Radical
The Key To a Noble Christianity
Radical is a word used in our culture to demean someone. Senator Ted Cruz recently tweeted that the Biden administration is continually nominating “radical left wing zealots.” The media are labeling the Canadian people protesting government mandates in their nation’s capital as “radical.” Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett was labeled a “radical” by many including Senator Chris Murphy, despite apparently sharing the same Catholic faith as President Joe Biden, who Murphy supports and would undoubtedly not call radical.
Perhaps it was because our generation was in part defined by the Global War on Terror - we were fighting “radicalism,” remember? Especially during the Obama presidency, I remember the lengths we went to, making sure we specified that we were fighting radical Islam, not Islam. (This is not a criticism of that distinction.) Perhaps, somewhere along the way we became scared of radical as it became synonymous with terror, which is why we use it as a label to attack our opponents. We use it to make them seem scary and to dehumanize them. The word radical invokes the terror of an entire generation. There may be some cases where labeling someone as radical is justified, but I doubt these modern Tweets and news articles about “radicals” are actually about radicals. To be honest, we need some true radicalism, because Christianity is radical.
In the October 1860 edition of The Earnest Christian, an anonymous author lamented that in his day in age radical was a term of reproach as well. He said for a preacher to be labeled radical is one of the “surest ways of injuring his reputation.” Despite this, he says we need more radical preachers!
But in the true sense of the word, every preacher ought to be radical - he ought to go to the root of the matter. Baxter's advice, given on the very last page of his “Reformed Pastor,” is just as good now as it was two centuries ago. “Strike,” he says, “at the great radical sins.”1
The author quotes Richard Baxter, a 17th century Puritan priest, where in his book The Reformed Pastor, he exhorts ministers to be faithful servants to their flock. To the author in The Earnest Christian and Baxter, ignoring the reality of sin is not an option for the faithful pastor, but rather facing it a requirement. To be labeled radical for upholding Christian orthodoxy about humanity’s sinfulness then is the greatest honor and an indicator of a pastor who is faithful to their flock.
There can be no reformation of character, no newness of life in this fallen world, until selfishness is uprooted. Against it the preacher of righteousness must direct his most vigorous efforts.
Here, the anonymous author directs us to something that is deeply plaguing modern Western Christianity. The place at which we must “direct [our] most vigorous efforts” is the place we are afraid to go - the confrontation of sin. We are afraid of not being relevant anymore, cutting off the casual churchgoer, losing social media followers, feeling like our city or town thinks we are bigots, and losing our political influence. As he rightly points out, if there is no newness of life, what is the point of holding on to these things anyway? They are burdens, not blessings.
Everything depends upon the spirit of our radicalism. We may go down fearlessly to the lowest rootlet in the heart, if we go with the true gospel implement. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “I determined to know nothing among you but Jesus Christ and him crucified.” That was radicalism, one-ideaism. But it resulted in the upbuilding of a noble church. Let us, with godly simplicity, strike at the selfishness of the heart with the truth of a crucified Saviour. Let us convince men of sin by presenting the great sin-offering - then we shall not lead any to self-righteousness or hypocrisy. Neither shall we repel or offend any. But we shall, by Him who was lifted up from the earth, draw men to repentance, faith and love, to holiness and heaven.
A “nice gospel™” will not cleanse the heart at its deepest level. It is only by the power of the crucified Messiah that we can find redemption and holiness. To that end the real Gospel, the full Gospel, is needed. It is not comfortable, it will make you change your character, cause you to abandon pursuits that you un-righteously love and cling to, and, yes, even demand you hold countercultural views that may have you labeled as a radical, but it is the only way of salvation for the troubled soul. If we have not had to sacrifice our own pursuits, change our character, or change our beliefs then deep consideration of where our true personal convictions lie and if we have accepted the full Gospel is needed.
But did you catch the part about a “noble church”? The author says the conviction of sin is required so that “we shall not lead any to self-righteousness or hypocrisy.” It is in a church that peddles a half-gospel that self-righteousness and hypocrisy reign free. Our world and many so-called “Christians” tell us the exact opposite. They will say it is the church that talks about sin that is full of hypocrites and where the self-righteous are found. While there are abuses and churches who handle things in a manner that is not above reproach, that is no excuse. It is the church that doesn’t talk about sin that is laced with hypocrisy and self-righteousness. Is it not hypocrisy to confess Jesus with one sentence, and ignore His Gospel with the next? Is it not self-righteousness for you to understand and even explain away the intricates of the Gospel for yourself, but to then withhold it from your neighbor so they do not feel uncomfortable? “I’m not like those Christians, I’m accepting” some may say, oblivious to the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector in Luke 18. To not preach Christ crucified in the awareness of sin is the most un-noble type of gospel wherein the church itself withholds the great gift of the once and for all Sin-Offering, the true person of Jesus Christ, from the sinner!
Need we be reminded the words of Jesus:
Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, drive out demons in your name, and do many miracles in your name?’ Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you lawbreakers!’2
These profound words from this anonymous author are just as needed today as they were in 1860. Heed his warning. Heed the words of Jesus. Preach the Gospel and preach to the conviction of sin. Withhold nothing so that everything may be given through the one who reigns here on earth and in Heaven forever, Jesus Christ, Messiah and King over all of our desires, inconsistencies, and selfishness.
Roberts, B. T. A.M., Editor, "True Radicalism by Anonymous” in "The Earnest Christian: Devoted to the Promotion of Experimental and Practical Piety Volume I" (2017). Books. 30. pp. 316. https://place.asburyseminary.edu/freemethodistbooks/30
Matthew 7:21-23 (CSB)