Rob Bell, prominent pastor, “Rock star of Christianity”, inspiration to hundreds of thousands of Christians around the world, is releasing a new book. Within its pages, he writes of a concept that is known by many Christian leaders as the heretical view of Universalism. (There is no way our all loving God would send anyone to Hell)
When that story broke, I was on Twitter. I watched some very prominent church leaders, whom I respect greatly, literally attack Bell in front of millions right there on a major social network. Phrases like, “Goodbye Rob Bell” came rolling across my screen. Naturally, my first reaction to what is clearly false teaching, was to join in. But, I suddenly had this very sick feeling deep within my gut. Where is Grace in this? If I bash Rob for his beliefs, but don’t love him in his mess, how would he change?
Where is the Grace?
When I think about grace, I think of redemption, restoration, and freedom. What comes to mind for you? Grace is something I need more and more of on a daily basis.
See, the church is the Bride of Christ. He gave His life for us; He showed us Grace. What does He get from us in return? His will is that we would forgive as He forgave us, to liberate the hearts of the lost with unconditional Grace. Instead, we are judgmental finger-pointers who go against His will and can’t even love and forgive other Christians. Then, we turn around and give Him the sloppy seconds of ourselves and halfheartedly serve Him while hoarding as much of His Grace for ourselves as possible. We use His grace like a lifeboat to save ourselves from sinking and refuse to pull others onboard. Then we wonder why His blessing isn’t on us. He wants to know where His Grace is.
Before we can look at where Grace is, we need to know what Grace is. Or better yet, what Grace isn’t.
See, Grace isn’t forgiveness, well not forgiveness alone. You can’t just say I forgive you and have displayed Grace. Forgiveness is usually something that is either expected or forced when it is displayed alone. Grace is an action that is deeper than forgiveness. It involves forgiveness filled with and reinforced by an unending, selfless love. Unconditional Love. Love that has no expectations or pre-conceived notions tagged on as well. And while that kind of love is really nice to receive, it can be painful, ugly, gut wrenching, and nearly impossible to give away.
It is much easier to cut ties with those who hurt us than to love them despite their mess. It is also un-Christian.
Herein lies the big dilemma. The world is watching Christians with a magnifying glass. I doubt that they would say we are practicing what we preach when it comes to Grace. This Rob Bell situation is the perfect example; the entire world saw him publicly proclaim his opinion. They then saw prominent Christian leaders and ordinary “plain Joe” Christians alike, viciously attack him for being a “heretic.” I firmly believe that Rob Bell does need to be held accountable for his actions, he can't call himself one thing and then teach the doctrines of another. His teaching needs to be addressed, but not in a publicly hostile way, and not without considering Grace in every move. Exactly what kind of message does it send to non-Christians when we attack our own so openly? When I put myself in their shoes, it isn’t a very big stretch for me to start not liking Christians either…
But wait there’s more! It’s not just non-Christians who are watching. New believers who are "baby Christians" are following our examples too. Many of these new Christians are susceptible to outside influences on all sides. Their non-Christian friends are still a part of their lives, they are striving to be more like their new Christian brothers and sisters (us), and they are hopefully reading their Bibles with a passion for God’s will.
These three sources of influence are sending three very different messages to these new believers. The outside voice of non-Christians is questioning their every move, the Bible is showing them God’s radical grace and forgiveness for them, and finally there’s us.
I’m not saying that all Christians don’t show this grace; I’m simply saying a lot of the time in my own life I just don’t show the radical, life changing grace God calls me to. If this is the case for me, I know I’m not alone, and our examples of grace-hoarding can cause non-Christians, young believers, and anyone else skeptical of Christianity, to be turned off to our message of grace, love, and peace. Can we really blame them?
Obviously, we have a problem on our hands. Grace is a drink of cool water on a hot day, one that you and I are willing to chug glass after glass of, but when it comes to sharing it with others, we’d rather fill up a glass with sand and watch our enemies choke and sputter. It’s time for a change. It’s time for radical Grace.
Your comments are always welcome.
Jp
