Allen Jackson - The Challenge of Belief - Part 2
We’re living in a season when the church is struggling. Church with a capital C, not a single congregation. There’s amazing churches and remarkable churches, I did an interview recently with one of the leading statisticians on evangelicalism in North America and the statistics are very, very unsettling: the diminishment of biblical worldview, the engagement in formal gatherings like this. I mean, the church is struggling. We’re a bit addled. It feels pretty biblical to me. I think current events have left us in stunned silence. The things that are being said in public, the things that we are watching, they’re hard to process. And we step into our churches and we read our passages from the Scriptures and we look through the windows of our churches and what’s happening out there is so dramatically different than what we’re reading and what we’ve imagined it’s hard to assimilate it.
I could pick almost any aspect of our culture and we could talk about it. We’re being overwhelmed currently with illegal activity, and we have been a nation founded upon the rule of law. I mean, from our inception until today the laws haven’t always been godly. There have been some seasons that were very ungodly, but those principles have bound us together. And in recent years, and I don’t mean the last 2 or 3 or 4 but in a broader period, they’ve been put in a shredder things that were foundational to our well-being, simple things like the boundaries of a nation. I’ve had the privilege of traveling a good bit. I’ve got a little blue passport. It’s necessary for me to enter other countries, and it’s necessary for me to re-enter this country. I’ve been in times and places with people who lost their passports. It’s a problem. I’ve had to go stand in line at consulates to help people get papers to come into the country.
I’ve had to find alternative forms. It’s not a simple thing. And in recent years, and it’s more than a single administration whichever side of the political spectrum you stand on, just take a deep breath for a moment. This isn’t politics, this is the reality of the world we live in. We took our borders down. We will lose our freedoms and liberties without that. That’s not an expression of hatred any more than locking the doors on your home or not leaving the keys in your car is an expression of hatred, and most unsettling it was facilitated by the people with authority over us and they were telling us it was our imagination. We’re a nation of immigrants. We’ve been built upon policies of immigration from the nations of the world. And it will inform and define our future, but we can do it in an orderly process, in a legal process.
Counseling millions of people to do something illegally as a means of joining us is a very bad precedent to establish. Another thing that’s not normal that we’ve been watching for some years now is this censorship, the diminishment of free speech. You’ll be deplatformed. You’ll be shut down. If somebody disagrees with you, they can say, «Well, what you said was hateful and you don’t have a right to say that». That is not what has brought strength to us as a people. It’s confusing. It’s disorienting. Recently they’ve been uncovering hundreds of billions of dollars, our tax dollars that have been stolen, fraudulently directed, wasted while those in authority have been demanding more. That’s unsettling. You think, «Oh, that can’t be true».
They wouldn’t be paying Social Security benefits to hundreds of people that are more than 120 years old. They wouldn’t be paying unemployment benefits to people not born yet. Nobody would do that. It’s disorienting. You think, «Well, somebody is making that up». And then there’s data. Then we get mad at the messenger. «Why would you tell us that? It’s uncomfortable». Our justice system has been weaponized. We’ve had bad seasons of justice in this nation when it was perverted. We’ve worked very diligently to overcome that. We’ve watched something happening in recent years that’s very uncomfortable. It’s not left to those arena. Our churches, our denominations, our Christian schools and universities have stepped away from biblical authority. They are boldly, brazenly, frequently, determinedly advocating for false gospels, inserting things like DEI and CRT. It’s disorienting.
You think, «Wait a minute. That’s the tradition I grew up in. I’ve got a heritage there». Just about any arena we pick up. The deterioration of trust in our public institutions. You know, I grew up with a tremendous degree of reverence for the basic sciences. I started my academic career that way. And we’ve seen the deterioration of trust in places that I thought were cornerstones of trust. Well, the CDC, places like the FBI. It’s bizarre. It’s unsettling. Churches have not been trustworthy. Institutions have not been trustworthy. We have powerful voices, celebrities, influential people calling evil good and good evil and all of that rolled together leaves the people of faith addled. We’re like the disciples who were looking at an empty tomb going, «Jeez, I wonder where they hid the body». It isn’t that we haven’t heard the truth, that we haven’t known the truth.
