Authentic Christianity

Today I was reminded of a humorous situation years ago.  I met with a lovely family in Australia who was very keen to try some "authentic" American chili.  And when I say "chili" I do not mean capsicum or a type of chili like habanero, but the American dish which is made with chili powder, beef, and beans.  They had never eaten chili before and wanted to see what it tasted like.  I am a bit of a chili enthusiast so I was only too happy to oblige.

After I supplied a recipe, we hit upon a few snags.  Some of the ingredients were not on hand and there was no time to go to the shops.  Beans were omitted because it was not a favourite, and the amount of chili powder was reduced because they weren't "into" spice.  When we tucked into the finished product, I was asked how the dish measured up.  My response was something to the effect of, "It's very delicious, but it's just not chili!"  The chef seemed disappointed, but it should not have been a surprise.  It is pretty much impossible to make "chili" without chili.  Because ingredients people weren't fond of were removed, the dish bore no resemblance whatsoever to the real thing.  It might have been better to make another dish everyone liked rather than alter the dish while hoping for authenticity.

This approach to making chili could be compared to authentic Christianity.  If we want our Christianity to be authentic, then we need to do things God's way according to His recipe - carefully following the conditions Jesus set forth in His Word for His disciples.  We cannot pick and choose according to our tastes, desiring forgiveness from God but at the same time refusing to forgive others.  We cannot substitute sacrifice for obedience when it suits us.  If Jesus has called us to follow Him and we respond with, "LORD, let me first..." we are left with a poor imitation of the real thing:  something we have fashioned according to our preferences which is without Gospel flavour, powerless, and devoid of life.

Luke 9:23-24 plainly states the requirements to answer the call of Christ:  "Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. ²⁴ For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it."  Authentic Christianity is one of self-sacrifice and obedience to God.  We must deny ourselves and daily choose to take up our cross in following Jesus who was obedient to the will and commands of the Father.  Everyone wants blessings from God, but are we willing to do what is required to receive and appropriate them?  People are fine with God to change their circumstances for the better, but it doesn't mean they actually want a relationship with Him.  Many people were healed and fed by Jesus who didn't care to follow Him daily.  Being healed, delivered from demons, or being touched by Jesus never made a single person a Christian, for being born again is an inner work of grace through faith in Jesus and the surrender of a life to His complete control.

Many in this world are sour on Christ because of their interactions with professing Christians devoid of love or grace who left a bad impression.  It would have been a terrible shame for my Aussie mates around the table to have been told they were eating authentic chili because it potentially could have put them off the real thing.  If real chili had been offered in the future they might have said,  "Oh, I've already tried that and it was awful.  I know I don't like it."  It's true everyone does like not chili, and everyone does not care for Jesus.  But if we will be Christians, then we need to live authentic Christians lives without apology:  loving and forgiving fully, generously giving, sacrificially helping others, exhibiting gentleness and meekness, and speaking the truth so people will repent and discover new life in Jesus through faith.  The only Christianity which transforms lives and saves souls is the authentic kind according to the Bible and the example of Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.