Beware of Bargain Christianity

By john d. jess

I kings 12:28-30

Anyone who shops these days is familiar with the words "new" or "improved" or both appearing on boxes, jars or other types of containers. As purchasers intent on getting a good deal, we're drawn to things that are "new" and "improved".

Why is new and/or improved so appealing? Because it suggests that what we're getting is better than what we've formerly bought.

This practice, I've found, is not confined to the business world. It is being seen, I'm afraid, more and more in the realm of religion. Today I see people flocking to "new" religions or "improved" religions that tell them that there is divine power right in themselves. By getting hold of that power, they can do all kinds of things. These religions in reality are not new, they are simply new packaging of old cults and mysticism.

In the Christian world, church leaders are also increasingly stamping the words "new" and "improved" on their renditions of the gospel, which they could very well describe as "easier" or "more palatable"!

Fallacy of shortcuts. But easy gospels are dangerous. Consider the example of Jeroboam. After the death of King Solomon, he led the ten northern tribes into seceding from the nation of Israel. And we read in I Kings 12:28-30:

After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He said to the people, "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt." One he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan. And this thing became a sin; the people went even as far as Dan to worship the one there.
God had commanded Israel to worship in Jerusalem, but Jeroboam made it easier for the people of Israel to worship. As a result, God repeatedly identified him as the one "who made Israel to sin".

Since the onset of Christianity there have always been those who have tried to "improve" on its message. Paul had to warn the Galatians against those who preached "another gospel". And to the Ephesians he wrote, "Let no one deceive you with empty words" (5:6).

Improving the perfect? Nevertheless, it seems more and more churches are now bent on diminishing moral restraints and challenging the authority of the Scriptures. These "new and improved" religions invariably desensitize their adherents toward disobedience. They soft pedal the demands of the gospel, and consequently, the consequences of sin.

Believe me, friends, there's nothing "new" or "improved" about even the smallest departure from the whole truth. The Word of God is perfect and no one can possibly improve it.

The greatest sin a minister can commit against his congregation is to make them comfortable as "halfway" Christians, by attempting to homogenize holiness with worldliness! As someone has said, "A half-truth is a dangerous thing, especially when you have hold of the wrong half!" o

John D. Jess is the regular speaker of Family Life Radio, P.O. Box 35300, Tucson, AZ 85740.

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