Grace for my enemy. Grace for the broken. Grace for those who deserve it the least.
So says Benoit Blanc, the atheistic detective at the heart of the Knives Out murder mystery franchise, in the newest movie, Wake Up Dead Man. With the help of a Catholic priest named Father Jud, Benoit works to discern who has murdered Monsignor Wicks, the head priest at a Catholic parish in upstate New York.
The film has gotten its fair share of scrutiny in Christian circles, because of its often-critical view of Christianity. But amid the caricatured characters of the movie, there’s a profound juxtaposition of the true Gospel that Father Jud preaches versus the “gospel” of Monsignor Wicks, which promotes hate and division.
The themes in Wake Up Dead Man provide an opportunity to think about the true Gospel of grace and how we can promote a culture of biblical grace within our ministries.
Grace for my enemy
At the beginning of the movie, Monsignor Wicks preaches an angry, vindictive gospel that makes many enemies. His messages are more concerned with getting a rise out of people and making them feel inadequate than with expressing the love of God.
Father Jud critically remarks: “Every time someone leaves [in the middle of a sermon], it gives the people remaining the chance to pick a side.” Monsignor Wicks’s angry approach to ministry causes division and resentment, for both the people who leave the Church and those who stay.
This approach to ministry is precisely the opposite of what Jesus desires for His followers.
‘I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.’ John 17:23
Instead of promoting unity under the mission of spreading the Gospel, our ministries can become more focused on establishing allies and enemies than ministering to the lost.
People are hurt by and often leave the Church because they are made to feel like enemies of the Church for wrestling with big questions or disagreeing with answers they hear. When we make people feel as though they’re not welcome within the church walls because of their questions, it hinders our ability to live out the Great Commission in the way Jesus intended.
Grace for the broken
What can we do to create a more welcoming and loving ministry?
A remedy Wake Up Dead Man promotes is one that is often countercultural, even within the Church: confession.
The world thinks that being welcoming and inclusive means being accepting of all beliefs and behaviors. But rather than blind acceptance of someone’s faults, what brings healing is repentance and receiving the free gift of grace. To admit our brokenness. Not only at the moment of salvation, but every time the church gathers.
While the salvific work of Christ’s death and resurrection is finished, the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit is ongoing.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
A welcoming Gospel doesn’t avoid acknowledging wrongdoing and sin, or call unrighteousness “righteous.” Instead, it shines the gentle light of Christ on sin and affirms that we all need forgiveness.
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. James 5:16
It’s not only to our heavenly Father that we need to confess our sins, but to other people as well. Too often Christians and church leaders act like Monsignor Wicks, concealing their sin until someone else brings it to light. Then they discount or even justify their sins after being found out. How many scandals, conflicts, and church schisms might have been avoided if ministries had promoted a more robust culture of confession?
Promoting a culture of confession and prayer within our ministries makes way for the Holy Spirit to heal and unify the Church.
Grace for those who deserve it the least
One of the most beautiful aspects of the Gospel is how it equips us to respond to others.
When we have confessed our own sins and received the free gift of grace, we’re then empowered to extend that same grace to others.
Numerous times throughout Wake Up Dead Man, Father Jud extends grace and mercy to those who don’t deserve it. Why does he do that? Because Father Jud himself doesn’t deserve grace. No one deserves grace. That’s why it’s grace! (See Romans 11:6)
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9
Those of us who have received God’s grace should be the first to extend it to others. We cannot fall into the trap of “grace for me, but not for thee.”
Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Colossians 3:13
Paul tells us to show grace to others because of the grace we first received. And we should extend this grace not only to fellow believers, but to those outside the Church as well. We should be a foretaste of the love and grace people experience when they trust in Christ.
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:6-8
We need to extend grace and forgiveness whether people ask for it or not. Let us remember that before we knew we needed a savior, Christ died for us. He gave us the ultimate example of true biblical grace.
Advancing the Gospel of grace
As we head into a new year, consider if your Gospel Advancing ministry has a culture more like that of Monsignor Wicks or of Father Jud. Does your ministry have a culture of anger, paranoia, and judgment? Or does your ministry have a culture of confession, grace, and forgiveness?
If you find your ministry more like that of Monsignor Wicks—or if you would just like to expand your ministry’s practices of confession and grace—here are some questions to consider:
- Does your ministry feel like it has an “in” crowd?
- Does your ministry promote unity in the mission of spreading the Gospel?
- Does your ministry have a culture of confession? To one another, or just to God?
- Do people confess and repent only right before taking communion?
- Does your ministry have a culture of extending the same grace you have received to those outside the church walls?
- How could being more Gospel Advancing lead to more people experiencing God’s grace?
In a time when anger and self-righteousness thrive, the Church should continue to be a safe harbor for those feeling inadequate or afraid. The Church has the answer. The answer is Jesus. The answer is the Gospel that gives people peace, hope, and grace.
Let’s go and share that grace with the world!
But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. Ephesians 2:4-5
