Christ-less Christianity = Jehovah-less Judaism.

This year I explored a bit the theme of Christ-less Christianity, a topic introduced by Michael Horton's book with the same title. I want to conclude this topic for the year and hope to explore another needed topic next year. Granted, my writing has been cut short this year due to circumstances beyond my control; nevertheless the topic has not evaded my many thoughts as I see plainly many who are blindly bound to what Horton writes about.


One such path my thinking caused me to explore is the path of the Jewish life at the time of Christ's birth. Jesus was born into Jehovah-less Judaism. Granted, there were people who were truly Jehovah worshipers, but I think the case can be easily made to substantiate the claim.

The world Jesus was born into at His incarnation was perhaps the most religious as anytime in the history of Israel. Since being restored to Israel after the Babylonian captivity, the Jewish people were determined to never fall into idolatry again. They began to be serious as to how they would conduct themselves to approach God. This seriousness would lead to the rise of all kinds of experts to assist the commoners as they would worship God. The Levites and the Law were layered over and over with various sects in the National religion. The Pharisees became the conservative practitioners, the Sadducees became the political persuaders and the Scribes became the institutional scholars. Religion in Jesus’ day under the name of Jehovah had it all…yet had it wrong.

Fast forward. In our day in Western Christianity, it seems as if we have it all, and yet all along we are not much different than the Jehovah-less Judaism, experienced by Jesus and His disciples. Perhaps just as sad is that Immanuel is still rejected under the auspice of Christianity just as He was under Judaism. Yet Jesus is not surprised by this. Revelation 3:20 indicates He is still knocking. The question is, are we answering? Or are we so bound in our kind of Christianity that it remains Christ-less? So many Jews missed Jehovah in Jesus, will so many Christians miss Him too?

Christ is here
His way is True;
The way of hope
Is Christ’s death for you.

Receive His grace as a dead man dying
Embrace his gift as a slave now serving;
No hope in self to God do bring
Only Christ’s cross and praises sing.

With gratitude now go and tell
No longer man need go to hell
The grace of God now freely given
The Christ-consumed life is the only worth liv’n.

© Chris Gilliam 2010