The Problem with Christianity is....The Christians!

Written by David DiCrescenzo on . Posted in FAITH

This is an issue I've been meaning to write about for months.  To lay a little ground work, I'll describe myself and my basic thoughts on Christianity.  I call myself a Christian because I believe and know in my heart that Jesus was and is the promised Messiah foretold by the prophets in the Old Testament.  From His birth, to His death and resurrection, He fulfilled every prophecy concerning the coming Messiah.  I believe and understand that He came to earth to bridge the gap between God and man which was created way back in Genesis with original sin known as the fall. 

I believe God bridged this gap by sending Jesus, the Perfect Sacrificial Lamb as a final atonement offering for the sins of mankind, and that final atoning sacrifice washes away the sins of all who accept it.  I'll talk about this a little more in a few minutes, but let's have a look at something regarding original sin, because I think it escapes many people.  God doesn't grade sin as we do.  That is to say, all sin is against His will, and it is punishable by death.  To back that up; in Genesis, Adam and Eve had only one, (1) rule to obey and live by, and that was not to eat the fruit of a certain tree, under penalty of death.  Death for eating a certain fruit!

Now, put that into context.  Eating a piece of fruit doesn't seem like a big deal to anyone, and may even sound very harsh to most.  However, it was a huge deal to God because He didn't say, "I'd prefer you didn't," or "may I suggest that you don't."  He said NO!  We as fleshly humans can't fathom imposing a death penalty for such a 'minor' offense, however God sees all sin the same, and as such, since we are born into sin, we are all thieves, murderers, and adulterers in His sight.    

While I don't understand the complexity of God, (it's impossible for a mere flesh and blood human to do so) I accept the Biblical teaching that He is Triune in nature, which is to say I believe that The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are One being with several facets.  There are lots of analogies one could use; I like to think of the simple Three Leaf Clover; three separate leaves, but considered as one. 

While those opening paragraphs barely scratch the surface, and I haven't pulled out my Bible or quoted scripture; in essence, and all the different denominations aside, I believe the vast majority of Bible believing Christians would agree that such basic understanding and acceptance of His sacrifice, and humbling oneself before Him are qualifiers of the Christian label. 

As Christians, we are also led by the Holy Spirit to live a 'Christ like' existence as a witness to the world of His saving Grace and Love, and while we all struggle due to our underlying sin nature, (which again, we are born with) most do our best to walk with Him as best we know how.  Most importantly, we are to love Him and one another and extend that love to all others, whether or not we actually like each other, and in spite of any differences we may have.

Therein lies the problem.  While most Christians would agree with the essence of the above, very brief outline, a lot of gray areas and disagreements arise within the different denominations and some individuals.  I dare say most of those gray areas surround doctrinal issues, interpretations, preferences, picking and choosing, traditions, and a host of other issues that are mostly very pragmatic in nature.  It is my belief that many, while they understand this basic premise, get caught up in 'legalism,' much like the Pharrissees and Saducees of old.  Such men were so caught up in trying to be 'holy' and obey every single rule, (many of which were man made traditions with little or no actual meaning) they lost site of the fact that it is impossible for sinful mankind to live out anything even resembling a perfect life.  It's why animal sacrifices were necessary as temporary atonement for sins before the final Atonement offered by Jesus came into play.

Sadly, todays modern Pharrissees and Saducees, (think SNL 'church lady') not only don't live up to the picture of what a loving Christian should look like, in their self-righteousness, they often lead fellow Christians astray, and they turn away non-believers from ever desiring a personal relationship with God.  My experience is that many times, such individuals are so caught up in their own smug self-righteousness, that they will say and do things they criticize others for. 

I'll offer some examples of what I'm referring to.  I know many people that are more 'pious' than me; that is to say, they attend more church events and fellowship gatherings than I'm able to, they can effortlessly quote scripture relating to any given subject at the drop of a hat, they don't do this or that, they go to bed every night thinking they've got it locked down tight, and they tend to look down on others that don't do the same.  Still, I know others that are more 'pious' than me who are much more understanding and accepting of my 'failings' and the failings of others in and out of the church, or body of Christ if you prefer.

Let me talk about some of my failings for a minute so that I'm not being ambiguous, (this is a very short list by the way, there's lots more).  Bearing in mind my opening statements and that I do completely believe in and accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior; just like the rest of the body, I fall short every day.  I enjoy the company of my pious and not so pious Christian as well as my non-Christian friends and I pray daily that they will come to know Jesus, (maybe through the way I mostly conduct myself, or who knows).  While for the most part, I do go out of my way in an attempt to behave myself accordingly, I have been known to have a glass of wine or a beer or two now and then, smoke a good cigar when the mood strikes me, perhaps dance, and, (gasp) I've been known to spice my language with an off color word on occasion.  I can't count the number of times I've asked my pastor and friends to keep me in prayer for some of my daily struggles, which he and they do without being judgemental; at least not so I notice.   

It's kind of amusing to me to even mention these things, because at the end of the day, whether anyone thinks these things are a big deal or not, my Lord and Savior knows me, He knows my heart, and He loves me so much, that He died a humiliating and brutal death on a Roman Cross for me.  And here is where I'll get a little biblical; Romans 6:23 says..."the wages of sin is death," and Isaiah 64:6 says..."All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away."  The first quote illustrates why He came and died on that Cross; it was because of MY sin.  I deserved to die on that cross, as we all did, but He, (being completely sinless and without fault) took all of our collective sin, once and for all, upon His shoulders and accepted the "wages of sin" for us, DIED, and once again proved His Deity by being resurrected three days later, before ascending to Heaven for all eyes present to see.  All He asks us to do is accept that sacrifice and do the best we can to walk with Him in a broken, fallen world until such time as He comes back to restore it. 

Like the Pharrissees and Saduccees who thought they were righteous by following the law, many of today's Christians don't understand the simple message of Isaiah, and that is this; if we could do something on our own to gain favor in God's eyes, He wouldn't have needed to send His Son here to take the "wages of sin" for us.  I'm not suggesting that His sacrifice constitutes a license for us to sin, but it was necessary because try as we might not to, we're all going to mess up.

As I sign off on this issue for today, if you call yourself a Christian, ask yourself some or all of these questions, or maybe come up with a few of your own.  Do you fit the mold of a Pharrissee or a Saduccee in thoughts or actions?  Would you have taunted Jesus back then, or dropped to your knees in His presence?  Would you have been an inquistor in Spain?  Might you have burned a 'witch' at the stake in Massachusetts?  Have you ever libeled, slandered, intentionally harmed or tried to harm a brother or sister, or anyone for that matter, over some perceived wrong, or disparaged and thrown rocks at fellow Christians and or non-believers only to sanctimoniously hide behind a Cross?  Have you ever lusted, either in thought or deed?  Have you ever done or said anything to a fellow Christian because they aren't Christian enough to suit your idea of what a 'real' Christian is? 

Don't answer me, because being guilty of any, and I surely am, I'm automatically guilty as charged on all counts; however, have a heart to heart talk to Him about it and see where He leads you.