Lance Armstrong Is A Liar

“All liars will have their part in the lake of fire.”

“Thou shall not lie.” --- God


Lance Armstrong cheated and then lied about it.

I used to be a huge Lance fan. His story (which turned out to be a lie) was so compelling. An elite athlete…sidelined by cancer…fought and beat cancer…came back and won a record 7 times. Winning the Tour de France is an incredible athletic accomplishment. Winning it 7 times is historic. Coming back from cancer and winning 7 times is legendary. Now, it is all a lie.

What makes the story worse is that for years Armstrong was accused and denied the accusations with incredible consistency and vehemence. He sued people who accused him of doping. He was ruthless to those who said he was taking peds. He publicly denied that he used steroids over and over and over again. Now, in an interview with Oprah, he has admitted the lie publicly.

Lance Armstrong is a cheater, a deceiver and a LIAR. Lying is a sin against God. Lying is serious to the Lord. The Bible says that all liars deserve to be thrown into the waves of fire that make up the place called hell.

I am glad I am not Lance Armstrong. You probably are too.

I have never lied about taking performance-enhancing drugs in order to win the Tour de France. You probably haven’t either. But, but, but, but….I HAVE LIED…about other things.

The sad truth is that I haven’t just told one lie in my life, I’ve told more than one. And you know, YOU KNOW, that you have lied too. Hasn’t everyone? Do you think there is one person on this planet that has never told even one lie? No way! We have all told lies. The fact that everyone has told lies does not lessen the offense to the Lord. If everyone were a murderer it wouldn’t make murder less serious. The same is true with our lies.

Let’s try and quantify our lying for just a moment. If we were to estimate the number of lies we have told, would it be: in the hundreds or thousands? It’s hard to truly remember them all, but they are numerous…aren’t they?

So, what do we call someone who has told numerous lies? A human being. Of course, but more specifically someone who tells multiple lies is a LIAR. We don’t just tell lies we are liars. Those who commit sins are sinners.

This is a direct violation against the law of a Holy God. He is infinite in His Holiness, Righteousness and Justice. That means that even the little white lie is cosmic treason and rebellion against a Holy God. When we break His law we deserve the just punishment for our crime.

The Bible says that the punishment for our sin is certain and eternal death. (Romans 6:23) The Bible says that “all liars will have their part in the lake of fire (hell).” (Revelation 21:8)

If God gave us liars what we deserve it would be the punishment of an eternity in hell. That is what we deserve.

Well, maybe we can make up for our lies. Maybe Lance Armstrong can do enough good deeds to pay for his lies. He has, after all, done some incredible good. The Livestrong Foundation has done some great work in battling cancer. Lance should be applauded for his charity and philanthropic works. But, does his good deeds absolve him of his status as a liar? Not with God.

Think of it like this: if a murder comes to the judge and says, “Judge, I know I murdered by I have done all of these good things, and I promise that I will do even more good things in the future…can’t you let me go free because of my goodness?” No good Judge can let a murderer go free of his crime.

God is a just and righteous Judge. He cannot let sin go unpunished.

Uh oh! We are lying sinners and deserve the punishment of God, and there is nothing we can do about it. That is the truth. But, God is also amazing in Love. He loves sinners so much that He has done something for us that we could not do for our self. God has a solution to the problem of our sin, something only God could accomplish.

Sin had to be punished and paid for. We could never pay it to satisfy the demands of justice. Jesus could and did. Jesus, the sinless Son of God, came to pay for our crimes. He did this because He loves you and to satisfy the demands of justice.

It’s like this; suppose there is someone guilty of a crime. They are before the judge and the just penalty is 1 trillion dollars. The guilty man has no money; there is no way he can pay the fine for his crime. The Judge cannot and will not let the man go without the fine being paid. Then a stranger comes into the court. He walks up the judge. He has the full amount that he earned through his own hard work. He pays the judge the full amount for the crime of the guilty. The judge accepts the payment and offers freedom to the guilty.

