The New Middle Road — Francis Chan

The Claim of a Christian Middle Road

And that the arguments I've had where where uh, you know people have said, you know. One guy been in my church for like 15 years ever since it started I thought was one of the key guys and he comes to me, you know, just just not too long ago.

He goes, you know Francis. Here's the problem with you. He goes you think everyone needs to be this radical. You you think that Jesus calls us all to be radicals? He goes he goes, you know. You think there's just these few radicals and and and he goes, you know, there's this you gotta understand, right?

So there's that there's this middle road. Where where you know people, you know, they profess Christ and they do some good things. And it's like you're you're you're you're neglecting that whole middle road.

The Narrow Road That Leads to Life

Did you guys know that. There's a narrow road That leads to life. There's a wide road that leads destruction and now there's this new middle road. I Didn't know that. Like a carpool lane, it's just this is weird new road.

We created where you can just do some good things in the name of Jesus and still whole. It's it's you know, it's cool. You're serious right now. You're dead serious. You found a middle road. You guys I'm not a real you gotta understand those who know me know that I'm not a real complicated guy.

Following Jesus Means Walking as He Walked

I I I tend to think like a kid. I tend to just go. Well, it seems like what it says. You know, I I remember when when I was a kid we used to play this game called follow the leader remember that I mean some of you guys don't because you just played video games and you but we just play this game called follow the leader.

Where the leader, you know flaps his wings and you do the same thing and it was easy. You just do what the leader did and it's so weird how in the church. We've twisted this and follow Jesus is a different game.

You don't really have to Flap your wings. You don't accent you can just sit there and do it in your heart. Seriously. You know when I read the scriptures as man whoever claims to know it must must walk as Jesus walked.

Obedience Is More Than Inner Intentions

But we go when I'm doing that in my heart you're like the kid sitting on the recliner go no I'm flapping my wings in my heart. It doesn't make sense. It's it's it's we distort things because of what we want, you know, remember you remember Simon says.

Jesus' Commands Require Action

That was easy, right? Simon says pat your head. But Jesus says is a totally different game. If Jesus says something you just have to memorize it. That's what we do in the church if Jesus said you just got to study it.

You just gotta you just have to be able to quote it in the Greek. You just it's it's it has nothing to do with hey, Jesus says. You look when my daughter, you know comes to me and I go look go clean your room.

Distorting Christ's Teachings to Avoid Obedience

She knows better than to come back a few hours later and goes dad. I Memorized what you said I can say it in Greek. In fact, some of my friends we're gonna come over. We're gonna do a little study on what it would look like to clean my room.

It just. It's not making sense to me and and all I can say is that we're twisting things. We do we do in the church and we we create this little way where we don't actually have to do what Jesus called.