By Kairos Reed · InnerKwest Sermonettes · September 14, 2025
There’s a line that slices clean through history and headlines, through sanctuaries and timelines: “There is none righteous—no, not one.” We crown our camps as if salvation were a subscriber count. We canonize our parties like prophets and market our pulpits like brands. We’ve built a faith that runs on follows—KYC religion: “Know Your Congregant,” scan the flock, file the data, monetize the devotion. But the gospel was never a compliance checklist. The gospel is a cross.
You can feel it, can’t you? The gap between what we say we believe and what we do for the sake of the “right now.” We invoke the Holy Name to gain the whole timeline, then lose our soul in the algorithm. The ancient charge still stands: No, not one. And yet—there is One.
Scripture
- Romans 3:10–11 — “None is righteous, no, not one… none seeks for God.”
- John 1:14 — “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”
- Matthew 23 (selected) — Jesus rebukes religious theater that exploits the vulnerable.
- Amos 5:24 — “Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”
- Micah 6:8 — “Do justice, love mercy, walk humbly with your God.”
Turn
Let’s tell the truth. Across the centuries, power has edited the margins to favor its own center. Empires have kissed the Bible on Sunday and unsheathed the sword on Monday. Councils debated canons; courts baptized conquest. In every era, somebody tried to trim revelation to fit their ambition. And in our era, it’s centralization by another name: platformed piety—religion with KYC, “Know Your Congregant,” harvest the data, predict the tithe, weaponize the outrage.
But the gospel does not exist to certify our tribes. The gospel confronts every tribe, beginning with mine. John says the Word became flesh, not a filter. Jesus doesn’t appear as a brand we can white-label into our campaign—He appears as a person who refuses to be co-opted. He feeds the hungry without asking for a follow. He heals on the wrong day of the week and ruins the optics. He walks into the temple and turns the tables we called “strategy.”
So ask the hard question: Do we believe in the hereafter—or only in the “right now” we can monetize? If God is not just a concept but the living, holy Presence—if His Name is not a slogan but a claim—then mocking His Name to advance our name accrues what the prophets called judgment. And judgment does not begin with “them.” It begins at the house of God. (1 Pet. 4:17)
This is not a call to despise the Church. It is a call to be the Church again.
Lift
Hear the cadence and let it cut:
- Not a brand, a Body.
- Not a trend, a Truth.
- Not an echo chamber, an Upper Room.
- Not KYC—“Know Your Congregant”—but KYCross: Know Your Cross.
- Not rage for revenue, righteousness for rivers—“Let justice roll.”
- Not “secure the base,” serve the least.
- Not “own the opponent,” own our repentance.
- Not “platform first,” Presence first.
We preach Christ incarnate—God in real human flesh. Incarnation means proximity: God steps near enough to wash feet, to weep at tombs, to bleed for enemies. If our religion cannot love across difference, it is not the faith of the Incarnate. If our worship multiplies “quantum negatives”—small daily deceptions that compound into civic decay—then our rituals are running a deficit Heaven will not underwrite.
Say it with me: No, not one.
Say it again: No, not one.
Now let your soul answer: Yet there is One.
There is One who never commodified a soul and never sold a blessing. One who didn’t trade the Kingdom for a crown. One who took our “right now” and stretched it on wood until eternity opened. One who can forgive the past, reclaim the present, and secure the future without exploiting any of them. That One is Jesus.
If we will not pray, we will perform. If we will not repent, we will rationalize. If we will not seek Elohim, we will settle for the market of the moment. No, not one is righteous—yet there is One who is, and He invites us into His life through confession, communion, and covering.
Scripture
- Romans 3:10–11 — None righteous; none seek God.
- John 1:14 — The Word became flesh.
- Psalm 51 — Create in me a clean heart.
- 1 John 1:9 — Confess; He forgives and cleanses.
- Micah 6:8 — What does Elohim require? Justice, mercy, humility.
- Romans 12:2 — Be transformed; do not conform.
- Ephesians 6:10–18 — The whole armor of God.
- Matthew 6:13 — “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
Turn
Across ages, power trimmed Scripture to fit its politics, and in ours, centralized religion scans “Know Your Congregant” like a compliance regime. But Jesus will not be brand-managed. He overturns tables we called strategy and restores people we called “problem.”
So we answer, not with another tactic, but with a rule of prayer:
Confess. Seek. Shield.
Confess — Seek forgiveness diligently.
We don’t negotiate with sin; we name it in God’s light.
