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But Theology
In 1982 Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson published a book titled the “One Minute Manager”. There were three things a good manager should do to motivate the workers. They should be able to state the goals of the organization in one minute. They should praise their workers for one minute and they should keep their reprimands to one minute. Many leaders adopted this style. They would praise their workers then they would pause and say, ‘but’. The guys I worked with said. “Everything before the ‘but’ is meaningless, just listen to what comes after the ’but’.
The Herodians came to Jesus, and they praised him. They acknowledged that he taught the way of God, truthfully. But then they asked him about paying taxes to Caesar. Jesus sees what is in their hearts. He responds to their trap with a question of his own. “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” He knows that their praise is meaningless, because they will not acknowledge him as the Savior. They are laying a trap for Jesus with flattering words.
There are many preachers whose messages sound like the “One Minute Manager”. The goal is to get people to give and come to church. This is not a bad goal. They accomplish this goal by stating a truth. We are saved by grace through faith. Then they follow this statement with a ‘but’. “But”, they say, “if you do not come to church, tithe, and participate in the ministry of the church you might not be saved.” They preach salvation by works, even though they state we are saved by grace. In effect they trivialize what Jesus did on the cross and everything before the ‘but’ is meaningless.
The goal God shares for us is that all might be saved. We are saved by “grace though faith not by works, lest any man should boast”. Jesus died for sinners. The truth is we all sin and fall short of the glory of God. There is nothing we can do to earn, merit, or deserve God’s favor. We stand before God as those who are condemned by our sin. We are enemies of God. ‘But’, Jesus died for sinners!!
This message is not a popular message to preach. It is not popular because the reality of sin, especially our own, is unpleasant. Secondly, even though we see the consequences of sin daily, we seek to escape the ultimate consequence of sin which is death. We are a culture that lives in denial of sin and death. Third, because of my sin I cannot do anything to make myself acceptable to God. The Herodians felt they kept the law, they were intelligent. They deluded themselves with self-righteousness. Scripture says God is holy. To stand before God, we must be holy. We can never achieve holiness. We can do nothing to make ourselves acceptable to God.
Jesus comes to us. He does everything necessary for our salvation. Christ became sin so that we might be the righteousness of God. Our merits and deeds are nothing. The fact that Jesus dies for us on the cross is everything. There are no ‘buts’ about this. We are saved by God’s grace alone.
I am concerned about those who make the gospel meaningless by adding the ‘buts’. Our lives are lived in response to the salvation Christ has won for us. We are called by God to be his children. Our salvation is never about what we do. It is always about what Christ has done for us. We are called by the Gospel and enlightened with gifts. We are the chosen and redeemed children of God. No ‘buts’ about it.
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