4.) God is not OK with doubt and anger.
This would be a great idea if not for most of Psalms. I know why the mindset is present. It is disrespectful to yell at our earthly father and doubt his ways, so it must be the same (and more so) with God. Not terrible logic, but I direct you back to Psalms. Listen, God is all-powerful. His love for you is so deep He sent His son to give you life. I think God can handle some doubt and anger. He knows this life is hard. He knows we are limited.
If you are reading this and have doubts about God, welcome to the club. I will pull you up a seat. Sometimes I struggle with things like a God who is everywhere at one time, three different Gods (but one God) and eternity. Doubt is an opportunity to draw near to God, not run from Him.
5.) God’s love for me is determined by my behavior.
The problem here … we think too highly of ourselves. If God’s love for you (or me) was determined by your behavior, He would be a crazy lunatic. He would also not have anybody to love. Here’s the deal. I suck at living up to God’s standard. Even on my most awesome day, I still end up light years short of God’s standard. Don’t freak out. God knows this.
Enter … Jesus.
God loves you for one reason … His love is that deep (John 3:16). It’s not about you. Not at all. You are a child of God for one reason … Jesus. You can’t earn God’s love. You can’t earn God’s favor. Stop trying. You are driving down an exhausting road. Take the next exit and get off!
You are awesome because of God. When you really suck at life, praise God. His love for you hasn’t changed. When you knock it out of the park, praise God. His love for you hasn’t changed.
6.) We should never water down the message.
Alright, some of you are ready to write me off. Hear me out.
I am not interested in changing the message. The message must stay the same. It is the message of Jesus that transforms lives. It is of first importance (I Cor. 15:1-3). I am interested in changing the content of the message. This idea that the church should never alter the message so those who do not know Jesus can comprehend it is ridiculous.
“Frank, the Holy Spirit will do the work in those areas where people do not understand.”
Listen, I am a huge Holy Spirit guy. I believe in the Holy Spirit and His power. But tell me this … how is that working for you? You bringing non-Christians to Jesus with that mindset?
I was talking with a guy last week about this. He did not grow up in church. This guy has been a Christian for about 20 years now, and his words to me were striking. “Frank, I struggle to understand the message most Sundays. I don’t speak the language. So, most of the time I just tune out when the sermon starts.”
Translation: The church is speaking a language that is native to us, but foreign to those who have no framework for God. Call it Christianese. Call it whatever. But it is prideful to believe people should constantly reach up to our level. Tell me where you find that in Scripture? The prevailing theme is God and His people reaching down, not expecting others to reach up.
Yes, we have a standard. Yes, we are called to be holy. But that isn’t the issue here. The issue is making the gospel clear to everyone. It is equivalent to expecting a toddler to comprehend high school concepts. Ridiculous.
Churches that are bringing non-Christians to Jesus get this. The message is not watered down. It is convicting, and it is powerful. But it is not littered with big Christian words that only locals understand. If the goal is to make ourselves feel good and holy, keep using big words that only natives understand. Keep telling “insider” jokes that make locals laugh and outsiders feel awkward. But If the goal is to reach people that do not know Jesus, we must stop expecting them to know our language. Make a choice.
