CHRISTIANITY ISN'T THE WAY-III

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TODAY we are making our way through the 3rd segment of Christianity Isn't the Way; Jesus Is.

Jesus made it a habit of reaching out to people from all kinds of religious and cultural backgrounds. NOTE the following illustrations of how the approach of Jesus and his disciples was all-inclusive: John 4:12-Woman at the well was a Samaritan with very different beliefs regarding the center of worship. He left her with cultural beliefs in tact, except that He trumped the center of worship by saying that someday the center of worship will not be in a given location, but in your heart.

Acts 10:28-Peter's experience with the non-Jews. After Peter was supernaturally led to the house of Cornelius by a radical vision from God, he told them: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right."

Mark 7:26-The Syrophoenician woman. She was a gentile from a godless culture. Her faith was evident in her persistent conversation with Jesus about her daughter. Jesus honored her faith, however He didn't pull her into a new religious system or study class, nor did He have her renounce her cultural upbringing. Again, there was no renunciation of her false doctrines. Why not?

Luke 9:54-Rebuke of James & John. They suggested that Jesus call down fire from heaven to destroy the Samaritans who were not of the Jewish faith. Jesus rebuked them soundly.

Mark 6:45-7:23-Trip to Gennesaret. Do you notice how many times the Gospel writers refer to going to the other side of the Sea of Galilee? Whenever they were on the Jewish side, they crossed over to the other side. Why? Jesus performed the same works among the gentile world. He never urged them to change their religious culture, but let them remain right where they grew up. However, they were drawn to Him.

Matthew 15:30; Mark 7:24-8:9-Trips to Tyre, Sidon and Decapolis. All of these were non-Jewish areas where Jesus ministered.

Mark 7:31-38; Matthew 15:29-38-Feeding of the 4000. It's almost as if Jesus made a point doing the same miracles among the gentiles as He did with the Jews. This was a feeding within the world of the gentiles.

Matthew 8:5-The Roman Centurion. No doubt the Roman Centurion grew up with the Roman gods, yet Jesus does not speak to this at all. His concern was his faith. When Jesus declared the Roman official's faith as outstanding, even greater than He had seen among the house of Israel, Jesus didn't tell this man to make sure to repent and go renounce the many Roman deities or his faith would be for naught. Why not?

Matthew 8:10-11-Continuation of the Centurion story. Further in the scene in the healing of the Roman Centurion's servant, Jesus says: "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven."

Matthew 24:14-Jesus' message regarding the nations of the world. Here Jesus says: "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come."

Matthew 28:18-20-The great commission of Jesus. Jesus repeatedly gives the same command to His disciples before His departure: MAKE DISCIPLES OF ALL NATIONS.

John 10:16-Jesus mentions "other sheep" that are His. Who are these other sheep? Could it be that they are from the various cultures of the world?

Acts 17:26-27-Message of Paul in Athens. "From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us." God made the nations-all nations-were made by God in such a way so that all men might seek and find God.

Acts 17-When Paul spoke before the gentile audience in Athens, he didn't quote Scripture, didn't use Jesus' name at first, stroked them for their many idols of worship and proceeded to explain to them who this UNKNOWN GOD is that they commemorated. He didn't call for the renunciation of these "gods", yet many believed in Jesus that day. What's that all about? I don't know many with this kind of approach.

Acts 8:26-40-When the Ethiopian eunuch was approached by Philip, sent by God to do so for this Divine appointment, why doesn't Philip bring up the renunciation of his Ethiopian culture? They had already built many temples to some gods back then, so why not a call for renunciation of these gods and especially before baptizing this eunuch, which must have served to make him feel he was now OK with God and a follower of Jesus?

I Corinthians. 9:19-22-Cultural identification. "Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some." NOTE the strategy here was not to export a given culture to another, but to identify with the culture in such a way to introduce Jesus to that culture.

