After being bombarded by mass glossy church mail outs, flyers, and full page newspaper advertisements about all the church giveaways this weekend, I posted this on Facebook, and figured I'd share it here, knowing this is always a place of various points of view:
Hmmm, where should I go to church tomorrow? Should I go to the church that is giving away an iPod? Or the one that is giving away an iPad? Maybe the church that is giving away flat screen TVs? Or maybe the one that is giving away a car? With all of these churches giving all these things away, I think I should skip out on my regular church, and try to win a car. Should I even bother with going to church? Seems like I could just as easily buy a lottery ticket for a chance to win something. No wonder Christianity isn’t taken serious. I don’t blame people who aren’t interested. Its like churches are down begging on their knees “please, please come and like us.” Like we are some desperate kid who is just begging for a date to prom, and will shamelessly do whatever has to be done to get someone to like us.
Since when did the church become The Price is Right? If the Spirit of God isn't drawing someone, then what do we expect an iPad to do? Maybe giving them a flat screen TV will make them turn to Jesus? And then all of a sudden they will be willing to surrender all, take up their cross daily, and follow Him? The same Jesus that turned to the multitude who were following Him and said “And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. ~
Luke 14:27
I was just wondering if that was the same guy we were preaching about. The same one who told the multitudes that if they weren’t willing to love Him more than anyone else, they could not be His disciples. And if they weren’t willing to take up their cross daily, they could not be his disciples. The gospels are filled with Jesus preaching to people about the necessity of commitment.
Perhaps William Barclay summed it up best commenting on
Mark 8:34-35 “There is an almost startling honesty of Jesus. No one could ever say that he was induced to follow Jesus by false pretenses. Jesus never tried to bribe men by the offer of an easy way.”
I think it is safe to say Jesus never tried to bribe a man, but can the same be said of some modern day churches? On a day to celebrate and proclaim the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the very message of the gospel, which is the only message of salvation to all people on the earth, is cheapened by Easter egg hunts, raffles, door prizes, and grand prizes. The cross of Christ is made of no effect. And what time is there for conviction (ref.
Acts 2:37), when people are waiting for the prize drawings like the church is a common bingo hall?
For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. ~
1 Cor 1:18 If its foolishness to them, do our prizes change that?
No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. ~
John 6:44