The Courage to Say It

by Jennifer Rubino Champion

The past couple of decades brought with it an influx of faith-based movies; Christian movies being played in movie theaters, on television, in churches, and outdoor arenas. Our culture was overdue for such family friendly films. While many movies are made about God, few are made that point people directly to Jesus.

Multiple movies have been made about the existence of God. Others have been made about how God intervenes and changes a situation for the better. Recently, my husband and I watched a Christian film about a man that did not believe in God but through several life experiences, came to believe in Him. I thought about it after watching it and realized not once during the entire movie was Jesus mentioned. Just God. We discussed the movie we had just watched as well as several others and none of them ever pointed the viewer to Jesus. None of these movies shared the gospel.

This is dangerous. Let me explain. John 3:16 tells us,

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

As Christians, if we honestly believe this verse in the Holy Bible, then why aren’t movie makers who claim to be making Christian movies, making them pointing people to Jesus, the Son? The entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation points to Jesus and yet he is not mentioned in these movies.

Christian movie writers, directors, producers, and actors, I am calling on you to take the opportunity you have to tell the world the truth. See, when a movie claiming to be “faith-based” only mentions God and never shows in it what must take place for a person to be saved then that movie has missed the mark. What one person believes to be “God” may mean something else entirely different to another. Many people throughout our world believe in a god but it is a narrow road for one to believe in Jesus.

For example, in the movie we watched last night, the young man in the movie did not believe in God so he started interviewing others that did. He interviewed four people. In those interviews, was a golden opportunity for the script writer to have the people he was interviewing to share the gospel and lead the man to Jesus. That did not happen though. Instead, the people talked about their life, the tragedies they experienced, and how to see God in the world around you. They also talked about living right and doing good to others.

If a viewer who did not believe in God were to watch this movie and Jesus being the way to salvation was never mentioned, then that viewer walks away without the truth. Instead, the viewer walks away thinking that all it takes is being a good person. This is dangerous and sad. A chance for someone lost to be saved is gone.

What if the viewer does believe in God though? What if the viewer grew up believing in God but never was told that Jesus is the only way to salvation? This person watches the movie, feels good about what they saw, and continues life unsaved. Again, what a dangerous and sad moment!

Hell will be full of bad people but do not let this moment go by and not realize that it will also be full of good people. The existence of hell should make Christians more urgent to share the gospel with the world. Christian movie makers have been given a huge public platform to do so and yet are failing with each movie produced.

This letter is a challenge to all movie makers that claim to make Christian movies. I challenge you to be courageous and speak the truth in your films. Make it a point in every movie to share the gospel with the viewer. Every movie should end with the viewer being told in some way they are a sinner, and that sin leads to death. They must know the only way to conquer death is to seek the forgiveness of Jesus, turn from their sins, and live a life guided by the Holy Spirit who indwells in them.

I hope the next couple of decades bring with it an influx of truthful movies. Our culture is way overdue for such family friendly and accurate films.

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About the Author: Jennifer Rubino Champion is actively involved in prison and jail ministry in Central and West Alabama. She and her husband Patrick have five children and a fur baby, Maggie. She is an author and artist and you can visit her website at www.jenniferchampion.com.

This article originally posted on www.faithwriters.com.