When it's too good to be true

“Tired of the heat?”

Well, yes.

“Then buy our amazing cooling device, designed by NASA engineers. It can cool a room in 90 seconds!”

Over the last few weeks, this advert has kept appearing, invariably on YouTube. And, of course, it is a fake. The reference to “NASA engineers” is something of a giveaway. And if this device really is so effective, why isn’t it on sale in our supermarkets and electrical stores?

The problem for the unwary is that the Advertising Standards Authority has been so effective in ensuring that advertisers cannot make blatantly false claims. We have grown accustomed to believing that, if an advert appears in public, someone must have checked it.

Then YouTube, Facebook and the rest of the online world arrived.

There was an interesting article on the BBC News website this morning about misleading internet advertisements, including the remarkable cooling machine currently being promoted on YouTube. It seems that the Advertising Standards Authority faces considerable difficulties in policing adverts appearing on some of our most widely used online platforms.

Basically, remember the golden rule: “If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.”

So what are we to make of the astonishing promise of Jesus—that, if we place our trust in him, our sins are forgiven, we are reconciled to God and we receive the gift of eternal life?

It sounds almost too good to be true.

The danger is what Dietrich Bonhoeffer called “cheap grace”: forgiveness without repentance, faith without obedience, Christianity without discipleship and resurrection without the cross.

Cheap grace turns the gospel into another misleading advertisement. It promises all the benefits of Christ while making no demands upon us. It offers forgiveness but leaves us unchanged. It welcomes Jesus as Saviour but refuses him as Lord.

That is not the gospel Jesus preached, as he makes clear: “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24)

The Christian faith only works when the cross is at its very centre.

Joni Eareckson Tada, who has lived for decades with severe disability, writes from her own experience:“If I want to really know Jesus and his life-sustaining joy, it’ll mean sharing in his sufferings.”

I often wonder what leads someone living in Eritrea, parts of China or any other place where Christians face hostility to decide to follow Christ. Such a decision may result in social ostracism, the loss of employment, violence or arrest. It may lead to imprisonment and, in the most extreme circumstances, even death.

Yet still they choose Christ.

They do so with their eyes open, knowing that discipleship may cost them their security, their freedom and perhaps their lives. They have not been deceived by promises of an easy path. They have discovered that Jesus is worth more than everything they may be called to surrender.

As Tim Keller put it: “When you come to Christ, you must drop your conditions.” We simply say, “I will follow you.”

There is no misleading small print. Jesus puts the cross in the headline.

The cooling-machine advert promises everything, costs a little and delivers nothing.

Jesus promises a cross, asks for everything—and gives us life.

As Christian author Jerry Bridges observes: “Grace is never cheap. It is absolutely free to us, but infinitely expensive to God.”

Following Jesus will not necessarily make life easier. It may make some things considerably harder. Faith does not protect us from grief, illness, disappointment or opposition. Nor does Jesus promise that every difficulty will disappear once we pray about it.

What he does promise is his presence. He promises forgiveness, strength for today, hope for tomorrow and a life that even death cannot destroy.

A fraudulent advert conceals the truth because it wants our money. Jesus reveals the truth because he wants our hearts. He does not lure us in with exaggerated promises and then reveal the cost later. From the beginning, he tells us to count the cost.

The gospel is not too good to be true. It is good because it is true.