Consequential Christianity
Pictured, is the room in the Wartburg Castle in Eisleben where Martin Luther hid from church authorities who sought his life in 1521/22. There he translated the Bible from Latin to common German making it possible for all people to read the Bible without the translation of a Priest. It was smuggled to Guttenberg, who printed it and when he did the Bible spread like wildfire throughout Europe. It is the story of how one man’s faith became consequential.
Having said that, it took me a long time to realize that Christianity is both relational and consequential.
Christianity is relational. God wants to have a personal relationship with you and me. Christianity is not a set of lifeless duties, rules, regulations and obligations, all designed to place me in a special position and standing before God. That is religion.
Religion is spelled D-O. Religion is something I DO to win God’s favor. Religion says, I do religious things. I get Baptized, attend church and believe in the general notion that God exists. I attempt to lead a morally successful life.
Religion says God grades on a curve and on the curve, I’m doing ok. I’m not as good as some but I’m not as bad as most. I deserve to be in the front half of the line. That is religion.
Christianity is spelled D-O-N-E. It is not something I do, it is something God has done for me. He pays a price I can’t pay. He meets a debt I can’t meet. He restores a broken and fallen relationship between me and my heavenly Father. This takes place through a relationship with Jesus. It took me a long time to understand this simple truth.
Christianity is also consequential. Our faith is more than a spiritual enhancement to our lives. It makes a difference. It is a lifestyle. It is moving from a good idea to something that is active and alive. It is life changing power. It has the life changing power to redirect the trajectory of how we think and live. It is transformational.
Our relationship with God provides a world view that speaks to our hearts and minds. It offers an ultimate truth source to understand all of life from God’s perspective.
We believe that there is a God and that He has spoken. God gives us a truth source that is revealed and stands outside ourselves. We don’t only rely on our own feelings, instincts and insights as valuable as they might be. We believe God has revealed Himself in His Holy Scriptures. We find this truth to be life changing. It is consequential.
We believe Christianity is losing its voice in our lives and our culture. We are turning to science, technology, education and government for the ultimate answers to our problems. As valuable as these may be we believe the ultimate problem is a spiritual problem. And the ultimate answer is a personal relationship with a loving God through His son Jesus Christ. And that relationship is consequential. It makes a difference. Only God has the power to change a human heart and mind.
Christianity is like a football game. On the field there are twenty-two men desperately in need of rest being watched in the stands by 65,000 people desperately in need of exercise. We want to get in the game. We want to make a difference with our faith and our lives. We want to advance the ball. And we want to do it together.
Christianity is not a solo sport. No one would ever attempt to scale Mt Everest alone. It takes a team. We want to advance the Kingdom as a team. We need each other. We want to move forward as a fellowship and a community.
So, it took me a long time to realize that Christianity is relational and consequential. I hope and I pray that you can come to know the character and nature of God in all His richness and fullness.
Martin Luther said, “Our faith is a living, busy, active, mighty thing.” It is relational. It is consequential. Amen and amen.
