Oh, do you have a personal issue? No problem, Jesus is the answer! Are you in the throes of a financial crisis? No worries, Jesus has your back! Are you sad because you have lived a fleshly life and it’s finally caught up to you? No sweat, “Jesus gets us.” That last thought has become a multimillion-dollar ad campaign now shown during professional sports broadcasts. What’s the message???
Any so-called “solution” to human problems needs to be scrutinized very closely, especially when humanity begins pandering to fleshly desires like wealth, reputation, sexual gratification, and so on. Ask yourself why most people in this world are miserable and you’ll discover it’s because their human fleshes are unsatisfied with life. They want someone to show them a path which allows them to satisfy their fleshly desires today, not tomorrow or the next day - right now! What’s wrong with this picture?
This reminds me of the story of the rich young ruler who apparently was used to solving the issue of success on his own. He approached Jesus, flippantly asking, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life” (Luke 18:18)? When Jesus told him what He was offering involved fleshly loss, the man left Christ, unsatisfied with the answer he received.
And He was passing through one city and village after another, teaching, and proceeding on His way to Jerusalem. And someone said to Him, “Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?”
And He said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.”
And He said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.”
-Luke 13:22-24
This “striving” that Jesus referred to is like a wrestling match. The rich young ruler in Luke 18 lost his match – he got pinned by his own human flesh, the great enemy from within. He wanted a quick way to gain entrance into Heaven. He was looking for something his flesh could “do” quickly, with little or no personal sacrifice of his worldly aspirations.
Beware of any preacher who preaches a gospel that panders to the human flesh, especially when it resembles a “pill popping” exercise. The Gospel of Jesus Christ doesn’t address problems as the depraved flesh would define them (e.g. unsatisfied lusts of the flesh).
Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God continues to live forever.
-1 John 2:15-17
Jesus isn’t interested in satisfying your fleshly desires, He’s interested in saving you from sin. Why do so many preachers preach a gospel that addresses the prior when all it does is cater to man’s fallen nature? Is it because the true Gospel is offensive to the human flesh? Are they trying to soften the blow somehow or fill seats in their church buildings? Would they rather be “pill pushers” peddling quick remedies instead? Are they really that weak and accommodating? Apparently.
Why were Jesus and the majority of His apostles murdered? Was it because the “good news” they shared was so popular and inviting or was it because the world around them hated what they had to say? Was what they preached easy to accept or challenging? Hold that thought…
Now about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s chains were unfastened. When the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, thinking that the prisoners had escaped.
But Paul called out with a loud voice, saying, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!” And the jailer asked for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear, he fell down before Paul and Silas; and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
But Paul called out with a loud voice, saying, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!” And the jailer asked for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear, he fell down before Paul and Silas; and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
-Acts 16:25-31
Stop the presses! Hallelujah, right? That doesn’t sound so difficult at all! Why all the murders and the trail of blood? Why the Cross of Christ? Why didn’t Jesus just tell the rich young ruler what Paul and Silas told the jailer? Were they better evangelists than Jesus? Why am I even writing this blog? It seems there’s a quick fix after all! Phew – now that is good news, right? According to Jesus in Luke 13:24, it’s not that easy. Is Acts 16:31 absolute Truth? You bet. However, why is it that v31 gets all the hype and the very next verse gets ignored? Is it because if we include both verses the “pill” becomes too big for the human flesh to swallow???
And they spoke the word of God to him together with all who were in his house.
And he took them that very hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household. And he brought them into his house and set food before them, and was overjoyed, since he had become a believer in God together with his whole household.
And he took them that very hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household. And he brought them into his house and set food before them, and was overjoyed, since he had become a believer in God together with his whole household.
-Acts 16:32-34
You see, v32 gives v31 substance. Don’t miss the point the Spirit’s making here! No one in the jailer’s house was saved until Paul and Silas had a chance to teach them God’s Word about the “Lord Jesus” (v31). While you’re at it, don’t miss the qualifying word “Lord” (kurios in Greek), either – one of the great offenses to the human flesh is the idea of being a slave to Christ. Is this why weak evangelism refuses to preach a surrendering to Jesus as part of the good news?
The great tragedy today is that most evangelism panders to the rich young rulers of this world (or those who aspire to be like them). The beauty of Acts 16:31 is lost because it is essentially stripped of its meaning – it has become a pill someone is encouraged to take on the road to living a better life. Contemporary Christianity panders to the human flesh (this movement traces back to humanists like Erasmus, 1466-1536, though he’s hardly alone). Today’s watered-down gospel is no longer offensive the way the true Gospel was to the ruling class during Jesus’ time. How has this happened???
People want a pill that goes down easy, not one that makes their human flesh choke.
What’s the most underrated verse in Holy Scripture? Only God could answer that, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was Acts 16:32. Other candidates are likely found right before or after other pill peddler favorites, like John 3:16 (often taken way out of context). The point the Spirit’s making in this blog is the same one that Jesus made over and over while on Earth, the one that ultimately got Him killed (ref: Matthew 16:24-28; Mark 8:33-38; Luke 9:23-27 and Matthew 13:10-17). If someone chokes on the Truth, good. Just be grateful no one’s tried to kill you yet.
Love in Christ,
Ed Collins
