Amazing Grace

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

These words describe perfectly what being a Christian is. None of us are perfect. All of us are sinners, yet by the grace of God, we are no longer going to be judged for our sins. Jesus Christ came and took the sins of the whole world upon his shoulders, and died for those sins. He paid the price so we wouldn't have to, because none of us are worthy of salvation alone. Ephesians 2:8-9 says,
"For it is by grace we have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works so that no one can boast."

What a great message. Yet so many people have trouble with this concept. It is our job to spread this message, yet some people just can't come to grips with the fact that we are inherently flawed, and that we are sinners. Only by the grace of God can we be saved. These groups constantly come to the plaza at CSU with their signs that berate people for living lives of sin, and tell them to leave those lifestyles before it is too late. They quote Bible verses about how all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, but ignore the ones that tell us how we can make up for this inadequacy. They yell at people as they walk by, calling them liars, thieves, adulterers, and slanderers. But they ignore the point.

I once watched a Christian college student debate an old man standing on a rock about the validity of what he was saying. This old man had been standing on the rock for several mornings, yelling at students to turn away from their sinful lives. He'd been using Bible verses condemning sin and emphasizing the consequences of living a sinful lifestyle. In the end, though, the college student asked, "Biblically, what does a person have to do to be saved?" The old man would not admit that it is not through works we are saved, but through the grace of Christ. The college student eventually left and the old man went back to preaching, having learned nothing.

While I question the validity, and in some cases, mental stability of some of the so called "Christian" groups that come to campus, I have to conclude based off their methods that they are driving more people away from Christianity than they are helping. I believe this problem extends far beyond the "Crazy old man" and the "Sign carrying crazies" on the plaza. Look at the news today. Almost every story about Christians is a negative one. Look at Ted Haggard. A great pastor, with great influence all around the world, was caught living in sinful lifestyle contrary to his beliefs. Do I still believe that Ted Haggard will go to heaven? Absolutely. Do I think that he was any more holy than any other Christian? Absolutely not. Romans 3:10 says “There is no one righteous, not even one." I know that Ted Haggard is just a man saved by grace, that makes mistakes.

However, what does the rest of the world see? They see a man that was supposed to lead by example caught doing the exact opposite of what he preached. They think that if they can't trust Ted Haggard, why should they trust any other Christians. On the CSU campus, the students see Christians as a group that preaches that they are perfect, and to be saved, everyone else needs to be perfect too. This, of course, is not true at all, but that is how we are perceived. This perception of us is the most damaging thing that could ever happen. Now, we not only have to fight to get our message across, we have to fight to even get people to listen to us.

I think what we need to do is go on the offensive. I don't mean go stand on college campuses and throw Bibles at people. I think that we need to try to reach more people with the love of Christ. Jesus spent his time on earth helping the poor, the needy, and the suffering. Why don't we do the same thing? Why don't we step outside of our little Christian bubbles and do what Jesus did, help the people that needed him. Lets go shovel driveways after it snows, or rake leaves, or help out wherever the community needs us. Lets make the word Christian synonymous with love and service instead of yelling and preaching. I propose letting our message flow through our actions instead of our words. Eventually, people are going to start wondering what is different about us (in a good way), and that is the best time to share your faith, not by preaching the love of Jesus, then going back to our little Christian hideaway.

One more thought. A friend of mine at church recently said that we are supposed to be in the world but not of it, but most Christians today are in the world and think they are above it. We are never going to help anyone by staying at the base. We need to be out in the trenches, being friends to people that need Jesus. If you are a Christian and don't have any non-Christian friends, go meet some. Don't shove your faith at them, but show them the love of Christ through your actions. This is the only way we are going to be able to effectively share our faith. Let me close with part of Matthew 28 - the great commission :

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age