Tag: sin

The danger with truth is that when you push a truth too far it slips into error.  That is true when it comes to the belief that Martin Luther reinforced through the Reformation – that faith alone, apart from the law, was necessary for salvation.

During Luther’s time there were those who pushed this truth too far by teaching that the law was unnecessary and all one had to do was believe in Jesus.  The way a person lived didn’t matter; it was unnecessary, they said, to hold to any moral law.  In response to this, Luther coined the term Antinomianism (taken from the Greek words meaning “against law”).

Now I most certainly believe in salvation by faith alone in the death and resurrection of Jesus.  The apostle Paul makes it clear when he says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Even though I believe this truth it doesn’t mean that I hold to antinomianism.  I believe that God’s law is vitally important for four reasons:

Firstly, the law gives us knowledge of sin.

Romans 3:20, “…through the law we become conscious of sin.”

If it weren’t for laws we wouldn’t know what was right and what was wrong.  If there was no speed limit, for example, we could drive at dangerous speeds that would harm others and us.  Having speed laws means that when someone exceeds the speed limit they can be justly punished and hopefully amend their behaviour.  Parents want to instil knowledge of right and wrong in their children so they become responsible citizens.  God’s law does the same for us.

The second purpose of the law is to declare the whole world guilty.

Romans 3:19, “all the world may become guilty before God.”

Just like the law of the land, the law of God shows us what is pleasing and displeasing to God.  If God hadn’t told us that lying, murder, adultery and the like are wrong, we wouldn’t have an understanding of them being wrong and so wouldn’t feel guilty for engaging in behaviour that is not only destructive to ourselves but also to others.

Thirdly, the law gives place to the justice of God.

Romans 4:15, “… law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression.”

When we break a law justice says that it is right for the lawbreaker to be punished. When we break God’s laws He is just and righteous in punishing us.

Finally, God’s law is to lead us to Jesus Christ our Saviour

Galatians 3:24-25, “…the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.”

And so, through the law we realize that we are sinners, that we are guilty and that we deserve to be punished.  Then comes the good news – Jesus has taken our punishment for us so that we can be free from guilt and shame.  The law is like a tutor that brings us to Christ, but once we have been introduced to Jesus we are no longer under the tutor (the law) – it has served its purpose, we are forgiven and free.

The Old Testament has many complex laws; the New Testament simplifies them all into one statement: “The commandments are summed up in this one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” (Romans 13:9-10; Galatians 5:14)

Once we have been forgiven by Jesus He calls us to live a life of love – a life that does no harm to its neighbour.  That is the purpose and fulfilment of the law.

The problem is that this moral message gets in the way of the church’s real message – the gospel, which is good news.  Some Christians are so busy trying to clean up others’ lives by Christianising them that they miss their real mission – that of sharing the true gospel.  The message of the moral police actually drives a wedge between Christians and the world that God loves.
Jesus didn’t behave this way so why do some of His people?  It’s like trying to clean a fish before you’ve caught it.  Jesus hung around with all sorts of people who had been rejected by the religious crowd of his day (see Mark 2:13-17).  The religious right, who did not understand Jesus’ love and acceptance, scorned Him – and they haven’t changed!
Now I’m not saying that Christians shouldn’t have an opinion about moral issues, or have the right to express that opinion, or work for what is right in society.  We greatly respect people like William Wilberforce who worked tirelessly to abolish slavery in the British Empire – even though he was forsaken by much of society, including the church.  Today we respect Christians like Tim Costello who works on behalf of the poor and speaks out on issues like the dangers of gambling addiction.
But these men are a far cry from Christians who see themselves as the moral police called to enforce their view of the Bible’s morality on all of society.  These people build walls rather than bridges and actually keep people away from a relationship with a God who can change their life.
Jesus didn’t come into the world to condemn the world – why should we?  Jesus came to reconcile people to God.  The moral police don’t reconcile, they repel.
The Christian message should be attractive not repellent. The apostle Paul wrote: “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sings against them.  And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.”  There it is, the church’s message for the world – reconciliation.
Of course the moral police are not new.  They’ve been around for centuries – even in Jesus’ day.  He told them once, “you shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces.  You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to” (Matthew 23:13).
Christians are not called to live as conspirators banded together against the world that is for the time their home.  Rather, Jesus calls his people to live as salt and light “that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” – not be turned away from God by the message of the moral police!

