Buying Products Named After Christ

Scripture: Don’t be lured away from him by the latest speculations about him. The grace of Christ is the only good ground for life. Products named after Christ don’t seem to do much for those who buy them. Hebrews 13:9

Observation: Even in the plain language of The Message, the author of Hebrews is making a point that has a lot of layers to it. The gist is clear enough ... there are charlatans and even believers who speculate and make conjectures about the nature of Jesus and the will of God, who promote concepts and even products in the name of Jesus, and we are to be wary of all such things.

Application: In a world where social media is the communications venue for legitimate news and preposterous lies - and every form of message in between - this concept is applicable today in alarming and disturbing ways. I have reached the point where there are certain believers I know, and whom I am certain love Jesus, who I cannot listen to on even the simplest matter due to their poisoned understanding of Jesus ... poisoned by sources full of speculation and conjecture and inaccuracy and false assumptions and logical fallacies ... that then mis-define the nature of salvation, the will of God, the mission of the Church, the message of the gospel, and the love of Jesus.

Yes, these people have bought the "products named after Christ". They have bought into the misunderstandings, and sometimes even financially support the messengers. And here is the amazing, prophetic truth of this passage in Hebrews ... those "products" don't do them any good, and in fact hurt them. They buy into the speculation, and when it is proven false, they lose faith, they get confused, they damage relationships, and they hurt others. This is bad when it happens in the context of believers. This is devastating when it happens in the context of a family, or when it drives an unbeliever even further away from Jesus.

And the real sadness is ... the earthly momentum of such activities is so great, it is difficult to understand what can even be done.

Prayer: Lord, in my heart right now, I bring a couple people to mind. Please guide them out of this habit of buying into the speculative products about Christ, and lead them back into your simple grace. Amen.