How the Grinch Stole the Gospel

Every year in December most of us enjoy  the classic stories associated with Christmas.  Over the years, there have been numerous adaptations of the Charles Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol.  Another modern-day classic was penned by Dr. Seuss in 1957 with How the Grinch Stole Christmas, which was made into a beloved TV special in 1966.

Considering these two stories, we have a familiar theme in both of them:  A grumpy, miserable person hates the joy and warmth of Christmas but soon finds himself in the unexpected role as the vertiable herald of Christmas cheer, “peace on earth, and “goodwill toward men”.   Ebenezer Scrooge runs through the streets on Christmas Day spreading gifts and shouting good wishes all around, and the Grinch (yes, “He himself”) carves the roast beast!

How does such an extreme transformation come about?  The lessons of Scrooge and the Grinch are unlikely pictures of the regenerated soul’s response to the gospel.

Scrooge and the Grinch are good representatives of the wretchedness of man without a relationship with God – what Paul would call “children of wrath” in the Ephesian letter.  Scrooge isolated himself in his office, consumed with greed, abusing Bob Cratchit and others.  The Grinch isolated himself on Mount Crumpet, consumed with hatred, hating the Who’s.  Neither was capable of feeling  joy, and the Grinch’s heart was even said to be “two sizes too small”.

Yet, as each story unfolds, we see these two miserable characters radically changed. What motivates Scrooge is the revelation of his own wretched state.  Through the gift of three visiting spirits, he sees the hurt he has caused others and himself.   He feels the weight of judgment and a lonely death awaiting him if he doesn’t repent of his ways.  He awakens to a gracious opportunity to start anew, and he plunges into it with abandon.

With the Grinch, he acts out his wicked plot to rob others of their joy, but then his heart is melted by the sound of joyful singing from those he had sought to harm.  In fact, they welcome the Grinch into their Christmas celebration in an unfettered act of forgiveness and love.  It is this grace that makes the Grinch’s shrunken heart grow “three sizes that day”.

We see two aspects of gospel conversion in these stories.  The first is the conviction of sin, as seen especially in Scrooge.  The second is a recognition of the amazing grace of God’s love shown through Jesus Christ.  These two elements transform a miserable wretch into a regenerated (born again) creature – what Paul describes to the Ephesians and Colossians as a “new man”.   What does the “new man” look like?

The deep and genuine change that sweeps over both Scrooge and the Grinch is incredible.  This can only happen in response to transforming grace.  A day before, each was isolated, angry and miserable.  But in the end, neither could contain the joy that filled his heart, and it moved each to emotional expressions of praise and works of charity.

While the Grinch brought back everyone’s gifts and carved the roast beast, Ebenezer Scrooge exclaimed:

“I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a school-boy. I am as giddy as a drunken man. A merry Christmas to everybody!”

Notice neither Scrooge nor the Grinch was a new man because of the good things he did.  Each did good things because he was a new man.  Neither required a “law” to which to yield his obedience.  That’s how our salvation works, and it’s why James calls the gospel “the law of liberty” (Jas. 1:25).   The “law” for the man regenerated in Christ is the freedom he now enjoys – the freedom to love.

What motivates you – law or grace?  Do you find yourself constantly thinking, “I have to do this or that so I can make it to Heaven”?  If your daily experience as a Christian is consumed by a sense of following a “law”, have you really been set free?

Has your salvation caused you to burst with joy?  Responding to the gospel is not merely an emotional experience, but if there is not a real emotional response prompting us to express joy and praise – if we are “Christians” who still resemble the unconverted Scrooge or the Grinch – have we really been “born again”?

It’s worth thinking about.

Teen Boys Event: Learning to Lead by Serving

What: Bible Study for teenage boys through college age “Learning to Lead by Serving”

We will have lunch, Bible study lead by Todd Chapman, and games

When: This Sunday, Nov. 14th

Where: Jimmy and Janet Marquis’ Home

We can transport the boys that need rides and bring them back to services that night.  Please let Jimmy, Janet or Todd know if you are coming so we can plan for lunch.

Expelled

There is a tremendous battle going on in America today.  It’s not a political fight; it’s not the fight against terrorism; it’s not the day-to-day war in Afghanistan.  This battle is one of principles…of differing views of the world.

The battle I am talking about is between those who wish to eliminate the concept of the supernatural – of God – from our thinking.  A movie released just last week investigates a portion of this problem.  It’s called Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed.

