I hear this a lot from people who are out on church and view Christians as nothing more than hypocrites. They are right, we are. We are sinful and in need of a savior from our sin. It's what makes God's grace so amazing! We don't have to do anything to change ourselves before receiving God's gift of His salvation from our sin. We do not have to be perfect; through our belief in Jesus, we become perfect in God's sight. Jesus covers all our inequities! But for Christians there is a level of responsibility we have that we will be held accountable to.
2 Corinthians 6:1 & 3
As God's fellow workers [Christians], we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain.... We put not stumbling block in anyone's path, so that our ministry will not be discredited.
As Christians, even though we receive the grace of God through the salvation of Jesus, we should not live in vain anymore. Living for oneself is doing this; with thoughts of 'What's in it for me?' 'How is this helping me?' 'I need me time.' 'It's time to put me first.' 'How is the satisfying me?' 'Do what feels good.' 'Rid yourself of any negative people because, afterall, its all about making yourself happy.' This is what our culture is screaming. I see it all the time on social media. Constantly scrolling through my FB feed. The worldly inspirational sayings with the intention of inspiring us. But how do these inspirational sayings hold up to God's Word, His view, His opinion? 2 Corinthians makes it very clear that we are "not to receive God's grace in vain." All of these 'it's all about me' approaches that these popular sayings slowly conform us overtime to is exactly this: living in vain, or, for my own gain, self, happiness. This is not "loving others more than yourself" (Phil. 2:3). This is not being selfless and living for something so much bigger than yourself and this life. No wonder Christians are discontent with their church, people, their job, their day to day grind. They're living in vain.
The word ecclesia, or the church, in the New Testament was translated as "a movement." It was the movement of a new way to love, a new understanding of God as never before. Sweeping through the hearts of people. When did the church shift from this mindset of a "movement" to be all about how it is satisfying me and filling me and what programs do they have for me and my kids? How is this loving others more than ouselves? It's not! It's living a Christian life, full of God's grace, in vain.
Living to love others more than our self rather than looking at what we're getting out of it (it being anything: church, people, your job, etc.) will put NO stumbling block for anyone considering the gospel- "so that our ministry will not be discredited." Don't be a stumbling block! As a Christian, don't focus on what you can get out of it, what's in it for you, or how is this satisfying you. It's not about you! Take your focus off yourself and make it all about loving others and we will no longer be known as a church full of hypocrites but as a church that truly loves people; even people who are NOTHING like them! Then we will not discredit the very thing we are trying to do- to reach people with the gospel. Being a church for unchurched is everything to do with loving others more than yourself and making the environments not to fit and please Christians (because it's not about us) but rather those who are far away from God or who have been out on church. Only when you are truly doing this, dying to yourself, will you grow spiritually in ways you never knew possible and only then, will you be a person who does not discredit the ministry of the gospel.
