A Christ-Less Christianity?
"Is there any way I can help my daughter without Jesus Christ?"
Certain my facial expression registered sheer horror, I grappled with how to reply to this mother whose daughter was lesbian.
Standing in front of several hundred people exacerbated my horror - even though I knew Christianity was not a predominant religion in Hong Kong where I was speaking.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
I eventually answered her query, but later thought, "This mother has actually put into words what is often proclaimed by some people - a 'Christ-less Christianity.'"
Some people speak of their faith as a "thing".
Several years ago, a woman told me she had shared her "faith" with a "gay couple" in her neighborhood. When I asked how the neighbors responded to Jesus Christ, she said "Oh, I did not talk about Jesus; I only talked about my faith."
How do you do that? How do you talk about astronomy without addressing celestial bodies?
During this season, some retailers will promote a "Christ-less Christmas." Believers should first be concerned with a Christ-less Christianity.
Speaking with a former homosexual who wanted to "test" her upcoming testimony on me, I listened closely. She had been invited to speak at a much celebrated support group ministry- for which I have great respect. As she reached a crucial point, I suggested, "this is a great time to throw the spotlight on Jesus Christ." Her answer both gripped and griped me, "Oh, the support group's leaders want us to promote the ministry."
I was left wondering if I had misread Psalm 121:2. "My help comes from the Lord."
If a blurb of spoken words does not include Jesus Christ, a testimony has not been shared; only a story has been told.
Revelation 12:11 says that believers overcame the accuser by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony." Possibly the best definition of a testimony comes from Jesus Himself after He healed the man from Gadara. Mark 5:18-19 reads "As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man…begged to go with him. Jesus did not let him, but said, "Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you."
When I first began sharing my testimony of freedom from homosexuality in 1996, it sounded more like "what great things 'I' had done for the Lord." But in truth, the only thing I can contribute to God's redemptive plan is my sinfulness.
A testimony of God's mercy focuses on Jesus Christ.
An old spiritual both asks and answers a question – "Where can I go, but to the Lord."
John Eldridge writes, "Healing does not happen apart from intimacy with Jesus Christ."
After Jesus fed a multitude miraculously, some Pharisees asked Jesus to show them a "sign from heaven." (Mark 8:11) Ironically, The "Sign from heaven" was standing in front of them.
Blessed is the man or woman who admits they need help and find it in Christ Jesus.
He is not a means to an end; He is the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And all God's fullness dwells in Him. (Cross Ministry)
