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He Gets Us & The Whole Truth About Abiding In Jesus
If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. — John 15:6-8
When discipling someone, you need to tell them what to do and what not to do. In addition, you should show them the outcomes of both. I call this "playing the tape forward." And that's what Jesus does so well as a disciple maker. He plays the tape, metaphor, story, and choices all the way out, which means the good news also has some inescapable bad news.
Some believing parents, teachers, and pastors fail to do this. They spend far too much time focusing on everything that's great about abiding in Jesus but completely avoid addressing the negative consequences of not abiding. Most who do this do so out of fear and concern that this information might alienate and scare people away. But Jesus never ever did this. This was because doing so would dilute the good news because it would fail to tell about the victory over the bad news and drive people to an incomplete understanding of Jesus and the Gospel truth.
One recent example of this is the "He Gets Us" advertising campaign. You have probably seen their artistic and cryptic commercials recently. The stated goal is to "reintroduce people to the Jesus of the Bible and His confounding love and forgiveness." And I want you to know I am not against any marketing campaign that wants to talk about Jesus, but I am against one that presents an inaccurate or incomplete message leading people away from Jesus. And in my opinion, this marketing campaign does this. It's just a new version of what the church has done wrong in presenting Jesus and the Gospel over the last few decades. We have been telling people only part of the truth about Jesus. We tell people that Jesus is loving and forgiving, but we don't tell them that they are sinners who are fruitless, withered, pruned, gathered, and thrown into a fire without him. And this is untruth and unloving.
The church has been withholding the whole truth for too long, and it's time to put an end to this. If you are a believer, it's your responsibility to "play the tape forward" for people, which means telling them the whole truth about both the love and judgment of Jesus. Failing to do so is a failure in discipleship. By only sharing about a loving and forgiving Savior, you are not helping the Gospel or people; in fact, the Gospel doesn't need your help because your help might hurt. Your role is to convey the message as it is. Attempting to "help" the Gospel by limiting or softening the message might actually hurt people and send them to hell.
Six Things "He Gets Us" Gets Wrong:
- Ignores Jesus's Divinity: The message presently simplifies Jesus to a spectacular human, ignoring his divinity.
- Jesus as a Role Model, Not Savior: It plays on Jesus's human traits, not his essential role as Savior.
- Modern Disciples Got Him Wrong: It suggests that believers have him wrong, and we need a more appealing version for today.
- Alignment With Cultural Trends: It promotes cultural preferences about Jesus, ignoring troubling issues like sin.
- Faith as Social Justice: It interprets issues through a secular and social justice worldview only, not a biblical worldview.
- Inspiration Over Salvation: It attempts to inspire and overshadows the need for salvation by Jesus.
ASK THIS:
- How do you personally reconcile the loving and forgiving nature of Jesus with the consequences of not abiding in Him, as described in John 15:6-8?
- In your daily interactions and teachings, are there times when you might be holding back the full truth of the Gospel for fear of alienating others? How can you ensure that you present a complete and balanced understanding of Jesus and His teachings?
DO THIS: Tell them the whole truth
PRAY THIS: Father, grant me the courage to "play the tape forward" and share the complete truth of Your love and judgment, as Jesus did. Help me not to dilute the good news but to lead others to a full and genuine understanding of You and Your saving grace. Amen.
PLAY THIS: Abide In Me.
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AMEN!!!
I’m right behind you brother. We need to speak the entire Truth… Some of us are told the Fear of God is…”The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction” Pr 1:7 but neglect to say that our very next breath of air belongs to the Lord and He can take our lives in an instant, that He can pierce our very physical body with His words… yeah Fear is also knowledge He can do these not just come you who are weary. ALL TRUTH and let the Holy Spirit guide our words and convict us and bring us to His mercy and judgement seat.
I can’t believe you mentioned H*E*double hockey sticks. But, that’s exactly what we need to hear. We need to know that the wages of sin is death. We need to know that there are consequences for being separated from God. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. The fear of God is the fear of being separated from Him. Everyone likes the idea of being in heaven. But, do we know how to get there? We all fall short and there’s only one way to bridge the gap. Jesus made a way.
Amen Vince
Keep speaking these powerful truths!
This is great! We are on the same page . Many Pastors are putting many in danger with the “feel good” messages the preach.
You bring up a dilemma I routinely face when interacting with others: grace v truth. But remember, Jesus led with grace (woman caught in adultery). The “He get’s Us” campaign can only present so much initially. Also remember Paul’s comments in Philippians 1:18 where he is content about Jesus being preached whatever the motives.
So the campaign leads with grace; truth can follow once a relationship has been established.The Holy Spirit can do the convicting. It doesn’t always have to come from us.
The Grace is in the Truth. Jesus lead with His Truth with His Grace. John 1:1-3, John 14:6. The Truth exists first so people can see the grace. By grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ (the Truth) Alone.
Hey Vince,
Right on point here, and I agree with the importance of delivering the WHOLE message.
Regarding He Gets Us: G7 Networking has been blessed by the utilization of their gloo platform (which is the hub for communications behind HGU). In my experience to date, the folks behind this seem focused on delivering the complete message via discipleship and prayer. Interactions from the HGU campaign are connected to local churches, ministries and individuals that have signed-up to have conversations with those interested in hearing more. That’s where the full message is delivered.
As stated, I see where you are coming from. I agree the the message is incomplete, but is it wrong to spark interest and questions that lead to opportunities to have deeper conversation? We are called to meet people where they are at, and then through discipleship, bring them to the light.
If you look at the campaign in its entirety, that’s what is happening. Via Reach, (the connecting phase), they have made 119K+ connections to over 6000+ churches and they’re averaging 413 connections per day. The campaign is working, but it relies on the workers, which are few, to deliver the full message.
As of this writing, I’m unsure as to the depth of any training or vetting that is done to ensure the full message is being communicated effectively. I plan to run through the steps to make G7 Networking an “Engage” partner over the next few months. I’ll keep you updated as I experience the process.
Thanks for your candor and for holding us accountable Vince!
Agree. Thanks Vince. One cannot fully understand God’s gift of salvation through Jesus, until they fully understand how incapable they were in doing anything about it. Jesus came to “seek and save sinners.” This is foremost, because without Him seeking and saving, I am lost and perishing. Blessed are the “poor in spirit.”May we thank Him every day for His indescribable gift! Keep teaching Truth my friend.
Amen.