Two preachers were standing on the side of the road holding signs. The first sign read, "The end is near.” The next read, “Turn around now before it’s too late." One driver flew past and yelled, “Get a job, losers!” followed closely by another who screamed, "Get lost, you religious nuts!” A few moments later the preachers heard the screech of brakes, followed by two loud splashes. One preacher said to the other, "Do you think we should change our signs to say, ‘Bridge out’?”
You may not like those who stand on the street corners and preach or hold up signs about Jesus. You may not like the fact that some pastors give an altar call every Sunday morning and others, hardly ever. That’s methods, not message. You may not like the way an author like C.S. Lewis uses fantasy to write about the gospel. Method, not message. It is part of the Christian maturing process that teaches us to distinguish between method and message, and to give each other great leeway with the former. Not with the latter. The message of the gospel, as preached by Jesus and explained by the apostles, must not be changed in any way. When someone changes it, or opposes it, to use Paul’s language, we must beware.
It was the winter of 1998, and the four oldest Fox children had walked from where we lived in downtown Graham over to the Pine Cemetery, pulling their sleds behind them. There was a great hill for sledding in the cemetery that attracted the kids in the neighborhood whenever we had a “real” winter. The little Foxes had been gone for about an hour when Jesse, then 4 years old, asked his mom, “When are they going to come back from the grave?”
The greatest news the world has ever heard is the news that Jesus Christ came back from the grave. For centuries Christians have lived with hope amid suffering, have read his Word and kept his commandments, have gathered with others who believe and given their lives to telling the story, and have even given up their lives to follow him.
Here’s the thing. Christians do not follow a man, and our faith does not hinge on whether a local pastor or a denominational leader or a pope or an ancient prophet is a “good man” or not. Our faith rests on the person of Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God. He has existed forever and took on human flesh in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago, entering human history to save those who would believe in him and in him alone. He did not come to merely point to the way. He said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, and considered the “Enlightened One” by more than 500 million Buddhists, is dead. Mohammed, the man revered by more than a billion Muslims, and believed to be the greatest prophet of all, is dead.
Jesus is alive. If Jesus is found to be a fraud, or a lunatic, or self-deceived, Christianity crumbles. If Jesus did not rise from the dead after three days in a tomb, then all we who put our hope in him are fools at best.
So, here is the challenge. If you put your faith in anyone other than Christ or in no one at all, would you at least be willing to attack the resurrection of Jesus with every molecule in your body? Do what Lord George Lyttleton, Frank Morison, C.S. Lewis, Josh McDowell, Lee Strobel and many others have done. These former atheists were scholars, college professors, journalists or members of Parliament. Each of them sought to disprove the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Each of them came to believe in Jesus after carefully examining the evidence with a desire to know the truth.
We can agree to disagree on methods of how we will proclaim the good news of the gospel. The gospel message, however, must stand. It will stand. Jesus Christ is alive.
Mark Fox pastors Antioch Community Church which gathers at 1600 Power Line Road, Elon, at 10 a.m. every Sunday. You can subscribe to his blog at www.jmarkfox.com. Go to www.antiochchurchnc.org for more info.