When Jesus died on the cross He was paying for our crimes of sin against God. He paid, with His life’s blood, for our sin against a Holy God. He took what we deserved. And He rose from the dead on the third day. He lives. And because of Jesus, the demands of justice have been met and God extends the love of His grace towards sinners. It is His free gift of forgiveness that He offers to us.

What do sinning liars have to do? Simply receive the free gift that Jesus purchased on the cross. The Bible says the way we receive the gift of forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life is by repentance and faith. (Ephesians 2:8-9; Acts 3:19)

Repent means to turn. Turn from yourself and your sin and turn TO Jesus Christ.

Believe means to entrust your entire life into the hands of Jesus. You give Him complete control of you. Faith is not just going to church or assenting to certain facts. True faith is giving everything you are over to Jesus to be the LORD and BOSS of your life.

This is the only hope for Lance Armstrong. It is the only hope for all of us liars.

Please consider this and turn to Christ in repentance and faith today.


If you have never done this and would like to, one way you can express your desire to repent and believe is to say a prayer like this:
Dear God,
I admit to you that I am a sinner. I am guilty of sin and deserve Your punishment. I realize that Jesus died for my sin on the cross and that He rose from the dead. I desire to turn from my sin and trust you as my Lord and Savior. I want to give my life over to You today. Thank you for saving me, forgiving me, and coming to live in me. Thank you for the promise of heaven.
I ask this in Jesus’ name,
Amen


(if you have just done this, please let me know)

How To Treat Gay People

This one should be real easy. This isn't a difficult topic when it comes to scripture. The way a Christian should relate to and treat someone who is homosexual isn't that difficult to understand. Unfortunately, way too many "Christians" have acted in the exact opposite way the scriptures clearly mandate. Maybe they aren't real Christians? They clearly aren't following Christ's example.

Jesus never condoned sin. He pointed it out in people's lives and called them to turn away from their sin. He was also loving. And there it is. It's that simple to understand.

There is no biblical justification for a supposed Christian to hate or mistreat anyone, including someone who is homosexual. Calling a homosexual derogatory names, teasing them, or physically assaulting them is a sin. But, it goes beyond that. It is also a sin to ignore and avoid someone because you don't like their sin.

Some people make the claim that to even call homosexuality a sin is hateful. But, that does not have to be the case. Jesus never shied away from pointing out sin. As followers of what the Bible teaches, a Christ follower should not shy away from the scriptural truth that lying is a sin, that adultery is a sin, that pornography is a sin, that greed is a sin, that gluttony is a sin, and that homosexuality is a sin. But, our goal is not just to point out sin, it is to lead sinners to the grace of God. We are sinners too. I may not have the sin of homosexuality, but that doesn't mean I am free of sin. I am no better than anyone else. Just because I don't have your particular list of sins, doesn't meant that I don't have my own list of sins. Sinners need know two things: that they are sinners, and that their is a Savior.

People who struggle with homosexuality need Christ. If we have Christ we need to lovingly share the gospel with them. That is the teaching and model we have in scripture.

Are You a Good Person?

Got this from the guys a Living Waters (Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron)

Making Out In Front of Death: Danse Macabre

No music is being played, but a dance is taking place. The figure undulating to the mystical sound of it’s own making is not living. Its skin is like the weathered remains of a discarded scrap of leather from a boot makers shop. The tattered leather sucks into the bones that protrude like they would from an emaciated, starving child. The whole scene is odd, but what makes it even more odd is the facial expression. It’s odd because there isn’t much of a face. It’s more like a skull, shrink-wrapped in that shabby leather. And yet, there is a wicked looking smile of triumph. The creature is stark naked, except for a white sheet being used almost like a feather boa at a burlesque show.

There is a great contrast in this scene. There are different types of people standing next to these creatures. There is a king, a nobleman, a noblewoman, a worker, and a peasant. They are dressed, and although they are obviously depicted in attire from the middle ages, they look normal. And weaving in and out among these normal looking humans are these vile creatures, gyrating to some unheard sound of victory.

There are words spoken. One creature speaks to the Emperor, “Emperor, your sword won’t help you out, scepter and crown are worthless here, I’ve taken you by the hand, for you must come to my dance.” It’s speaks without fear, with finality, and gravity. Its words are heavy and carry a tone of glee.

