Allow me to begin by saying that I believe the grace of the cross of Jesus Christ is available to all (ie: its free for the asking) and accessible to all (free for the taking). While I believe Jesus died for the sins of the whole world, I do not believe the whole world will be saved/rescued/redeemed from their sins. Why? Because I do not believe the whole world will recognize their need for grace and respond to the amazing offer of freedom and forgiveness that exists for them in the person of Jesus Christ. The scope of the saving grace of the cross is universal in the sense that God desires to see his whole creation redeemed, but God built in an element of personal responsibility that keeps some from choosing the cross.

The church has strayed from preaching a gospel that calls folks to personal responsibility for sin. We have strayed from a theology of redemption that presumes the need for it. If coming to Christ is no different than choosing which restaurant to eat at we’re in big trouble. When we come to Christ we ought to have an abiding sense of our absolute need for his grace. I think many mainline denominations are more concerned with not hurting people’s feelings than speaking the truth about their need for grace. Using the word “sin” in church is almost like using hate speech in public. Perhaps we don’t have the stomach for confronting the human dilemma because we want to highlight the role of grace and love. But it seems to me grace and love are pointless until and unless one realizes one’s need for a life-changing encounter with God’s grace and love.

I do not mean this post to sound like I am a radical, Bible thumping preacher who knows the way and everyone else is damned to hell in a hand basket. And believe me, if you’ve been reading this blog this is maybe the second time in almost two years that I’ve even touched the issue of sin. But recently I’ve been wrestling with the reality of sin and our desperate need for God’s grace. Church, we have a responsibility to speak the truth of humanity’s need for God’s grace. It is sin that disrupts our intimate, loving connection to God. To call it anything else is heretical and untrue. We need a revival of sin (preaching and teaching about sin with courage and honesty in our churches) so that our appreciation for grace might also be renewed.

In our haste to be inclusive we have, I fear, betrayed our essential mission which is to call those outside the faith to become disciples of Jesus Christ. When we reach out we are calling people to abandon their devotion to sin and self and to embrace an entirely new master as a member of a new Kingdom-the Kingdom of heaven. Our fear that people’s feelings will be hurt will pale in comparison to the tragedy of their lostness following them into an eternity spent away from the loving, glorious presence of God.

In our efforts to include people and welcome them into the community life of our churches we must simultaneously call them to embrace Christ. It is our common connection to Christ that drives all we do together in Christian community: our worship, preaching, teaching, study, and serving. Let us boldly confront our own issues of sin, let’s get real about the fact that we still struggle following conversion, and let’s become healthy communities of grace where the transforming power of God’s Holy Spirit is alive and well.

Let us praise God for God’s mighty acts in our midst as we see more and more people living victoriously over sin empowered by God’s Holy Spirit alive and at work in their hearts. We cannot water down truth to make it more palatable for others to hear or easier for us to share. The truth is we are broken, messed up humans living in a broken messed up world and we don’t have a prayer without Jesus. Jesus’ sacrificial gift sets us free from our striving to be good. As we receive his grace we are redeemed from our sins and restored into a life-giving relationship with God the Father. That is the truth that people are longing to hear and experience in their lives.

Just my two cents!