About Last Night
During our discussion last night about N.T. Wright’s book, Simply Christian, there was concern that some Christians feel superior to people of other faiths (or no faith). One woman had the uncomfortable experience of being with another Christian who matter-of-factly uttered that non-Christians are condemned to hell.
No one in our discussion wanted to believe that was true. What a heartless and arrogant attitude! And yet, while it seems loving (or American), we do not believe that there are many different paths to God and that they are all equally good. Rather, we believe in the uniqueness of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, who said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6 NRSV).
Being a Christian doesn’t mean feeling superior to people of other faith traditions or believing that they are condemned. While many people know John 3:16, very few seem to know the next verse: “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:17 NRSV).
It doesn’t mean, however, making the opposite error of buying into the ideal of pluralism. I’m not knocking diversity but rather the theory that there are more than one or two kinds of ultimate reality. This is a very popular notion in America today and it goes hand-in-hand with the virtue of tolerance. I like G.K. Chesterton who once said, “Tolerance is the virtue of people who don’t believe in anything anymore.”
Like the world into which the first Christians carried the gospel, we too live in a pluralist society. The gospel is often reduced to merely one opinion among millions of others where truth is relative, meaning it might be “true for you” but certainly not for everyone. In this pluralist society, we claim there is no other name than Jesus. He alone is Lord. But concerning ourselves with who will be saved (a question that can only be answered by God) misses our calling. Our witness in the world is telling the story of Jesus and indwelling that story, being Jesus in the world. I’m pretty sure God can handle the rest.
To think of it another way, is being a Christian a privilege (I get to go to heaven when I die!) or a responsibility (We have a task!)? This is the misunderstood doctrine of election. To be chosen does not simply mean we get to go to heaven. Election is about whom God chooses to be incorporated into God’s mission to the world. Being a Christian means responsibility! The church is not simply about meeting my needs. In Jesus we receive an invitation to join the mission of God’s people, bringing healing to a broken world (health, well-being, friendship, justice, salvation, etc.), showing the world a different way by the way we live together, proclaiming and embodying Jesus Christ in the world.
Come and worship this Sunday at 9:00 am (Fellowship Hall) and 10:30 am (Sanctuary). I am preaching at both services. My sermon, Give Me a Drink, is based on John 4:5-42. In a Samaritan city, Jesus encounters a woman at a well and engages her in conversation about religious questions like ours.
No one in our discussion wanted to believe that was true. What a heartless and arrogant attitude! And yet, while it seems loving (or American), we do not believe that there are many different paths to God and that they are all equally good. Rather, we believe in the uniqueness of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, who said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6 NRSV).
Being a Christian doesn’t mean feeling superior to people of other faith traditions or believing that they are condemned. While many people know John 3:16, very few seem to know the next verse: “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:17 NRSV).
It doesn’t mean, however, making the opposite error of buying into the ideal of pluralism. I’m not knocking diversity but rather the theory that there are more than one or two kinds of ultimate reality. This is a very popular notion in America today and it goes hand-in-hand with the virtue of tolerance. I like G.K. Chesterton who once said, “Tolerance is the virtue of people who don’t believe in anything anymore.”
Like the world into which the first Christians carried the gospel, we too live in a pluralist society. The gospel is often reduced to merely one opinion among millions of others where truth is relative, meaning it might be “true for you” but certainly not for everyone. In this pluralist society, we claim there is no other name than Jesus. He alone is Lord. But concerning ourselves with who will be saved (a question that can only be answered by God) misses our calling. Our witness in the world is telling the story of Jesus and indwelling that story, being Jesus in the world. I’m pretty sure God can handle the rest.
To think of it another way, is being a Christian a privilege (I get to go to heaven when I die!) or a responsibility (We have a task!)? This is the misunderstood doctrine of election. To be chosen does not simply mean we get to go to heaven. Election is about whom God chooses to be incorporated into God’s mission to the world. Being a Christian means responsibility! The church is not simply about meeting my needs. In Jesus we receive an invitation to join the mission of God’s people, bringing healing to a broken world (health, well-being, friendship, justice, salvation, etc.), showing the world a different way by the way we live together, proclaiming and embodying Jesus Christ in the world.
Come and worship this Sunday at 9:00 am (Fellowship Hall) and 10:30 am (Sanctuary). I am preaching at both services. My sermon, Give Me a Drink, is based on John 4:5-42. In a Samaritan city, Jesus encounters a woman at a well and engages her in conversation about religious questions like ours.
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