We’ve understood the definition of marriage. We understand the definition of family. Those are not expressions of hate. It’s the blueprint for flourishing. We understand the notion of the sanctity of human life and why children deserve the voice of those who can protect them, but the messaging is confusing. It cascades over us like a waterfall, and I feel like we’ve been as addled and we’re as off balance as the disciples were when they went to the Garden of Gethsemane, into that empty tomb. They couldn’t stay awake and pray with Jesus, and they couldn’t interpret what was happening around them.
So I want to wrap this up with some good news; some things that are true that I believe you can count on, that you can bet your future on, that you can plan your eternity on. They’re not just Allen’s opinion, they’re rooted in the fundamental precepts of Scripture. They’re biblical statements to be candid that I think we struggle to believe. There are so many voices competing with so many competing messages that you’re not sure these are reliable. I want to give them to you this Easter weekend as bedrock of our faith. The first is that Jesus of Nazareth is unique. He’s not one of many ways to God. He’s not one of several options that will enable you to a land at the same place. There’s been no one else like him in human history.
In your notes in John 14 and verse 6, Jesus said, «I’m the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me». Jesus is either the only way to the Father or he’s a deceiver. I choose to believe him. He’s changed my life. I’ve met multiplied thousands of people whose lives have been transformed when they chose to acknowledge Jesus is Lord of their life. It’s beyond understanding. I mean, I could give you the facts and the principles of the summary. I suspect most of you know them. But the reality is Jesus said there’s no other way. «No one will make their way into the kingdom of God except through me». We have good news for the world. Everyone is welcome at the foot of the cross. Doesn’t matter whether we’re male or female, short or tall, whether our IQ is high or low. Doesn’t matter about our economic status or the color of our skin. The ground at the foot of the cross is level.
Jesus of Nazareth has changed everything. He is the way, the truth, and the life and I don’t care you say something else. I don’t care if it comes from a pulpit of an elaborate community of faith. I don’t care if it comes from a powerful politician or a celebrated athlete. I choose to believe what Jesus has said to us, and I would invite you to do the same. I know there’ll be competing voices. There’ll be competing voices in your own heart. There are in mine from time to time. But Jesus is unique. There’s a component of his kingdom that I would tell you about, and it’s a second point of belief and it’s good news.
The message Jesus brought to us is framed by grace and mercy. Grace is favor that you don’t deserve. You didn’t earn it. It’s an expression of the character of God towards you. Mercy is when you deserve judgment or punishment and it’s withdrawn. Jesus’s message to you and me is a message of grace and mercy; that we can be forgiven no matter who we’ve been or where we’ve been; no matter how deep the pit, how dark the ungodliness, how perversed our thoughts. If we will come to him and acknowledge our condition, we can receive grace and mercy. Look at Romans chapter 2 and verse 4. Says, «Do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you towards repentance»?
Now, there’s a piece of this equation that I have to tell you. It’s lost in much of contemporary evangelicalism. The grace and mercy of God are not infinite. There is an end to them. If there was no end to the grace and mercy of God, there would be no story of Noah. If there was no end to the grace and mercy of God, there would be no story of Lot. Grace and mercy are not infinite. There is a purpose for grace and a purpose for mercy. We just read it in Romans chapter 2. God’s kindness is intended to lead you towards repentance. The purpose for grace and mercy is to lead us to repentance. Repentance is a change of mind that results in a change of behavior. We live in a culture that needs to repent, but it will require the people of faith to have an attitude of repentance. The purpose of grace and mercy is not license. It’s not about sloppy Christianity.
