Pure Honesty.

This isn't like most of the other stuff I write. Usually I try to think them out in a logical approach, which will be appealing to the mind of people. It is sanitized that way. I get to show off my theological intellect, and step on very few toes. I get to write things which contain truth, but they seem to be watered down so as to not offend anyone. I suppose sometimes its a pride thing. If i say the right words and people like it, then they approve of me, and if they approve of me then I am honoring God.

How stupid does that make me sound?

But this is not about that. This is about pure, unedited truth. This is about the Gospel, plain and simple. Its not judgmental. Its not a holie-than-thou speech. Its taking the words of Christ seriously.

We have a major problem. Our priorities are backwards. We live in a society which is all about me, and we have polluted the Gospel with that. Let me ask you these basic questions:
Why did Jesus come to earth?
What does it take to be "saved"?

If you are like most people, you probably answered the first question with a "Jesus came to die for my sins" or if you are more generous "to die for the sins of the world" And you probably answered the second question with something like "You pray and accept Jesus into your heart"

The first one is kind of accurate. The second is way off base.

The Word clearly says that we are completely broken and fallen away from the God who created us. There is no way to bridge that ourselves. We have turned from our original purpose, which is to enjoy God's grace and to multiply it. We are sinners bound for an eternal hell. And Jesus, because of His character and not because of anything we have to offer, stepped down into this dark and twisted world, and lived a perfect, pleasing life that He may bring Glory to the Father. And because He desired to do the will of the Father, He went voluntarily to His death and faced the full wrath of God on the Cross. It wasn't because of the cross that Jesus sweat blood in the Garden and asked for the cup to pass away. It was because He knew the terrible wrath that was about to come upon Him.

To use an illustration that David Platt has used:

Imagine for a moment standing in a valley, and before you is a dam which is ten thousand feet tall and ten thousand feet wide. Behind this dam is countless gallons of water ready to burst forth and consume you whole. The dam breaks and the wall of water rushes towards you, destroying everything in its path. As you feel the ground shake, and you hear the water roar, you realize that even if you try to run from this as fast as you can, you will be swallowed whole with in a matter of seconds. You stand there as it approaches, your fate being sealed, and at the last moment the ground crumbles in front of you and the earth swallows all the water completely, so that you don't even get a tiny drop of water on you anywhere.

It was an eternities worth of wrath that He willingly took, to win over His people, so that they may once again enjoy His grace and multiply that grace around the around. And He drank that cup of wrath completely. Not a drop remained, and then He cried out "IT IS FINISHED!"

And this is what I mean by the Gospel is being polluted; We have made the Gospel about "me". Jesus loves me. Jesus died for me. Jesus wants me to be happy. Jesus saved me. And we have ended up making Jesus look like a weak fool who is waiting for our acceptance of Him, rather than the Creator of all things, the Lord of all Lords, and King of all Kings.

Christ is not the center of our lives, though we may claim that. But really, can our claims hold true against the testimonies of what we are doing with our lives?

Our lives are centered around US. We even create God in an image of what we want to see. We want to see a God who loves us, is happy with the way we choose to live our lives, and desires us to be happy and all that jazz. That is what we want God to be like. Sure, God does love us. I can't argue that. And I do believe He wants the best for us in the end. But we cannot make the Gospel about us, when it is clearly all about Jesus.

Let me ask you these things, do you ever find yourself saying something like "I would read my Bible if i had more time" or "I would like to pray more, I just need to find time to fit it in my schedule" Or "Jesus really didn't mean that we have to give up EVERYTHING"

If you say those things, then I plead with you right now: stop reading this, get off the computer, get away from all people or interruptions, fall to your knees and cry out to God to turn your life upside down. Ask Him to cut away all things which get between you and Him. I speak from experience when I say that when He begins to do this, and you make Him the center of your life, you will see life in a way that you had never thought possible.

Now, I can see the objections coming already: " I am not called to do this or that", "Jesus doesn't call everyone to be extreme", "Those verses don't apply to everyone".

And that strikes me as ironic. See, when we read something like "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) or how there are many mansions in Heaven built for us (John 14:1-11), we will say that this is meant for ALL of us. Anytime we read scripture where we directly benefit, we have no problem believing that that verse is for us.

Yet when we are called to go to the poor, the sick, or the imprisoned we blow it off as a job for someone else to do. When we are called to "make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I(Jesus) have commanded you", we leave that to the few, the proud, the missionaries, as if they are some sort of specially qualified class of people. Here's a secret: they're not. They have simply found that having God as the center of their lives means they are to answer His call to go anywhere and do anything.

But this is a lifestyle which is uncomfortable for us. We have to take risks, putting our trust and faith solely in God. We might lose friends, family, a lover, a good paying job, or even lose our very life. Due to that, we'd rather take the safety Christian route. I've even used the excuse of something like "God can use me more if I am alive, rather than dead". Needless to say, I think God did a major face palm when I said that.

Basically our excuses boil down to this reality: there are things in our lives which we love more than God, and our lives plainly reflect this. Maybe its that job, that boyfriend/girlfriend, that degree you are pursuing, etc...what ever it is, Jesus plainly calls you to give that up and make Him the Lord of your life. No you don't accept Him, as if he a facebook friend request. You submit your entire life to Him. Don't believe me? Read scripture. Pray. Fast. Let the Holy Spirit speak truth to your heart. You will see what I am seeing, and what countless saints have seen through history. Jesus is EVERYTHING. Nothing else matters.

So really, we have a choice to make:

Do we continue living the way that we do, adding in a bit of church here, or a little bit of worship time there, and hope that when we stand before Him, He doesn't repeat Matthew 7:22-23 (look it up!)

OR

Do we fall on our knees, crying out to God to come and make our lives completely based around Him? Do we heed that call that he has for us, no matter where it takes us or what it costs? Do we Worship Him as the only Lord of our lives?

I'm going to be honest, the former choice is very appealing to the flesh, but it leads to death. Jesus is very clear about that. So I plead with you to choose the second. I beg that you count all things as loss, and only known Him as gain. When you do that, I promise that you will see a major change.

Blessings,
Tom