- Word: “A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” (Ps. 51:17)
- Practice: Daily Prayer of Examen (evening):
- Search me (Ps. 139:23–24) — Where did I resist Your Spirit?
- Say it — Name the thought, word, deed, and omission.
- Surrender it — “Elohim, I hand You this sin without excuse.”
- Receive it — “According to 1 John 1:9, I receive Your forgiveness and cleansing.”
Remember: Forgiveness is not pretending it didn’t happen; it’s trusting Christ’s blood to tell the final truth about it.
Seek — Ask what Elohim requires—and obey it.
We are not saved by works, but salvation works (Mic. 6:8).
- Word: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God… and it will be given.” (Jas. 1:5)
- Practice: Morning Shema Step (Hear → Do):
- Hear one passage (start with a Gospel paragraph).
- Hold one command or virtue you’ll practice today.
- Do one concrete act of obedience before noon (justice, mercy, humility).
- Journal one line: “Today Elohim required ___; by grace I did ___.”
Remember: Prayer is not a spare tire; it’s the steering wheel. We don’t pray to feel better—we pray to will better.
Shield — Be guarded from the culture’s temptations.
We aren’t called to escape the world but to resist its deformations.
- Word: “Put on the full armor of God… that you may stand.” (Eph. 6:11)
- Practice:Armor Liturgy (Eph. 6) — speak it aloud each morning:
- Belt of Truth: “I fasten truth; no spin, no shade.”
- Breastplate of Righteousness: “Guard my motives, Father.”
- Gospel Shoes: “Make me ready to reconcile, not retaliate.”
- Shield of Faith: “Extinguish fiery darts—fear, lust, pride, despair.”
- Helmet of Salvation: “Secure my identity in Christ, not clout.”
- Sword of the Spirit (Word): “Put Scripture on my tongue when I’m tempted.”
- Pray in the Spirit: short breath-prayers through the day: “Lord Jesus, have mercy.”
- Gatekeeping Rule (Eyes • Ears • Mouth):
- Eyes: unfollow what inflames envy or impurity.
- Ears: limit outrage-media; increase Scripture and wise counsel.
- Mouth: speak blessing, not bait; truth with gentleness.
Remember: We don’t fight culture wars; we fight spiritual wars—with holiness, humility, and hope.
Land (Practices for a De-Platformed Faith)
If God is more than concept—if He is Lord—then let’s walk this out:
- Confession before critique.
For seven days, start prayers with “Search me.” Name where you’ve used God to advance yourself. Repent specifically, not abstractly. - A Micah 6:8 audit.
Time, money, speech. Does your calendar do justice? Does your budget love mercy? Do your words walk humbly? Adjust one line item in each this week. - Proximity over performance.
Choose one person beyond your camp to serve—no cameras, no caption. Incarnation requires nearness, not a narrative. - Ritual of restraint.
Fast from weaponized news or outrage content for 72 hours. Replace it with a Gospel reading and one concrete act of neighbor-love. - Table before timeline.
Share a meal with believers you disagree with. Pray for them, not through them. The Church began at tables, not trending pages. - Witness without warfare.
Speak the truth in love. Refuse dehumanization, even of those who dehumanize you. We overcome evil not by mirroring it, but by bearing a cross through it.
Boundary for Wisdom & Safety
This call is for nonviolent, lawful, and ethical repentance and reform. No doxxing, no harassment, no vigilante fantasies. Accountability begins with ourselves, then our local church, then our civic life—always with counsel, safety, and love.
Benediction
No, not one—that’s the judgment on our self-righteousness.
Yet there is One—that’s the mercy on our souls.
May the One who is righteous clothe us with His righteousness. May the Word who became flesh inhabit our flesh—our calendars, budgets, and timelines—until the Church is again recognizable as His Body. May justice roll like waters through our cities, and mercy rise like a morning after a long night. And may our worship leave no room for idols, not even the idol of our own influence.
Go now—not to curate an image, but to incarnate the Gospel.
Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly.
In the Name above every brand and beyond every throne—Jesus.
—Kairos Reed
Call to Action
Write the person’s name, write one boundary, write one blessing. Keep the boundary. Offer the blessing (a prayer, a kind word, or silence without slander). Let God author the outcome.
Kairos Reed
“Right word, right time.”
Kairos Reed writes short, surgical sermonettes for busy souls—Bible-anchored, street-honest, and psychologically wise. Expect healing without hype, boundaries without bitterness, and grace that moves like clockwork: on time, on purpose. —Kairos
By Kairos Reed · InnerKwest Sermonettes · “Right word, right time.”
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