If I Were the Devil

If I were the devil I’d get pastors to build big buildings for Sunday services and teach nice things about a nice God. I’d make sure they avoided the dangerous God of the Bible. I’d get them to preach a whole lot about the patience and kindness of Yahweh and leave out His holiness and justice. I’d have them preach a one-sided message about a one-sided God instead of the full counsel of who He is.
If I were the devil I’d raise up an army of televangelists to preach a false message of "God wants you to be rich" while much of the world dies of famine and starvation. I’d get them to empty the bank accounts of bent, old widows and blue collar Joe’s to finance their Lexus-driving, $3,000 suit wearing, mansion-dwelling lifestyle of "holy" hedonism. I’d help them cloak their message of greed with a "whatever you donate to this ministry will be multiplied one hundred fold in your own bank account" giving promise.
If I were the devil I’d get evangelists to preach a gospel that sounds like the gospel but is really no gospel at all. I’d get them to make the sinner "say a prayer" whether he or she truly understands and embraces the gospel or not. I’d get them to preach anything and everything but faith alone in Christ alone for the salvation of their souls. I’d empty a great word like "repent" of its true meaning and fill it with the filthy rags of good deeds cloaked as the gospel of grace. I’d deceive evangelists into evangelizing with a self-centered gospel that focuses more on what the sinner does than on what Christ has done.
If I were the devil I’d get youth leaders to teach more devotionally and less theologically. I’d convince them that theology was not relevant to the everyday life of the average teenager. I’d challenge them to give safe talks about safe things, things that teenagers related to, enjoyed and understood. I’d encourage them to avoid complex theology like the Trinity, the inerrancy of Scripture, justification by faith and the like so that they "don’t lose" their teenagers. Instead I’d motivate youth leaders to serve McNuggets of truth, deep fried in fun and dipped in sweet sauce so that their kids don’t get bored.
If I were the devil I’d get good teenagers to do plenty of good things. I’d get them to build houses for the needy, give food to the poor and reach out to the hurting.  I’d encourage them to do all of these things in the name of Jesus but without ever actually sharing the gospel message to those they serve. I’d motivate them to "hack at the leaves of evil" but leave the root of evil intact. I’d convince these teenagers that preaching the gospel was action and service alone. I’d paint a picture of Jesus that only served the poor’s physical needs and leave out his drive to fulfill their deeper, bigger, spiritual needs.
If I were the devil I’d attack the writer of these words with his own inadequacies. I’d remind him of every time he has messed up and failed. I’d show him his own hypocrisy. I’d convince him that he had no right to write such judgmental words. I’d challenge him to take the kinder, gentler course of typing safe, funny things. If that didn’t work I’d convince him that he is somehow better than the money-grubbing TV preacher,  the soft-pedaling evangelist, or the fastfood youth leader.

But I’m not the devil. Satan is. And he doesn’t need any help. He is already doing a very good job at being evil. Don’t you think?

But how much greater is Christ! The Savior has already come. "It is finished." The battle was won on the cross. Satan is doomed. Because of the cross, we have victory in Christ.

So friends, we are called to repent and believe. To take up our own crosses daily and follow after Him. The call is tough, but the eternal reward is well worth the temporary pain.

Mr. Potato Head God

A few weeks ago or so, I perused an article in a Christian magazine that ticked me off. The writer of the piece spewed fightin’ words to all things evangelical. He regurgitated a barf bag full of of his frustrations with some of the core realities of God’s Word firmly held by die-hard Christians for almost 2,000 years. I had the feeling there was a lot more gurgling in his "stomach" ready to come up and out, but he held back (probably out of PR reasons…after all the slow reveal of heresy is much less shocking than a full on coming out party).
After reading his rant I started thinking about other articles, books and blogs that I have read, perused or sampled in the last few years. It seems to me that basic Christian beliefs are falling on hard times in many Christian circles today. The trend setting hip Christians (isn’t that an oxymoron?) are too cool for school, the old school of theological accountability. Many feel that they’ve earned a "get out of jail free card" when it comes to being true in their faith because of their biting intellect and bad experiences with the evangelical church.
Whatever.
As founding member of The Guild of Guys With Lower IQs Who Happen To Believe What The Bible Says Because It Says It, I live in a simpler world. If the Bible says it then I believe it. Now does that mean that I understand everything the Bible is talking about? Nope. I struggle everyday to understand it more. But there are some core truths that are impossible to dispute if you take the Word seriously. Among these are salvation by faith alone, Christ being the only way into heaven, the Trinity, the inerrancy of Scripture, the return of Christ and the deity of Jesus. By the way, these are the basic teachings that the Church has been hammering out as essentials for the last two millennia. And, in that same time span, there have been those who have sought to undermine them every step of the way.
Maybe I should come up with a Mr. Potato Head God game that we can sell in Christian bookstores all across America. Those who don’t like a certain aspect of God’s character can replace that part with another piece that suits their version of God.
If you don’t like the holiness of God (and the implications of an eternal hell and Judgment Day) you can replace the eyes of uncompromised holiness that see into every sinful heart with blind eyes that don’t see transgressions of any kind and allow everyone into God’s presence regardless of their beliefs. If you don’t like a God who is omniscient and knows everything including the future you can replace his brain (yes in my version of the game you can replace the brain) with a big pile of gush that is just as clueless about the future as we are. The strong arms of righteousness can be replaced with the skinny arms of "as long as you are sincere in whatever your beliefs I’ll let you into heaven."
You get the idea.
Did you know that Thomas Jefferson basically did the same thing? He took a pair of scissors to the Gospels and cut out every story about Jesus that seemed too good to be true. He didn’t like the miracles so he sliced them out of his Jeffersonian Version. Anything that sounded too supernatural or too judgmental hit the cutting room floor of his "have it your own way" editing room. Jefferson would have been the first buyer of my Mr. Potato Head God game if he were alive today.
What’s my point to this rant? Let’s not play games with Yahweh. Let’s accept Him on His own terms. The Bible is not a book we can take scissors to if we don’t like what it’s saying. Yahweh is not a Mr. Potato Head to be manipulated and re-manufactured to our own liking.
The Bible is the Bible. It says what it says. If we don’t like it we can choke on it. Or even better, we can repent and accept it. God is God, regardless of what we think of Him and what He teaches. And we will all stand and give account before Him someday for the way we revered and obeyed Him and His Word.

So let’s walk carefully and humbly. Let’s be careful to color within the lines of sound doctrine. Our God is an awesome God and He and His book are not to be be trifled with.

Gotta go. For some reason I’m hungry for a baked potato. Pray I don’t puke.