They Love Your Works. They Hate Your Jesus.

I was prepping a message a few months ago out of John chapter 10, looking at the exact moment the religious leaders turned on Jesus, and it hit me how little the world has actually changed.

You and I both know how this works in our culture today. If you just do nice things; if you hand out free meals, organize a community clean-up here in Carter County, or run a generic non-profit; everyone loves you. The city will give you a plaque. But as I was staring at that text in John, I realized there is a very real trap hidden underneath all that applause.

The Applause is a Trap

In John 10, Jesus makes a statement that shifts the entire atmosphere. He looks at the religious leaders and says, “The Father and I are one.”

Immediately, they pick up stones to kill Him.

Jesus stops them and asks a very specific question: “For which of the good works that I’ve done are you going to stone me?”

Their response reveals everything you need to know about the world we live in. They reply: “We aren’t stoning you for your good works. We are stoning you for blasphemy, because you claim to be God.”

Here is the reality: The culture has absolutely zero problem with humanitarian effort. You can run a food pantry or build a community center, and the world will cheer. But the second you attach the exclusive name of Jesus to those works? The second you declare that He isn’t just a good teacher, but the actual, exclusive God of the universe?

They pick up stones.

Do Not Dilute the Gospel

Because we naturally hate being persecuted, you and I face a massive temptation every single day: Drop the Name to keep the applause.

The enemy whispers the lie that if we just tone down the “Jesus is God” rhetoric and focus strictly on doing nice things for the community, we can win the world over. But if we drop the exclusive truth of Christ just to keep the culture happy, we cease to be the Church. We just become another secular non-profit organization.

A food bank cannot save a soul. A blanket cannot forgive a sin. Only the resurrected Christ can do that.

Hold the Line

Mission This Week: I want you to do the good works. Serve your neighbors. Help the broken in your path. But do not apologize for the Name you do it under. When someone asks why you do what you do, do not give them a generic answer about “giving back.” Tell them it is because of the resurrected Christ. Do not dilute the gospel to avoid the stones.

See you Sunday,
Pastor Jeremy