Revelation 5:9-Every tribe and tongue and people and nation. Jesus came to reach all of these, not by exporting any given tribe, tongue, people or nation, but from within each of these faith in Jesus naturally emerges. Since the Creator-God is the source of all people, He has already marked and prepared all of these people groups to respond to Jesus.

You see, Jesus didn't come to destroy any culture or religious system, but to fulfill them. Jesus gives the fullest meaning to every culture. He relates to all who have ears to hear and eyes to see and receives them into His Kingdom. Jesus is above all cultures and religious backgrounds. Jesus trumps everything.

CHRISTIANITY ISN'T THE WAY-II

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Yesterday I began breaking down a long document I wrote on the subject of CHRISTIANITY ISN'T THE WAY; JESUS IS! Please understand there is no intent on my part to bash Christianity or Churches. My intent is to put both Christianity and Churches in their rightful place and that is under the pre-eminence of Jesus. As I mentioned yesterday, Jesus only mentioned the term "church" twice and that was intended as "church" with a little c. I think the problem is that we have made the "church", which literally means a gathering, city council or synagogue, into a big C Church as if it has some measure of prominence or authority. It is clear to me that Jesus trumps everything else! So, bear with me as we make our way through the teachings of Jesus and the New Testament writers.

My concern is that we must stick to the teachings and principles of Jesus without depending upon a set of beliefs or a theological system that man has built around Jesus. I know how those systems are constructed by well-meaning people, but it is simply a haughty thing to believe that you can arrive at the total truth on the Creator-God and be the only one or one of a few that is right. I believe Jesus never was a Christian and doesn't want to be.

The problem I sense with making Christianity the answer or making the ultimate goal for a person to become a Christian is the following:

We are using and promoting terms (Christian and Christianity) that are NOT even used by Jesus. Worse, we have transformed these terms into sacred goals for not only our lives, but the entire world. By doing this we set it up for people to hate Christians and Christianity, even lumping it altogether with the West. Therefore so many do not hear the Good News. So many miss the most attractive person ever-Jesus.

Many people use the term "Christianity" and mean by it a personal relationship with Jesus. However, words must be chosen well in order to communicate most clearly. So, consider these five observations:

FIRST-Making Christianity the primary way to God implies all other cultural religions are wrong and Christianity is right. It's as if Christianity or Christians own Jesus. Jesus is not exclusive, but all-inclusive.

SECOND-Making Christianity the primary way to God implies and requires that Christians must convert the world. Obviously, this requires a vast array of evangelistic campaigns, exporting Christian music and Christian doctrine, which is really a brand of Christianity from the West, with the intent of changing the audience to a more western culture. The turn-off level is great and very offensive to many who don't want to reject their culture in order to come to Jesus. The truth is that only Jesus through His Spirit is able to bring about spiritual transformation. This is not a cultural transformation, but a heart transformation.

THIRD-Making Christianity the primary way to God brings with it a narrow view of God-Jesus and the Kingdom. God and Jesus are limited as being from the West. It's a negation of God's full creation of every culture, nation and tribe and thereby diminishing the cultural richness of the Creator-God.

FOURTH-Making Christianity the primary way to God reduces Jesus and the Kingdom to a religious system, competing for the hearts and minds of men and women everywhere. Christianity is another religious system on par with the religions of the world. Jesus and the Kingdom are not!

Christianity as another religious system acting as if it is the only way to God or the right way to God stirs up negative reactions and attitudes from the non-Christian world, criticism from the media and persecution of the Christian "missionaries" and their activities around the world. This attitude and teaching that Christianity is right and all others are wrong merges quite well with the smug attitude of the West believing we are always right and better than most everyone else.

E. Stanley Jones' approach in the Indian culture was marked by his meeting with Mahatma Ghandi. Ghandi had just returned from his work in South Africa. He asked Ghandi how he might make the Good News more effective in the nation of India. Without skipping a beat, Ghandi offered two suggestions to Jones. First, "If you Christians would practice the teachings and principles of Jesus, that would go a long way in communicating your faith." Second, "If you would study our culture and religion, then you will find we aren't all that bad and reprehensible." Jones found these to be profound enough to make them the cornerstone of his approach to not only the Indian culture, but the cultures of the world. E. Stanley Jones proved to be one of the most effective communicators of Jesus and the Kingdom ever!

