Is Jesus Religious? (cont.)

I have discovered through my own experiences in the church that people who talk a lot about accountability are often people who choose to apply said accountability to everyone except themselves. They are fine being in the place where they get to decide the rightness or wrongness of a person’s actions, but ask them to submit to the same thing when it comes to the rightness or wrongness of their own actions, the last thing they want is accountability. “Well preacher, your son's behavior tells me a good bit about your parenting skills, but let’s not talk about my son or daughter. That’s none of your business…... Well preacher, you just don’t seem to have proper theology here, but let’s not talk about the fact I've never really investigated any other theological options than the one I adhere to. Your theology is suspect (since it’s not mine), and though I have never really considered if mine is or is not valid or orthodox (presumably it is right just because I hold it), I’m not about to allow you to question it…… Well preacher, that man is an adulterer, and I just don’t think you should be spending time with him, eventhough I've never really dealt with the adultery I daily commit in my own heart. Well preacher, I don’t think that you were very nice to that person, so let me set you straight using a style that certainly is not to be questioned, since I’m not the preacher…… Well preacher, I realize my son or daughter has been divorced, but that’s different. There were reasons. But that does not mean I should embrace this divorced person for leadership……. Well preacher, I realize you spend lots and lots of time studying for your sermons, but I just don’t get anything out of it, so, you need to change your style. You are just not feeding me, and it’s my job as a congregant to tell you what you should be doing.” There are times I wonder if people understand the elevated view we have of ourselves when it comes to tolerating our own weaknesses, embracing the love of God for ourselves in spite of our shortcomings and sin, while at the same time refusing to offer the same love and compassion to those we have convinced ourselves are somehow less deserving of God’s love and forgiveness than we are. We say we don’t believe this, and maybe we refrain from such verbalization, but our actions often indicate otherwise.

Now, none of this is to say it does not matter how we live. It simply is meant to say that the standard for a Christian is different than that of a "religious person". We are measured in God’s Kingdom on the basis of how we love, better yet, how much we allow God to love through us. The Law and the Prophets, and the fulfillment of their words, are accomplished in Christ. We are no longer obligated to  meet the standard of a Law that was given to those who are slaves to their own nature. We are actually given a higher standard, a steeper one – the Law of Love. And just like the one given before, namely the Law delivered through Moses, we cannot attain this new standard also, left to our own devices. All that is left to do is surrender; surrender our lives by faith to the One who can love in and through us. And if we do this, the keeping of laws and standards will take care of itself. If I make love my guide in all things, then the place of holiness, Law, and accountability take on new meaning. They are no longer an end in and of themselves; but they become a tool, a tool used when needed, a tool applied with Love calls for them. Love will never use Law and Rule as standards to separate, evaluate, or congregate. How can a person ever convince themselves that the most loving thing to do is worship with people who are more like me, when the call of God is to take His love to those who are least like Him? Love would demand the opposite. My church needs me, so I’m here to serve through the good and the bad. These people need the love and forgiveness God has given me, therefore I am here to love. My gifts meet needs at my church, therefore I share them with those who need them just like Jesus did. Have you ever noticed that in the Scriptures Jesus spent most of his time with those who needed his love, and less and less time with those who failed to recognize this need? How can we His disciples do less? Whereas we are quite comfortable throwing money at a person whose lifestyle we despise in the name of compassion, it is quite another thing when it comes to worshipping with and rubbing shoulders with those we don’t approve of.

