“Jesus died for the world’s sins”

So there I was, sitting in the basement of some nameless building at Hood College. I was with my orientation group which was subdivided into smaller breakout groups for this particular session. The topic for today was Harmony at Hood, which was basically a time for people to share what stereotypes and prejudices they have against certain social groups.

Orientation group leaders had early on stated that a stereotype was a generally accepted idea of what people from a social group are supposed to be like.

My group had been given the relatively neutral task of sharing what stereotypes we ascribe to Asians. We did our job, and I must say that there was not much content in there that would be objectionable content at all. So naturally I was hoping for, yet not quite expecting, the same general outcome for the social groups that I would affiliate with.

Now imagine how I cringed and braced myself when I heard that a group was designated to list the stereotypes that they have of Christians. They listed things like, proud, ignorant, immoral, hypocritical and many other things of that sort. I recounted the list of what was read, and there was not a single stereotype granting any good trait, or even a neutral trait, in it.

If this was not discouraging enough, the following conversation bit even deeper into my heart. The proctoring professor (who was the professor of sexuality at Hood btw) went on to note in a very friendly and open-minded tone of voice that, “Even though Christians are always talking up a storm about family values, the statistics show that more pregnancies resulting from out of wedlock come from the evangelical Christian circle than from any other social group.”

What could I say? Did we not earn this name for ourselves by allowing these sins to go on and allowing those who do not submit to Christ’s rule to wear Christ’s name tag? I could not say, in the proper context, that Christians did not earn such a notoriously hypocritical stereotype in the world.

Lost in my unnerved state, I stopped paying attention to think about myself. Yes, I could easily fit into those categories laid out. I am very proud. I simply don’t know enough to reconcile my faith with certain worldviews. The immorality of my heart disgusts me the more I learn about it. And my hypocrisy mocks any witness I might have. What do I have to set me apart from these stereotypes?

Amid my dreary introspection, my ears perked to a certain phrase. It wasn’t said dramatically; it was just being listed as something about Christians. It wasn’t said with conviction; I doubt the person who said it was a Christian. Yet the truth of this phrase caught me, and I listened to it.

“Jesus died for the world’s sins.”

It was a breath of fresh air in the stagnant air of the world. Finally someone spoke a truth, and the truth spoke to me.

What makes me different from any other sinner or makes my witness any more valid that any other person who claims to be a Christian? My sin is the same, so why should I pretend to be different? Because of the fact that I have been forgiven by God and am no longer under the condemnation of sin and have been given, by God’s grace, His own Holy Spirit and the power to fight sin and pursue holiness to God’s glory.

I had almost forgotten that my message was not that all Christians are good people. My message is Christ and Him crucified.

***Currently listening to the Main Thing (part 1) and The Main Thing (part 2). Yes they are for free, and yes, you must listen to them.

Rhonda Byrne’s Secret

I had heard of this bestselling book on Al Mohler’s blog. It’s just another New Age attempt to deceive its members into a self-centered universe.

Rhonda Byrne argues for the existence of some sort of “law” of attraction(don’t be fooled, this idea is no law). This law of attraction is best summed up in Rhonda Byrne’s own words.

Thoughts are magnetic and thoughts have a frequency. As you think, those thoughts are sent out into the Universe, and they magnetically attract all like things that are on the same frequency. Everything sent out returns to its source. And the source is you.

Apparently all things have a frequency. Popularity, wealth, cars, even health all have a frequency in which they exist. One can attract these things to themselves simply by thinking thoughts.

Obviously, this is very extreme nonsense. It is so extreme that I thought I would probably never find an occasion to use my awareness of this book.

So imagine my surprise while standing in line at Target with a birthday present under my arm when a woman seemingly in her 40s walked behind me holding a copy of The Secret. No one was with me to distract me for the remainder of the time in line and my heart wanted to help that woman before the lie could harm her.

So what do I say?

First, I must begin where that book neglects to touch on. According to The Secret, “Every negative thought, feeling, or emotion is blocking your good from coming to you, and that includes money.” This book neglects to tell its readers of the real problem. Apparently, all of us are plagued by negative thoughts which prevent us from getting everything we want. We have no moral dilemma, only a material one. But the bible is clear on the true nature of mankind’s real problem. We are separated from God because of our sin and our sin prevents us from coming close to him. This book has changed the context of our plight and since it has done that, the message of the gospel is no longer relevant to the sinner.

Next, I might show to her that The Secret’s alleged road to success can’t even deliver true happiness. It promises to illuminate a secret road to happiness in material wealth but it never promises contentment. The premise of this path is easy for our pride to believe.

The earth turns on its orbit for You. The oceans ebb and flow for You. The birds sing for You. The sun rises and it sets for You. The stars come out for You. Every beautiful thing you see, every wondrous thing you experience, is all there for You. Take a look around. None of it can exist, without You. No matter who you thought you were, now you know the Truth of Who You Really Are. You are the master of the Universe. You are the heir to the kingdom. You are the perfection of Life. And now you know The Secret.

There it is, the secret to happiness. It is everything our stupid pride wants to hear. And it is even better than a simple affirmation of your superiority, it is also a promise to get everything you want. That’s what the secret is all about: getting what you want.

Christians are presented with a much more beautiful secret. Philipians 4:12 “I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. ” The secret is not that you are God and you can get everything you want if you just know how. The true secret is that God is sovereign over us and our wellbeing. Because we know this secret, we can be content with whatever God gives us.

We know that God has forgiven our sins through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross in our place. We know that because of Jesus sacrifice, we can enjoy fellowship with God for eternity. We know all this. That woman in line behind me didn’t. A brief introduction to what I know was the best thing I could do for her.