You Are Not Easier To Save Than Kanye West
*Disclaimer: The purpose of this article is not to critique the faith of any celebrity. I do hope, though, each of our own lives are brought under the microscope, that we may treasure the price paid for our salvation. Read Time: 2.5 Minutes
With the recent news (and album) of Kayne West proclaiming his faith in Jesus Christ, there have been countless narratives created within the Christian culture. Some rejoice, some judge. Instead of adding to these narratives, I want to focus our attention on our hearts in the matter. I’ve seen in many places the idea that “God really must be at work if He is saving Kanye”.
This reaction is fascinating, in a sad way, for what it reveals about us. If we use it well, we may learn a few things about ourselves. Our reaction to an event is often a helpful gauge of the state of our hearts. Reaction reveals what lies underneath the easily professed. Here is an example of this reality: I may say out loud that I do not think I am better than someone else. But when my reaction to my insecurities is that I easily belittle someone else so that I appear better than them, I have just revealed the true nature of my heart. So, let us look at our reaction to Kanyes, and countless others, salvations and pray that God would reveal the true state of our hearts.
Subtle Implications
“God really must be at work if He is saving Kanye” is written all across the internet. The idea that Kanye’s life has been so messed up, so dirty, so “un-Christian” that if He is really saved now, God really did some powerful stuff. This narrative isn’t new, or isolated to celebrity stories either. Do you have one of those people in your church, family, or friend group? The type of person that God really has to do a special work in to save? The subtle implication of this narrative is that it actually takes more work for God to save people like “that” than it did to save you.
Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
The context Paul is writing about in Ephesians 2 is that we all were once broken, dirty, dead in our sins. But God, being rich in mercy, saved us. When these narratives of celebrities turning to Jesus, or “really bad people” being miraculously saved by God from dark places surface, we forget the last half of Ephesians 2:8-9. “lest anyone should boast.”. How quickly the magnifying glass moves from our own hearts onto others. How quickly we see the speck in another’s eye, forgetting that the plank in our own hinders us from getting close enough to even see. You were not easy to save! Don’t buy into the subtle lie that since you come from a Christianfied, culturally safe rebellious past, that you are somehow more savable than anyone else. You added nothing to your salvation. Just because rebellion looks different does not mean you or I did not spit in the face of God with every rejection of His authority in our lives.
Yes, sin and its consequences are different. But “you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot” (1st Peter 1:18-19) The price paid for your life was massive. It is inconceivable that you were “easily saved”. You were so broken, so dirty, so weak that the only way you could be saved was that the Son of God, Jesus Christ, pour out his blood as a sacrifice for your sins.
This may seem dim, but I believe it actually brings beauty to both ends of the spectrum. Such a high price was paid for your life. That’s amazing! Freeing! No matter your sins, no matter your past, you can (or have) been saved if you repent and trust! You are infinitely special to God. But no more special than any other of His children. Diminishing the cost of your own salvation not only creates in you a heart of pride, but like a leak in a bowl, hinders your ability to drink the fulness of your own salvation.
“It takes God no more power to save Kanye West than it does to save me and you. The moment we think we were easier to save, we have become disillusioned to our own sinfulness. ”
So friends, let us not be proud. We are saved purely by the grace of God. We are not more savable, or more “attractive” in God’s sight than others. We have been treated so mercifully, why would we not expect God to treat others like that? Let the understanding that your salvation was costly propel you into a deeper thankfulness for your salvation, which was paid with by the highest price. It takes God no more power to save Kanye West than it does to save me and you. The moment we think we were easier to save, we have become disillusioned to our own sinfulness. Kanye is the lost sheep Jesus left the 99 for, and so are you.
Thankful this morning for a God who saves sinners, of whom I am the worst,
Josh.
