“Jesus Was Not Cool!”
The first question is: Is my life
one that God can stake His reputation on?
Is the gospel you are sharing
cool? Have you fluffed it up to appear cool?
Coolness is the opinion of others
to the values you have.
1 Cor. 1:27-28
What did Jesus choose instead of
being ‘cool’?
·
the Manger instead of
a palace
·
a virgin birth over
legitimacy
·
Nazareth (nothing good there)
·
Poverty over wealth
·
Weakness over
physical strength
·
Servanthood over
royalty
·
Jerusalem on a donkey vs. Rome
on a war horse
·
Command of a dozen
fishermen instead of a thousand princes
·
Death as a criminal
instead of life as a conqueror
He simply said to us, “come
follow me.” (Mt. 16:24)
He had the appearance of nothing
special. (Isaiah 53)
Why did he choose this lifestyle?
He chose it to make a point!
Are we really following Christ?
The lovelier we are to the world, the more disagreeable we are to heaven. And
visa versa.
Is the church worshiping at the feet of culture or the feet of Jesus?
Jesus flunked the cool test. But
we persist in trying to make him out to be something he’s not.
The world doesn’t need another
frail friend but a mighty savior!
Do we try, for coolness sake, to
make Christ more palatable to our friends?
Do we reduce the gospel to merely forgiveness instead of regeneration and
transformation?
Do we make grace simply a giant hug from God (there, there, it’s going to be
alright) instead of the power of God to aid our weakness and to strengthen us
to overcome?
Has faith become the idea of “honest doubt” instead of unwavering confidence
that God will do what he says?
Is love manifested now as the acceptance and tolerance of sin?
Are we doing ourselves a favor by
not believing what the Word says but buying into what a man says about it?