* * *
"[We] are starting to redefine Christianity. We are giving in to the dangerous temptation to take the Jesus of the Bible and twist him into a version of Jesus we are more comfortable with. A nice, middle-class, American Jesus. A Jesus who doesn't mind materialism and who would never call us to give away everything we have. A Jesus who would not expect us to forsake our closest relationships so that he receives all our affection. A Jesus who is fine with nominal devotion that does not infringe on our comforts, because, after all, he loves us just the way we are. A Jesus who wants us to be balanced, who wants us to avoid dangerous extremes, and who, for that matter, wants us to avoid danger altogether. A Jesus who brings us comfort and prosperity as we live out our Christian spin on the American dream."
"[In]
the American dream, where self reigns as king (or queen), we have a
dangerous tendency to misunderstand, minimize, and even manipulate the
gospel in order to accommodate our assumptions and our desires."
"The
gospel reveals eternal realities about God that we would sometimes
rather not face. We prefer to sit back, enjoy our cliches, and picture
God as a Father who might help us, all the while ignoring God as a Judge
who might damn us. Maybe this is why we fill our lives with the
constant drivel of entertainment in our culture--and in the church. We
are afraid that if we stop and really look at God in his Word, we might
discover that he evokes greater awe and demands deeper worship than we
are ready to give him."
"We
are not evil, we think, and certainly not spiritually dead. Haven't you
heard of the power of positive thinking? I can become a better me and
experience my best life now. That's why God is there--to make that
happen. My life is not going right, but God loves me and has a plan to
fix my life. I simply need to follow certain steps, think certain
things, and check off certain boxes, and then I am good."
"Ask
Jesus to come into your heart. Invite Jesus to come into your life.
Pray this prayer, sign this card, walk down this aisle, and accept Jesus
as your personal Savior... [None] of these man-made catch phrases are
in the Bible. You will not find a verse in Scripture where people are
told to 'bow your heads, close your eyes, and repeat after me.' You will
not find a place where a superstitious sinner's prayer is even
mentioned. And you will not find an emphasis on accepting Jesus."
"We
have taken the infinitely glorious Son of God, who endured the
infinitely terrible wrath of God and who now reigns as the infinitely
worthy Lord of all, and we have reduced him to a poor, puny Savior who
is just begging for us to accept him... We have been told all that is
required is a one-time decision, maybe even mere intellectual assent to
Jesus, but after that we need not worry about his commands, his
standards, or his glory. We have a ticket to heaven, and we can live
however we want on earth. Our sin will be tolerated along the way."
"Biblical
proclamation of the gospel beckons us to a much different response...
Here the gospel demands and enables us to turn from our sin, to take up
our cross, to die to ourselves, and to follow Jesus. These are the terms
and phrases we see in the Bible. And salvation now consists of a deep
wrestling in our souls with the sinfulness of our hearts, the depth of
our depravity, and the desperation of our need for his grace. Jesus is
no longer one to be accepted or invited in but one who is infinitely
worthy of our immediate and total surrender."
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