The Naked Gospel: Truth You May Never Hear in Church (15 page)

N
ATURE AND NURTURE ARE TWO VERY DIFFERENT CONCEPTS
. Scientists work to discover whether certain characteristics and behaviors within species are due to nature or nurture. Within many churches today, it appears we are emphasizing
nurture
as the means to spiritual growth. We’re told we should focus on nurture through small groups, personal Bible study, accountability groups, and special events that spur us on to new commitments.

Of course, some of these things can be helpful. But do you see what I see? The Bible talks about considering ourselves dead to sin and realizing that God has raised us up and seated us with him (Romans 6:11; Ephesians 2:6). In light of these truths about our
nature,
we’re told to not let sin reign and to set our minds on things above (Romans 6:12; Colossians 3:2). This is
not
nurture talk; this is nature talk!

Too often, I see the church today functioning like any other morality-focused social group. It’s time for us to wake up and realize that being born of the Spirit means we possess an amazing life within us. Because we’re
already
different on the inside, we can live differently on the outside.

We humans are quick to change strategies. If an approach doesn’t satisfy quickly, we opt for another way. After the salvation experience, some of us grow impatient with God’s natural plan for growth and fall prey to alternate means of “maturing.” But the genuine path to growth is quite clear: “
Just as you received
Christ Jesus as Lord,
continue to live your lives
in him” (Colossians 2:6, italics added).

So how did we receive Christ Jesus? By hearing truth and believing it. Then how do we grow in him? Again, through
exposure
to truth and continually
setting our minds
on truth.

Simple, isn’t it? If so, then why are these things so often neglected as the path to growth? Perhaps because they’re
too
simple. Nearly two thousand years ago, the apostle Paul was worried that believers would stray from the simplicity of the message and turn toward another gospel—one that was really no gospel at all. He’d have that same concern for the church today.

The message of “Jesus plus nothing” from start to finish is often too humbling for us to swallow. Instead, we opt for performance hoops to jump through in order to impress God. Sure, we trust him alone for salvation and a place in heaven. But when it comes to daily living, it’s difficult to fathom that he wants to be our resource and carry the load.

Growth doesn’t happen by trying harder. It doesn’t occur by a “two steps forward and one step back” approach. Genuine growth occurs as we absorb truth about who we
already
are and what we
already
possess in Christ.

Believers shouldn’t passively sit around waiting to receive something new—more cleansing, more of the Holy Spirit, or more of whatever popular teaching says is lacking in us. We have everything we need for a godly life. We have an unshakable kingdom, an eternal covenant, and every spiritual blessing. We are complete and lack nothing. The only logical response is to spend our lives reminding each other of these extraordinary truths and giving thanks to our God.

Requesting and possessing are polar opposites. Once a person is in Christ, they are a possessor, not a requester. We see this point illustrated in the Lord’s Supper. We shouldn’t participate in this celebration in order to obtain something. Instead, we are to celebrate the Lord’s Supper
in remembrance
of Jesus Christ. Just as this celebration is based solely on the work of Christ, we should conduct all of our business in the light of what he has already done.

To thank God for every spiritual blessing and then to ask him for more patience, for example, is to ignore Christ within us. Isn’t patience part of what we need for a godly life? Do we have all the patience we need already implanted within us or don’t we? Through the Scriptures, God answers this question with a resounding yes. Because we possess Christ himself, and since Christ is not lacking in patience, we already have all we need.

I find it somewhat amusing when I hear the phrase
put God first.
What would take second place? God first, country second, and family third? Although other things may be important to us, Jesus doesn’t belong on a list with other items. He holds a status all his own. Since he is “our life” (Colossians 3:4 NIV), he’s with us, in us, joined to us, and present in all aspects of our lives. He’s
everything to us: “To me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).

Notice that the apostle doesn’t say that Christ is important to him. He says that “to live is Christ.” Paul is not trying to give Christ a proper place among other things. Instead, he is recognizing the fact that Christ
is
everything to him. We may nod our heads in agreement, saying, “Yes, Christ is everything to me.” But do we grasp the truth that Christ resides just beneath our humanity? That he is actually fused to our own person? Here Paul captures our attention with some radical statements:

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

G
ALATIANS
2:20

Paul claims that he participated in a crucifixion of sorts, and as a result Christ now lives in him. Many people make this claim out to be either symbolic if true or insane and untrue. But to claim anything short of this is to adopt a partial gospel. The very core of the New is that through Christ we receive what we lost through Adam, namely, the literal presence of the divine.

