Bad Rap

One of my girls’ favorite songs is Bad Rap by Steve Taylor. Bad Rap is a very intentional bad rap about the “bad rap” that Christians have in the eyes of progressive liberalism. Yes, I know, it is old. Why they have gravitated to it I am not sure. My music collection did not stop with the 80’s.

But that is a good segue into what I want to share today. There are a lot of Christians out there on the web talking advantage of the web and social media to share the good news of the Gospel with people. That is good, and I am all for it. What bugs me is the bad rap that some of these people are giving the church in the manner in which they go about this.

More and more I hear accounts about how when people do not “convert” or respond to the Christian message after a time, that the love and concern that was shown up front is quickly replaced with condemnation and criticism.

Being critical and harsh with people who are not Christian and therefore not thinking or acting or living like Christians does not accomplish anything good. It only serves to push people away and reinforce the bad rap that secular culture has given us. Why is this true? Because criticism does not work! Criticism puts people on the defense. “But I thought criticism motivates people.” Oh, it motivates people all right. It motivates them right in the opposite direction! Dwight L. Moody said, “One in a 100 men will read the Bible. The other 99 will read the Christian. What are they reading?” That is well worth meditating on.

The Christian’s job is not to convince people that the Gospel is true, or that Jesus is Lord, or that God is going to judge the world. Only God can do that. If you think that is up to you, I imagine you are very discouraged and stressed out. I mean, it is a titanic battle of wills just to get my kids to take their dinner plates to the sink after diner…if that is true, why do we think we can argue a person into Jesus? You can’t. John 1:12-13 (NIV) Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

Our job is to witness to the gospel, not to convince people of it (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Our job is to have an answer for the hope that we have, not beat people up when they disagree with us or reject our answer (1 Peter 3:15).

Our job is to live the great commandment in such a way that people are drawn to the love and grace and mercy that they see so that they come and ask about the truth behind it, not to make them accept the truth before the love and grace and mercy come (Matthew 5:16).

Neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow (1 Corinthians 3:7, NIV). We plant, we water, God is who does the growing. Let us be content with that. Getting angry or frustrated at people who don’t accept the Gospel is as silly and foolish as a farmer yelling at seeds that are not growing or growing to his satisfaction. Is that going to make them grow or grow any faster? No. Don’t give Christ a bad rap by doing so.