Many people have completely the wrong idea about Christianity and what it means to be a Christian. The sad fact is often they get this wrong idea from Christians!  Let me explain…

Many people I speak with think that being a Christian is about being a “good” person and living a “good” life.  This message is communicated when the church takes on the role of moral policeman for society – thinking that its main role is to say what is and isn’t acceptable behaviour for everyone – even those who don’t consider themselves to be Christian.

The problem is that this moral message gets in the way of the church’s real message – the gospel, which is good news.  Some Christians are so busy trying to clean up others’ lives by Christianising them that they miss their real mission – that of evangelizing by sharing the true gospel.  The message of the moral police actually drives a wedge between Christians and the world that God loves.

Jesus didn’t behave this way so why has so much of the church bought into the lie that we are here to moralise and Christianise rather than evangelise?  It’s like trying to clean a fish before you’ve caught it.  Jesus hung around with all sorts of people who had been regularly rejected by the religious crowd of his day (see Mark 2:13-17).  The religious right, who did not understand such love and acceptance, scorned him.

God gave the same message to the Hebrews who had been taken into captivity to Babylon in 597 BC (see Jeremiah 29:4-14).  Jeremiah 29 is a letter to the exiles giving instructions on how God’s people are to live when they are foreigners in a strange land.  And what a strange place Babylon was! It was the place where astrology, and other occult practices, was developed. In their worship system, they had 37 supreme gods, and one of these, the god associated with the sun, was supreme over all the other gods. These people believed that numbers in some way had power over the gods they worshiped. They counted their gods and assigned a count number to each of the 36 lesser supreme gods, and then added up all of these numbers (from one to 36) and assigned the sum to the sun god – 666. They also practiced Knot Magic: The belief that tying and untying knots could cure all manner of illnesses.

In light of these and other strange and immoral practices you’d think that God would instruct his people to make banners and hold protest marches down the streets of Babylon – “Down with Knot Magic!” “God hates 666.”  “Astrologers will go to hell!”

But the message from God was very different.  God instructed his people to “Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”  “Peace and prosperity” is the Hebrew word “shalom” which includes things like safety, happiness, friendliness, welfare, health, prosperity, peace, contentment, completeness, soundness and restoration.  This was the impact God’s people were to have on Babylon – this is the impact the church is meant to have on the world today!

Christians are not called to live as conspirators banded together against the world that is for the time their home.  Rather Jesus calls his people to live as salt and light “that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

Christians are accused of being too focused on getting converts and likened to telemarketers according to research conducted by David Kinnaman for the Barna Foundation.

While it horrifies me to think that Christians are seen to pester, in response to this criticism I would say, “Yes, I am out to convert people to Jesus because I believe He is the way and the truth and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Him” (See John 14:6).

I believe people need to come to a point of personally accepting what Jesus Christ has done for them through His death and resurrection.  I believe that apart from Jesus people go to an eternity that is separated from God.  I believe that God’s will is for no one to perish but for everyone to come to repentance.  I believe God wants everyone to experience His abundant life now and eternal life forever.  On the basis of these beliefs, I share my faith in Jesus with others.  I tell people what He has done for me.  I tell them that He loves them too and wants the very best for them now and forever.

The problem, however, is the approach of some Christians to this task so that people feel targeted rather than befriended – a love with hooks.  In the book Unchristian, David Kinnaman says, “While we’re trying to convey the most important message in human history – that Jesus offers a new life through faith in him – something gets lost in translation … rather than being genuinely interested in people for their friendship, we often seem like spiritual headhunters.”

The solution to this perception is developing genuine relationships.  It is vitally important for Christians to demonstrate genuine interest and care towards others – love without hooks!  Listen to what the apostle Paul says about this: “Just as I myself strive to please [to accommodate myself to the opinions, desires, and interests of others, adapting myself to] all men in everything I do, not aiming at or considering my own profit and advantage, but that of the many in order that they may be saved.”  The word “please” literally means, “to seek to be agreeable.”  There is no room for obnoxious Bible-bashing in real Christianity!

Check out these words of wisdom:  “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” (1 Peter 3:15-16).  “The Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone … Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth…” – gentleness, respect, kindness.  Now that’s refreshing!