FIFTH-Making Christianity the primary way to God rejects the life and teachings of Jesus. Jesus is for the entire world. Jesus never urged anyone to become a Christian or to join a Synagogue or Church. His only concern seems to be the person's heart of faith and the subsequent act of whether or not the person becomes a follower of Jesus.

Tomorrow's study we will examine passage after passage where these five observations are illustrated. Let me close with a small section out of the message Paul delivered to the religious world of Athens. Remember, he stroked them for being highly religious, he didn't quote any Scripture to them, he quoted from a local poet a piece that had been written in the worship of Zeus and he didn't mention Jesus' name. The result? There were some who believed.

Check out what he said about the Creator-God's work in every culture of the world: Acts 16:26-27-From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.

God created all nations that they might from within their culture seek God and reach out and touch him, because God is not far from any one of us. NOTE God can be reached, touched and found by people from other nations. There is no mention of a missionary in shorts and tennis shoes showing up someday. We don't have time to wait for that to happen. The Creator-God, Himself will make Himself known to those who seek Him. I don't know of any more exciting news than this ever!

CHRISTIANITY ISN'T THE WAY-I

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Recently I wrote a document expressing some new insights regarding the use of the terms Christian or Christianity. In some circles this is being widely accepted. Or, maybe I should say where it has been read so far the response has been very positive. The problem is that it is a large document and many who receive it have a difficult time consuming it all in one sitting. So, the rest of the week, I want to break this document down into bite-sized segments, hoping to communicate what I believe is most revolutionary.

You see, Christianity isn't the way; Jesus is! Let me try to explain the journey I have been on and see if it resonates with you.

I've spent most of my life seeking to understand how to relate to the non-churched, non-Christian world. My books and speaking platforms have all had a crossover flavor to them and I finally ended up at the peak of professional speaking opportunities on the largest platforms in addition to pastoring one of the early mega-churches.

During that season of my life I came to the conclusion that only Jesus could transform our lives. 1. NOT Churchianity 2. NOT Christianity 3. NOT conversion methods 4. ONLY JESUS

I came to the conclusion that in order to reach the non-churched world I would have to separate myself from mainstream churches and Christianity. So, I did that to a certain degree, but I still had to take up offerings to keep the church and its staff alive. When your livelihood depends to some degree what your constituency thinks and wants, then you aren't as free as you could be to teach what I would call the true truth.

In the second season of my life Jesus apprehended my heart in a fresh way and poised me toward taking this same JESUS PLUS NOTHING message beyond the "secular", non-churched world into the 7 major cultures of the world.

So, now my focus and perpendicular learning curve have taken me to a simple understanding of Jesus and the Kingdom. I've spent so much time and energy unlearning a lot of my theological premises I received at graduate seminary while a student and professor. It's been a fresh look at Jesus and His message of the good news of the Kingdom. He only mentions "church" twice, yet we are all about building and uplifting the church. His message was not the church, but all about the Kingdom.

In this journey now we are working with the 7 primary cultures of the world-Buddhist, Hindu, Moslem, Jewish, Animist, Christian and Atheist/Agnostic. We don't present Christianity to them, but Jesus. We teach them to follow the teachings and principles of Jesus as the early disciples did. It took a while for the disciples to become believers. However, it's important to note that being a believer is not enough-the demons believe, false prophets/teachers of Matthew 7 are believers and we are believers. So, what's the difference? Jesus says, "Only those who do the will of my Father will enter the Kingdom." So "hear my words and practice them".

