Glen Berteau - Christianity Lite: Stop Drinking a Watered-Down Gospel

GLEN BERTEAU

Sometimes your medicine bottle has on it, Shake well before using. That is what God has to do with some of His people. He has to shake them well before they are ever usable.
VANCE HAVNER

T HE BIRTH OF a childespecially a first childis a glorious occasion. Everybody is excited to bring the new baby home and then to church for the first time. Mothers flock around the new mom and talk about how beautiful the baby is (even when there is considerable evidence to the contrary). Even dads puff up their chests as they show off their new son or daughter. It was no different in the first century. When Joseph and Mary brought the infant Jesus to the temple, they offered the only sacrifice they could afford: a pair of pigeons. They were thrilled to have their new son in the worship service! But in every part of Jesuss life light was mixed with darkness, and joy was tainted by sorrow.

From Gods point of view Jerusalem was the most spiritual city on the planet, and the temple was the holiest place anywhere. Thats where heaven and earth met. On that day Joseph and Mary brought Jesus to dedicate Him to God, but only two elderly people recognized Him as the promised Messiah, the Savior of the world. They were Simeon and Anna. Why werent there a parade and refreshments? Why werent there banners and balloons? Because the Son of God didnt come in the way people expected. It wasnt a grand, lavish show. He came with humility and grace.

Simeon was an old man who faithfully came to the temple every day. The Holy Spirit had promised that someday he would see the Messiah. He didnt want to miss that! Finally it happened. He saw the young couple and their baby, and the Lord told him, Hes the one!

The old man took the baby in his arms and thanked God that the Light of the world had finally come. He understood the Messiahs expansive role. He prayed, I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people. He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel! (Luke 2:3032).

Joseph and Mary were amazed. Someone else knew about their Son! Now, wouldnt you think it would have dawned on them that their child was special? After all, an angel had appeared to Mary, she was a virgin when she conceived, and all the prophesies in the Bible pointed to this child being the long-awaited Messiah! Still they were amazed that this old man recognized Him.

Simeon then turned to Mary and spoke words that must have chilled her heart: This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall, but he will be a joy to many others. He has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose him. As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul (vv. 3435).

Wherever Jesus wentfrom the time He was an infant until He rose from the hill back into heavenHe was a fork in the road: some people loved Him, but many were offended by Him. His message was unmistakable. Imagine what Mary must have been thinking at that moment. Simeon was saying that this dear little baby, the promised Messiah of God, was going to offend people, irritate them, and confuse them. Who wants to be corrected? Jesuss life and message never left people the same. He graciously welcomed all who came to Him, but He never left them in their previous condition. His arms were open wide, but He demanded complete loyalty and obedience. He spoke glowingly of Gods love, but He made sure people understood the cost of obeying Him. He often confused those who followed Him, and He infuriated those who opposed Him. At one point (in John 6) the only ones who chose to remain with Jesus were the twelve disciples. The rest became angry and walked away.

If we dont feel offended by God from time to time, its not the real God were following. If we dont feel confused by Him, we dont realize that His infinite wisdom is far beyond human comprehension. If we dont have spiritual anxiety at the demands of discipleship, we havent really heard His clear command to follow Him into sacrifice and suffering. Jesus gave all, and He demands all. Thats a chilling prospect, even for the bravest among us.

We get offended because God doesnt do what we think He should do. Many of us signed up with Jesus for an easy life and lots of blessings. Suffering? Not on our list. Sacrifice? Maybe for somebody else. Waiting on answers? We want our blessings now! Anything less than a life of perfect peace, wonderful blessings, and abundant prosperity hacks us off. After all, we deserve it, dont we?

DUMBING JESUS DOWN

In his book Finding God author and Christian psychologist Larry Crabb observed, We have become committed to relieving the pain behind our problems rather than using our pain to wrestle more passionately with the character and purposes of God. Feeling better has become more important than finding God. And worse, we assume that people who find God always feel better. The result is that we treat God like a specially attentive waiter. When He gives us good service, we give Him a tip of praise. When He doesnt immediately meet our every need, we complain.

With piercing insight into our culture, Notre Dame sociologist Christian Smith observes that people today have a view of God that can be characterized by Moralistic Therapeutic Deism. In other words, following rules is important because it guarantees that God will make us feel better, but actually its an arms-length relationship with a God who is out there somewhere. Smiths study focused on adolescents but extends to the wider culture of our society. He notes:

We get offended because God doesnt do what we think He should do.

Moralistic Therapeutic Deism is... about providing therapeutic benefits to its adherents. This is not a religion of repentance from sin, of keeping the Sabbath, of living as a servant of a sovereign divine, of steadfastly saying ones prayers... of building character through suffering, of basking in Gods love and grace, of spending oneself in gratitude and love for the cause of social justice, etc. Rather, what appears to be the actual dominant religion... is centrally about feeling good, happy, secure, at peace. It is about attaining subjective well-being, being able to resolve problems, and getting along amiably with other people.

This is Christianity Lite in a nutshell. It focuses on the friendly, pleasant, fun, accepting, and exciting aspects of Jesuss life and message, but it ignores the parts that make us feel uncomfortable. In todays seeker-friendly churches and books only half the gospel is taughtbecause people want to hear only the pleasant part of Jesuss message. These pastors and authors use the Bible, they encourage people to pray, and they tell great stories of Gods blessings, but they downplay Jesuss demands. God, were convinced, is just like us. As the philosopher Voltaire once noted, If God created us in his own image, we have more than reciprocated.

Im not suggesting that we need to lay grace aside and impose oppressive rules on anyone. Thats not the gospel, either! We need a full-orbed gospel messagethe one Jesus taught, modeled, and imparted to His disciples. Anything else leaves us with a saccharin-sweet taste in our mouths but feeling empty. A lite version of the gospel simply cant satisfy the deepest needs and longings of the human heart. We cant be truly saved by a Lite Savior. We need the Lamb of God to die for us, but Hes also the Lion of Judah who demands everything we have as we follow Him.