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WHY THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT
DEMANDS A CROSS
By Riley B. Case

I was traveling with a friend when we passed a roadside sign, "Repent or Perish." My friend was unnerved. Well, actually, she was angry. "Why do they do such things; it only gives religion a bad name." I was not necessarily in the mood for a religious discussion but I did inquire as to what she found so objectionable. "Well," she replied, "it sounds so, so.judgmental."

Yes, that was it. Judgmental. A vice to be avoided at all costs. A person who is judgmental is not open and accepting. It is a person who is not reflecting our new United Methodist theology, which is-thanks to some public relations firm and proclaimed through TV ads-"Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors." Words like "repent" do not go with "Open Hearts." "Repent" suggests a condemning spirit and a holier-than-thou attitude. It is a "bad" word. When combined with the word "perish" the badness is multiplied.

How dare people go around telling other people to repent!

"How dare they?" would be a good question to ask Jesus directly, if we could. "Repent or perish" is, after all, taken from the words of Jesus, "I tell you; unless you repent you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3). And, if we had the chance, while we were at it, we might ask Jesus about some other things he said, like about the branches that don't bear fruit that are thrown into the fire and burned, or the unfaithful servant who was thrown into the outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. Our comments to Jesus might go something like this: "Jesus, these things you say about eternal punishment and fire are harsh words; we thought you were kind and loving and accepting. You hold children on your lap and send away those who would stone the woman taken in adultery."

Those who hold to the historic faith have no problems with the words of Jesus. Sin is real. Judgment is real. Hell is real. God's love is real. The Incarnation is real. The cross as an act of atonement is real. Repentance is real. Faith is real. Grace is real. Transformation and a new creation are real. Heaven is real. The message to be shared with all people is that "God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life."

But some, mostly outside the church but some even connected with the church, have "progressed" beyond that. They call themselves "progressive" Christians. They have new insights about God and the faith that they wish to impose upon the rest of us. The essence of religion, according to the progressives, is not about bloody crosses and salvation from hell but about acceptance and celebrating differences. God affirms us as we are, whatever our gender or race or economic status or lifestyle or religion. The "good news" we so often talk about is not that Christ died on the cross for our sins, but, as the United Methodist confirmation materials once stated, "we are all children of God by birth."

"Progressive" Christians don't particularly care for the God of the Old Testament, or the apostle Paul, who said unkind things about homosexuality. They are exclusively attracted to certain words and actions of Jesus. After all, Jesus lifted up the woman taken in adultery; Jesus said, "Let little children come to me"; Jesus accepted the Gentiles; Jesus had a preference for the poor; Jesus did not say anything about homosexuality; Jesus would not go to war in Iraq; Jesus was against intolerant religious leaders. Jesus told us, "Judge not, that you be not judged."

"Judge not, that you be not judged" is the new John 3:16 of the progressive Christians. If progressive Christians put a Bible verse on a placard and held it up for the sake of TV cameras at a major league baseball game (not that progressive Christians would ever put a Bible verse on a placard-but if they did) the Bible verse would not be John 3:16, but Matthew 7:l, "Judge not.." If progressive Christians were ever to pass out tracts on the street (not that progressive Christians would ever pass out tracts on the street-but if they did) they would not feature John 3:16 but Matthew 7:1 "Judge not."

In the new religion of inclusiveness and diversity, acceptance of different cultures, lifestyles, and systems of morality is required. From the progressive Christian perspective John the Baptist probably never said, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," but rather, "Judge not, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." (It might be worth mentioning that people do not lose their heads for preaching, "Judge not.")

It is appropriate to point out that Matthew 7:1 ("judge not."), when put into the context of the Sermon on the Mount, means something quite different from what the progressives want it to mean. The progressives want the verse to mean that since we are all children of God by birth and are all accepted by God as good-just as we are without change-we ought not judge other people.

Our bishops have said that unrepentant, practicing homosexuality is not a barrier to church membership. If this is not a barrier, then nothing is a barrier. There are no standards. The vows mean whatever we want them to mean. Our membership, as one interpreter actually argued, is "unambiguously permissive in nature and inclusive in scope." We all do what is right in our own eyes.

But the Sermon on the Mount is hardly a passage celebrating diversity. Jesus' message is not an "Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors" sort of message. There is a text saying if our hand causes us to sin, we had better cut it off than be thrown in hell; there is a passage about a wide gate that leads to destruction; about Jesus saying to people, "I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers." Indeed, Jesus tells us we must be perfect even as our father in heaven is perfect. The reason we are not to judge is that we are all guilty. It is not that we are all acceptable to God. It is the exact opposite: none of us is acceptable to God.

In other words, the Sermon on the Mount demands a cross. We need forgiveness and transformation and grace. The Christian message is that because of Christ's death on the cross, it is possible for us to be reconciled to God by faith.

The invitation to the gospel is indeed inclusive. As the hymn states: "Come, sinners, to the gospel feast, let every soul be Jesus' guest." All persons are of sacred worth. That is precisely why Jesus Christ died for all persons. All persons shall be eligible to attend the services of the United Methodist Church (Article IV, Constitution of the United Methodist Church). When that Constitutional amendment was being discussed by the General Conferences and then in the annual conferences, there was no dissent. We all agreed. In one respect the statement does not go far enough: it is not just that all persons are eligible; we plead earnestly with all persons to come not only to our worship services, but to the cross. God is not willing that any should perish.

It is a bad reading to claim that "inclusiveness" is the bedrock foundation of United Methodism. In Wesley's mind the "new creation" in Christ is the bedrock foundation of Methodism. When the first group of preachers gathered with Bishop Francis Asbury in Baltimore in 1784, to form the Methodist Episcopal Church in America, they declared as their purpose to "save souls." They wrote into the first Discipline, "How shall we prevent improper persons from insinuating into the society?" They feared a dead, formal, and unconverted membership. To be a Methodist was supposed to mean something. It was to represent Christ in the world, that the world might be redeemed.

What about judging? We are not to judge, if that means assuming some moral superiority. But there is a place for speaking out to hold each other accountable. Bishop William Willimon explains in his commentary on Titus (p. 2176, Spiritual Formation Bible):

"Who am I to judge you? Your brother or sister in Christ, that's who. The Letter to Titus suffers no reservations in making specific moral demands upon these new Christians. The world is quite right in assuming that if the way of Christ is true and life-giving, it ought to be able to look at our lives and see that way personified in what we do and say."

Riley B. Case is a contributing editor and member of the Good News Board of Directors. He is the author of Evangelical and Methodist: A Popular History (Abingdon Press, 2004).



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