Being a real Christian means that you will develop genuine relationships with others whereby they may be influenced (over the process of time) and transformed by Jesus who lives in and through you!  But if people never embrace your faith – never stop embracing them, because real Christianity is genuine!

 

If I hear someone say one more time, “Well, we’ve just got to love the sinner and hate the sin” – I’m gonna scream! Christians quote this like it’s a Bible verse – right next to “God helps those who help themselves” and “cleanliness is next to godliness!”  But where is it in the Bible?  The Book of Hezekiah?  Paul’s letter to the Deuteronomy’s? Each section of this statement is true – God does love sinners and hates sin. But here’s the problem, as a collective statement it’s not true.

The real problem with “Love the sinner; hate the sin” is that it is rarely meant. It is really just a Christian-sounding platitude aimed at people whose behaviour we really struggle with; people whose sin we really hate and people that, if we were brutally honest, we don’t really love. This statement just salves our conscience and makes us feel like we’re being Christian when we are really displaying unchristian attitudes towards others.

Of course, the only way we can really know if we love the sinner is by spending time with them and helping them when they’re in need. How do we really feel about the drug addict with needle scars and missing teeth? What is our real attitude towards the homeless person who hasn’t bathed or changed their clothes for days or weeks? Do we really love the gay man or woman at work (or in our family) or do we merely tolerate them? Do we pretend to love people but then say derogatory things about them behind their back? We only know the true nature of our heart when we are confronted by someone we struggle with.  And let’s be honest about our struggles rather than hide behind “love the sinner; hate the sin.”

Another reason why this saying is so wrong is that often the sinner and the sin are inseparable. In other words, someone’s behaviour often defines him or her as a person so when we say we “hate the sin” what the person hears is “I hate you.” The Bible talks about loving the person – “For God so loved the world!” (John 3:16).

The statement “Love your neighbour as yourself” is found nine times in the Bible – divine emphasis for a reason.  In Galatians 5:14 the apostle Paul says that this truth sums up the entire law.  In James 2:8 this command is called “The Royal Law.”  Jesus illustrated how we are to love our neighbour as ourselves by telling the story of The Good Samaritan.  Samaritans were hated and despised by Jews in Jesus’ day. The Samaritans were half-cast Jews because they had intermarried with Gentiles.  They were viewed as worse than gentiles – the lowest of the low, the greatest sinners.  Jesus could not have found a more powerful illustration to prove His point. He didn’t teach “Love the sinner; hate the sin.”  He taught “Love the person like they were you.”  May this challenge us to the core of our faith!

From time to time we hear about a high profile Christian leader who hasn’t been living up to the high calling of their profession. When details come out about inappropriate behaviour there are a number of emotions that we experience – shock, anger, disappointment, grief, bewilderment and so on. All these emotions are justified and need to be worked through in a godly way.

In the last two weeks we’ve heard of two such cases. First there was the news of Todd Bentley’s marriage break up because Todd had “entered into an unhealthy relationship on an emotional level with a female member of his staff” (click this link for more details). Todd and Shonnah are now receiving counselling and Todd has been stepped down from the ministry for at least nine months.

Then the news about Mike Guglielmucci for whom many of us had been praying since the “diagnosis” of cancer in 2006. This now all seems to have been a hoax that Mike had kept up for over two years even deceiving his closest family and friends. Mike too is receiving professional help.

Even though I personally have many questions about both of these situations, I think it is vital that we remain godly in our attitudes. It’s fine to be angry – but not to sin (Ephesians 4:26). It’s also quite legitimate to be disappointed, shocked and grieved – after all we had hoped for better things. But above all we must remain spiritual. In Galatians 6:1 Paul says, “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.” One of the signs of true spirituality is the gentle restoring of a fallen brother or sister. We are also exhorted to watch ourselves. It’s easy to point the finger at someone else’s mistake but which one of us is free from the risk of likewise becoming caught in a sin from which we find no escape without accountability and help from others?

So in the coming weeks and months I encourage you to use some energy to pray for Todd Bentley, for Mike Guglielmucci and their families. Times will be tough for them because of emotions that will war within them and a merciless media who rub their hands together with glee because another of the righteous has fallen. Let us not be guilty of shooting our wounded. Let us pray for restoration and grace.