You may think this title is a little extreme, but if you really think about it, isn't it the truth? Today's Christians preach a gospel that isn't found anywhere in the Bible. We preach the message of religion instead of relationship. We turn away the "unclean", telling them they have to clean themselves up before they can be accepted, all the while forgetting that we were once and still are considered "unclean" without Christ. Alcoholics are turned away. Homosexuals are banned. People who may dress a little different may not necessarily be rejected, but they sure are talked about behind their back. Where did we go wrong? This is not what Jesus taught, and this definitely wasn't what He lived. When are we going to stop condemning people, and just accept and love them as God does? This does not mean we are giving them a license to sin, but it means that we would be showing them unconditional love and acceptance, which in turn could change their lives and cause them to grow closer to God. God changes people. We can't. So, let's stop trying, and just love them. He'll do the rest.
Matthew 9:9-12, Jesus tells us how we should go about it.
9As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.
10While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. 11When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"
12On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.'[a] For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
Jesus associated himself with the outcasts. He sat, ate, and fellowshipped with them! In other words, He just loved them....right where they were, exactly how they were. God loves us for who we are, not who we try to become. Why can't we love others in this same way?
Far too many times, and I've experienced this in my own life, condemnation is the rule rather than the exception. People are told what they are not supposed to be doing instead of being told "I love you, no matter what you're doing or what you're going through". This is sad. Jesus requires MERCY, not sacrifice. If you do not show mercy, you will not obtain mercy.
Does this mean we are giving people an excuse to sin? Of course not. We are just showing them the unconditional love, grace, and acceptance of our heavenly Father. We should trust HIM to do the rest in their lives. We're not their Holy Spirit, therefore, we should not try to be.
In closing, let us be Christ. Let us love, unconditionally. If there is someone who is living a different lifestyle than you that you may not agree with, just love them. Don't condemn them, and don't point out their "sin". Because, believe me, their "sin" has probably been pointed out thousands of times before you came along. So just LOVE....let God work and just love. Accept the sick. Some already know they are sick. We don't have to tell them. All we need to do is help them heal, and the best way to do that is to accept them and love them right where they are. No strings attached. If God loved us any other way, His love would not be perfect. It shouldn't be any different with us.
-Seeker
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To love like Christ is to LIVE like Christ, and vice versa. His way is the only way, and the closer we draw to Him, the more open we are to Him, then the more we will be able to fulfill His commandment to love Him first with all our heart, mind, soul, and all that is within us...and then to love our neighbors as ourselves.
Thanks for this post, Brother!
I don't know what church you are attending, but ours sure isn't like that!
If by accepting the sick you mean turn away as if we don't see their sin, then you are biblically out of whack! Matthew 18:15-17 is very clear on how we are to deal with our brothers who stand in sin. As far as the lost go, we are to preach the gospel, preach the gospel, preach the gospel.
I cannot imagine how sad I would be if my brothers-in-Christ allowed me to continue in my sin. It is not only to my detriment, but to the detriment of the entire body when sin is overlooked.
Part of the problem is that the love of God and the love of Christ are being held to human standards, as opposed to our love being held up to God's!
Anonymous,
Thank you for your comment. I hope to address all of your comments made in your post to the best of my ability and with clarity, so please bear with me. To begin with, I don't see what my comments I made about us loving others unconditionally has to do with anything regarding which church I attend. Secondly, I would like to post the passage of Scripure you referenced here:
Matthew 18:15-17; and also: 18-35.
15 �Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that �by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.�[b] 17 And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.
18 �Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
19 �Again I say[c] to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.�
21 Then Peter came to Him and said, �Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?�
22 Jesus said to him, �I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. 23 Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. 26 The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, �Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.� 27 Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.
28 �But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, �Pay me what you owe!� 29 So his fellow servant fell down at his feet[d] and begged him, saying, �Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.�[e] 30 And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. 31 So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. 32 Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, �You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. 33 Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?� 34 And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.
35 �So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.�
From the beginning of this passage, Jesus is talking to the church. The man he references here is a believer (brother). This is true because Jesus tells them to first go to him to get it resolved. If that doesn't work, bring witnesses. If still that doesn't work, bring him before the church. And then, if he doesn't listen, regard him as unto a tax collector and heathen. Now, let's look at verses 18-35. Jesus turns right around and tells us to forgive, forgive, forgive. See, often times we in the Church forget that we are sinners saved by Grace. We are quick to notice someone else's sin, but do our best to justify ours by saying that we are working out our salvation, and that God knows how genuine we are. What a cop-out! If we do not show mercy and compassion, we will not have mercy and compassion shown to us. Jesus explains that if we do not show forgiveness to those who need it, He in turn cannot forgive us.
Anonymous, I never once said that we should turn away as if we don't see others sin. I stated that we are not giving license to sin. But, we should show unconditional love, grace, and acceptance...just as Christ does. It is the Holy Spirit's job to convict. Not ours. Where there is light, darkness vanishes. Just by showing God's love to others will change them. Now, I believe whole heartedly that sin does need to be addressed. But, I also believe those who call themselves Christians who are bashing those who are lost and dying need to stop skipping steps. Shouldn't we first show love? If we go up to someone who is committing adultery, should we immediately bring them before their husband/wife and demand justice? If so, we would be just as the Pharisees, wouldn't we? But, if we first show compassion and forgiveness, we can reveal the wrong to that person in LOVE...God's love. The love of God is being held up to human standards in a sense. You are correct in stating that. We are human...and the only way that we can reach the lost is through their means of understanding. Christ came as a MAN and God, in order to identify with us and feel as we feel. If we automatically try to feed them spiritual things, they are not going to understand and it's going to be foolishness to them. As far as the lost goes, again you are correct in that we are to preach the gospel. But above all, the first thing we should be doing is accepting and loving them no matter what their circumstances and what they are doing. Jesus did that. We can't say He didn't. If He didn't love first before correction, He never would have came to earth in the first place. What I'm trying to say is that if someone really experiences Christ's love, He will pursue and convict them of sin, as any loving Father does. We are to LOVE....and I stand on my conviction that Church is the only hospital that does not accept sick people. I pray that you will join with me in changing this fact. Thanks again for your comment.
-Seeker.
I understand where you're coming from, Seeker. But whoever that anonymous was that was said you were biblically out of whack was first making an assumption and then giving a judgment! That is exactly the kind of thing I think you were talking about.
To be sure, Jesus did not call the whole, but the sick, to repentance. And we're all sick. Sin-sick. He did show love. He did demonstrate mercy, forgiveness, etc. And He DID address the sin (the woman caught in adultery was told to "go and sin no more.") But I see the point you're trying to make.
I just read something a little bit ago from someone who encountered the Pharasaical attitude from a believer who was trying to tell him about how he needed to 'clean up his life', and yet this 'believer' was secretly committing adultery!!!
What the world needs is to SEE the love of Christ in ACTION and not just HEAR people bragging about how great a christian they are. If we truly want to wear the label of 'Christian' then we need to do as He did, and does. Words are easy; living it is a whole other thing altogether.
Seeking Him also,
I completely agree with you, and you are grasping what my heart is trying to say. Yes, Jesus told the woman caught in adultery to go and sin no more, but He FIRST showed His Love by not condemning her, and I think that's the same attitude that we should have. That's what I've been saying. Thank you for your comment, and please continue with me to love others as they should be loved....unconditionally and with no strings attached. Thanks again for your comment.
-Seeker
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