You read it correctly. I want to kill the 21st century hippie Jesus. How will I do this? By crucifying him with the truth revealing Word of God.
The seeker sensitive movement in America over the past 40 years has had a huge impact on the way people view Christianity. Some of the impact has been positive, leading churches to focus more on their evangelistic efforts. However, much of the ripple effect that has gone out from this movement has been negative to say the least. Although there are many critiques to be made on this seeker sensitive Christianity, I want to focus on one of the most dangerous ones: the hippie-like-Jesus that has been born out of it.
But how exactly was this Jesus born? Not by a virgin in a manger surrounded by smelly animals, I can tell you that. Its really quite simple. Mr. Seeker Sensitivity got together with the attractive Ms. Compromise, and after conceiving, out popped Hippie Jesus. Just like that! And what are some of the characteristics of Hippie Jesus you may ask? The problem isn’t with what his characteristics are, but what they aren’t. Hippie Jesus doesn’t judge anyone, or get angry, or worst of all, send anybody to Hell. Hippie Jesus is weak and quiet, and more of a moral teacher than anything else. Hippie Jesus doesn’t claim he is the only way to Heaven, because that would be extremely intolerable and politically incorrect! Hippie Jesus is safe, and fits perfectly into the little box we have put him in that goes into our church clothes pockets that we only wear on the weekend. My fear for people who believe in Hippie Jesus is that they will be in for a rude awakening the day they realize he doesn’t exist.
The problem of people believing in a false Jesus isn’t new, in fact the apostle Paul dealt with the EXACT same thing happening in his letter to the church in Corinth 2000 years ago. In 2 Corinthians 11:4 he says, “You happily put up with whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different kind of Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed.” Is that whats happening today? Have we believed in a “different Jesus”? There’s only one way we can answer that, by going to the Word of God itself that testifies about who Jesus really is. Lets see if we can find out and expose the 3 biggest problems with Hippie Jesus.
Lets address the first problem. Whats the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word hippie? Peace right? Exactly. Let me start by saying I believe wholeheartedly that Jesus Christ is the prince of peace, and the only true source of it. However, Jesus only gives two kinds of peace. The inner peace that is a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5), and the outer peace towards God that Jesus accomplished for us through His death on the cross. The problem that emerges from believing in Hippie Jesus is that a third kind of peace is offered. Peace with the world. Since Hippie Jesus is so laid back and cool, he gets along just fine with the rest of the world. Lets pull a nail out from the word of God and see if we can’t pierce that lie.
In Matthew 10:34-35 the real Jesus says, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother..”.
Apparently Hippie Jesus is supposed to be wielding a sword of division that is going to one day split households, I guess he left it in its sheath. But why is Jesus saying this here in Matthew? Simple. Because to be a follower of Jesus means giving Him your full allegiance, even under persecution from your own family! The day will come when peoples faith will be tested. Whether someones faith is genuine and true or outward and fake will be revealed when Christs sword clearly splits people right down the middle into two categories: His sheep or Satan’s.
Lets move on to the second most dangerous problem with Hippie Jesus. Hippie Jesus is weak and quiet, passive and nonjudgmental. But is that how Jesus really is? It will only take five verses from the book of Revelation to shed the light needed for the answer.
Revelation 19:11-15 says, “Then I saw Heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for He judges fairly and wages a righteous war. His eyes were like flames of fire, and on His head were many crowns. A name was written on Him that no one understood except Himself. He wore a robe dipped in blood, and His title was the Word of God. The armies of Heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed Him on white horses. From His mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, like juice flowing from a wine press.”
Now wait a second, how do these descriptions match up with Hippie Jesus? I thought He was a laid back carefree kind of guy throwing up the peace sign? You’re telling me the Bible says he is supposed to be a mighty king who rules with an iron rod who is coming back to judge the world while releasing the fierce wrath of God on the nations of people who reject him? That just doesn’t add up. This Hippie Jesus guy is starting to sound more and more like an impostor. But we aren’t quite finished with him yet. Its time to deliver the killing blow.
Lets address and resolve the final problem with Hippie Jesus. Hippie Jesus would never be caught dead telling someone they were going to Hell for not believing in him. In fact Hippie Jesus wouldn’t be caught talking about Hell at all, because lets be honest, Hell is really offensive and will quickly make people uncomfortable in conversation. I know Hippie Jesus has been exposed in those other two problems we discussed, but judging by the way many churches talk about him, surely this is something true about him. Lets take one last look at the eternal Holy Scriptures to find out.
In Luke 12:4-5, Jesus says, “Dear friends, don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot do any more to you after that. But I’ll tell you whom to fear. Fear God, who has the power to kill you and then throw you into hell. Yes, he’s the one to fear.”
Okay, but that’s only one verse right? Actually on further examination I found many times throughout all four gospels that Jesus warns people about the dangers and reality of Hell. But I mean just because he warned people doesn’t mean hes the ONLY way to avoid Hell though. Let’s see if the Bible speaks to that or not.
In John 14:6 these famous words are recorded from Jesus, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
There’s no way around those words. Jesus is claiming to be the only direction, the only truth, and the only source of life. Not to mention He goes on to say that NO ONE can come to the father except through Him. These claims are not politically correct. These claims do not leave room for other religions to be true. And most importantly, these claims finish crucifying the fraud that we have been examining today, this Hippie Jesus.
Although we are talking metaphorically about killing this false Christ that people have produced, a very real Jesus had a very real death 2000 years ago. His death was the most significant act in history, in fact it split history right down the middle. Not only was His death significant, but so was His bodily resurrection from the grave three days later. Christ has been raised and glorified, and is sitting on His throne in Heaven as high priest and King of His people. This very real Jesus offers us a very real salvation through faith, and is coming back to judge the world in a very real way soon. Will you be rejoicing on that day because of your faith in the real Jesus, or will you be shocked in utter terror because of the fact Hippie Jesus does not have power to save? Only time will tell. I hope this has shined some light!
Shine the Light and Write 