This tendency to emphasize our supposed calling to hold others accountable for their sin leads to two alarming realities in our churches. First, it creates separation and erects barriers between persons. If my job is to hold you accountable for your sin, assuming that this sin is of the type which is recognizable to me as sin, then I must of necessity begin to separate myself from you lest I have someone wanting to hold me accountable for the same thing. For instance, if it is my job to confront you for your beer drinking (after having convinced myself this is sin), it goes without saying that I cannot hang out with you while you are participating in this behavior, seeing that my judgment of you is only valid if I can show others I am not condoning or participating in your behavior. I must, of theological necessity, separate myself from “sinners”, so that it can be clearly seen to all that those things I hold you accountable for are not also a weakness in me. This is exactly what the religious people of Jesus’ day expected him to do, as to not be contaminated by the sins of the people. So, divorced persons, excuse me if I don’t nominate you for Leadership and invite you to serve with me on the Board. Excuse me, known drug addict, as I pause to tell you how you are supposed to live; but heaven forbid I actually invest in your life in one on one relationship, unless of course it’s a safe mentoring relationship where we both recognize that I have it together and you don’t. Our “Christian minds” have grown so distorted, as we build legalistic walls hewn from moral clay and self righteous brick.  We “righteously” choose to invest our time in those who will not ruin our reputation for being holy people, or who cause us to rub shoulders with sinners we pretend to have little in common with, even those we call "brother" or "sister". I love you "brother", now go away. I love you "sister", I just can't worship and serve along side you. Most of the walls which separate us in the church are held together with moral laws erected in the name of accountability, even though Jesus clearly came to tear such walls asunder, as he utters the proclamation to the self-righteous Jewish Leader, "not one stone will be left upon another when God brings your Holy Temple to the ground"! Though we recognize Jesus' tendency to disdain self-righteousness on the part of the Pharisee, we are quite adept at denying these tendencies in ourself.

Let me give you one example I have seen in my vocation. I had a couple who came to me for marriage. They were living together, so two ministers had already declined to do the wedding in the name of "moral accountability". It was now my choice to make. They actually expected me to say no, and had run into the type of attitudes that had left them both feeling as though they were somehow “unworthy” of a church wedding. Why did they feel this unworthiness? Was it what God wanted them to feel? Now let’s start by establishing what I believe about living together. I affirm that God created marriage to be between husband and wife for life, and that living together is ideally reserved for those who are united in the marriage bond. I affirm and adore marriage, and would never suggest that living together is God’s ideal for any couple. However, in this complicated world in which we live in, people certainly make this choice. I do not believe that such a choice takes people outside the realm of God’s love or God’s blessing. The God who blessed David and Bathsheba with a child by the name of Solomon most certainly can bless a marriage between two people who have lived together. I would think that a person who believed that marriage should be the natural consequence of choosing to live in the same house would be supportive of a couple who have made such a choice to “make it right”, so to speak. I am wondering if these same people would refuse to go to their daughter’s wedding if she had in fact lived with her boyfriend before marriage? The Pastor’s calling for such a couple is to love them , and do everything within his or her power to enhance the possibility that this marriage will succeed and that this couple might grow to honor God with their marriage. How is a pastor to have this kind of influence if they choose to cut this couple out of their life, which is the likely consequence of the choice not to do the wedding on moral grounds, in the name of “accountability”? My best chance for serving this couple, as Jesus often did, is to embrace them right where they are and to become a vibrant part of their life. Do we honestly believe Jesus would refuse to do such a wedding in the name of accountability and condemnation rather than displaying love and compassion as He invests Himself in their lives?

Is Jesus Religious? Part 3


This is the picture the Scriptures paint of God and us. While we were his enemies, and could care less what God thought of us or wanted from us, God chooses to love us fully and completely through the death of His Son (Romans 5). The remarkable thing is that we don’t understand this truth deeply enough to choose to continue to love one another in this fashion. We reject our brothers and sisters for far less than God was ever challenged to forgive in us. Whereas God removes accountability by placing our penalty on His only Son, we magnify accountability by placing undue burden on those who do not live up to the standards we set for them, standards we often don’t meet ourselves, if we are honest enough to own our own sin. We welcome God’s grace for ourselves, we withhold it from others. I actually had a man tell me one time that he felt he had every right to judge a person as long as he was not guilty of the same sin they were committing. I made every effort to keep from laughing, unsuccessfully I fear, for I can still hear myself chuckle a bit when I think of his words. Did he just hear what he said? Does he honestly believe he can go through life judging people who have committed the sins he believes himself never to have committed? Can you imagine the fear and mental gymnastics that lie at the core of such theology? What happens if I lie to someone the day after I judge a person for lying? Must I then go back and apologize to him, or maybe even do a 12 step program where I go back to all those I have judged for this behavior in the past, making amends with all of them? Maybe I can make a list of each person I judged for this behavior and just send out a general email – “I am so sorry for condemning you for the sin that I have at long last succumb to.” Chances are, faced with this colossal task, I will probably just end up lying to myself about lying, and just move forward with my judgmental attitude toward those who lie. After all, I really only have to convince myself I’m innocent in order to hold others accountable, and I so enjoy holding others accountable for the sin I pretend is not a part of my life.