This is
real
Christianity. A promise of heaven is not restoration of life. Studying a book written by God himself is still not restoration of life. Attending weekly gatherings in a building is not restoration of life. Even changing one’s behavior in dramatic ways is not restoration of life. Of course, these things may
result
from restoration of life. But they’re certainly not the means to life, nor are they a confirmation of the experience of life. Restoration of life occurs when God himself, through the person of Christ, resides within us.

Anything short of this is weak religiosity.

When I registered for my last semester in college, I needed just a few more credits to graduate. In order to impress the girl I was dating, I decided to sign up for a classical guitar course. For sure, one thing I’m
not
is a musician.

“It can’t be that hard,” I thought to myself. Well, was I in for a surprise! My guitar instructor gave me one assignment for the semester—to play the introduction to “Dust in the Wind.” This would be my final exam, so I practiced all semester. Day after day, I practiced the patterns, moving my fingers as quickly and accurately as I could.

After months of practice, the day arrived for my final exam. I walked in, guitar in hand, and sat down to play. About ten seconds into the song, I lost my place and had to start over. I began again at the beginning, since that was how I had memorized the finger movements. About ten seconds into the song, I was stumped once again. I simply couldn’t remember which string to pluck next. During two more attempts, the same thing occurred. Finally I gave up. I thanked the professor for all her help during the semester and walked out.

As I made my way back to my car, tears of frustration streamed down my face. No matter how hard I tried, I was no guitarist. Music simply wasn’t in me. I could make a faint attempt through mechanical movements, but playing the guitar just didn’t come naturally.

I share my sad encounter with the classical guitar to illustrate a point: If we approach the Christian life in a mechanical way, trying to imitate the actions of Jesus in the gospels, we’ll inevitably fail. The “What would Jesus do?” philosophy is not the same as the “Christ in you” approach. We’re called to look within, to discover the life that is instinctive to us as new creations, and to live
from
that life. Imitating the
actions
of others, even the Jesus of the
gospels, is nothing but a shallow, mechanical act that is not reliable under pressure. Just as all my pattern practice with the guitar ultimately failed me, merely going through the motions of imitating Christian activity pales in comparison to the experience of having Christ’s life naturally flow from your personality.

Unlike my experience with the classical guitar, the good news for us is that we’re “musical.” We are partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). And Christ’s life through us is a natural fit.

If you’re spiritually joined to Christ, you’ve entered into a mystery. This mystery is the fullness of the gospel. Any message that fails to communicate this mystery falls short of the gospel. This mystery wasn’t known for thousands of years under the Old, but it’s been revealed in the New:

I have become [the church’s] servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness—
the mystery
that has been
kept hidden
for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people.

C
OLOSSIANS
1:25-26, italics added

What could be more mysterious than participating in the divine nature? Through spiritual union with Christ, this mystery becomes a reality for us:

To [the Lord’s people] God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is
Christ in you,
the hope of glory.

C
OLOSSIANS
1:27, italics added

It’s frustrating to operate under a counterfeit belief system and not know why it fails you. I know, because I’ve been there. But the message of “Christ in you” is the real thing—the word of God in its
fullness.

Today’s alternative is a message that’s an inaccurate part of the whole. All around us, we’re inundated with a lackluster gospel that advocates partial forgiveness, a pressure-filled motivation for behavior change, and the promise of earned rewards in heaven or a cash return while on earth. This counterfeit is the reason that the church sometimes doesn’t appear much different from the world. It’s time for us to start over, if necessary, and seek the real thing.

Jesus Christ
in
us as our resource for everyday life is our only hope for any real change.

O
F COURSE, SOMETIMES WE STILL TURN DEPENDENCY ON THE
indwelling Christ into an opportunity to self-examine and introspect. And this isn’t any better than any other religious move: “Am I abiding? What do I need to do to abide better?”

