I am not sure why we are doing new things. The old way obviously works because it worked for me. Can’t people just learn about their need for Jesus the way I did? Can’t they just hear his message the way that I hear it? Can’t they carry on the mission that he gave to me?
The Christian heart must continually wrestle against the self-referenced gospel. While it is true that Christ came to save us, we are not the only sinners in need of his grace. In fact, once we have been saved, he invites us to join in his great work of redemption! Like him, we are called to die to self that others may live.
The Apostle Paul well understood this holy calling. Though he had great reason to boast and be confident in his flesh, he boasted only in knowing Christ. Paul was a unique individual. As both a Pharisee (a Jew among Jews) and a Roman citizen (status beyond compare), Paul could well have been convinced that others should bend to his understanding and interaction with the gospel. Instead, he wrote these words:
1 Corinthians 9.19-23: “Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.”
What if as a church, we adopted this passage and owned it for ourselves? Perhaps it would read:
1 University 9.19-23: “Though we are a free church and belong to no earthly principality, we have opened our doors to people very unlike us, to win as many as possible to Christ. To the traditional Methodists, we offered traditional worship to win traditional Methodists. To those who speak Spanish, nosotros hablamos español, to win those who speak Spanish. To those who live on the internet, we spoke in html and trendy graphic U logos, to win those who live on the internet. To those who are starving, we became food to eat, to save those who are starving. We did all of this for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ, that together in ministry for him we might advance his Kingdom and share in its blessings.”
There is only one way to avoid self-referenced Christianity (which in the end destroys a living faith). We must all hold loosely to the trappings of religion – cherishing the tools we use to reach others for Christ, but resisting the temptation to create idols of those tools. In the end, the race has clearly been marked out for us and Christ is expecting us to run it with zeal and perseverance. As Paul writes, “Run in such a way as to get the prize.”
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2 comments:
How about, "To those who speak German, wir sprechen Deutsch."?
I am very excited about what the church is doing by providing ways to worship in any and every manner. Hallelujah that God has given us the opportunity to praise Him in everything. My fear is that we are becoming several churches. We are one body within the same campus but divided to our corners with minimal contact. How can we rediscover our unity in Christ while keeping our God-given differences?
This is an interesting fear that manifests itself in almost every church that has to start a second service or double track a Sunday school program. I think it is a healthy concern to always bear in mind. Certainly among us Prostestants who have been slitting and dividing amongst ourselves since Luther first nailed his complaints against Rome to the door. Still, I think as long as we are intentional, we need have no fear of losing our unity. Each of us fixes his eyes on Christ and the center holds.
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