Pray KNCSB

The church is a group of radical disciples; followers of Christ who are transformed from the roots up. Radical disciples uproot everything in their lives that is not in conformity with Christ. Radical disciples intentionally follow their Master’s teachings, his ways, his life. And no one else’s. They do not escape the world but they do not conform to it either. They are holy people living in a world where they are not at home. One day, when this world is totally transformed, they will fit in.

What we often see in the church is less than radical discipleship. Radical discipleship has flown the church coop. In its place foreign “isms,” once alien in the church, have taken up permanent residence. John Stott mentions pluralism, materialism, ethical relativism, and narcissism as four main “isms” that are threatening the witness of the church today. They are foreign “isms” that share the bed of faith with some in the church, the live in partner that has taken liberties and left an anemic discipleship among us.

Pluralism denies the uniqueness of Christ. It muddles the finality of Christ and makes him an equal partner with others. We must not surrender the absolute truth of Christ’s uniqueness and his exclusivity. No matter what pressure for tolerance we receive, no matter what bigotry we get accused of fostering, Christ will always be the Only Way.

The world wants to rob Christianity of its uniqueness: The absolute Lordship of Christ. It wants to demote him to the level of a great healer, leader, or prophet. The world wants to place the creator of heaven and earth on par with Gandi, Alexander the Great, or Napoleon! Jesus is not great or greater. He has no equal: Not Mohammad, not Buddha, not the Dalei Lama.

This demotion won’t do for the radical disciple. Christ is on his rightful throne and he won’t step down. Not ever again. Radical disciples must resist to the very bitter end those who would pillage the divine realm of Christ for a mere mess of equality. He is Lord. Period. He is Lord because he is God in flesh appearing, in flesh suffering for humankind, bodily resurrected, and in the same manner reappearing. His status is not tentative. We are not waiting for society to pronounce the final verdict. He is Lord. God. Savior. That’s our only and final answer in every way.

He is the only God-man, the only God who dies for our sins, the only conqueror of death, the only judge and final word of every issue of life and humanity now and eternally.

Repenting of our pluralism, the obsession with other ways to live other than in radical discipleship to Christ is necessary for awakening to happen. Let’s heed the call, which comes to us from God: Repent and live again. Change and come back to me.

In pluralism the primacy of Christ is compromised. Allegiances and treaties with our souls are forged that move us in the direction of nonconformity to Christ and conformity with the world. Crying about this reality is the right thing to do. Crying out to God in repentance is the better thing to do.

Therefore,

We repent, dear God, of trusting in man’s ingenuity rather than Christ’s uniqueness and finality.

We repent of making god out of government.

We repent of joining politics to Christianity.

We repent of putting our trust in education.

We repent of believing that a robust economy is our savior.

We repent of doing good to save ourselves.

We repent of trusting in human personalities to solve our spiritual lethargy.

Revive us again, O Lord, and deliver us from our competing godless, pluralistic ways. Strip away our false gods. Strip away our false powers. Strip away our self sufficiency, our dependence on and our conformity to the world. Amen.