{"id":447,"date":"2012-04-13T05:12:52","date_gmt":"2012-04-13T05:12:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/leavingsalem\/?p=447"},"modified":"2012-04-11T15:20:43","modified_gmt":"2012-04-11T15:20:43","slug":"one-hell-of-a-sermon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/leavingsalem\/2012\/04\/one-hell-of-a-sermon.html","title":{"rendered":"“One Hell of a Sermon”"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>\u201cThat was one hell of a sermon, preacher.\u201d That was the word of encouragement passed on to my good friend at the conclusion of an especially inspiring Sunday morning sermon.<\/p>\n

The young man paying the compliment was a simple diesel mechanic named Terry. Terry came to church every Sunday with grease under his fingernails; tattoos peeking out from beneath his cut-off sleeves; and the smell of Marlboros heavy on his breath.<\/p>\n

This didn\u2019t mean he couldn\u2019t recognize a good sermon when he heard one, even if his praise was a bit unorthodox. Beaming from ear to ear, pumping the pastor\u2019s hand, this young man was happy to attend this little church to hear good sermons and pursue his new-found relationship with Christ.<\/p>\n

It had not always been so. Terry\u2019s story was one of glorious conversion like something you hear from a Billy Graham crusade. Drug abuse, alcoholism, failed relationships: He had suffered from and caused more than his share of disaster. Then, by God\u2019s grace, it all turned around.<\/p>\n

My friend, his pastor, had been instrumental in this transformation. He served as a spiritual guide to Terry, a true pastor, helping him sort out all his past baggage, pointing him forward, and allowing the rough edges to remain. After all, God looks at a person\u2019s heart not the grease under his fingernails.<\/p>\n

If only people were the same. One Wednesday Terry was running late for the church\u2019s weekly Bible Study. He came straight from work. No shower, no shave, no change of clothes. He came like that old hymn so often sang: Just as I Am.<\/p>\n

A self-appointed delegation met Terry in the parking lot on this particular night. This group told Terry that should he wish to continue to be a part of the church, it was time he learned to dress right, cover those devilish tattoos, and clean up his language.<\/p>\n

Terry\u2019s reaction was expected. He was crushed. Bible in hand he returned to his truck, drove away and never returned. The chances of him ever giving church a shot again are slim to none. Who can blame him?<\/p>\n

The pastor, my friend, only discovered the transgression against Terry after the fact, when his usual seat in worship was inexplicably vacant. My friend, to his credit, no longer pastors that church.<\/p>\n

The last time we find Jesus in synagogue on the Sabbath, he healed a woman who had been crippled for eighteen years. With just a word and a touch he caused her to regain her lost strength. Those who happened to be in church that weekend were astounded.<\/p>\n

But this was more than the synagogue attendant could stand. He makes the audacious statement, \u201cThere are six days of the week to get healed \u2013 not on the Sabbath\u201d (See Luke 13). It\u2019s good for people to get well, in other words, but not on Sunday and not in the church house.<\/p>\n

A woman who had been broken for eighteen years \u2013 eighteen years! \u2013 had been healed, and all this man could do was fret over the minutia of keeping the rules. He couldn\u2019t celebrate the physical and spiritual deliverance of one who had long suffered. All he could see was the grease under the fingernails of a Nazarene carpenter who had violated the sacred customs of worship.<\/p>\n

He rebuked the awe-struck crowd and chided the healed and the Healer. We never find Jesus attending the synagogue services again. Never. Who could blame him?<\/p>\n

Question: Why won\u2019t some people go to church? Answer: Because they have been. This is no excuse for throwing away spirituality, not in the least. But it is recognition that the church, when it behaves in ways oppositional to its Founder, is its own worst enemy.<\/p>\n

Jesus intentionally broke the rules and customs of the religious establishment not for rebellion\u2019s sake, but to reveal how preposterous it was to hold to these rules: Choosing to honor the oppressive Sabbath law over celebrating the healing of one of God\u2019s children; and running off diesel mechanics whose hearts have changed but who don\u2019t dress right on Sunday. This is ridiculous! Actually, it\u2019s more than ridiculous. It is sinful.<\/p>\n

On this weekend when we celebrate our national freedom, let us also remember the freedom that Christ brings. For those whom \u201cthe Son sets free are free indeed,\u201d and no amount of religious rule-making manipulation can change that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cThat was one hell of a sermon, preacher.\u201d That was the word of encouragement passed on to my good friend at the conclusion of an especially inspiring Sunday morning sermon. The young man paying the compliment was a simple diesel mechanic named Terry. Terry came to church every Sunday with grease under his fingernails; tattoos…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":441,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,76],"tags":[52,33,125],"class_list":["post-447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-church","category-judgmental","tag-faith-2","tag-ronnie-mcbrayer","tag-tattoos"],"yoast_head":"\n"One Hell of a Sermon" - Leaving Salem<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/leavingsalem\/2012\/04\/one-hell-of-a-sermon.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\""One Hell of a Sermon" - Leaving Salem\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cThat was one hell of a sermon, preacher.\u201d That was the word of encouragement passed on to my good friend at the conclusion of an especially inspiring Sunday morning sermon. 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