A Dirty Gospel
The title of this column, “A Dirty Gospel” may seem strange to you. It runs counterproductive to the way those of us who grew up in the Bible belt have been trained to think about religion, church, and the gospel. We tend to think affiliating with these means always being “squeaky clean.” However, the older I get the more I realize that this simply isn’t true. If all we have is a “squeaky clean” gospel – I’m not sure we have the gospel at all.
I am reading a book entitled, “Jesus Is _______.” In one of the chapters the author, Judah Smith, fills in the blank by saying, “Jesus is a Friend to Sinners.” He tells of a conversation he had with a pastor friend: “‘Judah, do you know any pimps?’ ‘Uh, no?’ I was a bit confused about where this conversation was going. ‘Do you know any drug dealers?’ ‘No.’ ‘Any crackheads?’ ‘I don’t think so.’ ‘Any exotic dancers?’ ‘No!’ ‘How about any prostitutes?’ ‘Of course not!’ I was a bit indignant now, as if he was trying to indict me somehow. ‘Neither do I.’ he said. ‘I think that’s part of the problem.’” And I think this pastor is on to something. As he, I tend to surround myself with people whose moral compass is pointing the same direction as mine. I suppose we all do. I guess it is human nature.
When it comes to reaching sinners with the Good News of Jesus Christ, as long as I can remember, churches have worked on the principle of once somebody “believed” the gospel then they would “behave” it and then they could “belong.” What Jesus models in the Bible is totally different. The first thing Jesus did was to give whoever he was dealing with a sense of “belonging.” Then they would “believe” and then they would “behave” the gospel. What a radical difference from what we do today!
In order to give people a sense of belonging, Jesus dared to go into their world and get to know them. He dared to expose Himself to what was considered the filth of the world. He got dirty. Do we? I’m afraid not. We continue to reinforce the thought that if a person wants to be accepted in Christ Jesus, then they must first believe and behave the gospel. After this, we’ll let them belong.
In the Bible, Jesus told Zacchaeus to come down out of the Sycamore tree because he must abide at his house that day. Think about it. Zacchaeus was the Chief Tax Collector. He was a sinner extraordinaire. His house would have reflected this. This is where He said they were going. They were on their way there. Zacchaeus had no time to hide all the undesirable stuff in his house. But Jesus went to the Chief Tax Collectors house that day, and when He left, He proclaimed that salvation had come to Zaccheaus’ house. Why? Because Jesus was willing not only to enter into the house of someone whose moral compass was pointed a different direction that His, but He entered his life also. In fact, the Bible is filled with stories where Jesus did this. He was willing to get dirty.
What I am about to say is not for everybody, but as Judah Smith said, “I’ve determined to open my heart to people whose lives are morally different from mine. Not so I can pity them, rebuke them, make projects out of them, or turn them into a trophy of my evangelism – just so I can be their friend.” And no, I’m not advocating becoming a sinner to win sinners, abandoning, or compromising Biblical & moral beliefs. However, I am advocating being open to those who are different. I want them to belong, so they will believe, so they will behave the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It may mean I have to get dirty. That’s exactly what Jesus did. I’m afraid our churches have been filled with “squeaky clean” folk for way too long. Maybe it’s time for a dirty gospel.
Brother Aaron
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