Recently a friend on Facebook posted on article from Esquire magazine titled
“What
if Jesus meant all that Stuff?” by a “Christian” author named Shane Claiborne.
The article was basically an apology to Shane’s unbelieving friends for the
actions of Christians to reach them for Christ. He condemns the preaching of a
street preacher, who speaks of hell and judgment, as hateful and un-Christ like.
There are two common errors when
proclaiming the Gospel. The first is to proclaim only God’s judgment on wrong
behavior, as if to say “you’re going to hell unless you’re good”. This is a
faulty gospel message because the Bible teaches that all of us are guilty of
breaking God’s law[1]. The Bible teaches that none of us are good[2].
We are all sinful, from the most pious to the most deranged person we can think
of, we are all sinners. The Bible also teaches that the
“wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord.”[3] There is no way to
be good enough to go to heaven on our own, and that is why we need a Savior[4].
The second is to proclaim only God’s grace and love, as if there are
no consequences to behavior or beliefs. Jesus himself told us that the way to
salvation was narrow[5].
The way to eternal life is not the broad way but very exclusive. Those who
preach only the love of God want to ignore the teachings of Jesus by denying
that judgment for sin is coming.
While some street preachers are guilty of the first, Shane is guilty
of the second. His focus is solely on the grace of God, irrespective of a person’s
religious beliefs, while ignoring the reason for the grace God extended to man.
Because of this focus Shane’s gospel is a social gospel, which is no gospel at
all. The social gospel sounds good to the ears but is a denial of sound biblical
doctrine. It is a denial of the Gospel (Good News) itself.
CRITIQUE
That was an interesting article
by Shane. He made a lot of points, but I believe he comes to some very wrong
conclusions.
He starts out by talking about the street performers and how great
they were to listen to and watch and then contrasts that with the “hateful”
street preacher warning people about hell. While there are those street
preachers that only preach about the judgment of God, and not about the grace
of God, it is also wrong to only preach about the grace of God without showing
people why God extended that grace.
Shane is a perfect example of the modern gospel. Come to Jesus, he
will make you health, wealthy and wise. He will solve all your problems and
make your journey on earth better.
Shane misquotes scripture when he says ““It was Jesus who taught us to pray that
God's will be done "on earth as it is in heaven." On earth.”[6] First of all, Satan does not care if you
and I go to hell as a Police officer or a prostitute. He doesn’t care if we go
to hell as an atheist or a creation scientist. He doesn’t care if we go to
hell as Pro Choice activist or a Pro Life activist. All he wants is for us not
to repent and believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior which is our only
means of salvation. If he can get us to believe anything else then he has
succeeded.
What Shane
didn’t say was the first part of the verse in Matthew 6, “your kingdom
come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”[7]
When Christ Jesus comes to rule and reign and establish his kingdom on earth,
then God’s will shall be done on earth as it is in heaven. That is what we pray
for and that is when it will ultimately be fulfilled.
He is correct when he says “the Christian Gospel has as much to do
with this life as the next”[8]. It does have much to do
about this life, and that is for those of us, who are true believers of Christ,
to obey the commands of Christ when he said, “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."[9]
That command is our only mission in life as believers. Whether we are at home
in the states or abroad, it is to reach people with the gospel of Christ.
Let me share an illustration of the Gospel
message Shane is sharing and which, like I said earlier, is such a modern
gospel message. Imagine you’re a passenger on a plane and the stewardess comes
to you and tells you there is a parachute under the seat and asks you to put it
on. You ask her if the plane is ok, and she says, “Oh yes the plane is fine but
if you put on the parachute it will improve your flight.” So reluctantly you
decide to see if the stewardess’ claims are true and you strap on the
parachute. You notice it is difficult to sit up with the parachute on, but
because of the promised flight improvement you decide to try it for a while.
Then you notice the other passengers are looking at you and snickering. They
are making fun of you. You begin to slink down in your seat from embarrassment.
Finally you can take it no longer and you remove the parachute and throw it to
the ground. You’re angry with the person who convinced you to put it on, and
rightfully so. It will be a long time before someone will get that thing on you
again.
Just like the illustration above is the
gospel message that if you come to Jesus, he will improve your life. You will
be healthy, wealthy, and wise. You will be much happier if you come to Jesus.
So when a person is told this gospel message they may give this “Jesus thing” a
try; and what will they get? The trouble that Jesus promised we would get as
believers living in this world; "I have told you
these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart!
I have overcome the world."[10]
Now imagine you’re on the flight again, but
now the captain comes over the PA and says, “There is a mechanical problem with
the engines on the plane and we are going to crash land. There is a parachute
under every seat. Please place them on because at any moment we are going to
begin jumping out of the plane.” Now you are going to place that parachute on
without delay. You aren’t worried about what the other passengers think because
you know at any moment you will be jumping out of the plane. The thought of
crashing or jumping without a parachute consumes you. You’re thankful for the
parachute, and for the captain who warned you to put it on.
So it is with the true gospel of Jesus
Christ which says you must be born again. You must repent and believe in the
Lord Jesus Christ or you will die in your sins. If you die in your sins you
will spend eternity in hell. Unlike the description of the preacher given by
Shane as unloving and hateful, the preacher is doing the most loving thing he
can do by warning those around him to flee the coming wrath, to repent of their
sins, and to trust in Jesus.
I’m sure that preacher has a family and a
lot of other things he would like to be doing on the weekend rather than
preaching to un-listening ears or worldly Christians who don’t understand the
gospel. But because of his love for Jesus, and his love and concern for the
lost he has taken up his cross and followed in Jesus steps by warning sinners
to flee the coming wrath.
Shane compared the street preacher to the
priest in the story of the Good Samaritan. Yet if you think about it, it was
Shane who walked by the street vendors and musicians with no care or thought to
their ultimate destiny. He had no worries about them going to hell for their
sins. He had no convictions to warn sinners. His only condemnation came for the
man who loves them enough to warn them to repent.
What is “scandalous” is Shane’s apathy
toward the lost, and in his last paragraph, he reveals why. He believes all are
saved including unbelievers. Therefore he has no conviction to convert or teach
anyone. He has no desire to follow in the steps of Jesus who came to seek and
save the lost.
[2] As it is written: "THERE IS NONE
RIGHTEOUS, NO, NOT ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS; THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS
AFTER GOD. THEY HAVE ALL TURNED ASIDE; THEY HAVE TOGETHER BECOME UNPROFITABLE;
THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, NO, NOT ONE." "THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN
TOMB; WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY HAVE PRACTICED DECEIT"; "THE POISON OF
ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS"; "WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND
BITTERNESS." "THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD; DESTRUCTION AND
MISERY ARE IN THEIR WAYS; AND THE WAY OF PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN."
"THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES."
(Rom
3:10-18)
[3] (Rom 6:23)
[4] For it is by grace you have been
saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not
by works, so that no one can boast.
(Eph
2:8-9)
[5] "Enter through the narrow gate.
For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many
enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life,
and only a few find it.
(Mat
7:13-14)
[7] (Mat 6:10)
[9] (Mat 28:19-20)
[10] (Joh 16:33)
