Grace and Truth (Part 2) - The Adulteress's Story
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Hopefully, you have already read part one of this post. If you haven’t, go ahead and read that first, otherwise this might not make sense. I have been attending an evangelical church for over 30 years, the past 24+ have been in the role of Pastor’s Wife, which kind of qualifies me as an insider. (I don’t consider that a badge of honor, just a bit of info, that might help you understand where I’m coming from.) Over the past several years I’ve seen a shift in church culture which has me both grateful, and troubled at the same time.
As I was growing up in the church, so much emphasis was placed on “being good”, “establishing godly disciplines” and “doing the right thing”. We strove to become godly by trying harder. Christians were expected to be different from the world, and much of that was based on the clothes we wore, the way our hair was cut, the music we listened to, and the list of “rules” we followed. When I entered a Christian university in 1990 I signed a statement that I would not attend movies, dance, or use playing cards, among other things. In one church I attended, the youth group was only allowed to sing doctrinally sound songs from the church hymnal. The church culture I was most familiar with was heavy on truth, but light on grace. Not much different from the Scribes and Pharisees of Jesus’ day.
There was not much room in my early experience with Christianity for authenticity, struggle, or “Messy Christianity” as my friends and I liked to call it. I’ve always bristled at the facade of perfect people of who could not be real about the struggles of life this side of Heaven. I didn’t know how to reconcile the seemingly squeaky clean lives of believers around me with the sin I wrestled with in my own heart.
I have spent the last several decades advocating authenticity, vulnerability and brokenness. And I am not the only one. There has been a push back to that “list-following, rule-keeping” type of legalism that used to permeate the church. Consequently, there has been a much need shift in the Church. So much so, that the buzzwords of Christianity have become words like “authenticity”, “acceptance”, “brokenness”, and even “tolerance.” A phrase I hear often, among Christians, is “No judgment here.”
Fortunately, the Church has come to the realization that righteousness cannot be legislated, and imposing rules on people does nothing to move them closer to the heart of God. I celebrate the fact that we have embraced the truth that, as Christians, our lives are often messy. But, somewhere, the lines between… “I am struggling to walk authentically with God in the midst of my brokenness”, and… “God accepts me in my brokenness and I have no need of change,” have gotten blurred. There is a fine line here to be sure. Yes, Jesus welcomes sinners with arms wide open. No matter their sin, no matter their shame. We all come to Jesus just as we are. Like the woman caught in adultery. We come guilty, and embroiled in sin. But He does not leave us that way. That is the hope of the gospel! That is the good news. We have been set free from shame and sin. We have been given a newfound freedom and even the ability, to “go and sin no more.” Jesus did not expect that the woman would never sin again. But He did expect her life pattern to change.
Have we evolved so much in our thinking, that although we no longer attempt to legislate righteousness, we no longer even expect it? Or strive for it? Are we so accepting of the brokenness of ourselves and others that we have forgotten that Jesus is the Healer, the Forgiver, and the One who makes us a new creation? Have we, in our desire for authenticity, abandoned the pursuit of holiness?
We are broken people. We live after the fall. There really is no room for pretending to be all put together. So can we admit that “Perfect Christianity “is a myth? At the same time, can we admit that true Christianity is Christ-in-us, Christ living through us and transforming us into His likeness? The message of the gospel is simple. Repent. Believe. Come as you are and Jesus will turn your life upside down. And I don’t mean that we get haircuts, stop using playing cards, or only sing hymns. What I mean is that our lives begin to change from the inside out. The Holy Spirit takes up residence within us. Our appetites, priorities, desires and pursuits change. Our choices change. The ways we spend our time and our money change. The things that bring us joy and laughter change. We become different. Set apart. “Holy” as the Bible calls it.
I will forever promote authentic, life-in-the-struggle Christianity. I will encourage others to come to Jesus in all of their lost-heartedness. I will remind us that He came for the poor, the prisoner, the blind and the broken. He came to bring fullness, freedom, sight and wholeness. He also came to transform us ever more into the likeness of Jesus. And so, at the risk of being taken for a judgmental, hypocritical Christian, I encourage you, to remember Jesus’ words. “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on, sin no more.”