Is It Really Faith?

As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. James 2:26

You are standing on the banks of the Grand Canyon. A narrow suspension bridge spans the gulf, sagging several feet in the middle. It sways slightly in the wind and a few planks are missing. Standing with you is the architect of that bridge. He is world-renowned for his brilliant designs and has just shown you the blueprint for the bridge. “Do you have faith in my bridge?” he asks. You eagerly say yes and praise his reputation. But then he asks, “Will you step out onto it and start walking?”

What would you do? As long as you are on the bank, you can say that you have faith in the bridge. But that is not faith; that is hope. Faith steps onto the bridge and keeps walking. Many people stop at Hope on their journey toward God. They agree that He is great, and they like the idea of being forgiven and knowing God. But they stay on the banks, clinging to the very sins and self-will that Jesus died for. Even Christians can profess faith without acting on it. They know what God says, but they place their confidence in what they can see, hear, or feel. When faith stays inside our heads and never makes it to our life choices, it is not real faith. However, when we act on what we say we believe, our hope becomes faith. Faith is an action word. It moves us toward the object of that faith. True faith propels us onto the bridge and empowers us to keep walking.

Our life choices are indicators of what we truly believe. What does your lifestyle reveal about your faith?

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Hipster Christianity

“Watch out for people who cause divisions and upset people’s faith by teaching things contrary to what you have been taught. Stay away from them.”  Romans 16:17

We love new-and-improved. As soon as a product becomes popular, the marketers repackage it, raise the price, and call it new-and-improved. And we gullible consumers snap it up. Those same marketing strategies are often used within the church. Every few years, a “new teaching” comes along that is guaranteed to renovate your faith. Trendy young hipsters present a “this-ain’t-your-granddaddy’s-religion” concept, and people flock to them. Churches split, families divide, and God weeps. We were warned about this in Romans 16, but we often don’t see it for what it is.

So how do we avoid these false teachers and division-causers? First, we search our own hearts to see if we are among the guilty. Then we search our Bibles so that we can distinguish truth from error (2 Tim. 2:15). Next, we compare the new-and-improved ideas with the timeless truth of scripture, and discard anything that doesn’t line up with “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27). We refuse to be drawn into any splinter group whose goal is to divide the church rather than build it up. Then we recognize that it is pride behind the idea that there is some “new truth” that the apostles, church fathers, and martyrs throughout history have all missed.

 Are you attracted to the latest fads or splinter groups within the church? Let Romans 16:17 be your watchdog.

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The Real Loser

What happens when you lose something? 

I lost my daughter once, when she was three. At the water park. She was there and then she wasn't. Terrified, we looked everywhere until we found her. Losing things we cherish is always accidental. We don't lose things we value on purpose. When we do lose something important to us, it's scary.

In Matthew 16:25, Jesus says something scary like that. "For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it." What does that mean? Martyrs lose their lives rather than deny Christ, but what about the rest of us? Do we have to die for Christ in order to fulfill this promise? What does it mean to lose your life for Christ's sake? And it sounds as though we are to do it intentionally.

The word "lose" might be better understood with an extra "o". Read the verse with the word "loose" instead. When we "loose" our lives, we don't hold on to them so tightly.  Jesus was saying that in order to follow Him fully, we cannot cling possessively to the things this world offers. Even the good things. Relationships. Family. Career. Home. Even  health, finances, and happiness.

When we choose to follow Jesus, we have to loosen our grip on anything that diverts our attention from Him. Even our own lives. If I am driving down the highway, I'd better keep my eyes on the highway or I will no longer be driving down the highway. If my attention is captivated by the color scheme on the building I'm passing or the little kids on a playground, I will soon be off the road. 

The same thing happens in our spiritual lives. Unless our attention is fixed on our goal, we are easily distracted and quickly lose our way. When our loyalty is divided between following Christ and pleasing ourselves, our flesh wins every time. We're good at justifying, explaining, and ignoring, but Jesus was clear that to do so results in losing everything that matters.

A. W. Tozer calls this "the blessedness of possessing nothing." Possessions and passions are gifts from God, but they can quickly become masters when we place too much importance on them. Jesus warned us that if we make those gifts our god, we will end up losing everything. 

But when we choose Him, we must loosen our grasp on everything else. When we willingly let go of everything we think we cherish to follow Jesus, He often entrusts us with those very gifts because they won't get in our way. We can be trusted to have them without possessing them.

In place of earthly passions, God grants us purpose that the world cannot offer. He turns our faces toward eternity and our hearts toward His. Only then do we discover real life the way God created it to be lived. When we "loose our lives for Christ's sake," we will find them.

Choose Your Plan

A trip to the phone store can be a daunting experience. So many plans. So many options and tracks you can take, depending upon what you want to spend and the benefits of spending it.

