Beyond Tweaking the Code

By Jason Rodenbeck

When I started preaching at Castle Christian Church in Cumming, Georgia, I began podcasting our sermons. It is not especially difficult, but it requires learning a special code. If even one character is entered incorrectly, the podcast doesn”t work. But, fortunately, one little tweak to the source code often fixes the problem.

Sometimes we look at the teaching of Jesus Christ that way””especially people caught up in what I call “the religion that passes for Christianity.” In that religion, we believe Jesus came to offer a cure for the ills of society and salvation from what really troubles us. And we believe in an eternal destination for ourselves that is determined by our response to that cure (did we accept it or not?).

That belief, in itself, is not the problem. The problem is how we sometimes view the cure.

Most people assume the problems with the world”s code are very simple. First, because of sin, God is angry and must punish us to satisfy his anger. Second, the world doesn”t work very well and needs a little tweaking. Hence, Jesus” goal was twofold. First, he came to take our punishment. Second, he came to show us how to tweak the culture here and there to fix it.

This, I think, is why most Christians really don”t live much differently than non-Christians. We repeat the Good Confession, are baptized, and go to church regularly so that Jesus” sacrifice will apply to us. We may exercise some discretion in the movies or TV shows we watch or music we listen to. But basically, our lives look like everyone else”s.

 

LOOK AGAIN AT HIS TEACHINGS

But this doesn”t take Jesus” life and teaching seriously enough. First, Jesus is the perfect representation of God (Hebrews 1:3) and his life contradicts the notion of a vengeful God desperately needing to punish people to satisfy his anger. Jesus didn”t look like that, ever. It is not God”s desire for violence against us that crucified Jesus. Instead, our desire for violence against God is what sent Jesus to the cross.

Jesus died for our sin””our sin literally put him there. On the cross God the Son taught us how to live in this world””by dying himself. And he calls his followers to do the same.

Second, Jesus” teachings are countercultural (“deny yourselves”), counterreligious (“let him who is without sin cast the first stone”), counterpolitical (“my kingdom is not of this world”), and counterintuitive (“love your enemies, do good to those who hurt you”). Jesus” teachings represent a critique of the world”s ways of doing things. He always points us in a totally different direction.

He taught us not to repay evil for evil but to turn the other cheek when we are attacked. He refused to get involved in political debates (“give to Caesar what is Caesar”s”) and refused to fight for himself when wrongly accused. Everything he said contradicts the accepted ways of doing life in this world.

In other words, Jesus didn”t desire merely to tweak the current code. He claimed that the problem was in the code itself. That whole code needed to be deleted. Jesus came to reveal a completely new code, and the cross exemplifies it.

Does the religion that passes for Christianity look like that cross? I don”t think so.

 

LOOK AGAIN AT OUR SYSTEM

The Gospel of Matthew tells us what happened when Herod and all Jerusalem discovered from the Magi that a king was born (Matthew 2:1-3). Herod and Jerusalem were troubled by the news. Why? Well, Herod was paranoid. Word of a new king was a threat to his stability at best and to his crown at worst.

But why was Jerusalem antsy? Weren”t the Jews looking for the Messiah?

By this time, Jerusalem had seen messiahs come and go, and they had all been the same. They had been military messiahs who came with a message of violence and retribution.

Jesus taught if we live by the sword we die by the sword (human violence only causes more violence). As a result, the concept of “messiah” brought fear to the people of Jerusalem. So, rather than hope in another messiah, they put their hope in a political solution. Rather than bucking the system, they wanted to work within it””it just needed to be tweaked.

Similarly, Christians often feel if we can just get the right person in office, outlaw abortion, stop gay marriage, control Hollywood, and continue the fight against terrorism, then we”ll complete our mission. So, we try to “tweak the code” by working in the political system to legislate “Christian values” and fight for “Christian rights.”

While there is nothing essentially wrong with having political opinions and expressing them, we must remember that when we seek a political solution, we are, like Jerusalem, saying we don”t trust the Messiah””his method can”t work. When we believe in the political system, we are saying that Jesus failed.

The abortion debate is one example. When sin issues with legal ramifications were brought to Jesus (such as the woman caught in adultery), rather than pronouncing judgment or building a legal case, he offered forgiveness, mercy, and a fresh start.

So rather than working toward a political solution to abortion, what if we offered support, love, mercy, compassion, and our physical and financial help to pregnant girls and women? (Christian-run crisis pregnancy centers have been doing this for decades!) Could we, in serving like Christ, make it possible for babies to be born rather than aborted?

The worldly (i.e., political) system for stopping abortion doesn”t seem to be working. Should we try Jesus” method? Imagine if people met Jesus along the way!

The problem is, it”s just easier to vote. It”s easier to judge. It”s safer, and more comfortable, and it protects our rights. The world”s system just looks more effective. It takes more time, effort, and sacrifice to be like Christ and actually love people who sin and who are trapped in that sin. It is less comfortable.

 

LOOK AGAIN AT OUR LABEL

Truth be told, I wish we”d stop calling ourselves “Christians” and start calling ourselves “followers.” Christian is supposed to mean “like Christ” or “of Christ.” But now it”s just associated with a religion. And that religion has been associated with an attempt to draft public policy and with a political culture of violence and a specific political party””things Jesus never promoted.

For many, this religion has become a childish brawl fought in the political arena rather than an eternally significant spiritual struggle fought on the streets using only the weapons Jesus used: love, compassion, forgiveness, and teachings that challenge every presupposition we have.

I wish we called ourselves “Christ followers” or “Jesus people” rather than “Christian” because that”s what “Christian” is supposed to mean, anyway. But the term now has a negative connotation, and it doesn”t have anything to do with Hollywood, terrorism, or the corruption of society. It has everything to do with the fact that many called “Christian” have earned a reputation for behaving exactly not like Jesus Christ.

Imagine what Christians could accomplish if the church stopped worrying about protecting the freedom to be like Jesus and started worrying about actually being like Jesus even if it hurts us. Jesus said we should deny ourselves and pick up our crosses. Being a Christ follower is going to cost something.

 

LOOK AGAIN AT POLITICS

For these reasons, this preacher has abandoned any hope for a political solution. History has taught us that politicians and nations will do what they do. But only Jesus offers a real solution. And his solution doesn”t look like John McCain or Barack Obama. His solution looks like followers taking up crosses and living lives of personal sacrifice””being little images of Jesus Christ.

Jesus once said, “You will do greater things than these.” And he didn”t mean bigger miracles. I think he was saying that if one Jesus could change the world by living a life of service and sacrificing himself, then many followers who are committed to his cause could do things even more profound.

Then there will be a body of Christ at-large, being like Christ, doing Christ follower things””really changing the world.

This is why I don”t buy into the political solution. I don”t see McCain or Obama as the “Christian” candidate””I didn”t even “heart” Mike Huckabee.

Our role isn”t to tweak the political code of this world”s kingdom. Our role is to live in this kingdom and to demonstrate a better one.

 

  

Jason Rodenbeck is senior minister with Castle Christian Church, Cumming, Georgia.