The reason God shows us grace and mercy is to give us an opportunity to change our mind and change our thought. One more component, one more fact I don’t want you to question or doubt. We’re going to look at Luke 7, and this is the principle to whom those that are forgiven much love much. Seems so simple, but it gets lost in religious people. I’ve spent my adult life in the midst of religious people. Jesus is in a home. There’s a woman who’s come and knelt at Jesus’s feet, and it’s offended Jesus’s host and Jesus turns to his host and speaks to him. And he said to the woman, «Toward the woman and said to Simon, 'Do you see this woman? I came into your house. And you didn’t give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and she wiped them with her hair.'»
That’s a pretty humbling expression, isn’t it? You can understand why the host is a bit upset. This woman has a reputation not as the most godly in the community. She’s kneeling at Jesus’s feet with her tears dripping upon him and she’s wiping them with her hair. Jesus’s rather religious host is offended, and Jesus is bringing to him a bit of correction. He said, «'You didn’t put oil on my head, and she’s poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven, for she loved much. But he’s been forgiven little loves little.' And Jesus said to her, 'Your sins are forgiven.' And the other guests began to say amongst themselves, 'Who is this who even forgives sins? '»
That strikes me that the other people at the table chose to align themselves with their host and not with the woman that Jesus is commending. But here’s the question. In your own imagination, have you been forgiven little or have you been forgiven much? And I’ll tell you how to understand that. It’s not about the depth of your sin. It’s not trying to evaluate whether you’ve committed big sin or little sin, gross sin or minor sin. The question about whether you’ve been forgiven little or forgiven much is directly connected to whether you have repented little or you have repented much. Self-perception is very, very important; how you see yourself, how you understand yourself, your self-awareness. When Peter was confronted the first time with the power of God through Jesus’s ministry, Peter said, «Go away from me. I’m a sinful man». And Jesus said to him, «Come, follow me. I’ll make you a fisher of men».
And he took Peter. Peter had a hard time. Peter’s mouth would run ahead of his brain almost every time. One of my favorite stories of Jesus’s ministry is when a father came to Jesus with a great need for his child and Jesus said, «If you have faith, everything is possible». And the man said, «Oh, I believe». And then you could almost hear his brain engage and he said, «Oh, but help my unbelief». That’s my invitation to you this Easter weekend; to establish that Jesus of Nazareth is Lord, Christ, and king, that he’s unique; to understand that every one of us needs to receive mercy and grace, that every one of us need an attitude of repentance and humility that says, «God, if there’s anything in me».
The problem in our culture is not the person that you imagine to be your adversary. It’s not the person of another political party. It’s not the person of another denomination. It’s not the person of a behavior that you don’t approve of. The challenge we face right now is the indifference of the people of faith. If we can change, if we can have our lives ignited to the reality of the power of God, what we’re watching is difficult to process. It will take the Holy Spirit to help us discern truth from fiction in the world in which we live. It will take the Holy Spirit to help us be prepared for what’s coming on the earth. It’s going to intensify, but we don’t have to be frightened any more than the disciples had to be frightened in Jerusalem. Were they afraid? They were locked in a room, but Jesus stepped into the room and said, «All right, now we got to go».
And they’re forever changed. And I believe the Spirit of God is walking throughout the earth this Easter weekend, stepping into the midst of countless gatherings of people saying it’s time to move, and I want to give you that invitation. Let’s use this as a benchmark. Let’s put a line in the sand, a stake in the ground and say, «That Easter weekend I took a position in the kingdom of God to walk forward in a new way». I’m going to invite you to say a little prayer with me and then we’re going to take communion next. But we’re going to say a prayer first. I’m going to ask you to pray with me, and then we’re going to receive Communion and I’m going to pray for you. I’m going to ask you just to close your eyes for a minute, forget the people around you, and repeat this little prayer with me.
