Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God: The Scandalous Truth of the Very Good News

by Brian Zahnd

Jesus knows that the single greatest obstacle for people entering the kingdom of God is economic self-interest. It’s why Jesus famously said, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”*19 And Jesus put it more bluntly when he said, “Nobody can serve two masters. You will end up hating one and loving the other, or going along with the first and despising the other. You can’t serve God and money.”*20

Civil religion is religious patriotism. Christians are called to practice responsible citizenship but to renounce religious patriotism.