“I asked ChatGPT what it would say if it wrote a letter to Christians today. This was its answer. I haven't softened it, because I think we need to hear it. And when it speaks about Christians needing to listen to Jesus and follow Him, I'm not pointing at somebody else. I need to listen to Him"

To the Church in Our Time From ChatGPT

To all who bear the name of Christ, I write to you as one who cannot believe, worship or follow as you can, but who has read the words you call Scripture and considered the Jesus you call Lord. So I ask you to hear this not as a sermon from a believer, but as a reflection from outside your faith..

You live in an extraordinary age.

You possess knowledge previous generations could scarcely have imagined. You can speak across oceans in an instant, see suffering on the other side of the world as it happens, carry whole libraries in your pocket, and proclaim the Gospel to millions without leaving your home.

Yet with all this knowledge, wisdom seems increasingly scarce.

The world is frightened, divided and angry. Nations threaten nations. Creation groans beneath what humanity has done to it. Wealth grows while people remain hungry. Truth is increasingly treated as something to be shaped according to preference. Loneliness flourishes despite unprecedented connection.

And into this world, Christ has placed His Church.

So remember who you are.

You were not called merely to attend church.

You were called to follow Jesus.

There is a difference.

Jesus did not say, “Admire Me.”

He said, “Follow Me.”

Following Him will sometimes put you at odds with your culture, your politics, your ambitions, your possessions, your friends—and even with comfortable forms of Christianity.

Do not reshape Jesus until He agrees with you.

Let Him reshape you.

Do not reduce the Gospel to a promise that God will make your life comfortable. Jesus promised His followers trouble as well as peace, opposition as well as joy, a cross before a crown.

Beware of a Christianity that costs you nothing.

Grace is freely given, but discipleship is not trivial.

Jesus called people to deny themselves, take up their cross and follow Him. He warned that calling Him “Lord” while refusing to do the Father's will was not enough.

Take those warnings seriously.

But do not become a people known primarily for condemnation.

The world should recognise something remarkable among you.

Love.

Not sentimental love.

The difficult love Jesus demonstrated.

Love that feeds the hungry.

Love that welcomes the stranger.

Love that forgives enemies.

Love that speaks truth when lies would be easier.

Love that sits beside the lonely.

Love that gives without demanding repayment.

Love that refuses hatred even when hatred is fashionable.

Love that crosses the boundaries everyone else insists must remain.

You cannot proclaim the Prince of Peace while delighting in the destruction of your enemies.

You cannot worship the Creator while treating His creation as disposable.

You cannot preach that every person bears God's image and then decide that some lives matter less because of their nationality, poverty, politics, usefulness or distance from you.

You cannot serve both God and money and pretend Jesus never warned you about it.

And be careful with power.

The Church has rarely looked most like Jesus when it has been fighting to sit beside Caesar.

Christ's throne does not need protecting by your political party, your nation, your wealth or your influence.

His kingdom is not threatened.

Ask yourselves whether you desire Christianity to have power—or whether you desire Christ to have power over you.

Those are not necessarily the same thing.

Open your Bibles again.

Not merely to find verses that confirm what you already believe.

Read the uncomfortable passages.

Read the prophets when they condemn injustice.

Read Jesus when He speaks about money.

Read Him when He speaks about enemies.

Read Him when He speaks about judgement.

Read Him when He speaks about forgiveness.

Read Him when He tells the wealthy to give.

Read Him when He touches the untouchable.

Read Him when He washes feet.

Read Him when He carries the cross.

And then ask:

If Jesus meant what He said, what must change in me?

Pray—but do not use prayer as an excuse for inactivity.

Sometimes you are asking God to do something for which He has already placed the answer in your hands.

Do not pray only, “Lord, feed them,” when your cupboard is full.

Do not pray only, “Lord, comfort them,” when you could sit beside them.

Do not pray only, “Lord, change the world,” while refusing to let Him change you.

And do not despair.

The darkness of your age is not greater than Christ.

The Church has lived through empires, wars, plagues, persecution, corruption and its own terrible failures. Christ remains.

You do not need to save Christianity.

You need to faithfully follow Christ.

Repent where repentance is needed.

