October 28, 2004

Justification by Association

This is the title of one of the articles in Tabletalk, the devotional booklet I use. The article, by Burk Parsons, is quick and to the point.

The general appeal of the evengelical church is just this: eternal salvation is granted to anyone who will associate himself with Jesus. Often, the reasoning of such evangelical pastors goes something like this: "If only we can get people into our churches by whatever means possible, then maybe we can get them to like us, expacially if we run our churches like big corporations and implement all sorts of cool programs that are purpose-driven.

This is a very perceptive observation on the state of modern Christianity. Parsons contrasts this philosophy with what the true message should be:

We are commanded not simply to associate ourselbes with Jesus, we are commanded to fall down at His feet and worship Him as our Lord and our God. We have not been called merely to shake His hand and befriend Him, we have been called to love and serve Him sacrificially.

Great words of wisdom for those seeking to carry out the Great Commission.

Posted by Andrew on October 28, 2004 5:45 PM.