How could something so grotesque be smiling? What kind of God-forsaken creature would be engaged in such a demonic looking dance?

It’s not a creature, it’s not a figure, it is Death—personified.


The Danse Macabre
That was a feeble attempt to describe an incredible piece of art called the Danse Macabre. I went into this old church called the Church of St. Nicholas in Tallin. The church is now a museum and houses some incredible artwork that dates from the Middle Ages. One of the biggest attractions is this incredible mural painting called the Danse Macbre.
A German painter and sculptor, named Bernt Notke, produced this mural in 1425. The mural was moved around over the years, and it didn’t survive intact after WWII. The Church of St. Nicholas is the final resting place for this mural.
It is a fascinating piece of medieval art. It is huge. This isn’t a painting you could hang in your living room. It is probably 50 feet long and 10 feet high. The mural is an allegory that depicts the universality of death regardless of one’s station in life. In the mural, death is personified in animated skeletal looking zombies who are dancing. In between death are people. The people start off from the most important of adults and then progress downward all the way to a child. In between each person is death in the middle of a dance.

Viewing
When you enter the museum, the natural flow of traffic leads you to the Danse Macabre last. So, I made my way around the room looking at the iconographic artwork, the medieval tombstones and caskets (the rich could purchase a place to be buried inside the church), the blasphemous depiction of God the Father, numerous crucifixes, and then the mural. As in most museums, there were some nice displays explaining the artwork. I was intrigued by this piece of art. It caught my attention as a depiction of an incredibly important truism. As Maximus says in the movie Gladiator, “death smiles at us all”. But, instead of smiling back we are faced with the truth that death is dancing the dance of victory.
The other striking reminder is that death dances regardless of who you are. It reaches out to the most prominent king all the way down to the lowliest peasant. Old, and young alike must face the reality of death. One cannot buy themselves out of the dance of death, or rule their way out of the way of death, or work oneself beyond the invitation of death. The universal reach of death is something that cannot be escaped by who we are.
Yes, the mural is grim, dark, and “macabre”. But, it is also true. Death is coming for us all.

Making Out
There were other people in the museum that day. I was reflecting on the important truth depicted in that painting. I am not sure what Mr. Notke’s intent was, but it seems to ignite a confrontation with our own mortality. Humanity is mortal. We will die. No matter who we are, or what our station in life, or what our level of success or failure – death is coming for us. There is nothing we can do about that. I believe that contemplating that reality is good – because it can drive us to the One solution to that problem.
About 12 feet back from the mural is a series of benches. Sitting on these benches was a young couple. A guy and his girlfriend, probably in the early twenties, in a full face lock – making out. What a great date! “Let’s go to the museum today and sit in front of death personified and swap spit.”
How ironic, and yet representative of most people’s awareness of mortality. They ignore it. They get more wrapped up in their immediate pursuits and pleasures than they do in reality and truth. I wonder if Notke saw the same thing in his day, and painted this mural in an attempt to awaken people to the inevitability of the dance of death.

Conclusion
As I noted earlier, this mural is incomplete. There is no conclusion. In my research I was unable to find if there even is a conclusion. Maybe Mr. Notke didn’t have one. The mural is just supposed to make us aware of our mortality. But, given the time it was painted, and that it is incomplete, I wonder if there is some type of conclusion.
Since there isn’t one that is known, I will give my conclusion. Everyone will meet with death. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you have or haven’t done – death awaits us all. The reason for our mortality is because of sin. “The wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23) There is nothing we can do to get ourselves out of this payment. We deserve death, both temporal and eternal, for violating the standards of an infinitely holy God. So God, in His great love, did something for us. He sent His Son, Jesus, who became man, lived a sinless life, and died on the cross taking the punishment for our sin. He gave His life’s blood to pay for our sin. He danced with death because He loved us. But, death could not hold Him. He turned the tables around. He brought death to death. He rose from the dead and dances the dance of life-- life eternal. It is only when we turn to the Victorious Risen Savior, that we can be rescued from our own Danse Macabre.
That is the gospel of Jesus Christ. We have an important task. To interrupt people while they are making out, to show them the reality of death and the solution in Jesus Christ alone. That is the only way that they can be rescued from their own date with the Danse Macabre.