I found myself wondering if this person ever read James 2:8-12; 4:11,12; Romans 2:1,2. These passages clearly indicate that the second we begin to use the Law as an instrument of judgment pertaining to others, we instantly condemn ourselves, for those who judge by the law will themselves end up being condemned by this same law. We cannot use the Law of God to judge and condemn others without, at the same time, condemning ourselves. I can hear it now….”Dear so and so, I’m not gonna judge you for the sins you are not guilty of, but if I can find even a single sin you have committed that I have never committed, I will judge you for that. O My, I have not even contemplated that sin. I'm sorry, hell and judgment awaits, accountability prevails, and forgiveness is non-applicable, since I find in you some sins I have never committed. Sorry. (I love this accountability stuff, especially when I'm the one doing the holding.” )

Interesting. According to this man’s theology we get to judge others for sins since we are not guilty of, even though God chooses not to judge and condemn, and hands over all judgment to His Son who declares for all to hear that He did not come into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world. And although Jesus has never commited  a single sin, He chooses not to judge those who have. So, according to this person, I somehow have the right to do a thing that God The Father will never allow Himself to do, and Jesus the Son chooses not to do. Would it not be more simple and prudent to take Jesus at His Word when he declares in John 5 that the Father has committed all judgment to the Son, making it Jesus’ job to judge and condemn and not mine or yours? Would it not make more sense to love the sinner, since I’m a sinner who is loved? Would it not make more sense to treat my brothers and sisters in the faith with the same dogged and unwavering compassion that I would give to my own child, rather than turn my back on them in ways that communicate the very opposite of love?

Is Jesus Religious? (part 2)      
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IAhDGYlpqY


Christianity is surrendering to Jesus; Religion is surrendering to a standard of Life. Christianity is relationship lived out inside the person of Christ and extended to all around us who need His love as we do; Religion is a gathering of persons who are trying to live up to particular standard that enhances their likelihood of becoming worthy of relationship with God. Christianity is the abandonment of Law in order to embrace the Christ; Religion is the abandonment of relationship in order to embrace a Law to live by. Christianity is acceptance from God when it can never be deserved or earned; Religion is acceptance by God because we deserve it and have earned it. Christianity is defined by the Law of Love; Religion is defined by the Laws of people. Christianity is a new start each day; Religion is a record of wrongs overcome by a resume of accomplishments. Christianity emphasizes forgiveness; Religion emphasizes accountability. Christianity is for all sinners; Religion is for good people. Christianity is for those who are found by God; Religion is for those who have found God. Christianity is a gift from God to an underserving humanity; Religion is an undeserving humanity bringing gifts to God in order to declare themselves a deserving humanity.

Now, how does this work itself out in real life? How does one know that they are practicing the life of love as opposed to the life of a religious person par excel lance? Let us suppose that you have a child who has strayed from the fold of your particular version of family values. He is involved with people who are not conducive to a “good life”, has taken up with a married woman, and is generally speaking, a bit of an embarrassment to you. What will you do as a parent? Will you abandon your child? Will you give up on him, remove him from the will, and erase his name from the family albums you cherish. Will you screen your phone calls, refuse to worship God with him on Christmas Eve, and run around the neighborhood gossiping to anyone who will listen of his “evil” ways? I dare say that some of you might, having convinced yourself that your reputation and your good name is on the line. I would venture to guess that most of you would simply try to love him. You would do everything in your power to make sure he knows you love him. You would not separate yourself from his life, would maybe even try to call him and spend even more time with him if he would allow, and you would never contemplate turning your back on him or separating yourself from his person. Why? Because you love him, and you understand that being a parent means loving your child through good and bad, right and wrong, approval and disapproval.

Is it not amazing that we would love our child this way, but we often do the opposite with our brothers and sisters in the church? You understand instinctively that loving your child is not a love with limits, in effect only when our child is worth y of such love. Yes, we may want to hold them accountable, and we most certainly wish they would change some of the behaviors they are choosing to live out, but we understand that Love is needed even when accountability is rejected, when Law is abandoned, and when lifestyles are terribly flawed. AT such times we have hardly anything left to give other than our love, and we will not cease to offer it no matter the personal cost for the child we love.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IAhDGYlpqY

Christ calls us into a Body, not a religion                                                      

We cannot claim to love God unless we learn to love those who are difficult to love. Christianity can be the most cliquish, segregated, exclusive club in America, or it can become the most vibrant, inclusive, and compassionate gathering of people known to the world. It all comes down to how we understand our life in Christ.

