"God is the Lord of angels and of men -- and of elves."
- J.R.R. Tolkien
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Last night on the way home from small group I listened to the guy on the local Christian radio station give a ten-minute presentation of what he learned in church the previous day. It boiled down to an appeal to make Jesus our "role model." (Yes, using those words.)
There is no better role model than Jesus. You won't find me arguing against that to anyone. And wanting Jesus for his benefits but not for his cross is a serious problem in Christianity.
But there was zero gospel content in this presentation. It could've been delivered by the Dalai Lama. Richard Gere thinks Jesus is an awesome role model. The world thinks Jesus is a good role model, and in fact, most of them wish Christians acted more like Jesus (or at least, more like their perception of Jesus).
"Jesus as role model" is not the gospel. At one point in his spiel, the radio dude hat-tipped self-help books and advice columns, saying "We read all those things, but we never think to go to the Bible for God's advice!"
As if the alternative to advice from the world is more advice, albeit from the Bible.
The gospel is not advice.
This is yet another example of something I've been harping on in my last two years of writing: just because you dress casual, play rock music, and talk a lot about grace, doesn't mean you aren't a legalist. And in fact, the self-professed "culturally relevant" churches today are the chief proponents of legalism in Christianity. They don't think they are, because they equate legalism with fundamentalism, with rigidity and dourness, with suits and ties and organ-led hymns. They equate legalism with "don't"s.
"Do" isn't any less legalistic than "don't."
"Do"s and "don't"s are just flip-sides of the same coin. The gospel isn't "do" any more than it is "don't"; both are merely religion.
And a Church that is mobilized with a gospel of "do good" might make for good p.r. for our churches, but the gospel of "do good" cannot really scandalize a lost and broken world, because most people know how to do good without the help of Christianity. They don't need the Church to be "good people."
And so the hip church believes it is railing against legalism and oferring grace because it creates culturally relevant, casual, innovative environments, because it makes the message of the Bible one of practical stuff to do, because it is cheerful, because it takes WWJD? seriously, and all the while they still don't know the power of the gospel of Christ's finished work, sufficient for salvation and fit for proclamation.
Instead we get the gospel of busywork.
Should we do good? Absolutely! Hearers of the word who don't "do" are only fooling themselves and have not the Spirit within them.
But if the gist and bulk of our proclamation is "do," we aren't preaching the gospel, which Scripture also calls us to do.
Remember that the Pharisees were the religious leaders who missed the gospel because of their focus on do's and don'ts. Pharisaical legalism was just self-help without good p.r.
This is why today's Pharisees aren't the concerned folks in the pews worried about their discipleship (as they are so often accused), but rather the preacher on the stage whose message is always helpful tips on how to get better at being a Christian.
We are eager to hand over our sin to God; we are ever reluctant to put our righteousness on the altar.
Jesus came to raise the dead. He did not come to teach the teachable; He did not come to improve the improvable; He did not come to reform the reformable. None of those things works.
-– Robert Farrar Capon
Oh, for a recovery of the glory of the gospel!
(Cross-posted at The Gospel-Driven Church)
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Comments on "Pharisees with Fauxhawks":
2. Karl
- 03/17/2009 11:44 am CDT
What do you make of Dallas Willard's take on this issue in The Divine Conspiracy?
3. Bob Sacamento
- 03/17/2009 11:47 am CDT
Wish I had something to add, but all I can say is "Thanks." I especially appreciated
[J]ust because you dress casual, play rock music, and talk a lot about grace, doesn't mean you aren't a legalist. And in fact, the self-professed "culturally relevant" churches today are the chief proponents of legalism in Christianity.
and
Remember that the Pharisees were the religious leaders who missed the gospel because of their focus on do's and don'ts.
I just know the people who need to hear this the most just can't, though. Not really.
4. Sandy
- 03/17/2009 11:50 am CDT
You've just put words to the uneasiness I've felt about the let's-just-help-people Christianity of the past decade. I could never quite put my finger on why it bothered me. I mean, did I not want to help people? What could possibly be wrong with helping people? Well, it could be that as long as we stay busy 'helping people', and I often wonder if we're truly helping, we don't have to examine what is really happening in our hearts, families and churches. You nailed it.
5. nhe
- 03/17/2009 1:45 pm CDT
Jared - I'm with you on the legalism.....but are you saying that the "Jesus is my role model" folks are legalistic? I see them more as spiritually dead than legalistic, if I can make that distinction.
6. Jared
- 03/17/2009 3:10 pm CDT
Karl:
What do you make of Dallas Willard's take on this issue in The Divine Conspiracy?
Love that book (and Willard). Quoted it this past Sunday at Element, actually.
I'm assuming you're asking kind of about his law/gospel stuff, but can you be more specific?
I track really well with his take on the Sermon on the Mount in that book, fwiw.
---
nhe:
I think most are Christians, if that makes any sense. I know more hardcore folks would argue with me on that, but I think it's possible to be saved and still operate at 1% gospel wakefulness or be clueless about the fact you're not articulating the gospel.
7. Bob Sacamento
- 03/17/2009 4:59 pm CDT
nhe,
My take on it is that there are two sorts of "Jesus as role model" sub-species. :) The one kind we have all seen our whole lives long. He's the guy who only comes to church for special days, or maybe when he needs an emergency prayer. He doesn't think much about things beyond his career, family, house, etc. He thinks Jesus is great and ought to be emulated but proabaly couldn't give a real coherent statement of what exactly that entails. If pressed, he would give something like the golden rule and, of course, "Judge not that ye be not judged." We've seen people like that our whole lives long. These, I think, are the people you are talking about.
But in the past decade or so a new wrinkle has arisen -- people who seem dedicated to the cause (whatever that might be), but who camp out on "following Jesus" and downplay the importance of theology and doctrine, or even actively suppress it when they can. They're all about Jesus's example, and not too hot on the cross, salvation, etc. They are the "culturally relevant" types that Jared is (rightly, IMHO) complaining about.
I can't exactly speak for Jared, of course, but I think that's how his statement and your observations mesh together.
8. Felix
- 03/17/2009 10:10 pm CDT
well, St Paul sort of told us to take him as a role model and . "Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ" (1 Cor 11:1).
I haven't got any problem with asking what would Jesus do, as long as it involves thinking carefully about how His principles apply to the situation in hand, and not just emoting.
9. Ruben
- 03/18/2009 11:17 am CDT
My personal belief is that "Jesus is the Gospel". By this I mean that you have to present Christ to people so they may believe in Him. Saving faith is not just assent to theological principles, but involves confidence, trust in a Person. It requires your whole being, especially your heart.
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Yes! (I'm jumping up making an imaginary basket-shot like the kids do) I hated the WWJD movement. Jesus never came to simply teach us and show us how to live, but to demonstrate His love by death. What would Jesus do? Well, he'd go to the cross and absorb the wrath of God, suffer for 3 hours while his Father's fury poured out on him instead of us, then stand up from the dead, victorious forever. Try that. That's what Jesus would do.
This was a great post. Legalism is alive and well, a doctrine of works, even though it's disquised behind relevance.