…And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” John 8:11
I have been struggling with something lately. The struggle has less to do with knowing what is right and much more to do with wanting to do it. Have you ever been asked to do something you knew was right, but it would be uncomfortable or inconvenient to do it? That is where I have been for a few months now.
God has placed on my heart the misrepresentation of Christianity by people who would call themselves Christian. In the past this article would have been aimed at people who think blowing up abortion clinics is God’s will. That is certainly a misrepresentation of Christian values and a radical stance, but it’s a minority of people who identify as followers of Jesus. People who take this stand are focused mainly on God’s holiness and wrath, painting a picture of Jesus that portrays Him as a vengeful, angry God who hates not only sin, but also sinners. It also paints the people who hold to this belief as God’s chosen instruments of justice (a very big assumption). This stand denies the love, mercy, grace, and gentleness of our Lord, because there is no love, mercy, grace, or gentleness in them.
While it is wrong and dangerous to overemphasize God’s judgment, it is just as wrong and dangerous to overemphasize His compassion and kindness. That is where my heart has been burdened, and that is where things get uncomfortable.
There has been a shocking shift in modern Christianity. In an effort to make Christianity “all-inclusive”, the Bible has been set aside in favor of social justice platforms. The real irony is that Christianity has always been “all-inclusive”. (A fact first century Pharisees opposed greatly)
Jesus does indeed welcome all who come to Him. Unlike some overzealous modern Christian “Pharisees”, Jesus welcomes sinners of every kind. There is only one sin that can exclude a person from eternal life with Jesus – and that’s the sin of unbelief, in which the unbeliever chooses to exclude themselves from His love.
In the culture we live in today, love is equivalent to permissiveness. If we “love” someone, we have to agree wholeheartedly with their lifestyle choices and put aside any misgivings we might have in order to support the person we “love” publicly and passionately. That is a horrific distortion of true love. Love is wanting only the best for the object of your love. How do we know what’s best?
It turns out that we have been given a manual by the source of love Himself – the Bible (1John 4:8,16) He is love and has already determined what is beneficial and detrimental to His loved ones (us).
If you love somebody who wants to experiment with hard drugs, would you agree with that choice and begin public speaking in favor of the legalization and easy access to said drugs? Of course not! You know that the choice to use illegal drugs would be dangerous and harmful to your loved one.
God knows that certain behaviors will be dangerous or harmful to His loved ones (the entirety of humanity) and has delineated some of those behaviors very plainly in Scripture.
Now, we have entire denominations editing or even abandoning the wisdom of Scripture in favor of the wisdom of the age. Think about the shifting sands (Matthew 7:24-27) that make up popular opinion. What a scary, unstable place to build your platform.
This “progressive” movement in Christianity is dangerous as it supports self-indulgence and denies any need for self-control. I find it interesting that the portions of the Bible that have been the most compromised are the portions that say not to do things we want to do. We all have a Scripture that speaks to us like that – an activity in which we would prefer to have permission, but instead find rebuke.
Most, if not all, sin boils down to a lack of self-control. Because we are born with a sin nature, we cannot control ourselves. That is why we need a Savior. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, the Holy Spirit begins to convict us of our sins and leads us on paths of repentance. All of this transformation is for our good, but many deny their need to change.
Jesus accepts everyone, and Jesus expects everyone to be transformed. He works on each of us in the way we need, but we all have to change.
It’s easier to accept this when our sins manifest internally (rage, unforgiveness, bitterness, pride, jealousy) or are done in secret (adultery, stealing). It’s more difficult when your lifestyle choices are evident (gluttony, living with a person you are not married to, homosexuality).
The Bible relays some hard truths, and true Christianity does not shy away because popular opinion is in opposition. All people are welcome, but all behavior cannot be tolerated. When churches choose tolerance, they are in direct opposition to God’s word. Tolerance is not loving. It’s watching someone rush into danger and telling them it’s acceptable. It’s saying, “I’d rather have no conflict with you today and never deal with you for all eternity.” That’s indifference and it’s dismissive.
Lovingly telling someone the truth they do not wish to hear tells them, “I want to see you in eternity, because I love you, so I’ll risk a conflict with you today.” But be careful. It is not true that “You will go to hell if the behavior doesn’t change.” Change in behavior is the work of the Spirit after a person is saved from hell by choosing to follow Jesus. Hell is not the argument. A trusting relationship with Jesus is what we want to accomplish. Trust cannot be founded on wavering standards. The Bible says what it means and means what it says no matter who it is speaking to. Let’s not abandon the biblical standards to make Christianity more palatable to a lost world. A diet of junkfood (lies and compromises) is not healthy. We all need to eat our proverbial vegetables.
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