If you heard a message that taught that to get into heaven you had to be faithful enough with God’s commands and diligent enough with good deeds, you’d probably be able to recognize that that wasn’t a Christian message. Even if they used lots of verses, you’d see that it was our effort instead of Jesus’ sacrifice that was given as the means of salvation. You’d say that there was no good news, and you’d reject the message as unchristian.

While we can usually discern an unchristian message about salvation, many Christians can be completely oblivious when they listen to an unchristian message about discipleship. They nod approvingly when the speaker says that what we need to grow, be a better Christian, or have a better marriage is to be faithful enough with God’s commands and diligent enough with good deeds. As long as lots of verses are used, most Christians don’t mind that our effort rather than the grace of Jesus Christ is presented as the solution to our problems. Even though the message contains no good news and leaves the listener with only fear or guilt to motivate their efforts, Christians will walk away and say, “That was just what I needed to hear.” Only it wasn’t.

An unchristian message about discipleship or the Christian life is one where our effort is the only solution to the problem. It’s the message that says, “Be a good person” and “Just try harder.” Or worse yet, “You’re a terrible person; look how bad you are.” Hebrews 13:9 says, “Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace.” We’re not just saved by grace; we grow by grace. You didn’t just need God to save you; you need Him to help you change. Our sin is too big to fix without the grace that He alone can provide. “Be a good person” and “Just try harder” are the messages that create Pharisees, not Christians.

So how do you avoid teaching an unchristian message from the Bible? Let me offer four questions to ask any time you prepare a talk whether it’s for a youth group, a Sunday School class, or even your own kids.

1. How does the passage highlight our brokenness?

Unchristian messages just look at the surface of the text and find the things that we have to do. But those messages ignore our deeper problems. They don’t deal with what keeps us from following the Bible’s teachings in the first place. Look for how the passage shows what’s wrong with us. This will often include sin but will also involve things like hopelessness, grief, or a false identity. When we see how we’re broken, it’s clear that we can’t just fix ourselves. We need a Saviour!

2. Where is the grace that heals our brokenness?

The Bible’s solution to our problems is never just more human effort, and so you should anticipate that the text will point to what God has done to help us. Look for God. Search for hints of His grace. Sometimes, you have to zoom out to the greater context to see it. Ultimately, though, God provides what we need.

3. What is the grace that motivates our response?

What motivates the application is what usually makes a Bible message turn unchristian. A talk should move toward a response, but you need to be careful when you tell people why they should do what you’re asking. “Do this, so that God will accept you” is an unchristian message. It teaches that we can earn God’s approval, and we can’t. When we motivate people using guilt, fear, or shame, we’re teaching a bad-news message, not a good-news one. First John 4:19 says, “We love because he first loved us.” The application should look back to what God has done as the basis for what we’re called to do. He initiates; we respond.

4. Am I leaning on the grace of God myself?

Probably, the most important thing you can do to avoid teaching an unchristian message from the Bible doesn’t have anything to do with the Bible passage you’re studying at all. It has to do with you. It’s hard for a Pharisee to teach a Christian message. Examine how you’re living the Christian life. Is discipleship for you mostly about trying harder to keep a list of rules and disciplines? Are you dealing with your own brokenness? Do you look to God’s grace as your hope, or do you think you can fix yourself? When you make a change, is it because you’re afraid of what people might say or what God might do, or are you motivated by what God has done? Is gratefulness what moves you? We teach the Christian life that we live, so it’s essential for each of us to cling to the grace of God as our only hope and strength.

In awe of Him,

Paul