Religious people focus on a few primary words to describe their walk. Holiness or Purity (substitute words here like above reproach or integrity or good person or saint or other words which communicate the notion that the person is morally superior to others); Law (substitute rules or does what is right or good reputation or makes the church proud or great role model or however you choose to say it); Accountability (someone who is worthy of praise rather than punishment or someone who holds themselves to the standards set up for them or holds others to the standard they set up for them, etc.) On the surface these seem to be great criteria in order to judge a person’s faith. Only, they are not faith words. They are religious words. These are words that are used and defined by every religion in the world. Every religion has a notion of purity, a type of Law, and a system of accountability. The fact that all religions have these concepts is mentioned here simply to point out that we do not need Christianity to develop systems of holiness, Law and accountability. Each of these exist apart from the Christian faith. Christianity is different than other world religions precisely because we answer the questions of holiness, Law, and accountability in a different way. Instead of looking to ourselves to answer the questions these words create, we look to Someone outside ourselves, we look to One who provides these things for us, things that Jesus taught we cannot possibly provide for ourselves.

According to Jesus, we are not, nor can we be, holy, unless we are made holy by the actions of One whose provision of holiness is independent of our actions. According to Jesus, the Law has the opposite purpose within Christianity it has in other religions. The Law is not given to provide a standard to live by or to change us in any way. There is no Law given that can change a person. Instead, the Law has been given to point us to the total depravity we all share, in order to redirect us toward the grace of God that can only be found in the Son of God. As Paul states, if a law had been given that could provide salvation, then Christ would be unnecessary. Faith in Jesus becomes the only answer we have after the Law has fulfilled its ultimate purpose in each of us, exposing the futility of humans to obey it and the utter helplessness we share in ever keeping it. The Law is not a standard to live by, but instead a standard to die by, a moral mirror which reveals to us the utter futility that “religion” is faced with in bringing about true change in any of us. According to Jesus, we are no longer held accountable for our actions or our choices once He has entered our lives. This is not because we live up to the standard God sets for us, but rather because Jesus has. God can no longer hold us accountable for the things Jesus has been held accountable for, namely, our sin. When Paul cries out in Romans 8 that there is “now condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” he is not denying the place and need for accountability, he is declaring to us that accountability is applied to Christ on our behalf. It is confusing to me that people still try to credit our sin to our own account, as if Jesus had never come. What we deserve is given to him, and what He deserves is given to us. The Christian faith is not about accountability, it is about Grace, freedom and forgiveness. When we forget these things, we not only misunderstand what Jesus has accomplished, but we undermine the cross, make a mockery of the finished work of Jesus, and eventually end up practicing religion rather than living in Christ.
 

It is not that Jesus has erased or nullified the standards above. Holiness, in and of itself, is a great thing. The Law is holy and good, and is needed in order to give our lives structure and goals to aspire toward. Accountability is a means toward a very important end, so that we can measure our growth in Christ and continue to allow him to transform us into the image of Christ living within us. But none of these things are the standard by which the Christian faith is defined. You see, Jesus has raised the standard, Jesus asks more of us than holiness, the Law, or accountability. Jesus introduced a new notion of what religion can be. And the word he gives us is simple to speak, yet so very difficult to live. Love. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength and love your neighbor as yourself”. Galatians 5 lists for us the fruit of the Spirit, once again pointing to the truth that we can only live out these attributes as we learn to remove ourselves from the equation and allow God to live through us. Ultimately, the only question worth asking when it comes to evaluating the life of Christ in a person is this – Are you yielding your life to the Spirit of God at work in you? There is no other measuring stick for the Christian life. Paul even goes so far to say that when the fruit of the Spirit are manifest in us, there is no Law that can speak against us. The reason. There is no Law that can contain, measure, test, evaluate, or add to the work of the Spirit in our lives. And each and every one of these fruit turn out to be a manifestation of the Love of God a person’s life. Show me your faith by your keeping of Law and tradition, and I’ll show you a good religious person, a good church lady. Show me your faith by your acts of love and compassion toward a lost and dying world, and I’ll show you a person whose heart is a home for the Spirit to move and breathe.