Recently, I was thinking about the trials we all face. There isn’t anyone who hasn’t been tested in some way in life. Even those who seem to have all the fame and money seem to eventually go through horrendous trials of health, family, or legal issues. There is always a way for a test to come our way.
One of my struggles spiritually these days is this idea of living in an era of the Hybrid Church. I am not talking about style, because style is personal and not divine. I am referring to the Message of the Church that either draws people or repels them. A recent Facebook meme showed a three-framed picture of Jimmy Swaggart, Joel Osteen, and Kenneth Copeland and the caption read, “Eternity will not be as enjoyable with these three.” It probably wasn’t nice, but people do form opinions about the Church from people who discredit the Church. Everyone is responsible for the reputation the Church gets by the way we behave with our words and actions. We get our understanding of God from those who teach about God, and when that teaching is missing the mark or is missing something about God that is important, people are affected.
Let me explain Hybrid Christianity. I have been perturbed for some time about what I think I hear from the modern Church. Church today is all about positivity … Jesus is good to us, He has forgiven us, healed us, and given us a promise of everlasting life. It's all true, but that is where we leave the Message. Now, some might say, “Isn’t that enough?” I say, ”No.” The Bible isn’t all Verses like John 3:16 where we get the benefit of a Savior on the Cross, it is also about a Judge who will rule this world with an iron rod:
Revelation 2:27 He will rule them with an iron scepter and shatter them like pottery— just as I have received authority from My Father.
Jesus came as a Savior for the first time, which is how we describe the Gospel. He died for everyone’s sins. What we don’t tell them as often is that as He returns, it will be a different Jesus, not in character, but in purpose. He fulfilled the Savior role, and now He is back to complete the role of a Judge. In Matthew 10:28, “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Jesus was ultimately talking about Himself. The Judge on the Great White Throne Judgment in Revelation Chapter 20, is Jesus and He will be the Judge of the living and the dead. I believe it is appropriate for the one who gave Himself for mankind on the Cross, to be the same one who judges mankind from a throne.
The Hybrid version of Christianity picks and chooses what it feels will be most widely accepted by our culture. It is not a bad strategy, but it lacks the integrity of telling the whole story. It is like sharing the positive side of a product you are selling and leaving out part of the rest of the story. I would like to see the emphasis in the modern Church share more time on the two sides of God Almighty. He came as Savior to conquer evil and pay the price for sin. He comes again as Judge to reinstate God’s claim on His creation and cleanse it from all evil.
Hybrid Christianity is not all bad, it does tell the story of the cross. That is enough for salvation, but the rest of God’s story depends on discipling people to know Him both as Savior and as Judge. We must remember that the next stage of God’s interaction with us will be His return. That return is critical for establishing His Kingdom once and for all on earth. It will be a Kingdom where evil is bound or destroyed, and righteousness reigns.
The Judgment of God is not negative, it has a positive end. It establishes Jesus as King and destroys the evil that now controls this world. So, the Hybrid Church doesn’t need to avoid the topic of Judgment, we just have to see it through the lens of a Savior who is returning to be our King.
Let us pray for our Churches and our pastors. Leadership today is under great pressure to perform for the whims of people, and live up to the expectations of people. Pastors and leaders need to listen, pray, and be obedient to the voice of the Holy Spirit who gives them the liberty to teach a Message that changes lives and changes the direction of the Church.
Challenging the Culture with Truth … Larry Kutzler