Why do most churches fail to reach new believers? I think Peter captured the essence of that question in these 3 sentences.
Many of us who came to Christ came when we knew we still had some work to do. We understood we weren't perfect, but someone, somewhere told us about this free gift of grace from God through His son. So, we took it. Then we start going to church and building our faith. Then, we learn that there are certain things we need to do if we go to church- rules that we need to follow, ways that we need to act, times when we need to sit and stand, ways that we need to pray and other things that God cares little about but that mean a whole lot to some people.
In Acts, we get the pleasure of seeing poor Peter (the Feste of the Gospels) finally get it. In the past, he's shown moments of brilliance and moments of Lloyd Christmas.
But with this paragraph, at least in my mind, he is completely redemed. In one swift and smooth oration, Peter illuminates all that is wrong with the church. Our rules.
See, God is not a God of rules. He put rules in place only after he recognized that we could not live in His perfect world without screwing it up. But, His rules are there not to be tyrannical or dictatorial, but because He is crazy about us and knows the best way for us to live. He knows that if we live His way, our lives will be a blessing, and if we don't, then, not so much.
But when we (as church people) impose rules on people that have little or no relation to God's desire for His people, it turns people off and repels them from Christ instead of attracting them to Him.
Don't get me wrong here, I don't think the Church is beyond repair. But, we need to focus on introducing people to Christ, making disciples out of them (from the Greek word "maqhteu/w" meaning "to learn"). Then, God's holy spirit will infiltrate them from the inside out, and change their lives. This kind of change is deeper and longer lasting than anything we can do anyway. Why don't we just let it happen that way, then? I can think of two reasons I want to tell people how to live:
- Similarity- I like to be around people who think how I think, believe what I believe, and act like I act.
- Pride- If I get them to stop doing something, I can take credit for it, rather than giving the glory to God, where it belongs.
So, I'm on the lookout now. No new rules. I mean it. Seriously.
2 comments:
What is your definition of rules? Where would you draw the line on what are God's rules and what are not? OT vs. NT? Pharisee vs. NT eldership?
I guess here's what I was getting at.
I make rules in my house for my kids- no sweets before bedtime, no jumping on the beds, say "I'm sorry" if you hurt somebody. If you were my kid, you might come to think that I make rules because I like rules. That's not the case. I make rules because in the absence of rules my kids won't reach their full potential. They won't live in a way I know is best.
In the same way, I think God's rules are there for our benefit, not His. This is true for OT rules (don't covet) as well as NT rules (love your neighbor).
I hope this makes sense.
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