The term
abide,
I’ve noticed, is often used by those who seek something to do in order to maintain the reality of Christ living through them. The word
abide
simple means “to live,” and Christ
already
lives in Christians! Some have made it out to be something beyond what Jesus intended it to be. Christ abiding in us is a truth, not a command for us to keep up our end of some bargain. Of course there are moment-by-moment choices to walk by faith, but the religion of “I must
get
Christ to abide in me” is a self-focus that is
not
the intention of the New. For this reason, I think it’s valuable to address some issues related to the actual phenomenon of Christ living through us.

If you’ve received Christ, then he lives in you, no matter what. Whether or not he lives through you in a given moment is simply a choice away. The Holy Spirit doesn’t overpower you or circumvent your will. Instead, he wants you to respond to
his counsel. As he counsels you and you respond to that counsel, Christ is living through you. It’s simple, not complicated. In fact, the entire inner workings of your being are geared for this reality to occur. As you allow Christ to counsel you and express himself through your personality, you’re fulfilling your destiny.

Christ living through you is not a feeling. It’s not an emotional experience that you pursue. Having Christ live through you is really about knowing who you are and being yourself. Since Christ is your life, your source of true fulfillment, you’ll only be content when you are expressing him. As you express him, you also express who God has made you to be.

God doesn’t override us. However, God hasn’t left us to our own devices to cope with life and be godly. Either of these extremes can harm our understanding of the gospel. God wants us to know that his Son works in us, through us, and alongside us since we’re spiritually joined to him. Having Christ live through us begins with knowing that his life resides in us.

In all of this, we’re talking about a
knowing,
not a feeling.

To everyone else, it’ll just look like you. And it should look like you! Don’t expect people to run up to you and ask a lot of questions because they notice how much you’re like Jesus. When some people think of Jesus Christ, they hold a certain picture in their minds. It may have little or nothing to do with what the Holy Spirit is working in you.

Paul tells us that the treasure of Christ’s life is in “jars of clay” so that we will be reminded that God is the source, not us
(2 Corinthians 4:7). Some may notice that we have an overall sense of peace or rest in our lives. They may also notice that we respond to some circumstances in an unusual manner. Or they may not notice anything at all. The popular teaching that everybody’s watching and that we live in glass houses doesn’t jibe with reality. The reality is that most people are busy thinking about themselves! However, you are well aware of the life that you carry within, and that is what is most important.

The idea that “Christ through me” could be frightening is rooted in a faulty sense of God’s character. What’s not to like about a God who is always for us and doesn’t hold anything against us? If we’re hesitant to relinquish our daily lives to God, it’s because we don’t yet trust his goodness.

Sure, we may know that God is good. But “God is always good
to me”
is an altogether different thought. Our fear of depending fully on Christ may also stem from not realizing that he thoroughly enjoys us. He has no desire to erase our uniqueness and turn us into clones. He considers our hobbies, interests, and senses of humor, and he wants to work through these in the expression of his life.

I often hear it quite loudly proclaimed that we need God to take us out of our comfort zones. Certainly, the Christian life is no promise of smooth sailing and easy circumstances. But it’s important to know that we’ve been rebuilt to display God. “Christ through us” lies
within
our comfort zones. We’re made for expression of him, and anything else is unnatural and uncomfortable for us.

God won’t make us do things we don’t want to do. Instead, the Bible tells us that God works in us to will (want) and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose (Philippians 2:13). This means we’ll genuinely want what God wants. If it’s not placed on our hearts, it’s not of him.

God works through our hearts and minds to cause us to walk in his ways. He’s not asking us to live a life we don’t want to live. On the contrary, he has placed Christ’s desires within us, and we’re only satisfied as we fulfill them. Whether we realize it or not, our greatest desire is to express Christ in every moment.

Sometimes when people hear the term
surrender,
they imagine their entire lives hanging in the balance as they decide whether or not to go on the mission field. This idea is misleading, since most believers need to settle in and know Christ in their current circumstances rather than trying to alter them. Although some may end up changing their vocation or the place they live, most of God’s children are intended for a setting they already know.

