The American Jesus in the American Church

 

Who or what is the American Jesus? Well, there is no such thing as an American Jesus. Jesus is the Son of God and is, actually, God Himself. There is no such thing as a literal American Jesus. The American Jesus is nothing more than an imaginative figure in the minds of many people in this country who believe that God favors America over other nations of the world and that He is the provider of everything they want. I think it was around 2015 when August Rain, a Contemporary Christian band, released a song called, The American Jesus. It tells of this Jesus who is a sugar daddy and the great provider wrapped up into one. You can check out the song and its lyrics here, AUGUST RAIN - AMERICAN JESUS LYRICS (songlyrics.com)

So, what actually is The American Jesus? In many local churches in this country. Jesus is portrayed as the god who wants your life to be perfect with everything and anything you want or desire. The hyper-Charismatics will tell you to just claim it and God will give it to you. Need a new car or truck? Just tell Jesus what you want, and He will give it to you. Need more money? Because Jesus wants you to be wealthy, He will provide you with a better job with more money. Or, and this is a big one, the more you give to the church or the pastor, the more you get in return. God will bless you with a tenfold return. Give ten dollars and receive a hundred in return and so forth. But sorry, it doesn’t work that way. We don’t give to God to get anything in return. Giving is a form of worship, not a marketing scheme.

Another meaning, or indication, of the American Jesus is the idea of, “It’s all about me. I’m at the center of the universe and everything should be about me.” There is no ‘others come first’ with the American Jesus. It’s always, “I come first and I have my rights so I’m looking out for me.” I still haven’t found that passage or verse in the Bible. Those who have bought into the gospel of the American Jesus don’t understand that they should be a blessing to others because they believe they should always be blessed by others. They are first, they are at the center and they deserve whatever they want. Well, they really need to be careful with the deserve rhetoric since we were all born into sin and we all, again, all, deserve to go to hell. The only reason we won’t go is because, or if, we have received Jesus, the one and only real Jesus, as our savior. We have asked Him to forgive us and have surrendered to Him as Lord and savior of our life.

But that is the biggest problem right there. Far too many don’t want Him to be their Lord. They want Him to save them, but they don’t want anything to do with that Lordship stuff. They want to control their own lives; they want everyone to cater to them and they want to continue to live in and with the culture of this world.  Well, I have a message for them; there is nothing but speed bumps and hardships ahead. Where do they get these ideas from? When a person attends church on Sunday morning and what they hear is, “God wants you to be successful, God wants you to be the best person you can be, you can be a better person, you can be more successful.” And more of the same stuff on how it’s all about you.

The American Jesus is a fictional character these people have invented or created. He is not the Jesus of the Bible. In fact, nowhere in the Bible do we read any of these God favored, self-centered lifestyles. We read exactly the opposite.

Just last week, I read an article about a mega church pastor who was struggling over why he had to tell a 37-year-old single person why he/she couldn’t engage in sexual relations. He could understand telling that to a 16-year-old but not a 37-year-old. He’s a mega church pastor and he doesn’t know the answer to that? It’s in the Bible! I don’t know him, don’t know anything else about him but it appears he is what we call a progressive Christian or a liberal Christian. These people abide more by the worldly culture of this country than what the word of God says. Why can’t a single 37-year-old Christian, or self-proclaimed Christian, not engage in sexual relations?

So I say to those who aren’t married and to widows—it’s better to stay unmarried, just as I am. But if they can’t control themselves, they should go ahead and marry. It’s better to marry than to burn with lust.   1 Cor 7:8-9

Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people.  EPH 5:3

In many other translations, sexual immorality is referred to as fornication. It comes from the Greek word, porneia, and where we get our word pornography. It is used in Matthew 5:32 and 19:9 when Jesus talks about adultery. I could list many others verses that say basically the same or would have the same points but it is clear that the Bible tells this pastor why a 37-year-old single person can’t have sex with another person. Maybe he needs to read the Bible.

The American Jesus has been around for a long time. But I think he really burst onto the scene with the church marketing scheme. Use what works to get them in and tell them what they want to hear so they will keep coming back. I’m not anti-mega church but I do believe many never preach or teach the gospel message (as well as smaller churches). They don’t talk about the real Jesus. They promote a feel-good gospel, a God wants you rich gospel and any other gospel which has nothing to do with the gospel of Jesus. They want you to be comfortable and will tell you that God doesn’t want you to have troubles, afflictions or trials in your life. They will almost always teach the opposite of what the Bible tells us. Not all but most.

The Church in America is a type of the lukewarm church Jesus spoke of to the church at Laodicea in Revelation 3:14-22 and the message wasn’t good. Other countries have sent missionaries to America so what does that tell you. Individuals have come to America to escape severe persecution but soon return after discovering the church here is not what they had experienced in their home nation. The church here, according to them, is weak and does not preach the gospel of Jesus.

The real Jesus, the Son of God, is not a feel-good Jesus, He’s not a get rich quick Jesus and He’s not a marketing Jesus along with the many other fictional images these people have of Him. Jesus warned His disciples of the persecution they would experience. Paul warns us in his writings that we will be persecuted for our faith in Jesus. Paul suffered greatly for his faith and belief in Jesus and for telling others about Him.

Jesus will provide for your need but not for your greed. Don’t buy into these lies and false teachings. Be a Berean and check the Bible against what is said in the pulpit or by any other so called Christian leader. Don’t be fooled by the feel good and Jesus wants you to be rich lies.

Read the Bible and study it. Know what it says and what God really wants for you and has for you. There’s no such thing as The American Jesus. It’s simply an idol which has been created by people.

-Bill Petite