Religious or Radical

Jesus' harshest recorded words were never directed to prostitutes, addicts, thieves, liars and other “sinners”, but to the “religious”.  Take a look at what Jesus said to the religious of his day as recorded in Matthew 23.  Based on his words then, couldn’t we assume he would say something like this now?

Woe to you religious!  You act like you are close to God even though you are not and then you stand in the way of letting others get close to God.

Woe to you religious!  You say it’s all about one person being saved, but once you get their spiritual scalp in your hand, you put them in a new kind of religious prison.  

Woe to you religious!  You act like you see even though you walk around blind to what really matters.  You make church all about you—what you like, want and prefer as though what you desire has anything to do with being the Church.

Woe to you religious!  You give your money to the offering basket, but you don’t give a rip about justice, mercy and grace toward your fellow man; especially when that fellow man or woman is not who you think deserves justice, mercy and grace; even though that is the whole point of grace—it is never deserved!  

Woe to you religious!  You make sure you look good on the outside, so others won’t see the filth you are hiding in your heart.

Woe to you religious!  You find a way to murder anyone who speaks the truth.  You make people fear being real so that they will live in the same bondage as you.  

Woe to you religious!  You are snakes!  You slither around stirring up trouble, instilling fear and keeping people focused on everything but God and you do it all in the name of God!

Harsh words?  Only if you are religious.  The reason Jesus spoke so harshly to the religious was to give them a chance to repent of their religiosity and become a radical.  

Religious people put God in a box in a room some place where they are OK with God being, but radicals give God the deed to the house and let him break out of every box they try to put him in until there is nothing left of their life and its all about Him!  Radicals loose their stomach for going through the motions of religion, judging others and thinking that some how they are better than anyone else.  Because a radical has fallen flat on their face in front of God fully admitting they ain’t got a thing to bring to the table and that without Him they are lost now and forever.  Radicals can’t stop dancing in the reality of God’s love.  For the radical there is no faith in Jesus unless that faith is where Jesus lived while he lived on earth and that was investing himself in acts of justice, mercy and grace.  Radicals get that people care about outward appearances, not God.  Radicals will never complain about what they do and don’t like in worship on Sundays because they get that worship is not for them, but for HIM, and furthermore, worship is about a whole lot more than an hour on Sunday!  

Radicals drive the religious absolutely nuts and that is why they don’t seem to last long.  The religious crucify them every chance they get.  There is just one problem…radicals breed like rabbits. Radicals have a faith that is contagious and while the religious are planning their next crucifixion, God raises up 10 more radicals scatters them in fresh soil where the religious don’t yet see them coming and for 2000 years the church has grown and grown and grown!

This Sunday, you will see first hand 27 radicals go into the waters of baptism!  One of these radicals called me today.  He said, “Chad, I have been in and out of church most of my life.  I am now in my sixties and realize that I have never actually committed my life fully to Christ.  I am ready to live a new life in Christ whatever it takes.  I want to be baptized on Sunday to start living this new life.”  Wow!  That’s radical.  I can’t wait till Sunday when we get to see what God will do with radicals like that!  

If you don’t want to be radicalized this Sunday, then I suggest you stay home and watch TV or go to the mall, because this Sunday the radicals among us just won’t make room for any phony religiosity.  

I thank God for you, LH, for being a bunch of crazy radicals for Jesus!  Even if the religious kill you, they will never be able to stop what God has, is and will do through you!