Once upon a time, Christians were called sacrilegious
When Jesus showed up, He brought a message of hope that challenged the predominant religious model of the time. Jewish people under Roman occupation and prior to it lived under a temple model of faith.
The temple and the elite who ran it determined the standards of religion and how people were to follow it. The religious leaders interceded between the people and God. The religious leaders judged people. Then Jesus showed up and became the perfect sacrifice and the perfect priest who invited others to exist on an equal plane with Him.
This was sacrilegious in the eyes of the religious and political institutions of the time. And in many ways, it goes against how religious institutions behave today, even the ones that claim to follow Jesus.
Romans called the early Christians atheists
Romans would call the early Christians atheists because of their model of faith. They did not have sacrifices, temples or priests. In the early Christians’eyes, Jesus was the perfect sacrifice and they did not need to make sacrifices. The people were the temple, so they did not need a holy house. Jesus is the ultimate High Priest, so they did not need others to intercede on their behalf.
This flew in the face of Jewish tradition and other faith systems in the Roman empire and confused Romans so much that they thought the Christians were atheists. Imagine that today!
Rebuilding the Jesus model of faith
It didn’t take long for people to blend the temple model of thinking with the new teachings of Jesus. It’s just so hard for people to let go of that stuff.
And we still do it today. It’s like we’re hard-wired to create easy-to-navigate systems that we can use to tell ourselves if we’re good or not. However, Jesus’ model transcends the walls and barriers we build for ourselves. He asks us to love God and love our neighbors and trust that everything else will fall under that.
Let’s give it a shot and see how the world changes.
Centerpoint Church is ready to walk with you on your faith journey
At Centerpoint, our community believes in purpose and passion, and we would love to walk with you on your journey in finding yours. We are currently going through a new sermon series titled “What Would Jesus Undo?” It’s all about what we imagine Jesus would want to undo in today’s church to rebuild it to better fit His image and His teachings.
Do you feel like the church has lost its way and could use some restructuring? You’re not alone. We encourage you to listen to our series online and welcome you to come to one of our Sunday morning services in Valrico, Florida.