Sunday, January 11, 2009 
Scripture reading: Colossians 2: 1-5
1For I want you to know how much I am struggling for you, and for those in Laodicea, and for all who have not seen me face to face. 2I want their hearts to be encouraged and united in love, so that they may have all the riches of assured understanding and have the knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ himself,* 3in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4I am saying this so that no one may deceive you with plausible arguments. 5For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, and I rejoice to see your morale and the firmness of your faith in Christ.
Sermon Title: "TOXIC CRISTIANITY" Sunday, January 11, 2009
PASTOR HUDSON: I want to talk about
what I've chosen to refer to as toxic Christianity.
In the book of Colossians, Paul makes the statement,
When you are down in your sins, God made you alive
with Christ. He forgave all our sins. He cancelled
out the indictments that stood against us by taking it
away and nailing it to the cross; therefore, do not
let anyone judge you.
When Paul preached that gospel to the church,
what emerged within the Colossian church was they, in
effect, said this: Oh, you've accepted Jesus as your
savior? How wonderful that is, but you need to know
there is more to it than simply accepting Christ.
Apparently, they had an entire list of things that had
to be successfully done in order to be acceptable to
God.
This had to do with what they ate or did not eat,
what days they observed or did not observe. It was
the idea God would not accept you unless you fit into
this mold. To me, that's toxic Christianity. It's a
Christianity that says this is what I perceive it
means to be a Christian, and it's not only my
conviction, but it needs to be yours, too.
Christianity which victimizes others or yourself
misses the mark. Instead of worrying about what we
eat or drink or do or don't do, wouldn't it be better
to ask, Does my Christianity enhance my relationship
with my family? Does my practice of faith make me a
better person?
I'm privy to studies having to do with children
of clergy. Regardless of denomination, the number of
clergy who lose their children from the church is
uncomfortably high. Clergy children oftentimes are
put into a toxic environment where one of the most
liberating things that can happen to them is when they
grow up and don't have to be a part of that situation
their parents or whoever created.
Does my Christianity enrich the lives of others?
Does it nurture the faith of my children? Does my
Christianity compel me to become involved in service
to our world? What kind of Christianity do you have?
Is it healthy or toxic?
In our diverse congregation it would not surprise
me to find some who have struggled for years in their
heart with this notion of, yes, I've accepted Jesus as
my savior, I've received this gift of redemption and
forgiveness, yet I feel inadequate because I have not
checked all the boxes.
This Colossian's passage pretty much sums it up
when Paul says Jesus Christ has taken away your sins
by being nailed to the cross. It literally is a
situation of when God looks at you, no matter today,
yesterday or last week, because of your faith in Him,
you are a justified child of God.
Now this does not mean it doesn't matter what we
do or what we don't do. It does. I believe when we
follow Jesus Christ we will always be called to be
more than we were before, better tomorrow than we were
yesterday, that's what spiritual growth is about.
Sometimes we are our own worst enemies. We beat
ourselves up because we feel like we failed.
There is a difference between the conviction of
God and the self-condemnation we so often inflict upon
ourselves. Make your spiritual journey out of love,
not fear or a sense of unworthiness. If you have
journeyed with struggles of inadequacies or feelings
of condemnation, whether you have inflicted them upon
yourself or were inflicted from others, be set free
from that and let Christ be your covering.
Also, be gentle with others. If someone is
always on your case over things that really mean
nothing, do not internalize it and let it become
something weighing you down. Let God be the one to
whom you are accountable. It's Christ who is the
substance of all. Be set free today.
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit. Amen.