What good is Christianity?

Brett Lawrence wrote an article in the Leadership Journal in the fall of 2002 describing the spirituality of Gen-Next in their twenties who are far from God. He addresses three questions Christians need to answer when dealing with this generation. The questions reveal the hearts and fears of this generation.

Question 3: What Good is Christianity?

This is a question of utility and relevance. Does Christianity have value to me? The concept is described in the article, "Does your belief change lives? Does your religion work? Does it help me, whether I'm in your group or not? Or are you just another self-serving group?" (Lawrence 5).

Answer 3: Christians are to demonstrate value in the context of the worldview which Gen Next live in. There is value in laying our life, finances, abilities, and aspirations to give a Gen Next person something. The article summarizes, "There is a fundamental call to Christians to be involved in generous compassion to the poor and the broken and the underprivileged. There's more in the Bible about justice and compassion than evangelism" (Lawrence 6).

My response: Listen to the arrogance of the perspective! Somebody is owed something. We have forgotten the Sovereignty of God. We can be instantaneously ground to dust, killed for our faith, or simply destroyed by our Creator for His glorification! What rights and privileges do we have, in the context for which we were actually created?

God recognizes only two types of people: the saved who believe in Christ Jesus and those who do not.  There is no distinction between man, woman, Jew, Gentile, freedman, slave, wealthy, poor, broken, or underprivileged. At the final judgment, Jesus separates those who have demonstrated the fruits of salvation. Those who are allowed in have participated in the works that God gave them after being saved by grace (Eph. 2:1-10). Those who enter see the kingdom of heaven not as some privilege or right, but as an incalculable valuable gift of pure unmerited mercy.

Aggregately, Christianity strives for peaceful order and benevolent goodwill. Often it has been subjugated by the worst of examples among followers. The demonstrated principles, doctrine, and dogma of Christianity are beneficial for any society willing to embrace the blessings of God.

This article shocked my thought process in a much-needed way and that was the point of the article. We need to think differently if we are to evangelize those whose context is different. Some see a generation of people that do not know what to believe, who to trust, and incapable of deciding what is truth. Every generation has been that way and it is likely that it will continue to be that way until Christ returns. As the holy context of the Bible remains unchanged and the world continues to devolve its context away from the plan of God, our ability to grasp and bridge the connection of the world context and the cross will become ever-increasingly difficult.

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Lawrence, Brett. "Starbucks spirituality: postmoderns have three questions for Christians that you'd better be ready for." Leadership 23.4 (Fall 2002): p81. From Religion and Philosophy Collection. (2002). 3 December 2013.

Contributed by Dr. Lyle Pointer