When Our Gospel Locks People Out

The church is a powerful, God-designed agent of His Kingdom on earth. When the body of Christ responds in fullness of sacrificial surrender to God and others, the church is the catalyst for the fruit of the Spirit made manifest within creation.

Yet the church has a dark history as well. Aside from obvious horrors like the Crusades and cover up of abuses (in the #MeToo era and earlier), I believe the church has often been a place where more subtle destructive patterns have flourished.

In a follow-up to my recent post about rethinking evangelism, I want to talk about the danger of “trump card” theological answers in response to those we disagree with.

So often I have seen the church twist the very theology of God that is meant to LIBERATE people, into a prison cell with no doors or windows.

At some level, this can happen anytime we say, “The Bible says it…you can’t argue with the Bible!”

Nevermind that most people use the Bible to argue with the Bible.

But for me, the most painful “trump card” answer is to imply that YOUR argument is a GOSPEL argument. Once you equate your stance with the Gospel, you are essentially saying that anyone who believes differently is defying God. (I have felt the sting of that conversation stopper, and it has made me fear for so long that God is less-than-pleased with me.)

In other words, we think maybe there are some verses that we chalk up to nuance- maybe there are some verses we believe are open to interpretation based on the ambiguity of the translation or the variation in manuscripts- but if you call something a GOSPEL issue, you are saying that the very fabric of God’s heart for the world hinges on your specific belief.

There are certainly issues in the Bible that are gospel issues.

But I believe we’ve started to play our “gospel” card pretty fast and loose.

I have heard the Gospel pitted against women speaking or leading in a church. I have heard the Gospel used to diminish the Black Live Matter or protesting movements. I’ve heard people challenge social justice with the Gospel.

So often we use the Gospel not as a vehicle for God’s good news, but as a way to shut down conversation. We frequently belittle those who see Scripture through a different lense, and effectively limit the very scope of the Gospel we desire to spread into every crack of our world.

Why is this Gospel trump card so dangerous? Because it reminds me of the religious leaders in the time of Jesus.

I am thoroughly sobered by the realization the I- that the church at large- are the ones of our generation that most resemble the Pharisees. I challenge you to read this passage of Scripture to the Pharisees with your own heart open to where Jesus may be challenging you: (Matthew 23: 13/15/23-24

13 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to…. /15 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are…./23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

What is interesting to me here is that the Pharisees do what we approve of in Evangelical culture: they are traveling land and sea to “win a single convert”. Isn’t this the great commission? Shouldn’t Jesus be applauding such persistence? But instead, he says they make such converts “twice as much a child of hell as you are.” Ouch.

(Side note- Jesus does not get nearly enough credit for his career in insults. “Brood of vipers” is another classic.)

The Pharisees have all the trappings of godliness, but their hearts are far from knowing God. Can you pass on knowing God to others without experiencing God outside of rules and regulations?

This is why Galatians 3:21 says, “if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law.” 

Yet righteousness and life come not through the law, but through the promise in the person of Christ.

Yet the most scathing indictment in the passage in Matthew is verse 13: You shut the door of the Kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.

Shutting the door in people’s faces- isn’t that what a mic-drop, conversation stopping gospel trump card does? No no no, YOU don’t get to enter- your theology is wrong. No no no, YOU can’t enter and lead in the flourishing of the church, the gospel is too fragile. No no no, YOU can’t follow Black Lives Matter because the Gospel (as I see it) will end racism. No no no YOU are mistaken- the Bible is about the Gospel, not social justice.

(Ah except that Jesus (the way truth and life) calls “justice, mercy and faithfulness” the “more important matters of the law”. )

When did we decide that protecting the Gospel meant monitoring the Kingdom door?

Jesus IS the door friends- and He’s an OPEN door. The gospel or “good news” is NOT that we can enter the Kingdom of Heaven when our theology is perfect. The Gospel is that God has already swung wide the Kingdom gates while we were still a long way off. And Jesus, our door, isn’t set on a timer to shut if we don’t pass a theological entrance exam- as though the death of Jesus on the cross were only powerful enough to save people who were already mostly saved on their own.

So when we choose to wield the gospel like a weapon, we don’t have the power to close the door- but we end up acting like we’re Kingdom bouncers, ready to pick and choose who gets in the club.

Where do bouncers stand? On the outside of the club. They don’t enter, because their job is to keep others from entering.

How often do we do this? How often do we stand outside of the Kingdom of God because we believe that our job is to moderate who gets in and whether they are doing it right. Whether they are dressed for the part- whether they are respected enough- whether they have the right answers.

And the Father longs for the “good sons” to enter the Kingdom party, just as much as he longs for the prodigals to enter.

Whenever we add and impose human regulations to the Gospel, we are actually making the Gospel much narrower than it actually is. And yes, there are some arguments that genuinely oppose the Gospel. But much more often, we can find a gospel vein in the heart of other people- a gospel vein in their movements and beliefs and actions. And we are called to speak into that divinity and Gospel reflected in our brothers and sisters and invite them to dialogue more.

We aren’t meant to be Kingdom bouncers. We are made to be Kingdom BEARERS. That means that we bring a taste of the Kingdom everywhere we live and move and breath.

That means we aren’t carrying around measuring sticks of morality to see who is in our out- we’re living symbols of the height of grace and depth of Love. We aren’t weaponizing our theology; we’re applying theology to till the land around us for the flourishing of more Kingdom seeds.

The Gospel was never meant to stop conversations and build walls- it was meant to invite dialogue and tear barriers down.

Questions for reflection:

1: What is the Gospel? (Really and truly.) What does it mean to live the Gospel? Ask God to give you His answer, and to lead you to verses that reveal more of His heart.

2: Have you ever weaponized the Gospel? What does that mean to you?

3: Where do you see the church hiding behind “the Gospel” instead of acting on the Gospel?

4: Have you ever felt the pain of someone telling you that you are opposing the Gospel? How did you respond? Does it impact the way you speak to others about what you believe?

5: What Pharisee attributes have you noticed in your own life from time to time? (Remember, seeing ourselves in the Pharisees doesn’t mean we’re un-redeemable or evil- it means we’re human. And admitting our weakness is part allowing God examine our hearts and change us.)

5: Think about the difference between a Kingdom “bouncer” and Kingdom “bearer”. Think of examples of these two kinds of God-followers from your own life or your experience with others.

6: Is your Gospel theology more focused on liberation or limitation?

7: Is someone (or a group of people) being locked out of the Kingdom by your Gospel?