November/December 2002

Not From the Gospel

by Greg Albrecht

Examine the subjects of the best-selling books in Christian bookstores. Consider the hype and worry about being left behind. The cradle, cross and empty tomb of Jesus are evidence that we will never be left behind. We have already been rescued and saved -- why the concern about being left behind? Where did we get that idea? Not from the gospel.

What about prayer? Does God really require us to say a particular kind of prayer before he will "enlarge our boundaries?" And, is "enlarging our boundaries" what God is primarily interested in? Does the gospel tell us that our prayers need to be like a magic formula, a mantra that obligates God, like a genie in a bottle, to grant our every wish? Is the prayer of an obscure Old Testament person "the key to a life of extraordinary favor with God" (The Prayer of Jabez, p. 7)? Where did this idea come from? Not from the gospel.

Several years ago the craze was to get ready for Y2K -- remember that? Buy some land in the country, some freeze-dried food, some guns (just to kill animals with of course) and take your family to flee from the wrath to come. Where did we get that idea? Not from the gospel.

Now there's another new idea about prayer -- prayers are not effective because we are not yelling at God. Perhaps those who believe in prayer-yelling assume that God is in heaven, and heaven is a long distance from here, and that obviously requires yelling. Of course, others are praying at the same time as you are, and the more you can do to make yourself heard, the better. And where do those ideas come from? Yes, you're right. Not from the gospel.

And of course there is the ever popular "I'm better than you are" games that Christians fall for. My denomination or my congregation is better than yours, which in turn makes me better than you, because we have "more truth" or even "new truth."

Those who discover "new truth"often claim to have a revelation, and thus they "restore" truth that has been "lost." The problem with that is that the gospel of Jesus Christ has been freely available for 2,000 years (Galatians 1:6-9; Jude 3). When it comes to the gospel, if it's new, it's not true. "New truths" -- where do they come from? Not from the gospel.

What does all this have to do with the birth of Jesus? I'm glad you asked. Not very much. In fact, some religious sensationalism, exaggerated truth claims, posturing and majoring in minors take some folks so far away from the gospel that they don't even bother celebrating the birth of Jesus -- in December or any time of the year. Some religions take some so far away from Christianity that the cross is never spoken of -- an aversion to even mentioning the word "cross" being a tell-tale sign of religious cult-ism.

The gospel offers us precious riches of God's grace, yet we are so easily seduced into exchanging the priceless jewels of authentic Christianity for the cheap trinkets of religion. Religion tells us that other stuff is more important than Jesus. Religion tells us that salvation is based upon our performance. Religion panders to our feelings, telling us that cheap experiences are the gospel. Religion dangles esoteric and exotic notions in front of us, tantalizing us with the idea that very few have the opportunity to have the knowledge we have. And, if you order today, you'll get those free steak knives that cut through steel.

It's Christmas time -- when the whole world is encouraged to remember that Jesus changed the world, and that he occupies the center stage of the gospel. How close are you to the cradle, cross and empty tomb? 

-- Greg Albrecht

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