The Burr in the Burgh

Aaah, Halloween is upon us. My good blogging buddy, The Beast, really knows how to have fun with this holiday.

This morning in Bible class, our pastor, Rev. David Petersen, made a good observation (one among many). He talked about how the general unchurched American views God. He said, quite accurately I believe, that people are not afraid of God.

This is something I noticed too as a parish pastor. I used to think that most unchurched people saw God as angry and wrathful and seeking vengeance against us and that my job would be to show them the grace of God in Jesus Christ. What a relief that would be! How our church would grow once people finally heard about forgiveness and salvation!

I quickly realized that most people (churched and unchurched) do not fear God's judgment. I wish they did, to be honest. Then they'd have a better chance of escaping hell. Instead, the average person today assumes without question that God loves them and that they are good people and He would never condemn them. Tony Soprano summed it up once when he said that the only people who go to hell are child molesters genocidal megalomaniacs. I'd say that's very typical. Charles Manson, Adolph Hitler, Pol Pot. We're content to consign them to hell. But what about Ghandi or Anne Frank? What about you?

Certainly, if the standard of judgment is Adolph Hitler, then most of us really do have nothing to worry about. Truly, most people are better than he was. The trouble is that Hitler is not God's standard of judgment. He doesn't compare us to Charles Manson either. He compares us to Jesus Christ. And by that rule, we all fall short.

As a pastor, I know that many poor souls are indeed frightened and burdened with guilt. And even many of those who think that a loving God would never send them to hell really are scared to die. I was always eager to pronounce absolution and constantly pointed to Christ's accomplished work upon the cross.

But the message of the cross falls on deaf ears when the hearers are not stung by the judgments of God. Precisely then what is Christ saving you from? The Gospel devolves into just a generic syrup about love.

I'm not saying we preach too much Gospel. I'm saying we are in danger of preaching a disfigured Gospel when it isn't presented in the context of the threats and curses of God. The truth is, there is no forgiveness without repentance. Maybe a good scare from the pulpit would be a fitting way to commemorate the Reformation this week. That sounds really strange, but I'm hoping you know what I mean.