On Serving Tea With Two Sugars

Introduction

N.T. Wright is an Anglican Bishop and a New Testament scholar. He is famous for saying many things, but the his statement that has sparked this particular article is the following: “Wherever St Paul went, there was either a riot or a revival. Wherever I go, they serve tea.”

Now, to be sure, this is a bit hyperbolic, for certainly a riot or revival didn’t start everywhere Paul went, but hopefully the point of the quote, and the stark juxtaposition, is not lost on you. I trust it is not. What Wright is getting at, of course, is the sharp difference between Paul and many modern-day ministers of the Gospel. Paul’s message always did something: people were either saved mightily, or people rebelled hard and tried to kill him. There really wasn’t much in between.

In the 21st century, however, there seems to be a lot of silence in the wake of the speech of ministers. Who is really getting hot and bothered by what pastors say nowadays? What revivals are really breaking out because of the message of a minister? Not many, it seems. But why? Are we preaching a different Gospel than Paul did? Well, no. We’re still preaching the birth, life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Christ just as Paul did. So then, what’s the difference?

The Difference & The Problem

Although ministers might not be saying any more than Paul, meaning, we’re saying the same Gospel that he preached, we’re not embellishing or reducing the message of the Gospel, which carries the power of God to save sinners. We are, however, saying far, far less than he did.

When we say “The Gospel,” what most Christians believe it to be is exactly what I said above: the birth, life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Christ. Some may call this the “Gospel Proper.” And, when a minister begins to skirt the lines and go a bit beyond what is regularly acceptable, some well-meaning minister or concerned congregant will come a long side and say something like, “I just think you need to preach the Gospel Proper, and not all this other stuff that doesn’t fit within that framework.” This, however, is a significant problem. Not only does it betray a biblical ignorance, but it also shows that one does not fully understand what the Gospel really is.

Men will scurry to places like 1 Corinthians 2:1-2, where Paul says, “And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” Modern men will say, “See, Paul here understands that nothing else matters but believing in and understanding the crucifixion of Christ,” taking his foregoing of wisdom, lofty speech, and any other message as a tacit admission that we need not teach anything other than this message.

However, this kind of rhetoric only comes out when these same men hear a minister say something that, to them, seems mean. This is evident because if this sentiment were taken literally, we would throw out the rest of 1 Corinthians and pretty much all of Paul’s other epistles. And that same pastor would soon find himself out of a job, for he would have little to preach on.

For instance, how do we learn how to raise our children? Is that the crucifixion of Christ? No! Then we don’t need Ephesians 6. How should a husband and wife think about sex? Is that the crucifixion of Christ? No! Then throw out 1 Corinthians 7! You see where I’m going. It’s an absurd standard. Paul, himself, goes on in 1 Corinthians to speak of many, many other things that are not the crucifixion of Christ, but are still the message of the Gospel. Further, Paul was not void of wisdom; he was void of worldly wisdom—that is a needful distinction. In verse 6, he says, “yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age...” And what is this wisdom for? Well, it is so that we may live in a manner worthy of the calling we’ve received (Philippians 1:27). You know, doing stuff.

These same men will then go to 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 where Paul says, “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the Gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ dies for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day...” These ministers will say, “See, this is what’s most important. This is what we need to be preaching! Not all this political, racial, ethnic, nationalistic stuff. Just stick with the Gospel.”

But again, they make another blunder. Not only do the previous arguments still hold, but again, Paul doesn’t say “For I delivered to you as of only importance what I also received...” No, he said of “first” importance. It is certainly fair that we would have things in different positions of priority; that much is true. It is irrational, however, to say that because something is most important, nothing else is of any importance. But again, this kind of logic only comes out when these ministers, these white Knights, see another minister saying something that breaks a cultural blasphemy law.

Even Paul makes doctrinal priority lists, but he comes to a wildly different conclusion than these men: “...let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and faith toward God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgement” (Hebrews 6:1-2) So lets be clear. Paul lists 6 things here that Christians must move beyond: repentance, faith, baptism, laying on of hands, resurrection from the dead, and eternal judgment. Now, to be sure, these things matter immensely, and all Christians must have these doctrines locked in their hearts and minds without wavering. However, they are for children, and the mature ought to move past them. Notice, these 6 doctrines are the very truths proclaimed when “The Gospel” is preached. So what is Paul calling Christians to do? He is urging us to progress beyond these basic principles to a deeper understanding and a more mature Christian life—we’re being called to move beyond the “Gospel Proper.”

So if someone insists on preaching the “Gospel Proper,” this is a categorical error. If someone says, “We only need Christ and him crucified,” this is a doctrinal blunder, for even Paul didn’t mean what ministers today mean. We must learn to live out the faith that we have been given and not continue to be babes.

Elsewhere, Paul tells us that the goal of the church is to grow and mature into manhood and the fullness of Christ and no longer be like children (Eph 4:13-14). So, to refrain from preaching politics, or about race, ethnicity, nationhood, marriage, divorce, murder, war, etc., is to be derelict in one’s duties as a minister. For in God’s word, he addresses all these matters and more, and these are what constitute becoming a mature Christian in the sight of God.

So, Paul preached the Gospel, but he then told people how to live in light of it. He told them how to view nationhood, politics, race relations, economics, and so on. He did not hide from it out of fear of people getting upset with him. He disrupted people’s businesses with truth without a second thought, and ministers today need not be afraid to do the same.