Back here in our culture we’ve got a tough mission. We have to reach people with the gospel of Christ while they are busy making out in front of death. They are wrapped up in all kinds of things that distract them from the reality of mortality and the only answer is found in Christ alone.





(This is a picture of a portion of the mural in St. Nicholas Church Museum)









(In this pic you can see the museum layout a bit better. The benches that I mention are not in this pic, and I did NOT take this picture -- you are not supposed to take pictures in the museum, a rule which I followed most of the time)




For More info, you can check out these sights.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danse_Macabre (Wikipedia page on mural)

http://www.dodedans.com/Eest.htm (Danse Macabre Info)

http://www.ekm.ee/eng/niguliste.php?id=137 (Nigueliste Museum: St. Nicholas Church)

Gospel Precision

In the tenure of my life in the ministry I have grown accustomed to people being inaccurate in their understanding and articulation of the gospel, and biblical doctrines. Correcting people is the difficult part. The difficulty is not in identifying what's wrong, but the manner in which correction takes place.

So, is precision necessary and if so when?

The gospel is simple. I've sinned, Jesus died and rose again, salvation comes by faith in Christ alone. That is the gospel in a nutshell, and it is fairly simple. It is simple enough for a child to hear, understand and respond. It is not necessary for someone to be able to articulate justification, propitiation, substitutionary atonement and other key related doctrines in order to receive salvation. They don't need to be able to articulate them, but they do need to understand those concepts as part of a sound, evangelistic, gospel presentation.

But, that does not mean understanding those terms and being able to articulate them is not important. I think that it is a vital part of growing as a disciple to learn, and be taught, not only the meaning of those biblical truths, but also how to articulate them. That is where precision is necessary.

It is also necessary in evangelism. This is especially true in the Bible belt. Churched people, who are still lost, have been inoculated to an imprecise version of the gospel, that probably isn't the true gospel. It is disturbing to me to run across people who have a church background and when asked about their relationship with the Lord give a works based answer to describe it. That happens to me all the time! That is where I have to be precise in my evangelistic efforts. This does not mean that I use big words, but that I am precise with the concepts those big words contain.

How do you accomplish that precision and still communicate effectively? That takes effort and work. One of the best ways to hone your precision is to explain the gospel, precisely, to younger people. Practice explaining justification to your kids. They need to hear it, and you need to practice communicating it.

Pastor To Be Executed

I saw a headline that caught my attention. A Christian pastor in Iran has been arrested, tried and is set to be executed. What was his crime? Being a Christian and refusing to renounce Christ. You can read the article in this Fox News Report

Tertullian once said, "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church." When Christ followers are killed for no other reason than being a Christ follower the end result is the opposite of the murderers' intent. The murderers' intend for this to be a warning to others who might consider Christ and want to follow Him. It seems logical to think that, but history proves otherwise. In 2000 years, where the persecution is most extreme the gospel spreads the fastest.

Thankfully we live in a free country. We face some religious challenges, but nothing like they do in other parts of the world. As people of freedom and followers of Christ we should pray for our brothers and sisters who face serious threats each day simply for their relationship with Jesus. We should also pray for our "enemies". We should ask God to use the life of those persecuted to reach many with the gospel of Christ.

What's In It For Me?

What's in it for me? That question may not be vocalized, but it is the underlying assumption for just about all that we do in this culture that we find ourselves in.

Every time you watch a commercial they are answering that question. Here is what our product has for you. Infomercials are infamous for answering this question. "These ginsu knives are only 19.99. But, wait, there's more..." Just in case you were thinking, "Is that all that is in it for me?" Well, no. You also get a pairing knife, a kitchen chamois, and and seed strainer.

I get junk mail all the time. Some company feels it would help their business to show me their product and tell me "what's in it for me". I also get lots of fliers for churches. Even these churches are telling me what their church offers. They do this because people that are looking for a church home are looking to have that question answered, "what's in it for me?"

