 |
We may have shared
the same pew. |
Well, if you were like many of us, you went to church at
least three times a week. You dressed up. You sang hymns. You
listened to preachers who sometimes spoke about grace and freedom but
more often yelled about obligation and the evils of the world around
you. You were told that when you asked Jesus to be your Savior, you
would be filled with love, joy, and peace, but you often felt guilty and
afraid. Sermons about Jesus were few and far between compared to
sermons against rock music, women wearing pants, and any Bible
translation except the KJV. You were told that His yoke was easy and
His burden was light, but you always felt as if you were never good
enough. Sometimes though, you
did feel good about yourself; then you'd
be filled with self-righteous pride as you thought about how superior
you were to those other weak, liberal Christians who didn't go to Sunday
night services or who attended movies. You found yourself identifying
with the Prodigal Son's older brother or the Pharisee who prayed, "Thank
you, God, that I'm not like other men." Then you were filled with
horror at what you'd become and cycled back into discouragement and
guilt.
The only escape was Christ - an amazing realization that His grace
covered all your sins, that you were loved and accepted completely in
Him, that God delighted in you, that He was pleased with you because you
were hidden in Christ. This realization made you fall in love with
Jesus in a way you never had before, and a taste of this amazing grace
made you wish to tear away all unScriptural ideas that had been warping
your thinking. In the process of rediscovering what the Bible said, you
may have discovered that your church, which you assumed was so
Biblical, was actually
not accurately reflecting Scripture but rather
promoting the traditions and preferences of mid-twentieth century
America. When you tried to tell your friends and loved ones what you
were learning, they often became angry or concerned. They accused you
of forsaking the Gospel when what you'd really done was rediscovered the
Gospel in all its beauty. And then perhaps you decided, as we have,
that you no longer wanted to call yourself a fundamentalist because,
although you still believed in Jesus and His Word, you were no longer at
home in a church that was teaching moralism instead of grace.
We are post-fundamentalists. We are serious about living for Christ. Join us as we discuss what that means.
Lisa
