Don't tell people how to be "Radical for Jesus".

As many of you know, I am a church planter in a major metropolitan area of the country. In addition to that, I am attempting to spread the gospel in what many believe to be the most pagan and liberal area of North America. I am a part of the SBC and the North American Missions Board which simply means that I love the Jesus, the bible, evangelism and the autonomous church. I am also a part of the Acts 29 Network which means that I love the Gospel, Reformed Theology, Missional Philosophy and Church Planting.

That said, I often see things that I fear in American Evangelicalism and specifically within some of the tribes that I roll with. Here are some things to think about...

The movement of The New Calvinism, Reformed Christianity, Missional Living and anti-fundamentalism / attractionalism, has the temptation to lead people into a hyper-theology, unbalanced philosophy of ministry and too much cultural compromise in the name of "Godly Influence". All believers need to learn what it means to be content in the mission of Jesus throughout the mundane rhythms of life. We have to be careful to not fully define what it means to be "Radical for Jesus" or "Living on Mission" lest it become another rule for people to follow that brings no life and in the end births no joy. If we over explain the practical application of the mission of Jesus, we rob people of the beauty of hearing God's voice for themselves and utilizing their own unique gifts in the time, place and culture that the Lord Jesus has put them in.

What sparked this though was recently a good friend asked my thoughts on an article written by Anthony Bradley called: The New Legalism. You can read it here.

Is irresistible grace really that important?

My good friend Elliot got some heat because he said on his FB page that being a Christian has NOTHING to do with what you DO or what you DON'T do, but has ONLY to do what what you BELIEVE. After watching some responses I realized that the conversation turned into a Theology discussion, primarily in dealing with Irresistible Grace. Although I am not a hyper-Calvinist, this doctrine is biblical and most true to the gospel. When we move away from this doctrine, we get messed up with faith and works. That is why it is such a big deal to the gospel.

The doctrine of irresistible grace recognizes that the Bible describes natural man as “dead in his trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1; Ephesians 2:5; Colossians 2:13) and because man is spiritually dead he must first be made alive or regenerated in order to understand and respond to the Gospel message.

The reason this doctrine is called “irresistible” grace is because it always results in the intended outcome, the salvation of the person it is given to. It is important to realize that the act of being regenerated or “born again” cannot be separated from the act of believing the Gospel. Ephesians 2:1-10 makes this clear. There is a clear connection between the act of being made alive by God (Ephesians 2:1,5) and the result of being saved by grace. (Ephesians 2:5,8). This is because everything pertaining to salvation, including the faith to believe, is an act of God’s grace.

So, that means that when one receives Christ and becomes a Christian it is not the person who is doing anything. Rather it is the person and work of the Holy Spirit who is giving someone grace to receive. Therefore, God gets all the credit and we get none. If we are dead in our sin but yet can make ourselves alive enough to grab hold of Christ, than we get credit. The scriptures give all credit to Christ. Romans 3 is clear that no person ever seeks after God. It is only the Holy Spirit who seeks after man. Therefore, we cannot accept what we are not looking for, but rather Christ, by grace, grants us salvation which makes us a Christian.

Therefore, in scripture you never see some accepting Christ, but rather receiving Christ.

All that said, we are correct to believe that true faith leads to action. However, that was not what Elliot was chatting about, he was saying that no matter how hard you work or what you do, none of that will make you a Christian. I know many good people, most who are more generous than me, love better than me, serve better than me, and may be better husbands and fathers than me......however they are not Christians, because being a Christian has NOTHING to do with what you DO or what you DON'T do, but has ONLY to do what what you BELIEVE. (as put by my friend Elliot which caused me to write this. )