We are working with the Tibetan youth in northern India. What is so amazing is that these young Buddhists are followers of Jesus. It's just like hanging out with the early disciples while Jesus is out for the evening. The first 8 of these young men, going through a mentoring process centered around the teachings and principles of Jesus, have been awarded the title of "Ambassadors to the Poor in the Spirit of Jesus of Nazareth" by the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government. All of the work in the House of Peace (mentoring house) is done under the supervision of the Tibetan authorities. Each young person is chosen by government officials to enter the House of Peace. It is mind-blowing! We are seeing the same results with the other cultures using the same process. You see, Jesus trumps everything else. Not Christianity, but Jesus!

THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM

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Matthew 24:14

14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

The Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of heaven are used interchangeably. Even though Jesus teaches so little on the church (mentions it twice), He spends lots of time teaching about the Kingdom. Today the Kingdom concept has escaped our notice, even though Jesus places so much emphasis on it.

It's not that the Kingdom has been rejected, but reduced. In general we reduce the Kingdom of God to our particular flavor of the faith we have embraced. There's a sense that what we have embraced is the right way and therefore we must carry our particular form of faith and system of beliefs to the rest of the world. The Kingdom is so much greater than the particular faith or system you have embraced. Jesus is referring to the Kingdom of God, not the kingdom of the Catholics or protestants or the Moslems or the Buddhists.

There are, at least, 5 specific ways that we tend to reduce the Kingdom. FIRST-It is reduced to the MYSTICAL. If it's mystical, then it is very difficult to explain and understand definitively. It's sort of other-worldly. SECOND-It is reduced to the HEAVENLY. This is a lot like the first. If the Kingdom is heavenly, then it has little, if any, application on earth. THIRD-It is reduced to the future-APOCALYPTIC. This means it isn't for today, but is relegated to a time in the future when Jesus will set up His Kingdom on earth. FOURTH-It is reduced by being EQUATED TO THE CHURCH. Many see the Kingdom as the local church and therefore it's limited to whether it's a good and healthy church or not. FIFTH-It is reduced to a SOCIAL CONCERN. To many feeding the poor and doing charitable deeds among the needy of our world is where the Kingdom is.

There is a little bit of each of these dimensions that is true, but the Kingdom cannot be defined by any one of them alone. The way Jesus teaches it, the Kingdom is greater than anything that has ever existed on earth. Jesus makes it clear that the Kingdom is near, here and among us right now, yet there seems to be a time in the future when the Kingdom will be fully experienced on earth.

Jesus and the Kingdom offer the only possible solution to transforming the culture. There are three things about Jesus that are most attractive and most effective in changing any society:

FIRST-CHARACTER. There is no one who ever lived who has ever surpassed the character standard that Jesus set. He set the bar so high that He is revered in every culture of the world. It was said of Ghandi, "He was the most Christlike who ever lived." Think of that. Ghandi, Hindu leader, had great character and was recognized by the Hindu people that his character was so outstanding that it was to be compared with Jesus. Jesus raises the highest bar ever on the planet with respect to character. No one surpasses Him!

SECOND-FULFILLMENT AND MEANING. If you follow the teachings and principles of Jesus, you will know fulfillment and meaning in your life. Who isn't able to gain something positive out of the principle of forgiveness or loving your enemies or giving rather than receiving? Religious and cultural leaders from all over the world continually use the principles of Jesus to write their books and teach their seminars. There is nothing that surpasses them!

THIRD-GOD. If God were to take on human flesh and live among us on this earth, He would most certainly say the things that Jesus said and do the things that Jesus did. If you follow the teachings and principles of Jesus, along the way you will find the God of the universe.

NOW, take these same three characteristics of Jesus and apply them to the Kingdom-where the King is.

FIRST-CHARACTER. The Kingdom is the only moral authority with any kind of power to change society. The Church is not capable of it. The Church changes from time to time. Sometimes it is effective and sometimes it's not. Leaders are morally good and leaders become morally flawed. So, at any given time, the Church will not be able to deliver a moral authority to the community. The Kingdom is constant. It's power and effectiveness depend upon its leader-Jesus. Therefore living in the Kingdom and inviting others to share in it is the only solution to transforming a broken culture.

