You Don’t Need God?

Probably many of you have noticed that a very different kind of “ad” campaign has been launched in the Indianapolis area using billboards on the I-465 loop to tell motorists that they “don’t need God” to live fulfilling lives.  The campaign is the effort of a secular humanist group called The Center for Inquiry.  They have purchased space on four billboards around I-465.  The Amherst NY-based group has said it selected Indianapolis because it’s located in the nation’s heartland.  One of the messages reads: “You don’t need God – to hope, to care, to love, to live.”  The CFI says they want to reach out to non-religious people in a positive way.  “We’re not trying to get other people to give up their religion.  We’re just saying that there’s a misunderstanding that some people think if you’re not religious, you can’t even be a good person,” says the center’s Indiana director, Reba Wooden.

I will agree with CFI on one thing:you don’t need God to be a good person.  But according to the Bible, good is not good enough when it comes to your eternal destiny.  No matter how hard you try, your goodness and all of your good works, on their own, will never be enough to overcome the reality of the sin that separates you from God.  That’s why Jesus came into the world and died on the cross.  You can hope, you can care, you can love, and you can live without God, but none of those things, individually or collectively, can create a right relationship with God.  Romans 6:23 says, For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (NIV).  And simply being good can’t create the fulfilling life that we all long for, either.  It’s not possible.  The Bible teaches us that we were made to live in fellowship with God.  Sin separates us from that fellowship.  And no amount of hoping, caring, loving, and living can change that.  When you don’t live the life you were created to live, you know — no matter how hard you may try to deny it — you know deep down inside that something’s not right.  That’s why the rich young ruler in Matthew 19:16-22, with all of his goodness (vs.17-20), came up to Jesus one day, desperate to know what he needed to do to get eternal life.

Unfortunately these are signs of the times in which we are living.  My encouragement is to simply use this kind of misguided effort to embolden you to be that “light of the world” and “salt of the earth” Jesus talks about in Matthew 5, because the hope and care and love and life that comes from a someone who knows Christ is unmistakable.

Jesus cares,

Pastor Chris

Lonely?

This past weekend we began a new series called “Questions & Answers in Jesus’ Day” based on the truth that some of Jesus’ most effective teaching happened when he asked and answered questions.  So we’re spending several weeks looking at some of those questions and answers and applying them to life today.

I’ve known for a long time that I was going to begin with Matthew 16:13-17, where Jesus pressed the disciples on the issue of his identity (But what about you…who do you say I am?).  I’ve also known for a long time that I was going to use this as an opportunity to preach a very pointed message aimed those who have never made any kind of profession of faith.  I was prayed up and prepared, but when we closed the final service not one single person had responded to the invitation. 

I’ve got to tell you that I was surprised…very surprised.  Not because I thought my words and delivery were so powerful that dozens of people would stream down the aisle.  I prayed several times that God would just use me as His messenger and that He would speak through me.  I was surprised because, as I wrote earlier, it was a pointed message.  I felt the emotion of how tragic it would be for anyone to reject Christ.  And I asked people to admit the need of their life, step out in faith, confess that faith, and join me in the baptistery to experience a new beginning.  But no one came. 

I received some strong encouragement from different people after each service.  I was genuinely appreciative and encouraged by what they said.  I knew in my mind that “seeds” were planted and that one day there would be a harvest.  But I was still surprised.  Later in the day, that surprise turned into sadness and disappointment. 

Then Monday morning came (it’s Monday at 4:46 p.m. as I write this).  When I got to my office, I began to read the online devotion that comes to me each day.  Today’s devotion was called “Only for the Lonely.”  The Scripture reference was 2 Timothy 4:9, 11, 16-17, and the devotion itself was a prayer for those times when we struggle with loneliness.  Here’s the part of the devotion that was most meaningful to me.  We pray especially for those who are lonely because they are distant from You. We ask You to bring them to a knowledge of Your Son and keep them restless and sleepless and struggling until they have come to that place of faith in Your Son.

This past weekend, 2,908 people were in church.  Of the 2,908 people, 2,195 heard, if they listened, a very pointed message about the need to recognize and confess Jesus as “the Christ…the son of the living God.”  I’m praying that some of them are feeling lonely tonight and that they will one day find the comfort and companionship they need in Jesus.  I hope you join me in that prayer.

Jesus cares,

Pastor Chris