Week 5 Acts 4:29 Religiously Correct

And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness. esv

Here is another excerpt from Ken Priddy’s book, The Silent Church. It fits well with the emphasis that Richard Phillips makes regarding being born again. Our culture is accepting of a politically correct Jesus. This Jesus is the one that shows up around Christmas and Easter and hides out the rest of the year. This Jesus doesn’t offend anyone. This Jesus is a product of what Priddy says is the religiously correct, or RC. Listen to what Ken has to say about this:

Twenty-first century USA has greeted the American church with numerous point-counterpoint realities that might be summarized as, “I’ve got some good news and some bad news.” Let’s start with the bad news. Christianity has been marginalized by current culture, losing much of its mainstream influence. Out with prayer in schools. Out with displays of the Ten Commandments in public places. Out with creationism in the classroom. The current culture’s concept of “tolerance” on steroids means no morals, no rules, no restraints, no limits, no boundaries, no authority and no absolute truth. And to think it wasn’t all that long ago that planned parenthood meant that if you’re planning to have sex, you’d better plan on being a parent.

So what’s the good news? The good news is that pushing Christianity to the margins has made our faith counter-cultural. The once prevalent Cultural Christianity is on the wane, with its replacement becoming potentially more intense, more real and more authentic.

Here’s another scenario, starting with the good news. The good news is that twenty-first century USA is more spiritually minded than its predecessor. The emerging generation having seen the bankruptcy of external achievement and egocentricity, is turning more and more toward the mystical, the invisible, and the spiritual. In this renewed interest in things spiritual there is opportunity for the American church.

However, the bad news is that the draw toward the spiritual has not necessarily been a draw toward Christ. There are many spiritual options to be pursued these days that don’t lead to truth, don’t lead to repentance, and don’t lead to eternal life.
So what is the church to do? It seems to me that we have the advantage. For starters, we have the truth, the real thing. Every other faith, worldview or belief system is standing on a faulty foundation and is sure to fall eventually. We have the Holy Spirit going before us as He wills to regenerate those who will receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. We have the promise of God that He will build His church. We have the biblical and historical record of the New Testament that compels us to share our faith and that gives us examples such as the Apostle Paul who becomes all things to all men that he might save some.

Yet, despite all these advantages, the Christian church in many cases remains strangely silent. Why? In several instances the answer that has surfaced when this question was asked is something akin to political correctness. Our P.C. culture has found resonance in the church with what might be called R.C., Religious Correctness. Many Christian churches, surrounded by communities embracing spiritual diversity, are afraid to press the Christian faith because it might appear prideful or it might offend someone of another faith. It’s not the “loving” thing to do. We must be accepting of other faiths or we appear arrogant and exclusive.

So, apparently, the loving, accepting and humble thing to do, in some Christian circles, is to allow our neighbors of other spiritual persuasions to go to hell without a fight. Though they might be eternally damned, we will be religiously correct as we keep the Good News to ourselves.

Excerpted from The Silent Church: 39 Reasons We Keep the Good News to Ourselves, by Kenneth E. Priddy (unpublished manuscript, 2007) 39. Used by permission.

Here are some challenging questions to consider and discuss:
· Which Jesus do your family, friends and coworkers think that you love – the biblical Jesus or the RC Jesus?
· Do you have family, friends and coworkers who are a part of the RC establishment? Are you:
a. Glad that they at least acknowledge something is spiritual in life?
b. Concerned that they may be misguided but not concerned enough to warn them of hell?
c. Glad that they are not offended that you go to church?
d. Worried that you will be viewed as judgmental, backwards, or a Bible thumper if you present the biblical Jesus to them?
e. Committed to bring the biblical Jesus to them even though they may think less of you?

· Concerning this same group of people, consider the following questions, especially in light of this Scripture verse: And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness. Acts 4:29 esv
a. Are you praying that they will know the biblical Jesus?
b. What specific plans could you make to help them see the dangers of believing in the RC Jesus?


c. How could you get to know their areas of personal struggle? What difference could it make to them if you could explain how the biblical Jesus differs from the RC Jesus?


d. Are you bothered that their belief in the RC Jesus will lead them to hell itself?