THE CHURCH THAT DIDN'T LAUGH

During Grace Biblical Seminary's conference in September 2022, a pastor announced that he had brought booklets that were available to one and all. Nothing unusual about that. What was unusual was that he said, "They're free but they will cost you everything." (It was a joke, so this article pauses to hear your laugh.) 

The entire group of attendees, all in unision, laughed with gusto. And well they should; the remark  made no sense. How can something be free and "cost you everything" at one and the same time? It was a non sequitur. (A statement containing an illogical conclusion.)

Imagine that you walk into a local store. As you look through the items, you find something that you're interested in buying. You pick it up and see no price tag attached. You ask the clerk about the price.

“How much is this?” you say. It’s a simple question, right? You expect an equally simple answer.

"It's free, but it will cost you five dollars," the clerk says. She smiles as if she's delivered good news. You need clarification, so you ask once again.

“How can it be free and five dollars?”

"It's a free gift from the manufacturer, but they require that you pay five dollars for it," the clerk says. You feel an urge to argue but decide to put the item down instead. After setting it aside, you slink quietly out of the store. After all, the clerk is obviously deranged. (from Lucas Kitchen)

Kitchen goes on to write, "The basic rules of logic prevent this obvious contradiction from being a successful sales tactic in a department store, yet pastors all over the world pedal this same illogical nonsense from their Sunday pulpits. 

"There was a time in my life, as a minister, where I heard these exact words coming from my mouth. People have left the church in massive numbers in the last three decades, and it's no wonder when foolish phrases like this are the foundation of most gospel presentations." 

But contrary to the GBS conference group, nobody in church laughs at such a  statement. They sit silently, accepting the statement without analyzation, biblical or otherwise.

Romans 5;23 and Revelation 22:17 along with lots of other declarations nod their heads in agreement: salvation is  free. Period. Over and out. 

And yet, next Sunday, millions and millions of people with hear, "Salvation is free but it will cost you everything," and they don't laugh. They should; the statement is ridiculous. The millions who hear this statement should do two things: laugh and leave, never to return and never to write a check to support the propagation of the non sequteur.