Relaxed and comfortable? There will be a cost

It is interesting that the newspapers are far more likely to be talking about religious themes than they were only two or three years ago. At long last press reporting on religion isn’t either dismissive or totally ignorant. We have actually seen some fairly good discussion generated.

The accession of Kevin Rudd as Federal Leader of the Opposition has created a fair amount of talk about religion. Indeed in one newspaper last month I was astonished to see an article with references to the early church that I wouldn’t have thought possible for our newspaper writers to know about!

On a broader front, attitudes to religion are changing because of the rise of Islam. The same thing is being observed in Europe, where people are beginning to ask themselves at long last, “Who are we? We are not Muslims, so what religion do we profess?”. And they are beginning to say, “We are not secularists either. We have been for too long beguiled by the promises of liberal secularism and it has not delivered the goods. So who are we?”

So there are signs on the continent of Europe, if not England, that people are identifying themselves once again more broadly speaking as Christians. Now I say broadly speaking because it isn’t as if there is a wholesale revival in church going or a wholesale conversion of heart. Nonetheless there is a greater openness in the West to religion in general – which could be mere spirituality – but also to the Christian religion.

Something new has happened.

However, we must not be fooled. Pluralism – the idea that your truth and my truth are equivalent and that all cultures should be equally respected – is not conceding any ground. We will only be allowed to appear in the public sphere or the national life if we behave ourselves and conform.

I heard reported that at President Gerald Ford’s funeral the Bible reading – John 14:1-6 – was only read to the first half of verse 6: “Jesus said, I am the way and the truth and the life...”

Whoever is responsible for that decision is sending us a message: yes, you may be allowed into the public arena; yes, religion will somehow be more respectable; yes, we will listen to religion without despising it altogether; but you will not be able to say that no one comes to the Father except through Jesus. We will not be any more popular saying these words than we ever have been.

That indeed confronts us with some bitter choices as a church, as a society and individually day by day. Are we going to be comfortable or committed? Are we going to be complacent or consecrated?

If you are not prepared to be unpopular and culturally off-side, then don’t get involved in the mission of the church. For the gospel message will only go forward, under God, with people committed to its progress and prepared to sacrifice so the gospel will progress around the world.

In Luke chapter 14, Jesus says, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.”

Jesus equates loyalty to himself with our three great loves: love for our family, love for ourselves and love for our possessions. If you touch any of those things, you touch the very things that define our identity. The Lord Jesus is saying here, “If you want to be my disciple then you must surrender all things”.

Jesus’ words aren’t merely addressed to missionaries but to all Christians.

Yet, it is perfectly clear if you look around the churches in all parts of the world that there are plenty of people who identify themselves as disciples of Jesus who have done no such things as these. They don’t so centre themselves on the Lord Jesus Christ that all these other things appear as dross. They don’t so change their lives through daily repentance, bringing themselves in line with the Word of God. It is perfectly evident that there are many who follow Jesus who haven’t sorted out the question of discipleship.

We must look at the other side of this question. Who could make such demands of us?

As we know, Jesus is Emmanuel, the Lord amongst us. He precedes the family. He precedes possessions. He precedes the very self. He demands the worship of the human heart. “You shall love him with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.”

Please notice how counter-cultural this is. It has always been so, but especially so now. The idea that one should commit oneself utterly to someone else is thoroughly counter-cultural. We don’t even make much of commitment in marriage. The idea that we should give up our cherished freedom and independence, that we should give up all and commit ourselves to him, that idea is utterly against our culture. Yet, when our culture speaks, we Christians jump too.

This particular word from Jesus challenges us Christians. This is a word that will make young men and young women stand up and go. This is a word that will make old men and old women say their prayers with abundance. This is a word which will open up wallets and purses. This is a word that will see people utterly commit day by day to obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a Word which sees us obeying his Great Commission to go out into the entire world and preach the gospel. It is a word that insists there is only one Saviour of the world. It is a missionary word, which may lead you into all sorts of strange places, and certainly into support of those who cross cultures with the great message of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We are living in a world where there are evangelistic opportunities. It is going to be an exciting time, I believe, where we are going to have opportunities for sharing the gospel that perhaps we haven’t had for 30 or 40 years.

But do not think for a moment that it is going to get easier. It never gets easier, although the opportunities may open themselves. It is always difficult. Pluralism and all the other cultural manifestations will be dead opposed to what we are saying and doing. There will be plenty of opposition, even where there will be more opportunities than we have ever had before.
In the midst of this cultural shift, what sort of disciples are we going to be?

Remember the Lord doesn’t look for many; he looks for those who have surrendered all to him.
Are you going to be one of the many who simply attached themselves to Christ, because it was interesting to attach themselves to a celebrity? Or are you going to be one of those who hears this Word of the Lord, who deals with it, once and for all and then daily, as a true and faithful disciple? 

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