Whenever I share the gospel or talk to people about Jesus, one of the saddest and most frequent responses comes with a tone of resignation.
“I tried that.”
I hear this from a lot of people who say, “I remember back when . . .” and then tell a story. It goes something like this: “I was struggling and I knew I was going the wrong way. I also knew God was the only one who could fix it, and I gave it all to him that day. But I just couldn’t keep it going.”
The longer I work in ministry, the more I hear the same claims:
“I tried Jesus. It didn’t work.”
“I lost the fire.”
“I blew it.”
“I’ve failed too many times.”
“I’ve done too many things.”
It’s amazing what grammar and word choice reveal. “I tried Jesus. It didn’t work.” Jesus isn’t an “it.” He’s a he. “It” didn’t work, because “it” is religion.
I look at them and gently shake my head. “You cannot try Jesus. It’s impossible,” I say. “Jesus is not a sweater. He’s not a diet. He’s not a behavior system. If you’re going to try Jesus, the closest you’ll ever get is religion, and religion is the stuff of God without God in it. It’s the shell.”
In Matthew 13, Jesus uses a parable to press home the importance of digging deep to establish roots. He tells of a sower whose seed fell along the path, on rocky ground, and among thorns. Each time, the seed fails to produce for different reasons. However, some seed falls on good ground and produces in various degrees of abundance. Jesus compares the seed that flourishes to the person who hears the Word of God and understands. He is the one who believes.
The New Testament is written in Greek. The Greek definition of the word believe means “to trust in Jesus in such a way that you place all of your weight on him.” You count on him to hold you up. So there is no such thing as trying Jesus. We either yield our lives to him or we don’t.
It’s as if people look for a quick fix and think, I’m going to go hear about what Jesus people do and try that. I realize I’ve gone the wrong way, so after I learn what the Jesus people do, I’ll try to get good and come back.
We need to be prepared to tell them it’s too late to get good. Once we sin, we cannot unbreak the chain in our own power.
God demonstrated his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). So he’s not waiting on us to get good. He knew what he was getting into long before we realized we needed him. He knew that we were lost, broken, and fallen and that we had no way back to him on our own. If we were able to do that, Jesus wasted a lot of suffering.
To the contrary, God says, “I will make the way back to me. I love you that much. I’m going to make the way with my Son. He is going to die your death. He is going to pay your debt, and he is going to take your place.”
Belonging to Jesus isn’t going out and being better. It’s not living a holy life so he’ll love you. Being a believer is just that — believing. It means confessing with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believing in your heart that God raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9).
I talk about that verse a lot because we’ve said it so often that we almost ignore it. But it’s the crux of the gospel. It’s a life-giving verse!
The word Lord means “Ruler” or “King.” I confess with my mouth (“confess” in the verse is present tense, meaning I’m continually confessing with my life) that Jesus is the Lord and King of my life.
You can’t say no to the Lord, because he is Lord. This begs the question: Is Jesus my Lord? To confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord is not to repeat a line in a dark worship center or slip up your hand during an invitation on a Sunday morning. Rather, it means we say in earnest, “You’re the King of my life forever. I’m handing over some things right here by saying this. I’m handing over my future. I’m handing over my past. I’m handing over the controls here and now.”
Romans 10:9 has been rendered as poetry by too many people. It’s more than a pretty statement. It means inviting the resurrected Son of God to take over your life. He must increase. You must decrease. It means believing (trusting, placing your weight on) the truth that the same God who raised Jesus from the dead can raise you from the dead.
Second Corinthians 5:14 – 15 (NKJV) reads, “The love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.”
May our words and deeds confess Jesus to others. Let’s show people we belong to him, with no ambiguity in our lives. Remember the symmetry of the roots and branches of the giant tree? Our reach will go only as far as our roots allow.
“I tried Jesus. It didn’t work.”
Our lives are a confession of what we believe and on whom we place our weight. Do we trust in Jesus, or do we trust in ourselves? Have we cultivated roots in Christ, or are we still playing religious games? I wrote this chapter to help us take a look at ourselves and check our own oil. Do our hearts truly belong to God? If they do, then it will be obvious. We will be willing to let him have all of us — for the benefit of others and for his glory.
The world is dead in its trespasses. You can’t thrive if you’re dead. First must come actual life. We know the Author of life, and he commands that we share him with others. All the excuses listed at the beginning of this chapter are why it’s time for us to concentrate on putting our roots to good use and start reaching out.
Point to Remember
As we give our lives to Jesus, we will reach out and share him with others.