A book I’ve read recently, Hard to Believe by John MacArthur, has stirred up some thought about a lot of these churches.  The book talks about getting back to the basics of Christianity: the cross. No watering down the gospel, no serving a healthy dose of what-I-want-to-hear message. It focuses on the central message of the New Testament and the event that has changed the course of history for the last two thousand years and continues to do so.

When I think of evangelism, I think of the Great Commission – “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matt. 28:19-20) I imagine powerful preachers and great men and women of God going out to the ends of the earth to present a message that the world desperately needs to hear. I think of hard-hitting messages that impact the listener and, through the anointing of God, make him aware of his helpless state and his need for God. I envision people of every background coming together for the common cause of their Savior after hearing the Good News of Christ.

My question is this — what is the reason for the 11% drop? Is it because the message of Christianity changed? Certainly not. I think it’s because people have lost faith in a religion that’s not rewarding. They try something out, it works for a while, they get their fill, and then they quit. I obviously cannot speak for every individual ex-Christian in his reason for leaving the Church, but it’s most likely because things just didn’t work out. God didn’t help in finances. God didn’t bless him. God didn’t do this, God wasn’t there for that. At the core of the matter, the perceived absence of God was why the Christian left the faith.

There’s this special handheld can-opener at my house. It is really quite handy once you learn how to use the thing — but it takes proper instruction and a little patience to get it to work. One time, I tried opening a can of Chick Peas before I learned the art of the can-opener, but my precious peas budged not from their home in the can. My mother, who knew how to use the can-opener, tried to explain to me how to open the can. I took her advice willingly and proceeded to open the can again, but to no avail. There were times where the blade would sink into the aluminum and I would see the liquid from the contents of the can seep out, but I could never open the can.

This is the way I believe many Christians try to walk with God. They are told what to do, to pray the prayer, and once they have decided they want the blessings [of the can], they try it for themselves. Unfortunately, a lack of proper instruction or understanding only leads to very disappointing, mediocre results. You can’t do anything with the chick pea liquid. Maybe you’ve got a glimpse of God, but unless you’ve opened the can, you haven’t obtained a thing.

So what did I do? I gave up. The can-opener was obviously too difficult for me, and I wasn’t hungry enough to pursue the chick peas. I settled for something easier: ramen noodles. Sure, they weren’t nearly as healthy as the chick peas, but they were convenient, easy to make, and would satisfy my needs for a few hours. Thankfully, the time arose again when I was truly starving and had a craving for chick peas which could not be satisfied, so I broke out the can opener, googled video instructions, and learned how to open the can for myself.

The “ramen noodle” faith is common in churches. A watered-down, emotional message combined with good music gives some cheap thrills and a taste of something, but it’s unhealthy for the soul and ultimately unsatisfying. An evangelist can easily rack in a whole crowd of people who “want God” with an emotionally manipulating message. What they really want, though, is someone who will make them feel good and tell them what they want to hear. A good foundation must be laid for faith — by also accepting things in Christianity which are not glamorous. The message should not be of a get-rich-quick Jesus, but of a Jesus that takes time and dedication to understand. Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. You don’t enter Heaven through the WIDE gate or the WIDE road. The true message of Christianity is one of great sacrifice. We must each pick up our own cross and follow Jesus, not slap a Jesus fish on the back of our car and expect blessings. The easy-to-swallow Christianity (which MacArthur dubs “Christianity Lite”) is much more appealing, but doesn’t present true sacrifice which is required to follow Jesus and serve the Lord. When we decide to stop looking at numbers and appeasing the six percent, and when we start preaching about the work as well as the blessing of the true and complete Gospel, we will no longer have to worry about new ways to bait people to the altar. Our new “bait” perhaps won’t be as light and fun as the Christianity light that many evangelists preach, but it will be anointed by God as the true Gospel.  A lot of fish won’t bite simply because it’s too difficult, but we can be sure that those who follow through understand the sacrifice and true reward of Christ.

“If they don’t hear the truth, cool music won’t help. If they don’t see the light, Power Point won’t help. If they don’t like the message, drama and video won’t help. They’re blind and dead. Our task is to go on preaching not ourselves, not our manipulated message, but repentance and submission to Christ Jesus as Lord. The message never changes. We may be nothing more than baked dirt, but we carry a supernatural image of everlasting life that we will not surrender.”

- John MacArthur, Hard To Believe (p49)

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“Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.”

Colossians 2:8

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“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth , and be turned aside to fables.”

2 Timothy 4:3-4

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“For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves . Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears.”

Acts 20:29-31

With my love and my sadness
I come before You Lord
My heart’s in a thousand pieces
Maybe even more

Yet I trust in this moment
You’re with me somehow
And You’ve always been faithful
So Lord even now

When all that I can sing
Is a broken hallelujah
When my only offering
Is shattered praise
Still a song of adoration
Will rise up from these ruins
I will worship You and give You thanks
Even when my only praise
Is a broken hallelujah

Oh Father, You have given
Much more than I deserve
And I have felt Your hand of blessing
On me at every turn

How could I doubt Your goodness
Your wisdom, Your grace
So Lord hear my heart
In this painful place

Chorus

Hallelujah
I lift my voice
Your Spirit moves
I raise my hands
I reach for You

Chorus

This morning, before prayer meeting, we were talking about martyrs and God’s eternal view of a situation. If God can bring one of His children home early and reach others that knew that person, I think it is worth his or her death. After all, they’re in a much better place than here. From a worldly perspective, we see a loved on taken from us, oftentimes violently. We can choose to focus on the pain, or we can see the loved one’s death as God sees it. God has a plan, and nobody dies simply to die.

A favorite quote by C.S. Lewis is this:
“God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains; it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”

God opens our eyes through situations that bring us to our knees, and draws us closer to love.

Chase the lion.

– Mark Batterson