Gut Check

To take this matter one step further, the fact that Paul received such ruckus riots from his preaching and teaching may also be a condemnation on the preaching and teaching of many ministers in America today. If the Gospel Paul preached got crowds spitting mad, but most ministers today aren’t even receiving hate mail, let alone death threats, then this should make us wonder whether the Gospel Paul preached is being faithfully stewarded by ministers today.

Our Lord was very clear: “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world...therefore the world hates you” (John 15:18-19).

Sadly, it seems today that there are ministers who believe they can preach the message of Christ faithfully and still be liked or loved by people in the world. They imagine that they are actually doing something notable and righteous when they preach, and no one hates them for it. But, as Christ said, this is impossible. Why is this impossible, you ask? All you must do is ask, “Why did the world hate Jesus?” and you will have your answer.

The world hated Christ because he testified against it saying that it’s works were evil (John 7:7). He did this by proclaiming that the world must repent of their evil deeds because the Kingdom of God was at hand (Matthew 4:17). And, immediately after he proclaimed this message of the Gospel he then preached the sermon on the mount (Matthew 5-7) where the “Gospel Proper” is never preached. Instead, Jesus teaches about humility, being salt and light, anger, lust, divorce, oaths, retaliation, loving enemies, giving to the needy, prayer, fasting, trusting in earthly things vs. heavenly things, anxiety, judging others, loving others, the evidence of true faith, and faithful obedience to all his commands. The world hated Christ because he told them they were evil, what to believe, and what that belief must look like.

If, then, a minister of this same Gospel is not hated by the world (and sadly, even the church) as Christ (and Paul) was hated, then he is not doing his job faithfully. For it is entirely impossible to proclaim the whole council of God in the way we are commanded to in scripture and not be hated by the world. And, you’ll know if you’re hated by the world based on how they speak to you. If they have nothing but nice things to say about you, then while the world may not hate you, Christ certainly does. However, if a minister is called a bigot, racist, fascist, homophobe, antisemite, ethno-nationalist, a jerk, etc., and none of it is actually true but is all slanderous, then he can be certain that Christ smiles upon him and his reward will be great in heaven.

The Unfortunate Side To All This

What is unfortunate, however, is that the vast majority of protestants in America have been trained by the left (commies, the woke, liberals, etc.) to think culturally rather than biblically. You know this is the case because when a courageous minister says something that is demonstrably true, but is culturally transgressive, who attacks him? It’s rarely the left, liberals, or atheists. It’s often other “Christians.” That’s right. The people who bash and condemn brave men seeking to embody Christ and his apostles are usually their own brothers and sisters in the Lord.

How does this happen, you ask? It is because we are living in a time where pastors have been trained and subverted by their cultural enemies for generations. This generational indoctrination has made otherwise reformed pastors believe that it is unbiblical to speak the way Christ did, to get angry the way Christ did, to chastise the way Christ did, to condemn the way Paul did, to rebuke the way Elijah did, or to scorn the way John the Baptist did. All these modern-day pastors want is for the church to imitate the love of Christ; his compassion, his kindness, his gentleness.

Then, those Christian disciples of these soft pastors see an actual pastor calling out the Jews, or racial discrimination against whites, or propositional nationhood, or egalitarian pulpits, and they hurl the most vicious slander at these men. Sometimes, without even a question or conversation, they will be labeled a heretic because they say something like “Christ was the ultimate antisemite.” What’s weird with all this, however, is that for people who say we should only preach the “Gospel Proper,” who then go on to say that someone is a heretic for believing something that, to them, doesn’t have anything to do with the “Gospel Proper,” makes me believe that this person is rather confused. It makes me believe that this person is not upset because of a deeply held conviction, but is rather defending a cultural idol that they have been made to believe is a Gospel necessity.

Cultural Transgression

Why did Paul get into so much heat? Well, today we would say that he transgressed the cultural idols. We would say that he did or said something that was culturally transgressive, and this triggered the people in that culture, and they lashed out at him. But, as Christians, we know better than this. We know better, because our Lord has made it known.

Paul and faithful pastors get into trouble today because they are exposing evil with the light of truth. “People love the darkness rather than the light,” and they refuse to come into the light because when they do, they know their “works would be exposed” (John 3:19-20). It is, therefore, the job of Gospel ministers to shine the light of Gospel truth upon every single square inch they are able in their lives without apology, second-guessing, or blushing. They must do this, for this is God’s plan of redemption, so that “whoever does what is true [will] come to the light” (John 3:21) and no longer be condemned for his rejection of Christ.

But of course evil hates this, and of course evil would seek to recruit the church to do its bidding, so that when faithful ministers shine Gospel light upon their evil deeds, their braindead minions (the church) will attack them and make them wonder whether they actually did the right thing. They’ll say things like: “You’re not being loving,” or “you’re rage-baiting people,” or “is this how Jesus would speak?” or “this could be really offensive to others.” There is a host of what they’ll say, but you need not worry about them. You, faithful minister, need only worry about putting your hand to the plow and doing precisely what your Lord has commanded of you.

Conclusion

So, is N.T. Wright correct? Unfortunately, I believe he is. Too many pastors are greeted with tea and sugar rather than flying spittle to the face. To be sure, one is imminently more enjoyable, but one is also imminently more faithful. We shouldn’t wish pain and hardship upon ourselves, our families, and our churches, but if it is a sovereign suffering to be brought in the pathway of obedience, then so be it. Let God be found true, and let God provide the strength needed in that day.

“For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life.”

2 Corinthians 2:15-16