Sitting in my New Testament Survey class at Cornerstone University just a couple of weeks ago, my professor raised the question "Is Christianity Jesus' religion or is it Paul's religion?" Much to my chagrin, my professor quickly glanced over this question and moved on to the next topic. I think this is a topic that we could spend an entire semester on, not just a few minutes and then move on to the next book of the Bible! This is a critical question for anyone to think about, especially someone like myself who has dedicated their life to ministry.
So what's the answer?
The New Testament has the first four books dedicated to the life of Christ, while the Old Testament is all a backstory to the coming of this radical. When Paul, who wrote 13 books of the New Testament (not including Hebrews: disputed), takes over from Romans onward, we see a difference take place. Paul was not directly trained by Jesus during his years of ministry, but was trained in Arabia and did not consult any other human being before heading out into ministry. (Read Galatians 1:16-17). He did not learn directly from the teachings of Jesus but was confronted in a revelation from Christ (Gal. 1:12). This leaves a lot of area open for possible miscommunication and misinterpretation. I have no doubt in the magnificent power and revelation of God to manifest Himself, but Paul's form of teaching is more complex and off-track than what Jesus originally planned, which was to love one another.
We see the summation of Jesus' ministry in Matt 22:37-40; the command to love the Lord your God and to love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus then says, "All the Law and Prophets hang on these two commandments." (These two commandments can be referenced in Deut. 6:5 and Lev. 19:18). Could Jesus' calling to us be as simple as "Love God. Love others."? Bring in Matthew 28:19-20 and we add the component of Making Disciples. Could this be Jesus' heart and we are completely missing it? Are we, as the church, getting too caught up into deep theology proposed by Paul that we miss the true heart of the man that we are supposed to be following? I believe that so many churches, and people within those churches, follow the teachings of Paul rather than following the teachings of Jesus. People follow Christianity rather than follow Jesus and it breaks my heart to see.
Alright, so people follow Christianity. What's the big deal?
I believe the big deal is when we overcomplicate the message of Jesus, such as is done in Romans 8-9 when the topic of predestination arises, to name one example. I have seen division in a body of believers and heard of more stories like it over topics like these. I have also seen people get hurt by the church because of a divorce and the woman is judged. Would you see Jesus cast out or judge someone over this topic, or would he come alongside and love them?! What makes someone think that this is okay to do? I remember reading a story about how a woman didn't step into a church for 8 years because she was kicked out of her previous church over a divorce with her husband. She entered into this new church with such fear of being judged and I remember feeling righteous anger over a story like that. People should not come to Jesus with the fear of being judged or pushed away. They should hear the message "Follow me." (This phrase used 11 times in the Gospels).
So, what now? Is life and salvation simple enough as to believe in just Jesus and not Christianity?
Yes. As I have sat under teaching of the Bible for years growing up in Christian school and now majoring in Biblical Studies, I have found so many disputed topics. i.e This Biblical scholar disagrees with this other Biblical scholar about the topic of Calvinism and where it is evidenced in Scripture, etc. Great. But while all this useless babble is going on, there are the widows, orphans, homeless, prostitutes, and cast aways, that are not being cared for. We are ignoring the heart of Jesus to engage in conversation that diverts away from the power of the Cross. If we truly enter into this relationship with Christ that has been offered, without the clutter of deep theology, would we become the hands and feet of Christ? In Acts 4:13 it says that Peter and John shocked the people because they were uneducated, ordinary men. These men didn't go to Bible school, didn't have an M.Div, weren't even eloquent speakers, but they knew Jesus. This is my cry. That I would be described as a man who didn't know everything in terms of philosophy, religion, etc. but followed the heart of Jesus. What if this was every believer's heart? Would we actually see people turned on to Jesus instead of turned off because of judgement and rejection that they've experienced in the past? If every believer had the non-judgemental heart that Jesus had, I believe we would see a revival and a movement spread like wildfire like in the days of the early church in Acts.
I'm just starting to take hold of this belief. I think it's a radical view, but Jesus didn't just sit on his couch...he challenged the culture and beliefs of the day. Why shouldn't I do the same? Why shouldn't you do the same? We need to study the life of Christ and become intimate with his passion for people, then go and do likewise. Stop engaging in arguments that only bring destruction, but focus solely on believing in Christ and Christ alone. Be Jesus to those around you.
