“We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 1:3 NIV)
Apostle Paul was addressing the Thessalonians, letting them know how dear to his heart they truly were. He describes their inspirational walk with Christ and the trademarks of true Christian living: work produced by faith, labor prompted by love, and endurance inspired by the hope of Jesus. I look at Paul’s list and consider the tire tracks of my own journey with Jesus. Does the world see this same evidence after I’ve left the proverbial room?
“For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that He has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake.” (1 Thessalonians 1:6 NIV)
Power plus the Holy Spirit plus conviction: these are the sure identifiers of adoption. If we are missing these crucial factors, are we really in Christ? Or perhaps, are we inoculated? Like any vaccine, we’ve received just enough gospel to believe we’ve got it, but we’ve never truly allowed it to storm our frame and bend our will. We have yet to give ourselves over to the cause completely. We settle for some lesser, fraudulent version of Christ-following; where we keep our old life and options open.
A counterfeit gospel isn’t strong enough to get anyone saved.
Quite the opposite, a counterfeit gospel costs nearly nothing and convinces the receiver that they’re good. They’ve got it. And then, if and when they encounter the real thing, they don’t want it. It costs too much and when they have is just fine for now.
But just a little bit of Jesus isn’t going to save us from hell. We’ve got to be all in. We’ve got to be leaving tire tracks of work produced by faith, labor prompted by love and endurance inspired by the Lord Himself. An authentic case of the gospel produces radical life change, nothing less. Anything else is just an inoculation; a small syringe of Jesus designed to eliminate our chance of catching Him completely.
So here’s today’s question: Have you been inoculated? Have you settled for a less-invasive version of Christ? Is your life marked by faith, love and endurance? Do you walk in the power of the Holy Spirit?
Next question: what kind of gospel do you present to others? Is it costly? Is it accurate? Or are you contributing to the herd immunity of the masses?
Giving away a just-enough Jesus doesn’t do anyone any favors. It’s actually a whole lot harder to convince a slightly-saved soul of their need than an all-out sinner. The all-out sinner knows they are lost. The slightly-saved are quite sure they’re just fine. Dispensing a pint-sized and un-offending Savior does not actually save anyone from anything.
So how do we prevent inoculation? Like most spiritual disciplines, we start with our own heart condition. We begin by confessing our compromise and recommitting to total surrender. We ask for more of God and respond to His presence with obedience to His instructions. God is faithful to fill any vessel that seeks Him. Like the widow with the jars, He’ll pour out as much of Himself as we will receive.
We start within and then we are forthright with others. We tell the truth about who Jesus is and what following Him will cost. We do not sugarcoat or dumb it down. We preach the truth with power, with the Holy Spirit and conviction. And we trust God to do the rest.
Lord, please forgive us for our contributions to spiritual inoculation; both our own and others. We see now how very harmful a lesser gospel is. Search our hearts. Convict us of our holdouts. Strengthen us in surrender. Fill us anew with Your powerful Spirit. And let the lasting evidence of our lives lead others toward You. Amen.