The Danger of the “Jesus Loves Me” Religion

 It’s popular these days to preach the message Jesus Loves You and just avoid the rest of the Bible. Who doesn’t love the song that says, “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” And yes, the Bible does say Jesus loves you. He does. John 3:16 says that “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” Yes, clearly Jesus loves you and yes, the Bible does tell you so. But the truth is that the simple fact that Jesus loves you is not enough to gain you a free pass to heaven.

I am reading a wonderful book, which is a compilation of sermons about the Kingdom of God, given by Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones way back in 1963. I’ve read a lot of books by the great preachers of old and it’s interesting to notice that the same concerns of soft preaching were being proclaimed by other preachers as far back as we can go. But something Dr. Jones preached on really struck me as concerning about the way many view the Christian life and as alluded to already it concerns the idea that because Jesus loves me, I’m simply ok. Take a moment to read a familiar passage of scripture we usually title “The Rich Young Man.”

Mark 10:17-22
 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.
 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’”
 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.”
 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

There is wealth of truth we should glean from this story. First of all, hidden in Jesus’ statement that only God is good is the truth of the deity of Christ. Also for those who say we have absolutely no command to obey the moral standards of the Old Testament, we have Jesus confirming that to be a Christian is to follow the commandments. Most people think the point Jesus was making here was that being rich makes it almost impossible to enter into His kingdom. But that really isn’t the main point. The main point Jesus is making is that becoming a Christian is not about what we do, but about what He did on the cross. This man had followed all the commandments but our salvation is not based on our works, though Jesus tells him he should have still followed those commandments. This man had even come to Jesus seeking the answer as to how to get to heaven.

No, what Jesus was asking of this man was to let go of something. The fact that he was rich was just this man’s obstacle to salvation. This isn’t really a condemnation of wealth. Each of us have our own stumbling block to surrendering to Christ and it doesn’t have to be money. The entire message of salvation is one of surrender and one of death. For unless one dies to the old self, he cannot rise to new life. This is what the ritual of baptism pictures. Jesus tells us we must die to self and we must take up our own cross. This man, who comes with such good intentions, is unwilling to do so. And what is the result? He went away sorrowful. He did not enter into the Kingdom.

But Jesus still loved him. It says that in verse 21, “And Jesus, looking at him, loved him...” Jesus can love us but this does not mean we are in His Kingdom.

The truth must be preached. I’ve written this many times before and I share it again because it is a scary truth. Not all of us who think we are Christians actually are. And the result of a life lived in self-deception will result in a terrible end. The words below are red-letter words. They are the words of Jesus, the same Jesus who does love you. They are the Word of God.

Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”

Jesus loves you friend. But that’s not enough. You must be born again. And to be born again requires a death first. This is death to self and to whatever it is you are holding on to that will cause you on the day of judgment to go away sorrowful.

Preachers and fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, we must preach the entire counsel of scripture. We must battle the deception of Satan and be sure that those God has put in our path know the truth. We must be sure we understand the truth as well. It won’t matter in the end how close we were to the Kingdom of God if we haven’t entered through the narrow gate we will be outside. I leave you with one last warning from Jesus. His words not, mine. God’s Word. Preach it.

Matthew 7:13-14
 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”