That question is probably on a lot of people's minds when it comes to Christianity. "You say I should become a Christian, well, what's in it for me?"

If you listen to some churches, pastors, preachers, the answer seems to be everything. Health, wealth, peace, prosperity, good relationships, a better job, joy, absence of conflict, no difficulties. "What's in it for me?" Some portray the answer as "anything you want."

Now, there are lots of benefits to being a Christian. Some of the things in the list, if properly defined, are true. But, the answer is much shorter, more simple, and more essential. The answer to the question, "what's in it for me?" is JESUS. That's what we get when we become a true, biblical Christian. JESUS.

How come it seems like JESUS is not enough?! After all, He is the eternal God of the universe. He is the Supreme Lord. He is the Savior who gave His life to redeem us from our sin. He shed His blood so we might be forgiven and made right with God. His cross and resurrection was so we could know Him and have a relationship with Him. The answer is JESUS.

Is that enough for you?

Don't Be Good, Be Different: Moralism and the Gospel

I've been thinking a lot lately about being a good person. It seems like a lot people's perception of the Christian message is that the goal is to produce morality. Come to Jesus, go to church, so you can be a better; man, woman, husband, wife, student, employer, employee...fill in the blank.

This culture does have a tendency to view church as another aspect of their overall morality.

The gospel does confront morality but from a very different perspective. In the gospel morality is the indication of our need for a Savior. Let me be more specific. The gospel informs us that our morality is an indication of a deeper seated problem. Sin is not the absence of good morals. The absence of good morals is an indication of a deep, internal heart problem -- we are at heart sinners.
This is not just splitting hairs - it is a fundamental distinction. The gospel also informs us that what we perceive as good morality in our life, really isn't that good. In fact, all of our perceived goodness/morality/behavior is the equivalent of a pile of dirty rags compared to the standard of a Holy God. The Savior does not come to make us better at morality. The Savior comes to eradicate the sin problem of the heart.

This means that the major message of the church should not be "we will make you a better person". Don't get me wrong, the church does have a mandate to address behavior, good deeds and morality. But this must be enveloped in the context of the gospel. Our good deeds, behavior and morality are indications of heart change, but never create heart change. If someone claims to have heart change, but the pattern of the behavior/morality does not reflect that it is legitimate to question that heart change.

A message of morality, void of an emphasis on the gospel of grace, only produces half hearted religiosity. It also leaves people frustrated. It is frustrating because it removes the source of power to truly affect life change -- God's gracious gospel in Jesus Christ.

Jesus didn't die on the cross so we could be better. He died so we could be different, distinct, separated unto God. And, that precedes and leads to the correct motivation for a different morality in our lives.

Massive Story - The Gospel

An exerpt from Al Mohler's book, He Is Not Silent
When Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 5:21 that "for our sake Hee made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God", he is talking about a cosmological reversal that is beyond anything we can understand. If our people think of the gospel as a small story in which they get to befriend Jesus and walk alone with Him in a garden, if they don't understand what a massive thing their salvation from sin really is, theen we are robbing them of the gospel.

Every time we preach, we need to create dissonance in the minds of our hearers. We need to declare their own wretchedness, our sin, and our powerlessness, and we need to admit frankly that we can't solve this problem. And then we proclaim the gospel. We show our people how God himself did what they were wholly unable to do. We tell them that the problem of sin was only solved when the sinless Son of God died on the cross as a substitute for His people. (page 101)

Great Commission Project

Every day for a week First Baptist fed lunch and shared Christ with about 125 kids. Here is what that looked like.

Search For Significance

The pop Christian world has been overly concerned about making people feel good at the exclusion of the rest of the gospel message. There are books, seminars, conferences, churches, preachers, and sermons that all focus on making people feel good in the name of God.

I have an aversion to such pseudo-gospel pop psychology preaching. I think it is dangerous and leads people away from the necessary understanding and response to the complete gospel.

But, contained within the true Gospel of Christ is the truth of significance and value.

