Mr Nice Guy

What's so different about Christianity?

Why the fuss? Why does it matter? Who cares?

Aren't they just like us? Look, I'm a pretty decent guy. I haven't murdered anyone; I help out at community events; I take care of my mother. I don't drink; I don't smoke; I don't gamble. Isn't that what Jesus was all about? Everyone loving each other and treating each other with respect?

Isn't that all?

In a post-Christian world, in which the Judeo-Christian after-effects still permeate throughout its culture, it can sometimes feel hard for Christians to stand out from their non-Christian neighbours. It may be remarkable in mainland China to be an honest businessman that keeps firmly to the law, but it's pretty standard in Australia to do the right thing… otherwise you get caught! In Afghanistan, Christians may have to die for standing up for their faith, but no one's going to shoot you for following Jesus in England.

What does Christianity have to offer the Western ("Modern") World, apart from its Bible-based morality, which no one really wants any more anyway. We're "much too advanced" for the backward and ancient rules of the Bible, after all. How can a Christian be "different" enough to be noticed in this pluralistic post-Christian society?

The answer is - and always has been - Jesus. The Bible doesn't offer a way to improve life on Earth, because it says that God will do away with the current world to make way for a new, perfect, one! It doesn't offer Morality, contrary to public opinion; it states that no one is righteous enough before God and that Morality gets you nowhere! Sin isn't a negative bank account where if you pay enough good deeds you can get yourself out of debt; it's a terminal illness of the soul that has no cure apart from the blood of Jesus!

Jesus was never about turning us into "Mr Nice Guy". When He lived on earth, His main aim wasn't to make us all love each other and treat each other right. His Mission was to come to die, in our place, for our sins. His primary objective was to take the bullet for us, so that we may live on in the loving arms of our Father in Heaven.

So what's so different about a Christian? It's simple: Jesus. Our entire existence is viewed in light of Jesus. We live in, for, to, through Jesus. "To live is Christ, and to die is gain". Yes, maybe that would push some of us more towards a more "morally acceptable" life according to some people (Although many of us can testify to the fact that we probably stumble a lot more than we ought to!). We're not better people; we're SAVED people, and that only because Jesus was gracious enough to give us what we did not deserve.

A Christian is not defined by what he/she does, but by what has been done for him/her. We may not necessarily ACT differently (though we really should); but we ARE different.

We have been taken by Jesus, and that changes EVERYTHING.