That's Not Christianity

I am a Christian, saved by the grace of God, covered by the blood of Christ, formed by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is because of this formative work of the Spirit that I am brought to reckon with the truth of who God is and what he says. Many of these truths are hard to receive. What God says about sin, the consequences it brings, the need for repentance, and the warning of hardened hearts are essential building blocks to understanding our status apart from God and our desperate need for a savior.

If we dilute these truths with extra or unbiblical beliefs then we dilute the love of Christ, the glory of God the Father, and run the risk of shunning the convicting work of the Spirit in the hearts and souls of people.

If the goal is to become more like Christ, then I must know Christ and to know Christ is to know the Father. Christians are called to deny themselves, pick up their cross and follow Jesus (Matthew 16:24). We were bought with a price and we are not our own (1 Corinthians 6:20). This life we now live, we live by faith in the Son of God who loved us and gave himself for us (Galatians 2:20).

So let us build our faith on the truth of scripture and not on a more palatable version of Jesus that the culture around us finds more acceptable. Let’s not reduce Jesus to anything less than God supreme and sovereign over all. Let’s be formed by what the Word says, for he is the Word (John 1:1). My hope is that we as believers, would press into hard truths, the ones difficult to understand and sometimes difficult to believe, and continue on in faith until God’s goodness, justness, and trustworthiness shine forth in convincing power. May Christ be magnified and let all that is not of him be stripped away.

So what does God say about sin, its consequences, the need for repentance, and the warning of hardened hearts? When answering these questions, scripture should be our guide. I believe it is the authoritative words of the living God, providing all we need pertaining to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). If you do not believe that, then most of what I say going forward will make little sense.

What does God say about sin?

Scripture teaches that we all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23). From the moment of the fall with Adam and Eve in the garden, this has been true. We have all failed to live up to the holy standard of God, leaving us in a state of spiritual deadness (Ephesians 2:1). Sin is not simply a breaking of rules, rather a deep denial of who God is and a rejection of him as Lord.

If you feel that is not true of you and your sins, that is of little significance to the truth of the matter. This can be a hard truth to receive, but understanding sin in this scope widens the view of its consequences and should bring to light the serious need we have to be saved and made right with God. It also highlights the magnitude of a miraculous mercy and grace imparted to those who would believe.

What does God say about the consequences of sin?

The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). That is an eternal death. In a place cut off from God. A place of weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 13:42), namely hell. This too is a hard truth to receive. We don’t like to talk about hell and I understand it can be hard, initially, to believe and love a God that would send people there, but his judgments are never faulty. He will never be found as an unkind or unjust God.

He is not a God that delights in the lostness of souls. He wants all to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4-6). A perfectly just God cannot let sin go unpunished. That would demean his glory and make him a lesser version of who he truly is. His mercy is magnified and made more wonderful when you realize what he did to provide a way out of the consequences of sin.

What does God say about repentance?

Since God does not want anyone to perish, but can also not let sin go unpunished he did what only he could do. He sent his son, Jesus Christ, to Earth where he would live a perfect life, completely void of sin, and be offered up as a sacrifice for sins of the whole world. So that, whoever believes in him would not perish, but have eternal life in Heaven (John 3:16). God poured out his wrath towards all sin on Christ, so we would no longer have to bear our guilt or shame. Christ knew no sin, but was punished for the sins of every man and woman, all for the purpose of reconciling us to God (2 Corinthians 5:21).

This same Jesus calls us to repent and renew our minds (Mark 1:14-15 & Romans 12:2). Meaning we no longer find satisfaction in sin, things God commands us not to do, rather we find joy and satisfaction in living for God and being obedient to the life he has called us to. Repentance is a necessary part of the Christian life. Affirming people in their sin or continuing to live habitually in your own is not what Christ calls us to, yet again another hard truth. As Christians, we have been adopted into the holy family of God and in keeping with repentance, we show that we are truly of him as we bear fruit and live a new life for his glory (Matthew 7:17-20).

