Some years ago, I was working an evening job that allowed me to read, surf the internet or do some quiet activity during my down time. One evening, I read a story about the ministry of Jay Bakker, son of Jim Bakker and Tammy Faye (Bakker) Messner. That prompted me to read upon the whole Jim & Tammy Faye PTL scandal. I remember it being in the news, but I never really
understood what happened. As I was reading about Jim Bakker, I learned that he confessed that he never read the Bible in its entirety prior to going to prison (as a result of the scandal). While incarcerated, I believe he said he read the entire Bible three times and in so doing, he learned that he was wrong about a lot of things that he preached.
While I have to admit that fact made me a bit skeptical and wonder about how many other pastors had not read the entire Bible. I did not get too far in examining their specks because I had a “log” in my own eye. At that time, I had been a Christian for 19 years and sadly, I had not yet read the entire Bible. Immediately, I knew that had to change. I set off on a journey to read it and in so doing, I noticed some things. I noticed that God does not view sin as casually as we do. I noticed that based on God’s Word, there are many people who believe they are headed to Heaven when they die, but in fact, many will not be there as that path is very narrow and few will find it (Matthew 7:13, 14). I noticed that eternal life /salvation is really about knowing God and Jesus Christ, His Son, (John 17:3) as opposed to just reciting a quick prayer. I noticed some discrepancies between what the Bible says and what is preached in our churches. I noticed a lot of differences between what the Bible says and how I was living…and how others were living. Then, after reading, I notice some people started to speak up about this.
David Platt was one of those voices who God used to convict me of my disobedience to God’s Word and complacency through his book, Radical. I learned that Christians in other parts of the world live very differently. He spoke of people’s lives who mirrored those of the early Church. It was like the people he wrote about actually lived by the very words of Jesus whereas Christianity here in America had morphed into something rather different.
Recently, I began following Dr. Platt on Instagram and I learned that he was set to release a new book. After hearing him speak at the missions conference at Biola University two weeks ago, I ordered it. And let me just say up front, I want you to order his book, too. “Don’t Hold Back: Leaving Behind the American Gospel to Follow Jesus Fully” begins with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As he speaks on the beauty of ethnic diversity within the Body of Christ, showing compassion toward others, seeking justice and helping others, realigning our life purpose with God’s purpose for our lives, and seeking God above all else, he exhorts us to do this as it represents the character of God/the character of Jesus Christ as spelled out in His Word. He does not write this from an “ivory tower” so to speak, he writes from a repentant heart and one who seems to have sought the Lord with all of his heart during some really dark times. He speaks candidly, boldly, but most importantly, biblically.
I was encouraged by the entire book, but I would say the most powerful chapters (for me) were chapters two and seven. In chapter two, entitled Following Christ in Multicolor, Dr. Platt acknowledges the history of the American church marred by racism and how ethnic diversity was God’s idea. I must admit, I did not expect such candor from Dr. Platt on this issue, but I was pleasantly surprised. Here are some of his words on the subject.
“It is well past time to leave behind an American gospel that has cultivated the ownership and torture of selves by “Christian” masters, the killing of people alongside the burning of “Christian” crosses, the lack of support for civil rights or even acknowledgment of racial disparities among “Christian” leaders, and the ongoing racial division in “Christian” churches. For centuries, the American gospel has favored and led to the prosperity of one color of people-specifically, my color of people-at the expense of another. The biblical gospel beckons us in our day to do our part to bring down walls of division and create a more beautiful picture of the church than we have experienced in our history. “p. 29
“As a foundational matter, the Bible never defines different races according to skin tones, hair texture, or other physical traits like we do in contemporary culture. Instead, God creates all people wonderfully and equally in his image as one human race…. That’s not to say that people aren’t different according to God. The Bible teaches that though united in our humanity, we are divers in our appearance, speech, and ethnicity. After the fall of man and the flood of the world, the Bible describes various clans dwelling in distant lands and separate nations speaking their own languages. Diverse ethnic groups with different physical attributes and distinct social patters emerge on the human landscape, each displaying extraordinary diversity while sharing a basic and beautiful unity as image bearers of God.” p. 33
“In the process of denying shared roots in the human race by devising and upholding a hierarchy of different races-which goes directly against God’s Word-people commit the sin of racism: valuing or devaluing one race) according to our classification) over or beneath another. Expressions of racism include thoughts, feelings, words, actions, expectations, relationships, laws, policies, procedures, systems, and structures that value one race over another.” p. 35
Chapter seven is entitled God Our Obsession where Dr. Platt challenges us to ask ourselves are we actually seeking to be in relationship with God? Or, are we seeking God for his gifts. I hate to admit it, but this was a truly convicting for me. He had this to say…
“It’s dangerously possible for every one of us to love family, health, hobbies, possessions, or pleasures in this world-and to even sincerely thank God for these things—but not actually love God.” p. 136
“And loving and desiring gifts more than the Giver isn’t Christianity. It’s idolatry.” p.136
“We need to seek God as the sole end of our souls’ longings with faith that, in all his glory, power, and steadfast love, he really is better than every good gift in this world combined.” p. 141
Lastly, Dr. Platt does not just leave us with a bunch of facts to process and encouragement to do better. He wraps up the book with practical ways we can be about God’s business of sharing the gospel to the ends of the earth. He reminds us to seek the Lord and to remember that the “go” in the Great Commission could mean to go next door to your neighbor; to go to the refugees that have just arrived in your city; or it could mean to go to a remote part of the world where the gospel has not been heard. But it is imperative that we go.
Essentially, throughout this book, Dr. Platt he challenges us to truly examine our hearts and to make a decision. Are we going to continue in our American version of Christianity which marked by comfort, talking about justice, and “preserving our way of life”? Or, are we going to, as he said, “live with zeal for all the nations to know Jesus”? I hope you will pick up this book and read it. More than that, my hope is that you will join me in truly seeking the Lord for the next steps in taking the gospel to the nations.
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I may earn commissions from qualifying purchases using the link above, at no additional cost to you.
Comments