The threshold question for anyone thinking about eternity is whether they believe in God.  By “God”, I mean the omnipotent Creator of the universe.  Lesser gods simply don’t make sense for me.  I’ve seen no evidence of a polytheistic universe.  Instead, everything points to a common guiding Hand.   But if you don’t believe in God, then it doesn’t really matter what you think about Jesus or who you think He was. 

On the other hand, if you do believe in God, then you are faced with the question of who He is.  Is he the grandfatherly bearded man that many people think of, sitting on an ancient throne in Heaven.  Is He an amorphous presence, wisping around the universe; sort of a cosmic spy, eavesdropping on things that humans do?  Is He an angry, vengeful God, as many people who have read a bit of the Old Testament believe?  After all, he turned Lot’s wife into a pillar of salt,[1] and caused the big fish to swallow Jonah.[2]  Or, is He a personal God; a vibrant omnipotent, omnipresent God who desires to have a relationship with each of us? 

I believe in the latter.  I believe it because my life is living proof of it.  The bottom line is that I know what I was like before I accepted Christ and I know what I am like now.  This radical change can only be explained by the intervention of the most loving God imaginable.  My life is the evidence of Jesus.  I know what I was like before I began to trust in Him, and I know what I’m like now.  And the “now” me is definitely better.  I am still a very imperfect creature, but I continue to grow, mature and develop in such a way that convinces me of God’s presence and love for me.

I have made plenty of mistakes in my life and continue to make them.  My Christian walk has been full of misfires.  My experience is probably the most common among Christ-followers:  a struggle with sin, repentance, forgiveness in an ongoing way as part of my lifelong journey.  However, the more I trust in Him, the less likely I am to make mistakes.  And I make fewer mistakes now than before.  The change in my life is the most convincing evidence of the truth of Christianity to me. 

When we follow Jesus, our lives are so radically changed that there is no human explanation for it.  The only explanation is that something supernatural has happened to us.  The proof in the proverbial pudding is in the eating.  Christianity works.  People’s lives are dramatically changed for the better.  And I believe that Christianity stands alone in this way among a plethora of religions, psychotherapy, and self-help doctrines.  Christianity is the world’s biggest belief system because it works.

Some people who are introduced to the gospel of Jesus Christ decide not to become Christians.  Others fall away from the faith quickly.  They mistakenly believe that they don’t measure up.  In other words, they don’t believe that they are good enough to become Christians.  However, no one measures up.[3]  Christians don’t measure up.  We are all sinners and don’t deserve what God has done for us by way of the Cross.  Only Jesus measured up.  That’s why He was the perfect sacrifice.[4]  He didn’t deserve it, and yet he submitted to it.  Its exquisite unfairness makes it incredibly just.

Some people decide against Christianity because of what they believe to be the hypocrisy of Christians.   They judge the validity of Christianity based upon the actions of Christians.  If it doesn’t work for them, they reason, then it certainly won’t work for me.  But Christian growth is a lifelong process.  And you will encounter Christians who are in various stages of Christian growth.  Some live close to sinless lives, thanks to the work of the Holy Spirit.[5]  Others continue to grow in their faith walk.    But all are ultimately headed for the same destination.

Some people simply decide that for them, Christianity isn’t worth the investment.  They believe that Jesus was who He said He was.  They believe He is the way to Heaven.  But they simply decide that Christianity isn’t worth it.  It’s too much work.  They are just too comfortable where they are.  They don’t want to give up certain behaviors, or decide that praying, studying the Bible and going to church just isn’t worth the hassle.  Even more tragic are the folks who believe that they can always change their minds later.  Maybe they eventually get around to it.  But some don’t. 

Even non-Christians understand the concept of walking the talk.  It is a basic Christian idea that faith without action is meaningless.[6]  Our beliefs are reflected in our lives.  We study God’s Word, in order to get better acquainted with Him.  We go to church because we want to worship Him.  And although that first tee is beckoning on a beautiful Sunday morning, we do what we believe He wants us to do.  Christians who pray regularly, study the Bible and go to church somehow end up with stronger faith and better blessings.[7]  The more we come to learn who Jesus is, the more we want to learn about Him.  And the more daily faith we have in Him, the better our lives become.   

At its core, Christianity is the simple step in faith of a nine year-old boy who acknowledges that Jesus died for his sins.  But we execute upon this faith with another kind of faith; an ongoing faith in our daily lives.  We believe in the power of Jesus to transform our lives, every step of the way.  In doing so, we relinquish it all to him; our fears, our ambitions, our sin, our lives.  The sooner we allow it, the faster our lives are transformed. 

And this is where the concept of faith becomes critically important.  We take that first step of faith by a simple belief, but we take the next step of faith and the step after that by allowing Him to miraculously transform our lives.  And the best part is that if we continuously engage in those steps of faith throughout our lives, He is incredibly and perfectly faithful to do everything that He promised to do for us.

[1] Genesis 19.

[2] Jonah.

[3] Romans 3.

[4] John 1.

[5] Romans 8.