We’re going to do exactly what We just talked about. We’re going to acknowledge Jesus as Lord, we’re going to ask him to forgive our sins, and then we’re going to say to him, «We’ll follow you». If you’ve never prayed that before, this is a good time to begin. If you’ve prayed it a thousand times, one more won’t hurt you. I want that part of my life to be fresh and alive and vibrant. Will you say this prayer with me? All right. «Almighty God…» Well, you can speak louder than that, folks. I’ve been to ball games. This many people would run folks off. Use your outdoor voice, if you will. «Almighty God, I’m a sinner and I need a Savior. I believe Jesus is your Son, that he died on a cross for my sin, and that you raised him to life again that I might be justified. Forgive me of my sin, and I forgive all those who’ve sinned against me. Jesus, be Lord of my life. All that I am, all that I have, all that I’ll ever be, I want to serve you. Amen». Hallelujah.
That prayer will change your life. It will change your life. Now, having made that statement, we have the freedom to come to the Communion table. It’s a reminder of what Jesus did for us on the cross. On that cross there was a divinely-ordered exchange that took place. The innocent, sinless, obedient Son of God took all of the punishment that was due by divine justice for my godlessness and my rebellion, and yours as well. That exchange, he took the punishment for my godlessness that I might have the blessings of his perfect obedience. And every time we come to the communion table, we come in faith to receive what Jesus made available to us. Certainly the forgiveness of our sins, but also his life in our body, his peace in our minds, his provision for our lives, his direction as we navigate our way through time; so that whatever challenge you may have come to this Easter service with, Jesus has made complete provision for through his redemptive work on the cross.
Now, that is good news. It’s more powerful than any government program, any government agency. It’s more powerful than any other expression of power known to human beings. I’m not saying those things aren’t real or powerful, but the power of God expressed towards you and me through the redemptive work of Jesus is the most powerful force that you and I will ever experience. And tonight we’re coming to the communion table. Whatever you may have brought to this place tonight where you need God’s help, we’re going to ask him and we’re going to invite him into the midst of that. All right, in those little bags you had, you’ve got the elements of Communion.
If you haven’t found them yet, if you have, if you peel back that top cellophane layer you can get to that wafer. Some of you have heard me say I used to say if there’s sin into your life you won’t be able to get it open until one service I couldn’t get mine open and some camera operator zeroed in on it. I got my wafer out tonight. But we’re going to come as disciples to receive the bread and the body of Jesus. It was the night Jesus was betrayed. Just before they went to Gethsemane and he was betrayed by Judas, he celebrated the Passover meal with the disciples. The beginning of the meal he took bread and said, «This bread is my body broken for you. As often as you eat this, do this in remembrance of me».
Let’s receive together. And then he took a cup and he said, «This cup is a new covenant sealed with my own blood. As often as you drink it, you proclaim my death until you see me again». Let’s receive together. Will you stand with me for this prayer? Are you ready to receive? I pray you are. You see, receiving from God begins in our heart. The reluctance isn’t on God’s side of the equation, the reluctance begins within us. Sometimes there’s so much emotion. There’s fear. There’s anxiety. There’s hatred. We’ve been rejected and we’re afraid God will reject us, and it takes a seed of faith in our hearts. God said he’s given every one of us a measure of faith. You have everything you need tonight to invite God into your life if you’ll take the bold step in your heart of saying, «Father, I believe in you. I trust you. I trust you’re real. I trust you’re able. I trust your love for me. I trust your compassion for me». I want to invite you to receive tonight as we pray.
Heavenly Father, I thank you that in your great love for us you sent your Son to offer himself as a sacrifice on a cross that we might have life. And as we gather before you tonight on this campus, across our nation, and around the earth, I thank you that you have made a way for us to be clean, to be justified, to be forgiven, to be acquitted; that we can be sanctified, set apart for your purposes; that every claim that Satan may have had against us has been canceled through the blood of Jesus. And as we have received the bread and the cup now, we receive your life, your health into our bodies, your peace into our minds. I thank you for your protection over our lives, our homes, our futures. I thank you for your provision; that just as you guided and directed our friends in the Gospels, that you are guiding and directing your friends in the earth today. And I thank you for the presence of your Spirit in our lives, that you are raising up a triumphant church; a church bold, a church courageous, a church willing to serve and to honor you. And we thank you for the great honor and privilege of being included. In Jesus’s name, amen.