Do you know this man called Jesus? I’m talking to all you who claim to be born again, believers, followers of Christ. Do you know Him?
He had little use for those who used religion for their own gain. He was about transforming the hearts of sinners humble enough to admit what they were and turn from their wicked ways. He spoke in a way that many perceived as heresy. He claimed to be the Son of the Almighty. He healed people on the Sabbath ((gasp)) for goodness sake. It appears that he was trying to point out that people were too caught up in following a religion and hardly compelled by a love for God. Traditions are good but they can become crutches and even a facade. Rituals can hide where our relationship with Christ really is because we know all the right things to say, we know all the “right” things to do.
We sit piously and cast judgment on those who fail to conform to what man views a Christian should do, say or look like. Does someone having a tattoo automatically mean they must not be a very “good” Christian? Have we forgotten that none of us are “good Christians”? That’s the point. No one can be “good enough”, that’s why God sent Christ. How dare we squint down our noses at fellow believers who “do things differently”? Christ did things far different than the church of that day. If he really wanted to fit in with the “religiously correct” of that day, he’d have worn priestly clothing, spent endless hours in the synagogue and refrained from speaking to anyone who didn’t at least “appear” religious. No, he got in the streets with the sinners, he ate their bread, he drank from their wells, and he befriended them. He didn’t need a lot of “Christian-speak”, he used words they could understand and illustrations they could relate to.
Don’t ask yourself what would Jesus do but what did Jesus do. Once we familiarize ourselves with what He did on this earth, we can better surmise what he would do in a particular situation. Would his followers follow him if he were like every other stuffed shirt religious leader of his day? No. He related to them, he let them know he loved them. He chastised their sin but he encouraged rather than condemn. He showed them how to be in the world and not “of the world”. All the while he was amongst the sinners, going places with them and wearing the same clothes they wore, he never once sinned. He was “different” not by how he looked, what he wore or where he went. He was different by the message he spoke and what he lived out.
We’ve got so many people looking at other believers and shunning their “methods” of outreach. I believe that if what you’re doing is within God’s will then does it really matter how you deliver the message of Christ? I’d like to know how many churches today have a decent percentage of people darkening their doors who have never claimed to accept Christ. What’s the percentage? At your church, how many people are filing through those doors who have never heard the gospel? Is your church a place they would feel welcome? I’m not talking about people like you, I’m talking about people the complete opposite of you, would those people feel welcome? Would those people want to stay long enough to hear the gospel? Is your church moving in a Biblically radical way or is it dead set on doing things a certain way because that’s the way it’s always been done? Scrutinize your traditions, analyze your motives behind how and why things are done the way they are where you worship. Are those traditions biblical? If God didn’t command we do them then are they welcoming to unbelievers or are they road blocks? I believe God’s Word is alive and to me, that should never be presented in a dull or boring way. Christ used many methods to teach. He drew in the sand, he told stories, he asked thought provoking questions, and he used visual aids. Jesus was a radical to those who opposed him. Do the lost around us see us like Jesus or like the Pharisees? Are we too caught up in going through the religious motions? Or do we live as Christ, seeking the will of the Father, knowing God’s word and reaching out to the lost on their levels though they may vary greatly?
If we’re going to carry out the great commission, we’ve got to get in touch with this radical, born of a virgin, healing, truth speaking, loving, sacrificing Son of God Almighty. Do you know Him? I mean do you personally and intimately know Him? When was the last time you spoke to Him that you weren’t just asking for a laundry list of “stuff”? When was the last time you actually listened to Him? If we don’t get to know our Savior, how can we be called His followers much less believers in His Name?
Jesus was a radical, are we? Is His church?