What does God say about hardened hearts?

A hardened heart would be one that is separate from God in addition to being unwilling and in some cases unable to come to belief in Christ (Ephesians 4:18). I do believe it is possible for people to harden their hearts towards God through repeated rebellion or denial of him, but I also believe God hardens hearts himself and sees to it that some will not come to an understanding of who he is. This is not a contradiction of God not wanting anyone to perish. It is a deep mystery and difficult to grasp, but God does not contradict God, even if it seems that way to us.

This gets into the deep and mysterious sea of election and hard truths regarding vessels of mercy and vessels of wrath (Romans 2:5 & Romans 11:7). God will have mercy on whom he has mercy and he will be just in doing so (Romans 9:15). I say all this to say, a hardened heart towards God is a dangerous and fearful place to be. Don’t be hardened by your own sin and in doing so heap up more wrath upon yourself. A hard and difficult truth indeed.

What’s Not Christianity?

Christianity is simple. God created man, man sinned against God and built up the wrath of God toward himself. God loved man and did not want to see him perish, so he sent his only son, Jesus to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins (1 John 2:1-2). Jesus lived a perfect life and died a death he did not deserve, all so that anyone who believes in his name is no longer marked by sin and separation from God, rather covered by his mercy and grace. When we believe in Christ, we repent and live a new life. While we are still in the body we will continue to wrestle with sin (1 John 1:8), but we are promised a gift and a helper to guide us in our walk with God, the Holy Spirit (John 14:16). The Spirit lives within us and helps us in our walk until Christ returns or we are called home. Since Jesus was tempted and suffered, he is able to help us when we are tempted and when we suffer (Hebrews 2:18).

Christianity is NOT cleaning your life up to make right your wrongs within your own power. Christianity is NOT claiming Christ, yet never repenting or bearing fruit to show you are in Christ. Christianity is NOT a be better, do better religion. If that's your understanding of the church, then please know that is NOT Christianity.

Christianity is NOT a universalist religion where there are many paths to God and all are right. No, there is but one mediator between God and man, the man Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 2:5). Christ is not a savior who loves people and leaves them the same. If that were the case would he have said we needed a doctor, a healer (Mark 2:17)? He loves us so much that he calls us to a better way and he himself intercedes on our behalf to help us in our new life. What a great Savior he is!

Some might argue and say that God would never forsake his people, despite their sins, and they would be right, but not all are born again and not all are children of God (1 John 3:1-3 & John 1:12). That is another really hard truth. God is not one to let sin go unpunished. That wrath towards sin was poured out on Christ for those who would believe, but if you don’t believe, it still hangs over you.

God is love and loves you deeply, yes and amen, but He loves you in order to make you more like Jesus, not merely affirm your lifestyle, your cultural tolerances, or “free” living. That is NOT Christianity. He has called you to be righteous and Christ himself is our righteousness, through faith.

Jesus is offensive and he said he did not come to bring peace, but a sword (Matthew 10:34). The reason the gospel is offensive is because it reveals the depravity of the world apart from Christ and the world hated Christ for it. The crowds had him put to death. So, call me radical. Call me an extremist. Call me closed or narrow minded. Call me unloving and out of touch if you want. Christ calls me his. That’s all that really matters.

Christianity is simple, but nothing simple is ever easy.

Christ sends preachers, they teach the gospel, people hear, believe, and then call on the name of the Lord. And all those who call on the name of the Lord will be saved. (Romans 10:13-15). This work is still effective and still sweeping through cultures that reject it.

God, help us to be a people that do not turn our backs to you because of hard truths. Help us see your kindness, your justice, and your goodness despite difficult truths that convict our souls and turn in our stomachs. Establish your people in Christ. Root us in your truth, even the hard ones. Send more workers to your harvest field. Keep doing the work of saving, Lord.

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen.