the basic message #E353
8/5/05
As some of you know, I recently wrote a book titled, "I Never Knew You", which is subtitled, "Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say". The title of the book pretty well sums up the content of the book: The Christian community has much talk, little walk. My constant criticism of the organized Christian church makes me a lightning rod for a few different groups out there. The "all Grace" people don't like me suggesting a Christian has to do anything but say, "I believe". The "positive" people don't like me saying anything that is anything less than "happy-happy", and while there are plenty of other groups, one thing remains: they don't want any discussion other than the theme of an old hymn: "When we all get to Heaven". To suggest we aren't all going to Heaven seems an affront to some Christians, but the fact is that not only some "Christians" not enter Heaven, most won't enter Heaven. Please notice I use the term "Christians" instead of Christians. The quotation marks may not seem too profound, but they will mean the difference between an eternity with God and an eternity away from God.
Lakewood Church has been in the media constantly these days. Why? It's all about the numbers, folks, and Lakewood has the numbers. They've recently moved into the old Compaq Center in Houston, and the media has been all over this story like white on rice. When they interview Joel Osteen or his entourage, what they'll generally get is a "God loves you and he wants his best for you. We want to uplift people and focus on the positive". You'll hear the word positive quite often at Lakewood, and while positive is good, reality is even better. As I said, it's all about the numbers, and if any church has explosive growth in a short period of time, the world takes notice. Rick Warren and Saddleback Church is another classic example of media frenzy within the Christian community. Warren has become one of the highest selling authors in the world, largely because of his positive message. Warren also has a strong business-style background which also makes him strong in.....you guessed it, the numbers.
I'm a salesman by trade, and numbers mean a lot to me in my job. Without numbers, I have no job. The big error in the modern church is making the very erroneous conclusion that attendance numbers have some sort of correlation to people being saved. In the sales world, I can produce an overview of my accounts which will proclaim I have a good year ahead of me based on projected data. In other words, if I make a certain number of phone calls to prospective customers, followed up with an appointment, the appointment then spawns an inquiry from the customer, the inquiry becomes a quotation, and somewhere down the line I have faith an order will result. The "proof in the pudding", though, is the ultimate order. Without the sale of my product, the rest of what I do has little meaning. Some salespeople spend great amounts of time explaining to their bosses what they've been doing for the past week, month or year. They can explain all they want, but without some sales, it really doesn't make a hill of beans of difference. The Christian church, on the other hand, doesn't have any absolute data to offer to the public. Lakewood Church can tell us 13,000 people attended last week's service, and that 250 people came to the altar and made a profession of faith or prayed the "Sinner's Prayer". So what? What Lakewood did was make a sales call, but they haven't been credited for a sale- not even one. So when will that "sale" be credited? Only when the people brought to the Lord by Lakewood walk through the "pearly gates" of Heaven, and not one minute sooner. While the Saddleback church and Lakewood church get plenty of media attention, there's nothing concrete to suggest a mega church will send any more people to Heaven than the little 100 member church down the road.
But I've strayed from my original intent today. I want to continue busting the myth that only "positive" energy in a church is what brings people to God. As I listened to Charles Stanley on the radio yesterday, I had to wonder how many millions of people have heard his message. Stanley, if you haven't noticed, spends a great deal of time talking about Grace, but spends little time focused on repentance and discipline. David Jeremiah and Chuck Swindoll are two more pastors that are hard on anyone who presents a message of anything other than "I'm okay, you're okay". Can we agree, for the sake of conversation, that the preachers I've mentioned, plus Joel Osteen and Rick Warren, all preach a "positive" message? Can we agree, that collectively, these men, on a weekly basis, reach millions of people? If we can agree on these basics, may I ask a question? Why do they still need to be preaching? Stick with me on this point, because it's critical. If these men are reaching the "lost" of this world and are successfully converting them, they should technically be working themselves out of a job. In other words, if their conversion "numbers" are as good as the world thinks, the entire world that hears them on radio or sees them on TV should be walking with the Lord, right? Charles Stanley has been spouting the same message for 40 years, so everyone in his church should only need a little "touch-up" once in a while, but they keep showing up every week. "Oh, but John, Christians need to be fed a steady diet of the Word." I agree, but nearly all of the preachers mentioned believe in "Once saved, always saved", otherwise known as eternal security. This belief simply means that once a person makes a profession of faith in Jesus Christ as Lord, they're Heaven bound. If this is true, they should be passing people through their churches like Walmart does. But they don't, they just keep regurgitating the same old "positive" message over and over.
Anyone who has dealt with children understands the concept of being very clear to the child what is and isn't acceptable. We don't tell a toddler "honey, sweetie, please don't put your hands on that hot stove burner, because you're such a good boy!" Nope, we say, "If you touch that hot burner it will hurt really bad." So, are we sending a negative message or a realistic one? "Oh, but John, there's a big difference in dealing with toddlers and adults." Oh? The adults I deal with are just as easily distracted as any 2 year-old I've ever known. Throughout the history of mankind, there have been rules and regulations to keep the world from coming unglued. The path to Heaven has its own standards that must be met. The acceptance of Jesus as our Savior is first and foremost. Without that, the rest is pointless, as nearly every "Christian" or Christian will agree. The rest, however, varies widely, and that's the problem. For those who truly believe they can live a sinful life, "get saved" and go back to living the same way, I can only shake my head and wonder just how anyone can be so naive and gullible. On the opposite end of the spectrum are folks who believe they must do penance for the bad things they've done. This can become just another ritual if it's not done with the right heart. So what's the answer? If I said to read my book you'd think I was just plugging my own interests, but I wrote the book to reveal what must be done to make it to Heaven. But guess what? You don't need my book or anyone else's book if you'll just read the Bible. Listen to what Jesus said to the people seeking eternal life. If you can ever find him telling someone embroiled in sin, "My child, all you need to do is have a positive self-image", please send me that chapter and verse immediately. I'll put that on the opening page of my website and leave it there forever.
The bottom line is simple: None of us, not one, can be good enough on our own to make it into Heaven. Jesus Christ doesn't "pay our way" into Heaven....he pays the difference. What do I mean by that statement? It's simple- Jesus expects us to live the life he prescribed. If we're following his instructions, he will be faithful in catching up our slack. Why would anyone think Jesus will tolerate a "Christian" living a life of willful disobedience? Don't misunderstand- I'm still faced with choices every day in which I make the wrong choice. Like what? I can choose to walk away from an argument or charge into it like a bull. Sadly, I'm more likely to be a bull in many cases. I know that and Jesus knows that. He and I have had plenty of discussions about this and about what should be done. I have no doubt I'm not fulfilling my end of the bargain, but I also have faith that my Savior will continue to be patient with me while I try to follow his directives. Where do you stand with your sins? Do you care? Have you even identified your sins? Today's the day to get started.