Are you open to Christ living through your current, everyday life? Or must he change your circumstances for you to believe that he can live through you? We must grasp that Christ is compatible with our humanity, no matter where we live and no matter what our daily lives involve.

One reason that Jesus was born as a baby and lived for thirty-three years in genuine human flesh was to demonstrate that humanity is capable of displaying the divine.

Of course, the idea of Jesus living through your personality can lead to a measuring of sorts. Sometimes people become introspective about the whole thing: “Am I depending enough? Is Jesus truly living through me? Do I have enough works to show for it?” And maybe no other passage fuels this introspection more than James 2. For this reason, we should address the true context of the Bible’s faith-works chapter. Is James really telling us to examine our Christian life’s track record to determine if we’re trusting? Should we self-examine to such a degree? Or is his landmark chapter really about something else altogether?

Throughout history, many have struggled with this passage. In fact, Martin Luther held that James shouldn’t be part of the biblical canon because of the presence of this faith-works passage! Admittedly, it’s not easy at first glance to reconcile the teaching of James 2 with the teachings of Romans, for instance, which state that we’re justified by faith alone and not by works (Romans 3:28; 9:30-32).

James 2 clearly says we’re justified by works too, not by faith alone. To dance around this passage by saying it refers to works after salvation is faulty. The passage specifically asks, “Can such faith save them?” (James 2:14). In addition, it repeatedly addresses the issue of becoming justified before God, a status that occurs at salvation. Without a doubt, James says we’re justified by works and not by faith alone. But the important question is: What does James mean by “works”?

I believe the key to understanding this passage is to avoid bringing our twenty-first-century mind-set to the table, especially with regard to the term
works.
Rather than assuming that
works
should be understood as a lifelong record of religious activity, one should consult the biblical text and let the writer himself
define the term. James’s own use of the term
works
is quite different from how we use it today.

James explains that even demons can believe the basics of Christianity—that there is one God, and so forth (2:19). He shows us the difference between nodding your head with dead faith versus expressing living faith. The purpose of the passage is to communicate that faith without decision or response is dead faith.

James uses two Old Testament examples, Rahab and Abraham, to explain justification by works. Both characters actively responded to God’s message. They didn’t sit back passively and claim that they believed God. Rahab decided to open her door to the spies (Joshua 2:1), and Abraham chose to offer his son on the altar (Genesis 22:3). They went beyond mere intellectual assent and did something in response to God’s message.

But how many times did Rahab open the door? Once. And how many times did Abraham hoist his son Isaac on the altar? Once. Hence, works in this passage is really
not
about a lifelong track record of good behavior. It’s actually about the importance of responding to truth—an act that goes beyond intellectual agreement. James 2 might be summarized by the following train of thought:

• We’re justified by works (but
  works
  needs to be defined in context).
  
• Works are like what Rahab and Abraham did.
  
• Living faith involves opening a door (of your life)—a work.
  
• Living faith involves offering someone (yourself)—a work.
  
• So living faith involves decision—a work.
  
• Any faith without decision is just dead faith.
  

James 2 communicates that personal decision is necessary in order for true salvation to occur. Those who appear to fall away from belief in Jesus are those who merely associated themselves with certain doctrines for whatever reason. They may abandon Christianity the movement. They may abandon Christians, sometimes accompanied by personal resentment. But they don’t abandon Christ, since they never knew him. Ascribing to certain doctrines is one thing, but opening the door of your life and receiving the life of Christ is altogether different.

Once James 2 is seen in context, it doesn’t conflict with Romans or any other faith-centered passage. We need to recognize that this passage in James does
not
seem to be referring to a postsalvation experience. It’s specifically addressing the question, “Can such faith save them?” (James 2:14). From there, we must grasp James’s own use of the term
works
by consulting the examples he gives. James’s purpose is to contrast mere intellectual agreement with active, saving faith that involves receiving the life of Christ. When Christ stood at the door and knocked, did you respond by opening the door, as Rahab did? If so, I think you’ve met the “requirement” of this historically controversial faith-works passage.

James 2 is not inviting us to introspect and assess our long-term track record of good works; in context, it appears to be contrasting dead faith (intellectual assertion only) with living faith (true conviction followed by
decision)
.

We must never forget that truth is supposed to set us
free!