#whatdoyoumeme – Coffee with Jesus

Geeks Under Grace is committed to celebrating our faith and pop culture. That is why we love memes. But sometimes, they are used to cause damage to ideas and organizations. Certain critics will especially try to poke fun at “Christian logic” in an attempt to tell viewers we are irrational or out of touch.

We are going to look at some popular memes that have tried to disarm the beliefs of Christians and the word of God.

The Breakdown: This meme depicts Jesus having coffee with a follower. The follower admits she got wasted and ran over a hooker. The follower then delights in the fact she is consequence free and she can go to Heaven. Jesus also points out the hooker is going to Hell for her bad life choices.

Meaning: This meme is trying to paint the picture that Christians have no consequence for their actions because Jesus gave them a “get out of Hell free” card.

Colby Bryant:

Unlike Jesus in this meme, I’ll forgo the coffee and get straight to the point:

Hebrews 10:26-27 (NKJV) 26 For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.

You see, we’re being warned here and in the verses that follow it in Hebrews 10 of ‘APOSTASY,’ the intentional falling away or apparent defection one exhibits toward the faith they once seemed to uphold. Apostates can seemingly “convince the world” of an inward change through their actions and appearances, but the “inward man” (spoken of in 2 Corinthians 4:16 and throughout the New Testament) has never truly been renewed by God. A person can be drawn to Christ by the Word, even up to the point of salvation; they can hear the Gospel, just like countless believers before them, and they can be led up to the moment of decision by the verses, yet still reject and turn away in their hearts. That person has been made aware of their sin, and some may even seem to make a profession of faith. All seems good in the eyes of those observing. Still, in the time after, there is no spiritual growth, nor could there be. That person, whose lips seemed to fervently speak the name of Jesus at one time, has grown silent in prayer and absent in action. Why is that? It’s because they weren’t saved in the first place.

1 John 2:18-23 (NKJV) 18 Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us. 20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. 21 I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth. 22 Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. 23 Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

Many go “out from us,” because they never possessed the “anointing from the Holy One.” Those people live lives that deny Jesus, because of their actions. This is truly a dangerous state for a person to be in, as well as it is dangerous for the people who believe that person to have a sincere and genuine faith. Why is that? Because that person’s actions can cause great confusion for all around them about what is and isn’t acceptable for believers. They can say and do things that are damaging to the cause of Christ, and people feel like they represent all believers. Beyond that, it’s dangerous because that person doesn’t know Jesus as Savior, and therefore, their eternity is not secure in Him. There is no security for that “believer,” because they aren’t even a believer. Their “decision,” no matter if it has deceived one person or the whole world, means nothing, because that person doesn’t know Christ as Savior. Trust me: Scripture shows us that when a person comes under true salvation, there is no denying it, and they are a changed person from the inside.

As the passage in 1 John 2 shows, actions are important. If we belong to Jesus, guess what? We will live by His commands! While, yes, there are apparent times that believers have made and will make mistakes when they take their eyes off of Jesus, a person won’t make their evenings a recurring cycle of getting “high on cocaine” and running over a “hooker,” as the meme tries to justify. Some seem to mistakenly think Jesus is a “Get Out Of Jail Free” card allowing us to live like the devil all the time, until it’s time to “get right” on Sundays. That person is deceived and does not know Jesus, and any who believe that are themselves on a path of deception.

Ephesians 4:25-32 (NKJV) 25 Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another. 26 “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, 27 nor give place to the devil. 28 Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. 29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

Jesus died so we could be free from sin and its power over us in our lives. It’s not God’s desire that people lie, cheat, hurt, and steal, and that stands especially true for “Christians.” True believers have been sealed for the day of redemption, so we mustn’t seek out ways to grieve the Holy Spirit through terrible ways of living. You may have pursued the ways of the world before, but we have a new way in Jesus, and that means we don’t get to do whatever we want because “we know Jesus.” Those saying that may not know Jesus at all.

Mike Mordenga:

This is a low blow insult and actually very easy to correct. The only reason it made this list is because I keep seeing it on funny picture sites.

In fact, I can solve it with two verses.

1 John 1:5-6  5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 

Done. Finito. Case closed! Oh wait, you want more? Well okay.

The meme above assumes God is blind to consequence. Our actions are meaningless to him as long as we run to Jesus like some hide and seek player running to “safe.”

But there is no safe for those who live in darkness. Those who choose to make careless mistakes, regretful actions or harmful decisions will have to live with those consequences. On a justice scale, the person might have to face jail time and legal actions. On a spiritual basis, the sinner will have to feel remorse, walk away and repent from this decision. They have to choose to walk in the light.

But Mike, does that mean they are barred from Heaven because God only loves light?

I believe the Gospel does the impossible by making Jesus’ death and resurrection better than any sin. Jesus’ blood will cleanse us no matter what the magnitude of the sin. Does that mean we get a free pass? Nooooooo! In fact, it means we should always be expecting a lifestyle of light and mourning a lifestyle of death.

In short, the follower who ran over the hooker because of drug use made a huge error that has serious consequences. The physical law will make her have to pay the consequences. The spiritual law means she needs to mourn/turn away/hate/make amends for the error. The impossible Gospel made it so all could be clean before God.

7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)