Have you heard the excuses for not going to church or giving your life to God? Maybe you’ve said them yourself.
“The walls/roof of the church would fall in.”
“I’ve got to have my fun first. I don’t want to be a hypocrite.”
“God might strike me with lightening.”
Ever wonder where those excuses come from? Could it be from the people who are supposed to represent Christ in the world? How so? I’m glad you asked.
Salvation by fear
How many people got saved out of fear? You knew that if you didn’t get saved right then you could die and go to hell. While this is a true statement, it is only part of the story. But going to hell is only one side of the equation. Salvation from eternal damnation is only the tip of the iceberg. You were saved from something, but what were you saved to?
Or how many “stayed saved” out of fear? We heard that if Jesus came back and we happened to be sinning we’d be left. This is a dangerous thing to say because salvation becomes about your works and not the work of Christ and the grace of God.
The problem with salvation by fear is that there’s no hope of developing a loving relationship with someone you’re afraid of. And a loving relationship is what God really wants.
Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
How do you come boldly to someone you’re afraid of? To someone who condemns you? Speaks badly of you? Looks down on you?
Is it possible that people are not coming to God because they only hear about fear and judgement from Believers and never about the throne of Grace?
The Bible says that Satan is the accuser (Rev 10:10) and Jesus is the mediator (Heb 8:6). Which do people hear more about from Christians? Accusation or the mediation of Christ on our behalf?
Who’s Side Are We On Anyway?
Sometimes I wonder who’s job, we as Christians, really do. Is our life demonstrating a come-boldly-to-the-throne God or a stay-away-you’re-unworthy God? We seem to be really good at saying what’s wrong, but how many of us talk about what’s right? How many times does the lost get to hear that “the world is going to hell in a hand basket” but doesn’t hear that God so loved that same world, that He gave His only Son (John 3:16)? We all have seen the preacher on the corner that yells, “The end is near! Judgement is coming! REPENT!” but how many of us have seen one on the sidewalk saying “God loves you! He died to redeem you! He has a good plan for your life”?
The Bible says it is the goodness of God that leads men to repentance (Rom 2:4), and to “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8). Do we really know about the goodness of God? Does the world have an understanding of His goodness? Do they understand why He is good? Do they know what makes the Christian God a good God?
How Goodness Leads to Repentance
Ever been around someone who made you feel better just being in their presence? You felt energized, like you could take on the world. This awesome person was in your corner with encouraging words and it made you want to lay aside your negative thinking and live up to their belief in you.
The love of God kinda does that to you. While we can never pay back Jesus for His sacrifice, our desire to be and do better should flow out of our desire to love Him back. There’s just something about His goodness in your life that makes you want to clean up your act.
And as we get closer to Him, the Holy Spirit is gracious enough to gently show us our rough edges, negative thoughts and unaligned desires so that we can become more like Jesus. This typically happens in an intimate relationship with Christ and not the result of a heresy-hunting quest by some well-meaning Christian.
Show His Goodness
Let’s be honest. Unless their conscience is seared, most people know when they are doing wrong. Most feel the weight of sin, see the mess in the world and feel hopeless on how to fix any of it – including their own lives. People need the hope of Christ. They need to experience His goodness, and that can come from you and me. We are His hands and feet in the world.
Yes, especially in this age where evil is called good and good evil, we need to know about sin and about what is not in alignment with God’s will. But let’s not stop there. There is the true road. There is hope in Jesus! There’s GRACE. The Gospel means Good News. So let’s not forget to stress the outstretched arms of the Father.
An Extra Warning for the Digital Keyboard Warriors
Furthermore, let’s be slow to come with accusation and judgment – especially online! In the age of social media, I find it disheartening to see emboldened Christians snipping at each other in the comments, as if they have a call from the Lord to police the interwebs with a scripture verse thrown in for good measure. I can say, with almost guaranteed certainty, that that isn’t a call of God and you, my dear brother or sister, are out of line. I said what I said.
Matthew 18:15-17 lays out the framework for confronting sin in the Church. Too many times, I see Christians skip the 1-on-1, heart-to-heart convo to go straight online to chastise them publicly. We need to be careful to speak out of pure hearts out of love. I have a hard time believing that looks like a public take-down on social media.
Let’s make it our mission for our lives to reflect the goodness of God so that the lost can come to the throne of Grace boldly and not stay away out of fear.