[6] James 2.

[7] Deuteronomy 30.

Consider the term born again.  In the 1970's,then-candidate Jimmy Carter unintentionally placed it into the American lexicon when he casually mentioned in an interview that he had been born again.  President Carter was honest and forthright about his beliefs.   But the disclosure came at a time when Christianity, especially fundamentalist Christianity[1] was thought by many to be a religion of backwoods simpletons.  

Even today, many people view born again Christians as a “subset” of Christianity; the extreme right-leaning, Christian Conservative segment of the Christian population.  Or worse, they view this group as the less sophisticated portion of the Christian population; those poison-drinking, [2] snake-handling, farm-dwelling kinds of people so portrayed by comedians and talk show hosts, and who built ideologies around obscure scripture.  They are “those people” who actually believe that God created man and woman, the way it is depicted in the Bible (you can add a small smirk at this point).  It is as if being born again somehow makes one a different type of Christian than mainstream Christianity.   Born again Christians are different than “regular” Christians. 

President Carter, with a bachelor’s in physics from the United States Naval Academy, certainly caused people to think again about this Christian stereotype.  He was educated and articulate and obviously sincere in his beliefs.  And he certainly paved the way for a renaissance in professing presidential believers.  And perhaps, post-Watergate,[3] America was looking for simplicity and honesty in its President. 

But here’s a fact that may surprise you.  Journalists did not coin the term born again.   Jesus did.[4] Jesus taught in parables and metaphors, using real world examples of things that anyone could understand.  Nicodemus, one of the leaders of the Jewish religious establishment asked Jesus what was required in order to achieve true salvation with God.[5]  The religious establishment at that time was very rule-oriented and adhered strictly to Mosaic law, as described in the Old Testament.[6]  Nicodemus was well-educated in the law and I’m sure conversant on the nuances and intricacies of it.  But I imagine that having this vast knowledge left him feeling unfulfilled.  He wanted to know what could make him truly right with God.  Jesus responded to Nicodemus, “'Very truly I tell you, unless one is born again, he cannot be in God’s Kingdom.”[7] 

Jesus used the term born again as a metaphor for the Christian conversion experience.  Nicodemus, as a leader of the Jewish religious establishment, must have believed that we earn our way into Heaven by practicing an intricate regimen of religious rituals.    But he was apparently so caught up in his own religious “trees” that he couldn’t see the “forest”.  He clearly misunderstood Jesus’ metaphor.  He responded by saying that Jesus couldn’t possibly be talking about re-entering His mother’s womb.[8]  He asked “But if a person is already old, how can he be born again?  He cannot enter his mother’s body again.  So how can a person be born a second time?”[9]

Jesus was saying that in order to make it to Heaven, we have to start from spiritual scratch.  We must have so profound a spiritual experience that it can only be compared to a second birth.   This experience is caused by the influence of the Holy Spirit, which comes from God and so changes us that there is no doubt that it came from God.[10] Jesus used the “new birth” metaphor to describe the transformation that occurs in one’s entire being, in order to enter heaven.  To those who have been through it, or are going through it, a “rebirth” metaphor hits the nail on the head.  Once a person commits to this change and allows God to handle it, their life is so transformed, so radically change from the way they were before, that it is like they started completely over again, from scratch.  They truly become new people.  The single most important thing any Christian can point to as evidence for the reality of the Christian experience  is their personal transformation-  what they were like before and what they are like after encountering the notion of Jesus. 

As result, all Christians are born again.[11] The exchange between Jesus and Nicodemus tells us that being born again is an essential part of being a Christian.[12] Jesus required it.[13]  We simply can’t help it.  God begins to change all of us once we accept Jesus into our lives in such a way that the only way to describe it is as being born again.  If you claim to be a Christian and your life has not changed since you accepted Christ, then it is unlikely that you have truly accepted Christ.  So, when we accept the doctrine of salvation as described by Jesus, we become God’s instruments through the work of the Holy Spirit.[14]  And God’s Holy Spirit so radically changes us that the only adequate way of describing this transformation is as being born again. [1] “Fundamentalism” is a term used to describe Christians who believe in the literal accuracy of the Bible and of the events contained in the Bible, such as the virgin birth and the physical resurrection of Jesus.  The Fundamentalist movement was a response to increasing liberalism and relativism which challenged the validity of some of these precepts. 

[2] There are certain groups, typically in the deep South that believe, based upon the description in Mark 16:17-18 that “And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”

[3] Watergate refers to the hotel in Washington, D.C. which housed the offices of the Democratic National Committee (the “DNC”).  The-President Nixon became embroiled in a controversy arising from the alleged break-in of the DNC by a team of burglars allegedly funded by the Committee to Re-elect the President.

[4] Id.

[5] John 3:1-5.

[6] Mosaic law refers to the Old Testament laws as described in the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy.  If you’ve never read them, take a quick look through them.  You’ll be amazed at the intricate detail found in these laws, intended to deal with a wide variety of situations in life.

[7] John 3:3.

[8] Id.

[9] John 3:4.