Significance and value are not merit based, but it is intrinsic. I am a sinner, God does not value that. But, I am also His creation. You and I are created by God and IN HIS IMAGE. That means that we have an intrinsic value to God. That is one of the reasons He desires to redeem us from our sin.

There is more evidence of significance and value. The cross of Christ. The cross of Christ is God’s wrath being poured out on Jesus because of my sin. I deserved that wrath. Jesus took our punishment. In addition to that, and because of that, the cross is a statement of incredibly profound love. “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son.” “This is how we know what love is: Christ laid down His life for us.”

Love is value and significance. Therefore, the cross of Christ is proof of value and significance.

God values me and sees me as significant. But, this is not like the self esteem packet that was sent home for my 5th grade daughter from her school(for real). The value and significance that God places on me is not so I can puff out my chest. It is not some type of psycho-therapeutic “I am a great person” message. It is greater than that! The worldly self esteem drives a person to a high mountain so they can shout to the world, “I am great, look at me.” The significance that God sees in me drives me to a high mountain so I can shout, “God is great, look at Him.”
It is humbling, motivating, inspiring, comforting, and convicting to understand from the true gospel that God places significance and value in me and you.

Entertained To Death

When the Titanic hit the iceberg and began to sink, there was a group of musicians that came on the deck to play some music. If you have seen the movie, that was a true depiction of actual events.

I am sure that those musicians were doing something noble, but allow me a little creative latitude with the story.

Those musicians were hired to entertain. They used their musical abilities to add to the enjoyment of the passengers. The ship is sinking, people are about to die but let's do some entertaining.

They should have put down their instruments and help save people. They could have gotten more people into the boats. They could have handed out life jackets. They could have tried to make alternative life rafts out of mattresses, or anything else that might float. Instead, they entertain the masses of people. At least the dying masses got to hear some good music before the drowned in the icy waters.

I think too many believers today are concerned with entertaining people. Church is a place to be enjoyed. The serious requirements of the gospel need to be toned down because it is not enjoyable to most. Our church needs to be more entertaining.

No! The church is not a comedy club. The gospel is not for your entertainment. It is to save you from perishing for all eternity because of your sin.

The job of Christ followers is to share the life saving message of Jesus Christ. The ship is going down for the lost world. They will die, and we don't know when. Christ followers have been commissioned not to entertain the dying masses but to show them where the seat in the lifeboat is.

Big Gospel

I heard a very good and convicting message this afternoon at the Bible Conference of the SBTC by Nathan Lino.

Here is the smacker: The Gospel is bigger than me and it is bigger than my local church.
Too often we, I, internalize everything I learn from scripture to just me personally. If I relate to the gospel just on an individual level, that is a problem. How? Granted, it does relate to me personally and I must incorporate the gospel into my life on an individual level. The problem is when I stop right there.

Let me give an example. The gospel is that Jesus died for our sins. Too many of us take that truth and appropriate it on just an individual level. “Jesus died for me.” That is true, but it doesn’t stop there. Jesus also died for everyone else. Jesus died for the check out clerk at Wal Mart. Jesus died for the neighbor down the street. Jesus died for the liberal politician I heard on t.v. Jesus died for those who live in the North East. Jesus died for those who live in Saudi Arabia. Jesus died for more than just me. The gospel is bigger than just me. I must broaden my personal perspective to see the greater Kingdom of God.

This is a good thing. It is amazing that I am included in the grand Kingdom of God. That He wants me to participate in His Big Sized Gospel Plan is overwhelming.

This same “small gospel” disease also happens collectively in our local churches. We have this tendency to view the gospel only as it relates to our local church. It does relate to our local church, it is the basis of our church. But, it doesn’t stop there. The gospel of Christ is about more than just my particular church. It is about His Kingdom. The scope of His Plan is wider and bigger than any one local church.

In his sermon, Nathan gave proof of this tunnel vision. Jealousy! When a church down the street is doing something awesome, we don’t thank God for the Kingdom work that is going on, we question why that is not happening for our church. We are jealous that we aren’t seeing the same thing. That is evidence of a limited vision of the gospel.

