What’s the Point…

I was listening to a podcast today, a sermon about "Salt and Light" by Matt Chandler, The Village Church. What got me about the message was how we have truly lost our saltiness. The Church has lost its influence on culture. The church as we know it is one generation away from being culturally irrelevant. Have you looked around your church? Where are the twenty something males? Where is this generation? Its advoiding the church in masses...

Here is something, I taught out of Romans tonight. Here is the last verse of chapter four of Romans…”He (Jesus) was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification”. Jesus died for us and one day we will (those who have put their faith in Him) stand in front of God justified because of what Christ did for us, not because of something we did. But what is the point if our lives are not changed? I mean what’s the point if we are not making a difference in our culture. Did Jesus die for me to be comfortable and happy in my little perfect church…or did he die for me, so that I might sacrifice for others.

I think we live lives short of what God had envisioned for us. Why does the divorce rate in the church reflect the world around us, why are Christian men/pastors/clergy/deacons still addicted to pornography, why does our behavior reflect the world around us and not Christ? Think about this for a minute we are called to go and represent Christ in the world. We are to influence the world not vise versa. Yet most of the time you cannot tell the difference between the believer and the non-believer…and then when we ask the non-believer to join us at church…he looks at us and says, “your no different from me…why should I got to church.” And what is our reaction…our feeling are hurt, we feel rejected. What did you think he was going to say?

Let me clarify something…this rant is directed at me as much as the church at large. I see the world reflected in me in so many ways and my heart is broken…because I can see Jesus looking at me and asking “what is the point, Steve…” It’s more than dieing for my sin, it’s about changing the world…He died “for all”…we have a part in this. Did Jesus die for us to have a “fire” insurance policy…a get out of jail free card….or did Jesus die to make the world a different place…what’s the point….(insert name here)

-ps