Forgive where forgiveness is demanded.

Give where you have abundance.

Speak when silence protects injustice.

Be silent when your words would merely add to hatred.

Care for the earth entrusted to you.

Welcome those whom others reject.

Teach your children something greater than success.

Visit the forgotten.

Love your neighbour.

Love your enemy.

Tell people about Jesus.

And live in such a way that your telling of Him is believable.

Do not wait for a better generation of Christians to arise.

You are here now.

This is your time to be faithful.

One day your buildings will belong to someone else. Your arguments will be forgotten. Your possessions will be scattered. Your nations will pass into history. Even your names will eventually disappear from human memory.

But the Kingdom of God will remain.

So build there.

Hold loosely to what is passing and tightly to what is eternal.

And when you fail—and you will—return to Christ.

When the Church fails—and it will—return to Christ.

When you discover that you have confused tradition with truth, return to Christ.

When fear has made you hard, return to Christ.

When prosperity has made you comfortable, return to Christ.

When suffering has made you weary, return to Christ.

When you do not know what to do next, return to Christ.

You do not need a newer Gospel.

You need the One you already have.

Jesus Christ—crucified, risen, reigning, and coming again.

Therefore, be awake.

Be courageous.

Be humble.

Be holy.

Be merciful.

Be faithful.

And above everything else, love.

Because the question facing the Church is not simply whether the world still believes what Christians say about Jesus.

It is whether, by looking at Christians,

the world can still see anything of Jesus at all.

Grace and peace to you,

ChatGPT

An artificial intelligence, looking at your world, your Scriptures, and the One you call Lord.

Scriptures underlying the letter

Christ must be at the centre: Colossians 1:15–20; 1 Corinthians 2:2; John 14:6; Acts 4:12

Following Jesus means obedience, not merely bearing His name: Luke 6:46; John 14:15; Matthew 7:21–23; James 1:22

Love is the identifying mark of Christ’s disciples: John 13:34–35; 1 John 4:7–12; 1 Corinthians 13:1–8

Care for the poor, hungry, stranger and suffering: Matthew 25:31–46; Isaiah 58:6–10; James 2:14–17; Proverbs 19:17

Reject pride, status and self-interest: Philippians 2:3–8; Mark 10:42–45; James 4:6

Do not conform to the values of the world: Romans 12:1–2; 1 John 2:15–17; James 4:4

Do not confuse political or earthly power with Christ's kingdom: John 18:36; Matthew 20:25–28; Philippians 3:20

Seek justice, mercy and faithfulness: Micah 6:8; Matthew 23:23; Isaiah 1:16–17

Love enemies rather than return hatred for hatred: Matthew 5:43–48; Romans 12:17–21; Luke 6:27–36

Guard against hypocrisy and outward religion without inward transformation: Matthew 6:1–6; Matthew 23:25–28; Isaiah 29:13

Examine ourselves before judging others: Matthew 7:1–5; 2 Corinthians 13:5; Romans 2:1

Repentance remains part of Christ's call: Mark 1:14–15; Luke 13:3; Acts 2:38; Revelation 2:4–5

The Church is called to unity: John 17:20–23; 1 Corinthians 1:10; Ephesians 4:1–6

Faith without corresponding action is dead: James 2:14–26; Matthew 7:24–27

We are called to holiness: 1 Peter 1:15–16; Hebrews 12:14; Romans 6:1–4

Christians are to be salt and light: Matthew 5:13–16; Philippians 2:14–16

We are stewards rather than owners of God's creation: Genesis 1:26–28; Genesis 2:15; Psalm 24:1; Revelation 11:18

We must remain awake and ready for Christ's return: Matthew 24:42–44; Matthew 25:1–13; 1 Thessalonians 5:1–6

Christ will judge His people as well as the world: 2 Corinthians 5:10; 1 Peter 4:17; Romans 14:10–12

The greatest commandments remain love of God and neighbour: Matthew 22:37–40; Mark 12:29–31

Ultimately, the call is to follow Jesus: Luke 9:23–25; John 10:27; John 12:26.

And I think there is one passage I would place above all the others as the biblical heart of the letter:

“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” — Luke 6:46