical blessings. In verse two Paul shifts the aim and calls us all to the horizontal application, serving the others. It is easy for us Bible readers to gloss over verse two and move one while we are still in ecstasy about the glorious benefits in verse one.
Nevertheless, here in verse two Paul is issuing the call for all believers to be like Jesus, act, walk, love, and serve others like him. It is not a coincidence that love is mentioned twice. The greatest way we can imitate Jesus will be in some expression of love (pillar 2). Finally in verse five Paul will repeat his call saying, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.”
May we all accept Paul’s exhortation here in this very important chapter, Walk like Jesus and Love God BY Loving Others. I am sure that will make Jesus happy too!
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How Did Jesus View Sin?
December 30, 2025
The philosopher and novelist Iris Murdoch says: “Morality is mostly about how you pay attention to others… The essential immoral act is the inability to see others correctly. Because we don’t see people accurately, we treat them wrongly. Evil happens when people are unseeing, when they don’t recognize the personhood in other human beings.”
(David Brooks, How To Know A Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply And Being Deeply Seen, p.32.)
If I understand Murdoch correctly, she is basing sin relationally, how we see others and how we treat others. This foundation seems attractive or at least interesting to me because I believe the foundation of Christian faith life is love, which is relational. The Great Commandment is the center of Christianity, Love God and Love Others (Mat. 22:35-40), making the bedrock of Christianity relational. Therefore, the common denominator of evaluating sin should rightly be a marred relationship with God or others.
More traditionally Christianity has seen and described sin as a violation of prescribed laws, or rules, or behaviors. That approach may not lead to a wrong designation of sin, but it fails to anchor the evaluation in the relational base of Christianity as affirmed by Jesus in the Great Commandment. Historically it is easy to verify how law and rule based perspectives on sin have been open to legalism and behavioral applications while relational aspects and heart issues were overlooked.
If we use Murdoch’s words to talk about the more historical approach to sin it might read like this: “The essential immoral act is the violation of the law.” It is obvious here that any reference to the love base of Christianity in the Great Commandment is missing even though Jesus himself said, “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Mat. 22:40) Also inherently connected with this Love base is the relational foundation of Christian faith life. We are relationally bonded to Jesus in this life of faith and sin ought to have everything to do with marring that relationship. In the same way we are relationally bonded to both the Body of Christ AND humanity made in God’s image therefore sin ought to have everything to do with marring those relations. Christianity is relational, not religious; it is relational and not legalistic; it is love bound, not law bound.
Let’s take another step. If Christianity evaluated sin as relationally based and love anchored how would our priority list of sins change? Has anyone wondered why Jesus blatantly gave religious pride and hypocrisy his most agitated and condemning reactions? In my life Christianity has placed sins such as murder, sexual sin, and criminal activity high on the list of disdain. If I dare ask where many relational sins fall on the traditional Christian priority list we might find pride, bitterness, unforgiveness, gossip, evil speaking, judging and anger near the bottom, almost off the radar. Perhaps some would even say these are not so much sins as simply ‘faults’, though the Bible does differ. Reflecting on sermons in my life experiences where sin was itemized, I find a real omission of relational sins such as those above or in Ephesians 4:31 (with the exception of bitterness). In my memory behavioral sins denounced have far outweighed relational ones. But it seems interesting the opposite was the case for Jesus in the Gospels.
Some may feel that a conversation like this is an invitation to ‘go easy on sin.’ Emphasizing love makes some worry that the church will just allow anything in the name of love. No doubt Pharisees in Jesus’ day felt he was too soft on sinners. Today we understand he was establishing a new system based on the heart not on the law. Clearly his Sermon on the Mount pointed beyond what the law said and raised the standard to the intentions of the heart. That was different of course, shifting from a system they had evaluating by externals and moving to the leaning of the heart. Still, we see how often Christianity through the centuries has slipped and shifted back to systems that can observe, measure, and judge from external behaviors. The hidden things of the heart have not been easy for religion to embrace, and yes Jesus came offering relationship, not religion. In addition, it has been difficult for religion to really believe that love wins.
As culture calls Christianity harsh and judgmental how does this conversation inform us?
Considering the Four Pillars concept, this post supports Love Pillar 2, Relations Pillar 3, and Emulating Jesus Pillar 1.
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