Some Bible teachers present Christianity that way. You can choose Plan A-- Regular Christian, or Plan B--Disciple of Christ. Some teach that you can be a Christian without being a disciple. Is this what Jesus taught? Does the Bible present two options for those who would call themselves Christians?
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Consider the ramifications. With Plan A, you simply believe, ask Jesus into your heart, and then go about your regular life with only a few minor adjustments, like some church attendance or cleaning up your language. Just enough to look Christian. With this plan you get pardon from the Father, Jesus as your friend, and the Holy Spirit as your Comforter. On top of that you can look forward to eternal life in heaven. Ignoring Romans 6 won't be difficult because you don't really need to read the Bible anyway. Bible Verse snippets texted from Plan B Christians to your phone is all the spiritual food you really need. You can continue like this your entire life, and expect heaven as your reward for simply believing.
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Plan B, discipleship, offers all the benefits of Plan A, however it requires that you go through a sometimes painful new birth process that will result in dying to your sin, enduring hardship, expecting suffering, practicing self-denial, and loving Jesus more than anything else. Your chief desire will be holiness, which means you follow Jesus even when it hurts. In addition to heaven, you are promised some ambiguous rewards that you hang on to for a few minutes before casting them at Jesus' feet, and then everyone is even. Heaven is presented as an equal opportunity destination.
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Now, who in their right mind would choose Plan B? 
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Did Jesus present it that way? In Acts 11:26, the two plans combine. It says, "The disciples were first called Christians." They were called "little Christs" as a form of ridicule. The word Christian originated as a taunt from unbelievers as a way to mock followers of Christ who were trying to live like Jesus. But since then, we have so misconstrued the term that it has lost original meaning. In our world, Christian no longer means "little Christs." It often stands for religious bigoted hypocrites who hide their secret sins while loudly decrying the open ones of others. Or it implies Bible-tainted worldliness. Neither fits the original definition. Nor is either offered by God as an option for those who would inherit eternal life.
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We can isolate a few verses that say all we need to do is "believe." But if we take the whole counsel of God, all Jesus' words in their entirety, and consider what it takes to gain eternal life, the message seems clear.  It is the same answer Jesus gave the rich young ruler: "Sell all you have and come follow me." The pious young lawyer already believed, but he wasn't willing to be a disciple. At no point did Jesus offer him Plan A.

The young man went away sad. (Mark 10:21-22)

I think that says it all.
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 What's in it for me?

We live in an age of me-first consumerism.

The attitude of most of us is this: I guess I'll try that for awhile, see if I like it. If it doesn't zing me, I'm gone. A job. A spouse. A neighborhood. A church.

Gotta have that newest technology. We stand in line all night for tickets so we can be first. We love two-for-one, something for nothing, and trading spouses.

Unfortunately, the church seems to be moving in the same direction, using the same appeal. "Come on in and get your donuts and coffee. Hang around and chat til you absolutely HAVE to go into the sanctuary. Load up on food, find a comfy seat, and observe the show."

So you settle in and begin the assessment: Worship band's a little loud today...Guy in front of me is too fat to see around...Sermon didn't tell me anything I didn't know...It's a little too hot/cold/dark/bright. Forget the offering, I didn't get my money's worth today. But, I might be back next week--if I don't have something else going on.

Week after week it goes on. No commitment. No responsibility. It's all about ME.

And the church is often caught up in encouraging that self-worship with subtle messages like, "Church isn't so bad, try ours! Look how entertaining our services are. We don't ask ANYTHING of you, neither does God. He's just glad you're here. Good for you for showing up. We just hope you'll 'get something' out of the service."

REALLY? I'd love to find that verse in scripture. What I find instead are rebukes from Jesus himself as he quoted Isaiah the prophet: "‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce..." (Matt. 15: 8-9)

Sometimes we focus so hard on the truth that salvation is free, Jesus paid it all, by grace are we saved, that our theology becomes lopsided. We focus on God's responsibility to man and ignore man's responsibility to God. If that was all there was to it, the Bible would be a pamphlet.

God is not one more avenue of consumption. He requires His people to strive for holiness, like He is holy. We do Him no favors by our token religious activities. He is not interested in our half-hearted attempts to appease Him. 

We begin our journey out of consumer-Christianity when we finally realize: It's not about ME.

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Are You a Pepper, Too?

Remember this old Dr Pepper jingle with the young man racing through the city, leaping off buildings and singing:
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"I'm a Pepper, he's a Pepper, she's a Pepper, we're a Pepper, wouldn't you like to be a Pepper, too?"


The result was that people swarmed to follow him, all drinking their Dr Peppers and joining the dance.
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It was a very effective commercial and ran for years. It was happy, enthusiastic, and gave the impression that everyone was a part of this wonderful Dr Pepper craze. You could be too, if you'd only drink Dr. Pepper.
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Consequently, Dr Pepper sales soared and have kept that soft drink at a top slot for the last 3 decades.
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Unfortunately, many Christians employ this same marketing approach when they present the Gospel. If it works for soft drinks, why not try it as an evangelism tool? Ignoring the deep teaching of Christ, they reduce His message to a jingle:

"I'm a Christian, he's a Christian, she's a Christian, we're all Christians,

wouldn't you like to be a Christian, too?"

