7.16.2005

Nemesis


"Enemy occupied territory
is what the world is."

~~Clive Staples Lewis~~

“Jesus loves you just the way you are!” the Church claims in a reckless, theology-induced mania. And, unfortunately, it is one of the few messages that survived the shift from modernism to postmodernism. Come as you are, sure. That’s the only way you can arrive before the throne of God. Conversely, to suppose that Jesus loves you just the way you are is preposterous. If Jesus loved you just the way you are, I have serious doubts He’d keep telling you to do things that seem like the exact opposite of what appears a natural response to a certain stimuli. ‘You have heard that it was said, but I tell you this instead (Matthew 5-7).’ I don’t find many instances in Scripture where Jesus came across a cripple or dead person and said, “I like you just the way you are. Don’t change a thing.” It would also be foolhardy for Him to die for your sin problem if it were an acceptable thing to ail from.

Romans 5:10 starts, “…when we were enemies of God…” When we first come to Jesus, the Bible makes the claim that we are enemies of God. Enemies! What can be said here about enemies is that no one enjoys having them. From comic book superheroes to America’s war on terror, no one likes having an enemy. This stems mainly from the fact you can do very little with them. They’re not good for much beyond antagonism. I suppose that’s the quandary. Enemies provide people with only two options: Reformation or utter annihilation. And this is what the Bible calls us, so these are the only options God has given us to choose from. The strangest part of the whole deal is that Jesus loves his enemies enough to die for them…and implores his followers to do the same as soon as they are no longer at odds with Him. This is tantamount to President Bush dying for oh, I don’t know…Osama Bin Laden? Saddam Hussein, maybe?

What does it mean to be an enemy of God, though? The Church preaches this message of a “God of Love” like bleating sheep ad nauseum, without any allusion to a “God of Wrath.” Now, I don’t mean to communicate that Jesus is like Zeus, hurling thunderbolts down upon those who do not do His bidding. I don’t think He was vengeful early on, but sobered out and died for our sins down the road, either. To be an enemy of God is to take every rivalry imaginable and catapult it to a cosmic level. This is not what we are telling people, though—which in the mind of this Christ follower, means pastors and laymen have dropped the ball.

I was watching an episode of Dr. Phil (Oprah Winfrey’s puppet) the other day and couldn’t help but feel I was at church. Besides the fact he never once mentioned Jesus, it was exactly the same. From the area rugs to the dispensable advice on how to solve a particular problem, there was no marked difference. Church has become a self-help seminar rather than a stark call to repentance. We have left the message of “Repent, for the kingdom of God is near,” for the feel-good option of bullet points and quasi-religious platitudes people can carry from Sunday to Sunday. If that is not enough, there are [generally] plenty of programs on Wednesday nights to inoculate people until the weekend arrives again.

My question is this? What is the purpose of “getting saved” if it is not clearly communicated what one is being saved from? When George W. Bush announced during his State of the Union address that Iran, Iraq, and North Korea were the “Axis of Evil” people were flabbergasted. He didn’t mince words and, in no uncertain terms, communicated succinctly that America would remedy the situation. What would happen if a pastor or laymen, in the same spirit, took the podium or announced during a conversation with an unsaved person that they were God’s nemesis—that they had chosen to tussle with the Creator of the Cosmos?

Enemies of Jesus always end up going to Hell. There’s no two-ways about it. Fortunately, there is good news! Jesus! Despite your position in the enemy’s camp, He has invited you to make peace—to join the side of Christ. What would happen if the Church unabashedly preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ instead of seeking the “right to be heard”, worrying about negative reinforcement, or spewing jargon that simply confuses the issue?

The understanding I have of the Gospel message is a simple one. Preach Jesus.

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