Author: Jojo Agot

Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— John 1: 12

By teaching that the way to salvation is solely by accepting Christ, Christians are often accused of being simplistic. I don’t blame those who say that. To the uninitiated, salvation does seem to look as easy as receiving a FedEx package.

But this erroneous notion of a no-strings-attached kind of receiving spawned other unbiblical beliefs. Like a personalized approach to salvation, for example. If you listen closely to Christian conversations, you’ll find that many people seem to think that as long as they have a “personal relationship” with God, they’re fine. The problem is that the definition for “personal” is different for every person.

What they really mean to say is that they have tailored Christ into their own needs. Some want God to be a provider, an emotional anchor, a magician, a shoulder to cry on, a source of positive vibe. But never as LORD.

Contemporary theologian John Piper articulated it eloquently when he asked, “You accepted Christ as what, exactly?”

Good point. Very good point. Because honestly, you can accept Christ and ignore Him afterwards. Like Martha, the busy house keeper. But what good is it if He is not Lord and Master of your life? Paul’s letter to the Colossians gives us a hint what real accepting means:

And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must CONTINUE TO FOLLOW HIM . [Colossians 2: 6, emphasis mine]

You can fall on either side of the horse. Meaning, you can err on two opposite extremes of the Christian faith.

First, there are those who err on the side of too much knowledge. Like the Pharisees, some people become too familiar with theology that their personal relationship with God is relegated to the back seat. Their knowledge took away their sense of wonder of the things of God. They’re no longer surprised with grace and glory.

For some, their learning led them to ask vain questions, questions that lead to doubt and disbelief. Just because you can’t understand the mysteries of God doesn’t mean that He is not real. And unless you accept the fact that some things are not meant to be understood by our finite minds, the pursuit of knowledge of this kind can lead to serious error.

Then there are those who err on the side of ignorance. They are Christians who are so passionate about God but claim that they are not the learning type. Some of them are hyped-up church goers who thrive on big events, high energy worship and busy church calendars. In their hearts, they secretly wish that their being on fire for Jesus would make up for their lack of knowledge.

I don’t know who is in more danger. The apathetic learned man or the passionate but clueless person who is in a constant need of a religious fix? The fireless, joyless, stoic believer or the energetic and loud worshiper? I’m sure we don’t have to make a choice between these opposites because the way I see it, the most effective Christians are those who can manage to merge the two.

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. [Ephesians 4: 15]

The idea of total honesty is quite interesting. People want everyone to be “totally honest” with each other. The problem is that when we are totally honest, we end up driving away the people who matter to us.

Often, that’s because we are misquoting the Scriptures. The verse above didn’t say that speaking the truth will make us grow. It’s speaking the truth IN LOVE that builds us up.

In Ephesians 4: 29, Paul admonished believers to speak only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Other translations say the we should only speak words that “minister grace” to the hearers. In broad strokes, grace here means words that are exceptionally kind and friendly and full of goodwill, not demeaning and full of hurtful undertones. If we take the two verses together, we have one simple take home lesson for today: our words should be predicated with love and grace.

“But I was just being honest…”

Yes, but if it tears people down, is your excuse good enough?

Books… immerse us in a single idea. Books bring a voice into our head, create a different brain chemistry, open doors to a more powerful lever, a learning that can yes, change us.

Dozens (perhaps hundreds) of times in my life, a book has changed my mind. So have some powerful lectures or direct engagements with teachers or mentors. These are the moments of true change, times when we are entrained with the message, when we feel the learning happening in real time.

[Seth Godin]

We have to become better communicators of the gospel of Christ. No matter the size or location of our local churches, Jesus is still going to send us people who need ministering to. Some people out there are going to come looking for answers, encouragement, prayers or a touch of the divine. And when they do walk into our doors, they better catch us in an atmosphere of authentic worship and heartfelt communion with God.

A great majority of these people didn’t come to watch singers belt out impossible notes that would jeopardize the careers of Sarah Geronimo or the Linkin Park. Neither did they come to hear an eloquent deliberation of pop psychology or dry theology. Instead, they came expecting to find Jesus in our midst.

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