(Resurrection Day, 2008)

I have been accused in recent months of being a “radical.” I guess I must confess that I stand guilty as charged. I am a Christian, and thus by nature I stand on this earth as a radical. As a Christian I believe, teach and confess a faith that is in stark contrast from everything else under the sun. This faith I proclaim is not a faith that allows for fence sitting or lukewarm commitment.

I have been given faith from the One who says, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” (Mark 3:25) In an age of fence sitters, flip-floppers and tolerance of every ideology, the Author of my faith says, “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” (Matthew 12:30) Indeed, I guess being a Christian in this world of lies makes me a radical.

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16) As Christians we proclaim the Good News about Jesus Christ, and Him crucified for the forgiveness of every sin of all mankind. When the world was separated from God because of its rebellion against Him, at just the right time, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. All of us. Every last one of us.

So deep was His love for us that He was willing to beaten and crucified to death to save us from the fires of Hell. He was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:5). Indeed, a Father sentencing His only begotten Son to death to save world of rebels who hate Him should be considered a radical message.

We do not make Christianity a radical faith. Jesus Christ Himself did that. You see, Jesus makes claims that do not allow you to be a fence sitter, or to simply “believe what you feel.” Jesus makes claims that you must come to terms with. “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” (John 14:6) Did you catch that? No one can get to Heaven apart from Jesus. He is the only door by which mankind can enter in. This is a claim of exclusivity. That means that eternal life depends on Jesus Christ alone. This means that it cannot be “Jesus and…” anything. Not “Jesus and me”, not “Jesus and Mary”, not “Jesus and Mohammad”, not “Jesus and Buddha”, not “Jesus and Oprah”, not “Jesus and Osteen”, not “Jesus and Pastor Killian”, but simply Jesus Christ alone. “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

I guess I am a radical. Being a Christian by necessity means that you must confess one thing to be true (Christ crucified for the forgiveness of sins), and the rest of things not to be. Do not be afraid, my brothers and sisters in Christ, to count yourself a radical too. Let the scoffers scoff and the mockers mock. Let them brand us as extremists.

In Jesus Christ alone, there is truth that brings eternal life. We belong to Christ. “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he dies, yet shall he live.” (John 11:25) Christ the Lord is risen today! Death is dead, and life lives! Live in repentance, and live today and every day in the shocking and radical grace of God who loves you.

Under His Mercy

By Pr. Edward Killian

Posted in General