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They glibly peddle their favorite buzzwords: "abundant life," "victory in Christ," "Heaven," "God is your helper." All of those are true, but just as the Dr Pepper ads failed to mention obesity, tooth decay, and expense in their peppy ads, the the Christianized jingles often mask the real message of Jesus:

"If any man would come after me,

let him take up his cross and follow me."

A cross? Ugh. Not very peppy. Mention of a cross would never make the cut for a 30-second commercial. A cross signifies death and we're all about life.

Happy life.

Peppy life.

Me-life.

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Contrary to our popular promotion of Christianity-lite, Jesus didn't come to make us better people. To improve our selfish lives, make us rich, or separate B.C .from A.D. He didn't leave Heaven, walk about in sandals, and face eventual murder so that we could all like ourselves more.


The message Jesus brought was one of death. A cross symbolizes death and when he told us to take up our crosses, he was not referring to His cross. He's already carried that. It's OUR cross he means.
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To call ourselves disciples of Christ and to lay claim to all those happy buzzwords we have to die. When we come to him we must be willing to exchange our old sinful nature for His perfect one. Just as he died physically on the cross, we have to be willing to die to our infatuation with ourselves. Our way. Our opinions. Our right to control our lives. We have to be willing to lose our self-life and take on His Spirit-life.


And unlike the Dr Pepper ad, this exchange is not always a skipping and dancing event. Jesus' obedience led him down a road lined with mockers who couldn't wait to see him crucified. But he went willingly because he was more interested in God's plan than his own. Rather than the dancing man on TV, the image of Jesus staggering under the weight of the cross is our model of what it takes to be a Christian.
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That's the Bible's image. Unfortunately, we don't hear that preached much anymore, and it's a travesty. Millions are being led down a pansy-lined path to destruction, singing their catchy jingles and believing themselves smugly ensconced on their heavenly journeys. Their lives are spent on themselves and their own pursuits, chasing worldly gods just as hard as those who carry no such false religiosity. They trust that God is satisfactorily impressed with their efforts to "live a good life" and believe that is all that is required.

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How about you? As you examine your own relationship with God, how much Dr Pepper theology have you bought into? Have you considered your relationship with Jesus more like a get-out-of-Hell-free card? Have you approached salvation as a way to get God on YOUR team rather than the other way around?
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How far we've come from that lonely road to Calvary and how distorted the meaning. In our attempts to make the message more attractive, we've stolen the truth and life right out of it. How many are being led astray by the peppy, commercial-worthy version of Christianity?
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I pray you are neither a promoter nor a victim of the Dr Pepper Jesus. You won't find Him anywhere in Scripture or anywhere in Heaven.
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Man, This is Hard!

Imagine that tomorrow you get ready for work and go out to your car. You get in, put the shift in Neutral, and toss your briefcase, jacket, and keys on the seat. Then you get out, slam the door, and cross to the trunk. With a mighty heave, you throw all your weight against the trunk and the car begins to move.

Eventually, you may actually get to work that way. But it will be no fun, you'll be worse for the wear, and you certainly won't look forward to doing it again.

Are you living life that way?

Just as the car was not designed to be powered by human strength, so life was not designed to be lived in your own strength--yet everyone tries it at one time or another. Rather than striving to please God, we work to appease God. And it doesn't work very well, does it?

The statistics show that failure is as prominent among people who claim to have a faith as those who claim none. Divorce rates, sexual promiscuity, porn addictions are as high among professing Christians as they are among those professing no faith at all. Why is that? Does faith in God not work for some people?

I believe the problem is found in the passage in 2 Peter we discussed in the last post. "And add to your faith virtue..." We are not adding to our faith virtue. We stop at belief, and then take over our own lives: directing our own futures, chasing our own goals. But without virtue, we cannot proceed to the following levels of maturity.

Masses of confused people repeatedly rededicate themselves, attempt to "straighten up," vow to clean up their acts, and make futile, frustrating efforts to "be a better Christian"--all efforts quite exhausting and none lasts very long.

If you were learning to fly a two-seater airplane and the engine began to sputter, would you want to hang on to the controls or hand them over to the plane's designer sitting in the pilot seat?

With the tangible presence of God in your life, you don't have to try to be a better Christian. Living in harmony with God is not work--it's what you exist to do. God's very real presence in your life changes you: your interests, your desires, your habits. YOU don't change yourself, God does it for you.

Take a long look inside your secret soul. Are you trying really hard to be what you ought to be?

You'll never make it. It's impossible and will make you utterly miserable in the process.

God offers you a much more pleasant option: Stop Trying So Hard. Just give up. You lose the right to dictate your flight plan, but you gain the privilege of being piloted by the designer.

And he's pretty good company during the ride!

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