This movie uncovers a very dark side of modern thinking in the area of science.  Scientific study is designed to examine the things we see in the natural world and attempt to understand and explain how those things work.  Science studies all kinds of things – plants and animals, time and space, matter and energy.  No matter what field of science is under consideration, the question usually comes back to one point, however…how did this all begin?  What are the origins of matter, energy, and life?

Over the centuries, scientific thought has evolved (pardon the pun) dramatically.  Especially with Charles Darwin’s book Origin of the Species, scientists began to question whether man was really created by a higher being or whether he simply evolved through natural processes over a mind-boggling period of time.  This led scientists to question further back:  If everything evolved through natural processes, then maybe the universe just always existed.  In other words, God had no part in creation – everything just happened.

What we have today is a movement within our schools and universities to silence anyone who dares question the so-called “fact” of evolution and all the other concepts that come with it.  The idea that scientists should or even can consider an “intelligent designer” of the universe is being rejected and systematically pushed (“expelled”) from scientific study.  Scientists who question these so-called “facts” are under even more persecution.

I encourage you to see this movie and think carefully about the direction our society is headed.  What the world needs right now is people who are willing to take a stand for the reality of a living God.  Are you one of those people?

Click below to watch the trailer for “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed”.

Wii Christianity

When I was a kid, the very first video games were introduced to the world. This was before personal computers and laptops, cell phones, and Blackberries. The first video game I remember playing was called “Pong”. It was about as basic as you could get.

Later on came Space Invaders and Asteroids, Pac-Man, and a game called Donkey Kong by a company called Nintendo.  Nintendo continued to make games through the 1980’s, 1990’s, and into the 2000’s.  I have not been much of a video game player, but my family enjoys the Nintendo Wii.

In Wii, you actually physically get into the game. First, you can create a computerized likeness of yourself called a “Mii”.  (Mine actually looks much cooler than I do, but that’s part of the fun of creating your Mii.) A lot of you may have your own Wii or have at least played it somewhere.

What does all this have to do with spiritual teaching?  Well, I got to thinking about it this week:  Am I playing spiritual Wii with my faith in Jesus?

I am not incredibly athletic. I’m more a music and writing kind of guy, but in the world of “Wii”, I can play any sport. The more your Mii plays and wins, the closer it gets to earning “Pro” status. My Mii is a pro tennis player, pro bowler, and pro golfer. In the “World of Wii”, I can do and be anything, but it’s not really who I am.

Here’s the point. Sometimes we create multiple “Mii’s” in our real lives. There’s the “school Mii”, the “work Mii”, the “at home Mii”, the “with my friends Mii”, and the “church Mii”. These Mii’s may look very different, they may act different, they may talk different, and they may even be called by different names depending on the “game” we are playing at the moment. However, somewhere underneath it all is the REAL ME.

Psalm 139 says this:

“1 O LORD, you have searched me
and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O LORD.”

Galatians 6 says this:

“7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.”

One of Job’s friends asks him this question about God in Job 13:

“9 Would it turn out well if he [God] examined you?
Could you deceive him as you might deceive men?”

We can pretend we are all kinds of things, but God created us. God is omniscient, which mean he knows everything…even what’s hidden in our hearts. Remember when God chose David to be the king of Israel? Even God’s wise prophet Samuel had incorrectly assumed God would choose one of David’s more physically impressive brothers (emphasis added):

“But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” I Sam. 16:7

When you and I commit ourselves to Jesus and become a “Christian”, a very special thing happens. Paul told the Christians at Ephesus about it:

“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,” Eph. 1:13

Are you beginning to see that for a Christian, there is no “me”? There is only “him” – the person Jesus Christ and the transforming person of the Spirit. In Galatians 2:20, Paul wrote:

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Our goal is not to keep more and more rules so we can become more and more perfect or righteous. Our goal is to become more and more like the person of Christ, by simply allowing the Spirit fill us with a godly character.

Look at it like this: Our job to make the Spirit’s work in us as easy as possible as he transforms us into the image of Christ, not throwing obstacles in front of the Spirit as it works. For example, Paul told the Ephesians this:

“Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.” Eph. 5:18-19

The word “debauchery” means “extreme indulgence”. In modern terms, we might call it “partying”. If our minds are blurred with things like drugs, alcohol, or the desire to constantly please ourselves, how can there be room for a Spirit to work in us?

Back to our starting point, let’s be careful not to be “Wii Christians”.  A life of commitment to Jesus is not a game where we create several different versions of ourselves in an effort to please everybody including ourselves. God knows our heart, and He wants all of it for Himself…completely and genuinely.

In serving the living God, there is only one you…the new you called by faith, buried in baptism, sealed by the Spirit saved by grace. Remember this!