SECOND-FULFILLMENT AND MEANING. Jesus is the ultimate standard and the Kingdom is the lifestyle of living this out in society. The lifestyle of Kingdom living is where ultimate fulfillment and meaning reside. They are the laws of the universe. You cannot break the laws of the Kingdom, but they can break you. For instance, one of the laws of the Kingdom is to forgive those who have hurt you. If you refuse to live out this Kingdom principle, you will pay dearly for it. You will be bound by your lack of forgiveness. You will be eaten up with this unforgiving heart. By breaking the principle, you are broken. When living within the Kingdom, you are safe and free and most fulfilled.

THIRD-GOD. Where better to discover a personal relationship with the God of gods than where He lives in His Kingdom.

FOLLOW THE KING AND YOU'LL DISCOVER THE KINGDOM; EMBRACE THE KINGDOM LIFESTYLE AND YOU'LL DISCOVER THE KING.

The Kingdom is the only thing Jesus calls the gospel-the gospel (good news) of the Kingdom. When you are more conversant with the Kingdom, you will come to know that this is not only the good news; it is the BEST NEWS ever!

8 BEATITUDES-8 WOES

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Matthew 5:3-12-Matthew 23:13-33

Rather than make our way through each of the woes of Jesus in the 23rd chapter of Matthew, I want to briefly compare the 8 beatitudes and the 8 woes. Both were taught by Jesus-the beatitudes were given as a picture of what a blessed follower of the Kingdom was to look like and the woes are a description of the religious leaders who were living just the opposite of the Kingdom principles.

Beatitude #1 is "Blessed are the poor in spirit" which opens up the Kingdom to the poor. Woe #1 is against the leaders who have shut the poor out of the Kingdom: 13 But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.

Beatitude #2 is "Blessed are those who mourn" for they will be comforted. Woe #2 is against the leaders who distressed the mourners rather than comforting them: 14 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore, you will receive greater condemnation.

Beatitude #3 is "Blessed are the meek" for they will inherit the earth. Woe #3 is against the leaders who were not meek, but pompous fanatics who encompass the earth with their show: 15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves."

Beatitude #4 is "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness" for complete satisfaction. Woe #4 is against the leaders who make up a false righteousness by trickery: 16 Woe to you, blind guides, who say, `Whoever, swears by the temple, that is nothing; but whoever, swears by the gold of the temple is obligated.' 17 You fools and blind men! Which is more important, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold? 18 And, `Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing, but whoever swears by the offering on it, he is obligated.' 19 You blind men, which is more important, the offering, or the altar that sanctifies the offering ? 20 Therefore, whoever swears by the altar, swears both by the altar and by everything on it. 21 And whoever swears by the temple, swears both by the temple and by Him who dwells within it. 22 And whoever swears by heaven, swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.

Beatitude #5 is "Blessed are the merciful" for they will receive mercy. Woe #5 is against the leaders for omitting mercy altogether for things of lesser importance: 23 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. 24 You blind guides who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!

Beatitude #6 is "Blessed are the pure in heart". Woe #6 is against the leaders who were spotless on the outside and without purity on the inside: 25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. 26 You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.

Beatitude #7 is "Blessed are the peacemakers". Woe #7 is against the leaders who are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness: 27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

Beatitude #8 is "Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness". Woe #8 is against the leaders because of their actions of being the persecutors against Kingdom people: 29 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, 30 and say, `If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.' 31 So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. 33 You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell? 



I don't know about you, but the beatitudes, which form the manifesto for the Kingdom of God, seem to be far away from my life so much of the time. And, the woes against the religiosity, pompousness, majoring in the minors and minoring in the majors, looking good on the outside while being empty and dirty on the inside seem a little too close to me and how easy it is for me to fall into that non-Kingdom lifestyle.

This all just hits too close to home. We are the only message of Jesus and the Kingdom most people have today. They will either see and feel this message clearly or they will have a poor caricature of it through us. So, are you a clear light that attracts others or do you stand as a hindrance to the good news message of all time?