At A&M, every year, this one guy and his wife come and stand in the central area of campus and carry on about how everyone is going to hell. They particularly like to focus on sex, but any sort of sin will do for them to rant and rave about. And every year, a crowd of people forms around them and watches all day to hear what this guy--Brother Jed--is talking about (the wrath of God, the condemnation of our souls, etc).
Frankly, it's pretty frustrating.
Here's the deal, y'all. Brother Jed and I both believe in an all-powerful God who will be the one to pass the ultimate judgment. But I'm pretty sure that's where the similarities stop. Where he uses the fear of hell to scare people to run to a God who just sits up on his throne and condemns people (according to Jed), I try (operating word) to show people the God who, yes, passes judgment, but he also loves. Call me crazy, but I kind of don't think that anyone who gets yelled at for being a sinner by some dude who doesn't know he/she isn't going to be real receptive to whatever the angry man is saying about them. I know I wouldn't be.
Brother Jed is showing only a small part of God's judgment--and not even well. But Jed is far from perfect and the only person who can judge anyone else is God because he IS perfect. Jed is doing an excellent job, however, of making Christianity a mockery. He's embodying everything that non-Christians don't like about Christians: judgmental, rude, loud, opinionated, self-righteous. And we only encourage his behavior by circling around him and listening to what he's saying.
This afternoon, there was a guy standing about 100 yards from Jed. This guy was speaking truth. Granted, he was going about it the same way Jed was--yelling. But I walked by him slowly and listened. This dude knew the Bible and everything that he was talking about was good stuff. I don't necessarily agree with the tactic, but I agree with his intentions. Jed is, from my observations, a modern day false prophet. Or like the pharises from the New Testament who just blurt things out and try to make their own rules. But why weren't people listening to this other guy instead of Jed? Because there were more theatrics in the latter? Because what this other guy was saying was actually truth?
I'm not bashing preaching. I take the Great Commission seriously when Christians are told to go out and make disciples and I think those spiritual leaders who devote their lives to the holy word of God are necessary. But is all this fire-and-brimstone fanfare the right way to go about it? I'm not inclined to think so. If anything, it's turning people away from God.
Our God is wrathful, yeah, because the world is messed up. But he solved the problem by sending his flawless son Jesus Christ to come die on the cross. Jesus lived in an imperfect world but was totally perfect. And he died to take the blame for every single sin that would ever be committed ever. God's wrath against humanity was unleashed on Jesus Christ so that we wouldn't have to take the hit for our own failures. As one of my favorite songs puts it "the wrath of God was satisfied/for every sin on Him was laid/here in the death of Christ, I live". Why did he do this? Because we are so desperately loved that God couldn't bear the thought of being separated from humanity. He was willing to sacrifice someone who had never screwed up in order that the rest of humanity may have hope of life after earth in a Heaven, together with God forever.
That's what Jed should be preaching. Not about hell and death and torture and why we're going to experience that if we don't "turn or burn".
My God is just, but Jesus already took the heat. Now, he's about forgiveness, grace, and unconditional love.
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