Chruslims?
Today is Pentecost Sunday. For some reason this day doesn’t tend to get celebrated much in Evangelical and Pentecostal churches. We make a big deal of Christmas and Easter, but the Sunday that marks the outpouring of the Holy Spirit gets pretty much ignored. For Christians, and for Pentecostals in particular, that’s pretty ironic.
If we could go back 2000 years or so and try to think like the Early Church, then we would see the Day of Pentecost as being the greatest day of the year – the day that marks out Christianity as being different from every religious system on earth. The Day of Pentecost is what makes us Christians rather than “Chruslims”.
A “Chruslim” is a Christian who thinks like a Muslim. By that, I mean that they do all the things that a good Muslim is expected to do. Now, note that I’m talking about ‘a good Muslim’. Of course you get Muslims who don’t do the stuff I’m about to talk about – just as you get church members who don’t do what they are supposed to do. But we’re not talking about the exceptions here, we’re talking about the behaviour that characterises a sincere obedient Muslim (as well as a sincere obedient church member).
1. Muslims Belong to a Community
A good Muslim belongs to a community of fellow believers. They might have chosen this community – but more likely they were born into it. And within this community they learn to care for each other and show love and concern for each other.
2. Muslims Attend Worship
A good Muslim isn’t a Muslim in name only. They meet with other members of their community to worship in the Mosque. Often they sacrifice opportunities to work on Friday (their holy day) so they won’t miss going to the Mosque.
3. Muslims Pray Regularly
Good Muslims believe in prayer. In fact they are expected to pray five times a day (How many church members do you know who do that?) If you’ve ever visited a Muslim country you will have heard the ear-piercing calls to prayer being broadcast from the Mosque very early in the morning.
4. Muslims Read Scripture
Good Muslims regularly read, recite, and memorize the Koran. In fact, if you look up the Guinness Book of Records you’ll find that some of the most prodigious feats of memory are those of Muslims who have memorized their entire holy book. How many Christians do you know who can commit the entire Bible to memory?
5. Muslims Avoid Certain Sins
A good Muslim is very careful to abstain from what they see as sinful patterns of behaviour. These rules, although different from some of what we do in church, are carefully followed. No alcohol, no pork, no adultery etc.
6. Muslims Give Money
A good Muslim practices something called Zakat. This obliges them to give a fixed percentage of their income (usually 2.5%) to the poor and to charity. This is in addition to what they give for the upkeep of the Mosque. True, it isn’t a tithe – but, then again, ask any Pastor how many church members really tithe!!!!
7. Muslims Spread Their Faith
A good Muslim is passionate about spreading their faith. In fact, most of the problems we have with Muslims in the world today occur because they are too passionate about spreading their faith!
8. Muslims Will Die for Their Faith
Many Muslims are prepared to lay down their lives for what they believe. In it’s most radical and perverted form this leads to the actions of suicide bombers. But other Muslims have been prepared throughout history to be killed rather than to renounce their religion.
9. Muslims Believe in Heaven
A good Muslim believes that when they die then they will be rewarded by spending Eternity in Paradise while the wicked roast in Hell.
You know what’s really strange? Look back over the nine points that I’ve just listed, then try to think how much of the preaching you hear in church is concentrating on trying to get us to do these very same things! I would hazard a guess that 90% of the preaching I’ve heard over the last 31 years of being a Christian has been based on trying to get me to do the things that Muslims are already doing.
Wow!
Hours of preaching encouraging me to belong to my community (church), attend worship, pray, read my Scriptures, avoid sinful habits, give money to the church (and the poor), spread my faith to others, even be willing to die for Jesus, and to believe that if I do all this then I can be sure of going to Heaven when I die instead of going to Hell.
Once again – Wow!
90% of Christian preaching teaching me how to do the stuff that good Muslims do. 90% of sermons encouraging me to be a good “Chruslim”.
Now, of course there’s nothing wrong with those nine things. And, to be sure, they are the things that should quite naturally characterize our lives as followers of Jesus Christ. But just doing those things alone will cause us to fall far short of being children of the Living God (even if they will make us respected in our churches and loved by our pastors).
Jesus didn’t die to create another religion. There are already plenty of religions in the world. We didn’t need yet another religion.
Jesus didn’t come to earth to turn Jews and Gentiles into Chruslims.
Jesus told us why He came to earth:
Let’s look again at our opening Scripture from Romans:
Jesus came so we could have God the Holy Spirit residing in our hearts by faith, releasing life more abundant as our daily experience of God. Jesus died so that the resurrection power that raised Him from the grave on Easter Sunday would flow through us and make our lives truly extraordinary. That’s what Pentecost Sunday is all about. It’s what separates dynamic born-again rejoicing sons of God from simply being Muslims – or Chruslims!
This Pentecost Sunday, why not look to Jesus afresh and cry out for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in your life? Don’t be satisfied with anything less than a glorious manifestation of life more abundant on a daily basis. Don’t settle for being a Chruslim!
