Liberal means generous. Jesus was generous. His prevailing first reaction to a sinner is forgiveness. Not judgement. His response to the woman who was caught in the act of adultery was, "I don't condemn you," (John 8:11) even though the Old Testament law ordered an execution by stoning. Mercy prevailed over judgement. Always. This should give us a clue that, though it never came up during his ministry on earth, it's likely his reaction to gays would have been the same. And to evolutionists, and abortionists - and politicians for that matter.
As followers of Christ our prevailing approach to sinners should be the same. "I don't condemn you." And then pour on the love and the respect - and leave any follow-up admonition to the Lord through the Holy Spirit ("Now go and stop sinning").
I have wondered what church or denomination Jesus would be the most likely to join if he lived on the earth again today. Would he be a Presbyterian or a Baptist, a Wesleyan or a Catholic? Would it be a group that we consider conservative? Or liberal?
I have concluded that he would be none of the above. He wouldn't likely be part of a denomination of any kind. He disdained the religious organization while on earth and reserved his most pointed criticisms for the religious leaders of the day, calling them sons of their father, the devil (John 8:44). He might do the same if he were here now. He would not be part of your church. The institution of the church was not his idea (It was the emperor Constantine's idea).
Jesus complained that the priests and Pharisees were using the scriptures to keep people out of heaven. (Matt 23:13) Today's evangelists are no different: they use the scriptures to keep people out of heaven.
He clearly banned the hierarchical structure for his disciples , telling them that they must not lord it over their people (Mark 10:42) but rather lead from behind (Matt 23:11, Mark 9:35). And what do church leaders do today? They lead from the front, lording it over their people through their hierarchical structure, claiming that a chain of command in the church is "God-ordained". Nonsense, the only hierarchy ordained by God is that every member of the Body is answerable directly to the Head, which is Christ.
Jesus clearly said we should not call any leader "pastor" or "father."(Matt 23:8-10) Yet that's the accepted practice every time we address one of our clergy, feeding this idea that they are above us in some way.
He said that his kingdom would be comprised of "living stones being built up into a spiritual house,"(I Peter 2:5) but instead, we think God still dwells in temples made of brick and mortar and spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on grand church buildings and meeting halls in every local parish, and then we hire "pastors" and "fathers" to lead us in style while we pay them salaries and provide them free housing and benefits. I guess we are pretty liberal (generous) after all, since this scenario is entirely unbiblical.
Jesus was not interested in politics and rarely said anything about the government, and when he did, he showed respect toward civil authority. (Wish some of your Facebook friends could be more like Christ in this way?)
Well, maybe our contemporary Jesus, if not a denominational man, would be part of an independent house church. After all, they have no hierarchy and no central leader - no pope or general superintendent. They have no affiliations with any religious organization and don't even try to write up doctrinal statements and ordinances or bylaws. Hmm, that sounds a lot like the New Testament house churches. But Jesus was a predecessor to all that.
Jesus was out and about all day every day, visiting from house to house and from town to town. Of course there is no modern day counterpart, but if there were, I think he would be doing the same things as the original Jesus.
His ministry would be characterized by humility, love and compassion. He would help the poor and the hurting and pray for the sick wherever he found them. He would provide food for the hungry - perhaps thousands at a time - out of concern for their welfare. Yes, welfare.
Yes, Jesus would be a liberal if he walked the earth today. And he is walking the earth today, within you and me. We are his dwelling place.
So I want to be like Jesus: I will be generous; I will be a liberal. I will not judge, but only love people. And I will help my needy neighbors when possible, and keep the main thing the main thing. Love is the main thing. Not righteousness or morality or conservative values. Love.
Oh, and since I really do seek to be like Jesus, I will criticize the religious institution and expose religious pride and the anti-Christ of legalism and oppression whenever and wherever I see it. (I've been doing it for almost 3 years on this blog.)
Thank you for reading.
Thank you for reading.
Have you ever thought about whether Jesus would want to be part of your church or denomination if he were here today? What are some more reasons he would or would not?
3 comments:
I think that Jesus would part of a denomination because I think that he actually would not like to sit around at church. I think he would prefer to teach outside and help homeless and other strangers on the street that might look like they need some cheering up.
Very intresting read! I think that Jesus would be part of a denomination because i just couldnt see Jesus sitting down at a church service. I could see Jesus walking the streets and helping many people. I could see him teaching outside at a local park.
Jacob, do you have any idea which denomination Jesus would pick to be part of? I agree that he would not be just sitting around but would be interacting with people.
Thanks for the comment!
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