Good commentary today in Christianity Today from Mark Galli.
This comes near the end of the article – do read the whole thing.
Note how one writer put it in reflecting on the Gosselin debacle. (I’ll leave the writer anonymous, because my beef is not with her.) The sentiment expressed is widespread in our movement. After rightly suggesting that the flaws of Jon and Kate reflect our movement’s flaws, she says that we must do things differently: Find new role models, practice forgiveness better, and take marriage vows more seriously. Do, do, do. Then she concludes, “Then, and only then, will Christians have something to offer the world.”
The problem, of course, is that there is no empirical evidence to suggest that Christians will actually do these things consistently. Not private Christians. Not public Christians—it’s only a matter of months, maybe days (!) before another scandal will be revealed in the press.
Such moral exhortations are no doubt needed, but we must never believe that “then and only then” will we Christians have something “to offer the world.” What we offer the world is not ourselves or our moral example or our spiritual integrity. What we offer the world is our broken lives, saying, “We are sinners saved by grace.” What we offer the world is Jesus Christ and him crucified.
“Be a sinner and sin boldly,” said Martin Luther, “but believe and rejoice in Christ even more boldly. For he is victorious over sin, death, and the world. As long as we are here, we have to sin. This life is not the dwelling place of righteousness but, as Peter says, we look for a new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. … Pray boldly—you too are a mighty sinner.”
Make no mistake, this is not cheap grace. Not cheap at all—it’s free. And it’s the most precious thing we have to offer the world.
I might add that winning the culture war won’t help much either…
UPDATE: A reader sent along this web page with quotes from Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s The Cost of Discipleship. Perhaps, this page balances Galli’s piece? Can these two approaches be compatible?
David Blakeslee- “the Bible doesn’t say they will know we are His disciples because our marriages last; rather it says they will know it because:
We love one another.”
hmm, i seem to recall Jesus saying you will know them by their fruits… As a matter of fact that’s a pretty frequent occurrence in the bible.. Does no one wonder nowdays why the angel said His name shall be Jesus and he will save his people from their sins!!!? Thats what he came to do, if you are in sin, REPENT, and he will cleanse you, that you should live a holy, pure life!!!
People, believe the word of God, don’t listen to wolfs with four letters behind their name who have hardened their own hearts..
Go after the Bible to find out what it says about what happend to those who live in sin.. The Gospel is this, LOOK TO JESUS, And he will set you FREE!!! If you need good literature to help you go after the writings of men like AW Tozer, Leonard Ravinhill, Paris Reidhead, CH Spurgin,,,
these are all men who’s life matched up to what the word of God said they should look like,,
Each evening about dusk, there is a man who stands on the street corner near my home — playing a tambourine and chanting, smiling at the drivers and waving as they pass. He will give you a vegetarian recipe or two. He seems genuinely full of joy.
His name is Bill. He always asks about my daughter and about my choir. He says God Bless and wishes me well. I don’t think he is Christian, but he acts more like it than most Christians I know.
Tim,
Absolutely Timothy! Although I disagree with you that the idea is heterodox. Most of the conservative and thoughtful religious folk I know would agree. I think the verse talking about being hot or cold speaks to this.
And I keep thinking yes. We need them for those who oppose us (to demonstrate what He is really about) and we need them to inspire each other (to become more like Him.)
Guess you can tell it’s close to lunchtime here. I think we could use more of those, too. 🙂
It would be nice if a double blind study, peer reviewed and published in an APA Journal verified Jesus’ assertions.
I would feel better.
:).
Yes. Yes. I think we do. No matter how “strongly those who oppose” us reject or despise the “example”. I believe it is what we are called to be.
Yes, the Bible says they will know we are His disciples because We love one another.
That’s what I have been saying, David. That is how they will know.
Hmmm….
Do Christians need “more” heroes…really?
Galli gets it…for those who oppose us, no example with be good enough…besides, the Bible doesn’t say they will know we are His disciples because our marriages last; rather it says they will know it because:
We love one another.
@ Timothy…I kinda agree:
To whom much is given, much is required…
A heatry “amen” to that!
I find something troubling about Galli’s piece. He seems to be saying that Christians need not be different, but implied is the notion that while they need not comply to their own standards, they are justified in imposing them on others.
I would counter that Jesus was clear. He said in no uncertain terms that there would be something different about Christians.
did not ask his disciples to show “brokenness” to the world. Rather, he said:
If Christians are not showing more love than the world around them then, indeed, they have nothing to offer.
I would suggest that idolizing Carry Prejean for her anti-gay statements or the Gosselins for their child juggling skills completely misses the point. Christians should set up as role models those who show love to their neighbors. Heros who try and heal the innercity, those who feed, cloth, and house the unfortunate, AIDS workers, cancer walk organizers, those who visit resthomes.
I’m going to say something unorthodox that may sound contrary to everything that Christians believe – yet I believe it is found in the 25th chapter of Matthew.
I believe that God will be far more lenient in judgment on those who have never had a personal relationship with Christ or a conversion experience yet who were generous and caring for the physical needs of the world around them than he will be on judging born-again Christians who tithed and attended service regularly and who “cared for the soul of their neighbor” but who did not care for the body of their neighbor.
Meanwhile in Uruguay, a Catholic bishop has stepped down from his ministry after a gay sex scandal. It’s not always evangelicals.