What made the Jesus movement of the 1970s so powerful? Come as you are meant to come in whatever attire from whatever background, from any past, to hear the truth of the Gospel presented through God’s Word. Come as you are didn’t mean, come and stay as you are, but come and be changed through the power of the Holy Spirit to not find earthly peace but true peace from leaving your life of sin and following Jesus.
Recently, my daughter had a decade’s day at school. She chose to dress like a ’70s girl. It prompted us to talk about the Jesus Movement and the power of Chuck Smith’s work to invite anyone and everyone to hear the truth of Jesus. Pastor Smith didn’t let these new believers in Jesus stay where they were at. He didn’t craft messages to make them feel comfortable in their sin. He simply presented the truth that Jesus is the way and the truth and the life and that no one comes to the Father except through Him! He didn’t say that he would find passages of Scripture to give them peace to continue to justify a life of sin, but he presented them an opportunity to find true peace in Jesus through leaving a life of sin and having abundant human flourishing.
Where are we today? Are we sitting in churches that say come as you are and stay as you are? Are we praising God in churches that radically welcome anyone and everyone but then share authentic love by presenting the full truth of the Gospel so each can have eternal peace, hope, and life through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ? The difference between a church preaching the Word of God and all of it versus a counterfeit, “let’s make you feel comfortable, Gospel is one of life and death with eternal ramifications.
I’m praying that just as Chuck Smith did in the 1970s, we have pastors who welcome all but direct all to the true source of peace. Jesus said come to me and come follow me and take my yoke upon you, but He said, “and” — and leave your life of sin. What a freeing picture of carrying many bags around of sin, burdens, worries and placing them at the feet of Jesus. Jesus paved the way so we could leave that life of sin at the foot of the cross as He carried those bags and burdens for us all on the road to Calvary. Now we simply need to lay it all at the feet of Jesus and encourage each visitor at church to do the same for true and ultimate peace and freedom in Jesus. The Church would be cheating herself to think that those with a hunger and thirst for the Gospel want a lukewarm message intermingled with the ways of the world. Those who enter churches to see what makes this “Christian life” so different want the truth and all of it, not a watered-down version and a feel-good message. The power of Christ transforms in the best way possible and provides true everlasting life.
In a society obsessed with identity and labels, how freeing to know the unconditional love of God and the most significant eternal label we have as a “child of God.” What if our churches boldly preached the power of the Gospel to the point that those who entered their doors felt so encouraged to drop and release their identities rooted in sin? What if our churches celebrated the freedom and liberation from sin and the cultural identities we seek to hide behind, rather than trying to unwisely “affirm” and validate them? What if pastors preached with boldness to not skirt around God’s Word but highlight the life-giving power of God’s design in gender, marriage, sexuality and life?
The flower children learned they could leave their sins behind to take on the full identity of being children of God! Imagine how freeing to leave the shackles of sin behind and without any fears, move forward in freedom in Christ. There is no peace through validation but peace through justification through Christ. Jesus died to take on our sin so we would receive a clean slate when we meet God one day. God is a God of justice, and all who receive can believe and have freedom in Christ.
During one of his powerful encounters in the Bible, Jesus approached a woman caught in adultery in John 8.
“Jesus stood up and said to her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ She said, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more’” (John 8:10-11).
Jesus didn’t say that He cared for her and wanted to make her feel comfortable in her sin. Jesus commanded her to leave her life of sin, as he knew that the life she lived was not one of abundance but of heartache. Are we following the example of Christ in encountering and welcoming in those who are deep in sin, but pulling them out of the pit and telling them to leave the sin patterns of death and destruction for a life of hope and joy?
Are you ready for true cultural awakening and freedom? It simply can come and happen when we say to those we see and meet, “Come to Jesus to find true peace. It may be a radical life change, but will lead to radical freedom and eternal life.”
Elizabeth McCauley serves as co-leader of the Virginia MAVENS (Mothers for American Values, Education and NOVA Safety). Prior to her best promotion of becoming a mother of three children, she worked in political campaigns, on Capitol Hill, in the blockchain space and as an advisor and board member to non profits and disruptive tech startups. She and her husband and children reside in Northern Virginia and are actively involved at church and local advocacy. She holds a degree in Political Science from Wheaton College.
