Did
you know that the truth of God; in other words, the “gospel” as preached by
Paul (“1 Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I
preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2
By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you.
Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 3 For what I received I passed on to you
as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the
Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according
to the Scriptures” – I Cor. 15:1-4); is insufficient?
Wait…how can that be? Paul tells us that by this gospel we are saved, and is of first importance. But, is it enough?
Not according to some elements in current theology! Let’s look at some examples and really examine what the “church” is saying when these beliefs are preached:
1) Selling God
According to what is generally termed “Prosperity theology” the reason we should believe in God is that, if we do, He will prosper us. We will receive stuff in abundance – money, things we want, bigger and better houses, cars, boats, and the list goes on. This prospering concept is generally described as God “blessing” us because of our “faith.” Now, unfortunately, this type of theology is being exported to other countries as an “enticement” to bring people in poverty to belief in Jesus Christ. So we are to believe in Jesus because we get cash back bonuses at the end of the month.
2) Bullying for God
Even though Scripture teaches us “do not fear,” fear is being used as a weapon to coerce people into accepting Jesus Christ. Halloween substitutes that are designed to threaten participants with images of hell in order to scare them into salvation, yelling sign carriers on street corners and college campuses asking people if they are ready to die, hellfire and brimstone preachers finger-pointing from the pulpit about what horrible sinners all are, and other examples of manipulation through fear fail to bring people into true relationship with Jesus. We are warned that we better get it right or we are toast. Who would want to receive a sweet hug and spend their free time hanging out with this kind of “god”?
3) Redesigning God
The gospel is boring. It must compete with MTV and Facebook. Plus, the attention span of our current population is getting shorter and shorter. Obviously, it is time to give God a good makeover. Everyone loves a good reality TV show, right? “Extreme Makeover: God Edition” – the latest spectacle of the mega-church – attempts to spiff God up through entertainment to make Him more appealing to a vapid, disinterested populace. Worship services are reminiscent of vaudeville shows or rock concerts, hoping to entice people to sit still – or simply to show up. “I’ll come, but I expect to be fed,” is the attitude of the passive recipients. However, my question is: is my relationship with God really a passive endeavor? Is it all about what is in it for me?
These three examples are intended to demonstrate how the “church” in some arenas has bought into the lie belief that the truth of God is insufficient. Rather than transforming the culture in which we live, we are being transformed by the culture, mimicking it in order to be acceptable. I wonder why we no longer believe the gospel in and of itself is “good news”?
Perhaps we have so convoluted and perverted the truth of God that we no longer “see” its wonder, majesty and glory. Maybe that is why we think God needs sprinkles added on top to make His love worth receiving.
Wait…how can that be? Paul tells us that by this gospel we are saved, and is of first importance. But, is it enough?
Not according to some elements in current theology! Let’s look at some examples and really examine what the “church” is saying when these beliefs are preached:
1) Selling God
According to what is generally termed “Prosperity theology” the reason we should believe in God is that, if we do, He will prosper us. We will receive stuff in abundance – money, things we want, bigger and better houses, cars, boats, and the list goes on. This prospering concept is generally described as God “blessing” us because of our “faith.” Now, unfortunately, this type of theology is being exported to other countries as an “enticement” to bring people in poverty to belief in Jesus Christ. So we are to believe in Jesus because we get cash back bonuses at the end of the month.
2) Bullying for God
Even though Scripture teaches us “do not fear,” fear is being used as a weapon to coerce people into accepting Jesus Christ. Halloween substitutes that are designed to threaten participants with images of hell in order to scare them into salvation, yelling sign carriers on street corners and college campuses asking people if they are ready to die, hellfire and brimstone preachers finger-pointing from the pulpit about what horrible sinners all are, and other examples of manipulation through fear fail to bring people into true relationship with Jesus. We are warned that we better get it right or we are toast. Who would want to receive a sweet hug and spend their free time hanging out with this kind of “god”?
3) Redesigning God
The gospel is boring. It must compete with MTV and Facebook. Plus, the attention span of our current population is getting shorter and shorter. Obviously, it is time to give God a good makeover. Everyone loves a good reality TV show, right? “Extreme Makeover: God Edition” – the latest spectacle of the mega-church – attempts to spiff God up through entertainment to make Him more appealing to a vapid, disinterested populace. Worship services are reminiscent of vaudeville shows or rock concerts, hoping to entice people to sit still – or simply to show up. “I’ll come, but I expect to be fed,” is the attitude of the passive recipients. However, my question is: is my relationship with God really a passive endeavor? Is it all about what is in it for me?
These three examples are intended to demonstrate how the “church” in some arenas has bought into the lie belief that the truth of God is insufficient. Rather than transforming the culture in which we live, we are being transformed by the culture, mimicking it in order to be acceptable. I wonder why we no longer believe the gospel in and of itself is “good news”?
Perhaps we have so convoluted and perverted the truth of God that we no longer “see” its wonder, majesty and glory. Maybe that is why we think God needs sprinkles added on top to make His love worth receiving.
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