we are Far TOO Easily Pleased!

(My reflections on the Royal Wedding sermon)

The royal wedding created a lot of hype (which was expected) but what was not expected is the amount of discussion that the sermon preached at the wedding has generated. I read the full text of the sermon, watched segments of it, read comments on both sides and eventually decided to write my own reflections.

The reason I chose to do it is because I am deeply saddened and troubled by the positive response to it. Many including those whom I admire a lot have applauded it, being overjoyed that “gospel” was preached and millions have heard it, that the “love” of Christ has been proclaimed to the world...

The fact of the matter is: That was not the gospel! Except for that one line from the Spiritual he quoted, sin was totally absent from his whole sermon. How can it be the gospel when there is no sin and consequently no mention of the need for repentance? Why is the Gospel good news? Why should Christ’s death be considered good if we do not even know and acknowledge what our problem is that made the cross necessary for our salvation? When other people brought up 👆 these points, the following remarks have been made:

1) This was a wedding ceremony!

My response: so what?! A marriage is a covenant between two “sinners”! Mentioning “sin” does not ruin the joy of the occasion! It is the reality of life of both the bride and groom (and everyone else in the world). Many people go to church only for a wedding and funeral in their whole life. What a better opportunity for the true gospel to be preached?

2) He had just 13 minutes!

My response: It does not matter how much time was given! Sin and repentance are an inseparable part of the message of the gospel! No one has the right to cut out a part of it for the sake of time! More importantly, he did not mention "sin" not because he did not have enough time but because there is no room for it in his theology. Mentioning sin and the need for repentance would be quite at odds with his emphasis on “all forms of love” and what he means by that. (Whoever knows him should have no problems understanding that!)

3) At least half the gospel was preached because he talked about the love of Christ!

My response: What was preached was not the love of Christ! It was this universal meaningless, cheap notion of love! There is power in “any form, any shape of love”! Jesus did not die on the cross merely to show what love looks like, He did not die merely as an example. He died for my sins and yours. Yes, cross shows God’s love to sinners but to take out sin and only mention love is to cheapen God’s love. It is to ignore God’s holiness, His total aversion to sin, His holy wrath...

Even if we accept (which I do not) that love of Christ was mentioned, it still does not follow that we should be happy that at least half of the truth has been mentioned! We should be horrified! Look at all heresies and false teachings! More often than not, they are a combination of truth and falsehood! Half truth is more dangerous and sinister than absolute falsehood because it takes discernment to distinguish between the false and true!

4) We should be happy that this sermon has led to so much discussion among all people about the message of Christ because God is clearly using this occasion for His own purposes!

My response: God is absolutely sovereign and He can use anything, even the most evil thing for His own purposes. But that does not mean we should applaud the means! Joseph’s brother meant evil but God meant it for good because many people were saved from famine. But that does not mean we should say to his brothers: “Well done guys! You did a great job! Look what happened as a result of what you did!” What they did was evil. Or think of a much more important event: Judas betrayed Jesus and Jesus’ death brought salvation to mankind! The greatest act of evil ever committed (killing the Son of God) brought about the greatest most wonderful news for mankind: Freedom from bondage to sin, forgiveness and the possibility of being reconciled to their Creator! We celebrate Jesus’ death but we do not admire Judas’ betrayal! It was pure evil. It was absolutely horrible!

5) Finally and the most saddening response: Awesome! Let us celebrate! He mentioned “Jesus”! He mentioned “cross”! He mentioned “...”. etc

My response: What an incredibly sad moment to see Christians rejoicing at the fact that a “bishop” inside a “church” mentions “Jesus” and “cross” during a “sermon”!!!!! We are far too easily pleased....