• Person who has a basic idea that there is a God
  • All they have seen is a ritualistic religion
  • Believe that if there is a God, they have nothing to fear because on the whole they have been pretty good
  • They have an inner emptiness and lack of meaning
  • Not satisfied with the explanation of ltuae secular pundits give

1. You have to take part in rituals
   • rituals were part of the way God taught the nation of Israel to worship him 3,000 years ago
   • however, the rituals were like acted out pictorial lessons
     • we do that kind of thing now, e.g. at weddings it is traditional for them to arrive separately but leave together
   • for example, the ritual of burning sweet incense was a picture prayer and how God enjoyed it when they talked to him
   • Many of the rituals were to teach them about what God would do for them in the future, when he sent Jesus
     • E.g. the picture of their guilt being transferred to a lamb prepared them for Jesus who would take away our guilt
   • When Jesus came, he specifically said that he fulfilled all the rituals
   • Just like a “Tim Horton’s Coming Soon”
     • But it would be totally inappropriate to keep the sign up
   • similarly for a married couple to always insist that when ever they went anywhere they should arrive separately...

2. God only accepts people who are “good”
   • Jesus said “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners (Luke 5)
     • explain
   • So actually the opposite is true: God is not interested in those who are self-righteous, but those who need him
   • Nobody has done too much wrong for God to love them

3. I need a priest
   • Just like there were rituals 3,000 years ago, there were priests
   • People couldn’t come to God directly because of God’s purity
   • They needed an intermediary who was on the one hand pure enough for God’s presence, and on the other was human so as to relate to us
     • The priests of course were not really pure, it was another picture
   • The reality that the priests pointed to was the ultimate priest
     • God himself in the form of Jesus, who actually took on human form
   • He fulfilled the requirement of an intermediary: pure as God, yet human as us
   • So we can simply pray to God directly, through the help of Jesus
     • “For there is one God and one intermediary between God and humanity, Christ Jesus, himself human” [1Tim 2:5]
   • Now it wrong to have priests and Jesus forbade them among his followers

4. Some places are “holy”
   • Some people think that if they want to pray, it is better to go into a church building
   • Never in the Bible was a place special in and of itself
   • Places were only ever special if God showed his presence there, and only for as long as his presence was there
   • God has said that right now he is present every time we gather together
     • It makes absolutely no difference if it is gym, a cave or out of doors
   • but even if we were meeting in a church building, the moment we leave it is just another building

5. It’s about giving money
   • throughout history there have been people who have thought they can buy their way into God’s favour
     • But in the Bible it is the opposite: Jesus and his followers were deeply offended when people tried to gain God’s favour with money
   • God makes it clear that he owns everything and needs nothing
     • However, when people want to freely and willingly give to God’s work, he is pleased
     • God loves people to be generous, because he himself is generous, and will give back more than is given

6. Christians are Hypocrites
   • Many people have had a bad experience with someone who claimed to be a Christian
     • Maybe a parent or authority figure
   • Some point to TV preachers who are always asking for money are accurate representatives of Christianity
   • Jesus said to his followers “Freely you have received, freely give”
     • but since the beginning there have been people who have tried to turn Christianity into a business
   • not everyone who asks for money is wrong—there is nothing wrong with donations to cover expenses
     • but unfortunately many times it has obscured the message
   • the term “Christian” has been badly abused
     • If you ask “was that person following the teachings of Jesus Christ?”
     • The answer is usually “NO!”
     • So if we are talking about genuine “Christ-followers” and not those who merely call themselves “Christians” then there is not a problem with hypocrisy

7. There are so many brands of Christianity. No one agrees on anything.
   • Sadly there have been many who have turned Christianity into a political tool
     • or as a way of making a name for themselves
   • As mentioned above, the problem is the word “Christianity”
     • Better to say Christ-follower
     • This is not what Jesus taught
     • Among those who try to carefully follow the teachings of Jesus and his disciples, there is not nearly as much disagreement

Updated on 2010-08-29 by Andrew Fountain