The world will choose our tribe, true. But being of Christ has consequences. And not being of Christ has consequences.

well, Christ was accused of many things. He was opposed. And when he spoke, most did not get what he was saying.

So let us make it clear. Unless you believe in the works of Christ, you will die in your sins.

So he said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.” So the Jews said, “Will he kill himself, since he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” He said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.” So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.” They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father. So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” As he was saying these things, many believed in him.

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

(John 8:21-32 ESV)

I hold in some contempt those who think that Jesus was nice. That he was non confrontational. That he did not make your head hurt with his teaching.

He was confrontational; he challenged. And he claimed to be speaking the will of God. This was the role of the Messiah: to take the Law and complete it. But in doing this he looked around and said truth.

Truth the hearers did not want to handle then, and do not want to hear now.

Christ is not comfortable. He does not care for our self-esteem, or the modern idea that one should only use positive reinforcement. Instead he preaches hell and damnation await those who are not of him. He destroyed the self-righteousness of the scholars of the law and the religious, leaving them with no excuse.

His truth is too harsh to our ears, so we say that it has evolved, that the message has changed: we want to be nice, respectable, safe and powerless. All things that Christ was not.

But if we keep the form or religion by deny the truth that underpins it we are worse that useless, and we also in our sins will die.