[10] John 3:10-31.

[11] John 3:3.

[12] It would probably be useful for you to read through the entire exchange at John 3:1-21.  Jesus describes to Nicodemus the essential tenets of the Christian faith, that is, what all Christians believe:  (1) that Jesus came down from Heaven and was crucified; (2)  that the purpose of this crucifixion was to save mankind;  (3) that everyone who believes in Jesus will have eternal life; (4) that the crucifixion allowed God’s Holy Spirit to dwell in all of those who believe, and (5) that the Holy Spirit causes people to be so changed that the only adequate way of describing it is as being “born again”.

[13] Id.

[14] John 3, 16, Romans 8.

I was channel-surfing one night not too long ago, trying to find a decent show among the hundreds of channels of jewelry infomercials, exercise programs and sitcoms apparently designed to appeal to a demographic that I’m not sure actually exists.  Cable television (or satellite, if you prefer) has provided us with hundreds of choices in the new millennium, but somehow there are still only about two or three decent  choices at any given time.   

I stumbled across a Christian "variety" program.  In your television travels, you've probably run across shows of this type.  The show's master of ceremonies is usually a televangelist, as it was in this case.  I switched channels to his show at precisely the moment that the televangelist was beseeching his viewing audience to accept Christ.   He was a nattily dressed in a perfectly tailored white suit, with what was arguably the most perfect haircut I had ever seen.  At the bottom of the screen a call-in number was displayed imploring viewers to call and talk with one of the show’s “prayer counselors”.  He alternated between looking soulfully heavenward and at the camera. He implored his audience to trust Jesus, accept Christ and to be washed in the blood of Jesus. 

I’m not going to take any cheap shots.  I won’t offer any comment on the merits of televangelism or the sincerity of the televangelist’s beliefs.  There are all kinds of paths to God and I see no reason why television couldn’t be one of them.  Televangelists have had more than their share of scandals.  But until proven otherwise, I consider all of these folks as my brothers (or sisters) in Christianity.  

As I watched him, it occurred to me that his audience probably had no clue of what he was talking about.  This is because he was speaking in a code of sorts; a secret language that only people with the key could understand.  I call it Christianspeak.  Accepting Christ is a term that would likely make no sense to anyone but Christians.  Washed in the blood of Christ sounds downright macabre.  And how can anyone trust in Jesus when they’ve never met him (and especially when he died a couple of thousand years before they were even born)?  I’m sure the televangelist knew what the terms meant.   But I’m equally sure that his non-Christian audience wouldn’t have a clue of what most of it meant.  And the exuberant televangelist probably had no clue that these folks didn’t have a clue.

He wasn't doing this on purpose.  Every group has its own unique language.  In most cases, the language acts as shorthand.  It makes communications more efficient.  Simple terms can be used to express complex ideas.

Buzzwords can improve communications efficiency but if we’re not careful, they can have the reverse effect.  They can actually impede communications.   Linguistic shorthand is often just confusing to outsiders.  And over time, jargon becomes so tenuously related to the original concept that its meaning is lost.  

Christianspeak is the shorthand terminology that Christians use to describe complex ideas.  It’s used by preachers, lay people and everyone in between and may make sense to some, but may make no sense to others.  Certainly, some people use buzzwords to obfuscate and confuse, but I don’t believe that most Christians engage in Christianspeak for that purpose.  Instead, I think that they simply use it without realizing that non-Christians might not be following their meaning.

Well-meaning Christians use terms and concepts that simply don’t make sense to people who have never been through the Christian experience.  Words and phrases like saved, Christ follower, faith, grace and many others are simple terms that describe vast and life-changing concepts.  Christianspeak makes sense to those who have experienced the ideas it describes.  However, it can also act as a barrier to those who haven’t.   Any discussion on eternity is going to be pretty deep.  Using a bunch of jargon to describe it doesn’t help to clarify.  The basic ideas in Christianity-  that God became a human, brought the dead back to life and walked on water, was crucified and then himself came back to life-  are pretty fantastic.  It’s hard to get our intellectual arms around these ideas.  Christianspeak, without explanation, can simply add to the confusion. 

The irony of Christianspeak is that most of us are exposed to it long before we can understand it.  Christians use it because they think it will help non-Christians understand Christ. But in reality, it is a sort of an ex post, or “after the fact” language.  Until you’ve been in a new car, it’s hard to appreciate the term “new car smell”.  And until you’ve encountered Christ, it’s hard to understand much of Christian terminology.  The only way to understand who Christ is, is to experience Him for yourself.  You encounter Christ through the daily exercise of faith, diligent Bible study, and prayer.   But unless you have been through the process, Christianspeak might as well be an ancient, dead language.

So the next time you find yourself using Christianspeak, ask yourself three questions:  (1) "Do I understand, really understand, what it means?"  (2) "Can I point to scripture to explain what it means?"; and  (3) "Will the person I'm talking to understand what it means?"  If you can honestly answer "yes" to all three questions, then Christianspeak away!  Otherwise, consider holding off until you can.