Saying No to Checklist Christianity

[The Midweek Encounter is a ministry of Encounter Church in Kentwood, MI. These posts are a reflection on Sunday’s message, which can be heard here each week: http://myencounterchurch.org/#/hear-a-message]

Checklists are my friend. Whether it’s a list of what I need to do at work that day, a list of errands I need to run, or a list of what I need to pack for a trip, I like to see what needs to be done and check them off as I accomplish them.

Pastor Dirk told us that in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, there are 66 imperative statements--66 things to not do or to check off the list to do. Yet in his introduction, known as the Beatitudes, Jesus uses a different approach. Instead of directly telling his listeners what to do, he tells them ways of being. He tells them of being poor in spirit, of mourning, of being meek, of hungering and thirsting for righteousness, of being merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, and persecuted because of righteousness.

The Beatitudes are not a list of tasks to accomplish, they’re ways of living that are to shape our lives.

This doesn’t mean that the imperative statements found elsewhere in the Sermon on the Mount are bad; they are guidance for how to handle certain situations and create a framework for the Christian life. But as good as those things are, ultimately Jesus isn’t asking us to make a checklist of How to be a Good Christian and tick all the boxes. As Pastor Dirk put it so clearly, “Jesus isn’t asking us to be better people, he’s asking us to find our righteousness in him.” Because no checklist will ever get us closer to God.

What it comes down to is what we at Encounter talk about so often--grace. It’s pure grace that frees us to say no checklist Christianity and to live as an expression of gratitude for what God has done for us. No amount of money given to church, hours of time poured into ministries, or people we’ve told about Christ is enough to earn us a spot in eternity. It’s only when we realize our own incapability to save ourselves that we are freed to embrace the one who can save us. Jesus.

[Brianna DeWitt attends Encounter Church and lives, works, and writes in Grand Rapids, MI. You can see more of her musings on her personal blog at http://awritespot.wordpress.com and on Twitter at @bwitt722.]