Want more evidence? I am not sure we do. I may get some of these numbers wrong, but follow this. There are about 300 million people in the USA and 100,000 SBC ministers. There are 6.5 billion people in the world and only 5,500 sbc missionaries. That’s 1 minister for every 3000 people in the USA. For the rest of the world: there is one missionary for every 1.18 million people! That is way out of proportion. Why? American Christians don’t care about the lost world! They really don’t even care about their lost neighbor, so why would they care about someone lost half way around the world?!

Here’s more: There was 12 billion dollars collected in SBC churches in 2008. That’s great! Only 5% of that total made to overseas missions. That’s not great! Why is that? Could it be that we are more concerned about our own personal church world and our own personal gospel than we are with the big picture?

Let me reemphasize the point. It is not that the gospel does not have something to do with my personal world or my local church. It does, and I should be concerned with those things. But, IT CANNOT, IT MUST NOT STOP THERE!

Why am I so emphatic? Well, it’s not really me, it’s not really my words. It’s Jesus’ words, it’s God’s Word.

“Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” (Matt. 28:18-20)

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

That is a BIG GOSPEL!

Don't Just Be A Good Boy

Be a good person. Be a better person. Be a better man. Be a better husband. Be a better father.

For many, that is the goal in life and that is what they hear the church preaching. The message is one of morality. Jesus can make you a better person.

The problem with that type of moralism is that it is a false gospel. It is not what being a Christ follower is all about. Jesus did not die so you could be more moral and behave better.

I read a blog article by Dr. Al Mohler on this subject that is a must read. This moral gospel is what drives so many people, preachers, and churches. It is the reason why there are so many “how to sermons”. You’ve seen them. How to have a better marriage, family, career, sex life, etc., etc., ad naseum.

It is absolutely true that there are moral requirements to walking with Christ. And, there are plenty of passages of scripture that address those various issues that we face. But that is not the heart of the gospel. The heart of the gospel is that we have sinned against a holy God. That Jesus died as our substitute taking the punishment for our sins. If we repent and fully trust in Jesus then He bestows His grace and forgiveness. That doesn’t make us better people, it makes us new people. It doesn’t just clean up the rough edges, it is a whole new start. Jesus didn’t die so we could be better, He died so we could be saved.

Dr. Mohler writes, “The theological temptation of moralism is one many Christians and churches find it difficult to resist. The danger is that the church will communicate by both direct and indirect means that what God expects of fallen humanity is moral improvement. In so doing, the church subverts the Gospel and communicates a false gospel to a fallen world.”

Offensive

In the passage that follows Jesus has a confrontation with the Pharisees and lawyers of his day. I was struck by this confrontation. Notice what he says to the lawyer.

Luke 11:37-52
37 While Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him, so he went in and reclined at table. 38 The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner. 39 And the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. 40 You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? 41 But give as alms those things that are within, and behold, everything is clean for you.
42 “But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. 43 Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. 44 Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it.”
45 One of the lawyers answered him, “Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also.” 46 And he said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. 47 Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed. 48 So you are witnesses and you consent to the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs. 49 Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’ 50 so that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation. 52 Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.”

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In hearing Jesus' harsh words to the Pharisees the lawyer tells Jesus that he is also offended by those words. How does Jesus respond? Does he apologize for his offensiveness? Does he soften what he has been saying? Does he try to be politically correct? Does he become less confrontational?

No -- in fact Jesus gets more offensive with the lawyer.

I am not good at confrontation, some people are. I confess that I too often worry about being too harsh. I need to learn to follow Jesus' example more.

This must be done in the right way. Many people are offensive and harsh for the wrong reasons. They are offensive and harsh because they are mean-spirited or unrighteously angry. Jesus was not. He was kind and loving, yet spoke clearly about matters of truth.

The nature of the gospel is going to be offensive and harsh to many people. That is what we cannot shy away from. The offense of the gospel does not need to be watered down, lessened, or made politically correct. To do so is to alter the gospel. It will be a stumbling block, and a stone of offense to some.

But, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God unto salvation." (Romans 1:16)