"Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted." Galatians 6:1
My pastor tells the story of a couple of guys he ran into that were interested in attending our church. They asked him if the people at church would judge them because they smoked, and had the smell of, marijuana. He responded with a question: "Do you believe it is wrong to numb your mind with marijuana?" They agreed that is was wrong. Therefore, he said he did not feel they would experience any problems at church. As far as I know, they never came to church. One of the most debated and controversial subjects in Christianity is the idea of judging others. Can we do it? Is it loving to do so? Are we guilty of judging the motives of others despite not knowing them in most cases? The answer is yes and no. Recently, I was involved in a bit of disagreement over Matthew 7:1, which says, "Do not judge, or you will be judged." This verse is often interpreted by Christians and non-Christians, alike, to mean that we can never judge anybody for any reason. My belief is that in this verse Jesus Christ is saying not to judge another person by a standard that you are unwilling to judge yourself by. However, there are those that judge others with condemnation in mind. If anybody sins they are found worthy of eternal hellfire and shown no mercy. On the other hand there are those that take this verse and use it as a cover for sin, rendering it next to useless to ever call sin a sin. In my conversation, the individual I was speaking with seemed to judge me for saying it is okay to judge and for holding to my belief about the verse. In the middle of our conversation he says, "I do not qualify myself as a righteous judge maybe you do." I laughed and asked, "Didn't you just judge me, right there?" Eventually, we were able to find common ground, but you see my point. I was judged for believing we could judge by someone who says they do not qualify themselves "as a righteous judge." In the example above with my pastor and the guys who smoked marijuana, he made a judgment. Believing marijuana smoking was wrong, he asked them if they agreed that it was. He made a judgment about their behavior as sinful. When they agreed that it was sinful behavior, then they could move on from there regarding attending church. He did not condemn them as dirty, filthy sinners who should be ashamed and are unworthy of his time and attention. Nor did he shy away from the subject with an attitude of "I am not qualified to be a righteous judge" either. Rather, in love, he found a way to find common ground by which he could possibly present the Gospel of Jesus Christ to them.
In Galatians 6, Paul begins the chapter by telling Christians that they should gently restore a person trapped in sin. My question is, "If you cannot make a judgment as to whether a person is indeed sinning, how do you restore them?" The core of the Gospel message is for a person to agree that they are not only sinning but that they are sinning because they are dead to God. Furthermore, they are looking to meet the deepest needs of the human heart from sin rather than from God. By chance, if the person trapped in sin feels they are being judged, that is more of a sign that they are not ready to receive God's offer of forgiveness and the restoration of His life because they have not acknowledged their need for any of it. When a person's heart is ready, they will not need much "judgment" in order to be persuaded that their life of sin is not as rewarding as they once thought it to be. Proverbs 13:15 says, "Good understanding giveth favour: but the way of transgressors is hard (KJV)." A life of sin produces rotten fruit. Stay in that sin long enough and the consequences to someone's life are obvious. We all know someone who had a relationship end, suffered financial ruin, endured physical pain, unemployment, homelessness, and all sorts of maladies due to being trapped in sin. Chances are that person was us. Sin leads to a hard life. Paul, in his letter to the Romans, after detailing his struggle with sin, said, "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 7:24-25)!" He not only judged his own actions and found himself to be wretched because of them, but he also knew the answer to his misery; Jesus Christ. Jesus said, "Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly (John 7:24).” Judging by mere appearances comes from those that judge hypocritically. They are the ones that Matthew 7:1 is referring to. They are the ones who self-righteously condemn others because they've deceived themselves into believing they are obedient to God in their behavior. However, to judge correctly comes from a heart that looks past the outward appearance and recognizes it is only the fruit, and not the root, of the problem. Outward behavior is often a sign of inward turmoil or inward rest. When you are living by the Spirit of God, He can help you discern this in a person and give you the loving response to minister to the need in their heart after you have moved past the judging of the sin they are trapped in.
Showing posts with label Sin.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sin.. Show all posts
Saturday, May 23, 2020
Monday, March 25, 2019
The Insecurity of the Make-Believer
"And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life." 1 John 5:11-13
On the subject of eternal security, a popular pastor said, "I have a message that I used to preach. And I preached it quite often. There is the security of the believer. But, there is the insecurity of the make-believer. The problem is not whether or not we have an eternal salvation. The problem is have you really, genuinely, trusted the Lord Jesus Christ ... Let me ask you the question, 'Have you sincerely, truly, trusted the Lord Jesus Christ?" From what I gather, based on the question he asks at the end of his comment, that the only way to determine whether or not someone is a believer or a make-believer is if they confess to having "truly" and "genuinely" trusted in Jesus Christ. This begs the question, "What does it mean to truly and genuinely trust in Jesus Christ?" That is such a vague determination that each individual can make up whatever they want to define what those terms mean. Besides, what person is going to admit to being a "make-believer"? There is no scriptural support for calling someone a make-believer. Yes, scripture does say that "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us (1 John 2:19)." One could say that those that John says "were not of us" could be make-believers. However, if you keep reading, John goes on to talk about these are people who are liars that deny Jesus is the Christ. I doubt you will find many Christians, aside from cult members, who deny that Jesus is the Christ. In my opinion, the only way in which someone could be labeled a "make-believer" is because they are not living up to the expectations of the individuals making this judgment; i.e. a pastor. I would not call anybody a make-believer. You either believe in Jesus Christ and are saved or you don't believe in Jesus Christ and are lost. It is when we get caught up focusing on a person's behavior that all these judgmental terms start to form. One of my favorite quotes is, "The law is of no use unless you have someone to compare yourself to." It is when one set of Christians are comparing themselves to other Christians that the condemnation towards one's faith begins to rear its ugly head. After all, if someone doesn't just come out and say they don't believe in Jesus Christ, what else is there to go on to judge them for other than their behavior? And, to me, it is the people doing the judging, like this pastor calling people make-believers, who are to blame if someone is insecure about their salvation.
You don't have to look too far before you will hear a Christian teaching that we are to lead lives of "obedience and repentance." Well, in order for one to live such a life you have to have a set of standards to live by in order to judge a person's ability to obey. While most Christians will agree that we are not under the law of God, they will definitely put people under the law of their particular denomination or even their own personal law they have made up. From personal experience, I have been judged negatively in the past over things like my church attendance, whether or not I participated in Bible study, how much I was giving to a church, my participation in church activities, and, of course, my ability to "overcome" the sin in my life. It is this last one that I believe is what leads people to be called "make-believers" or worse, believe that their personal faith is not genuine. From the day you are born until the day you die, sin is your companion. It will never go away entirely. Although, I do believe that as you grow in your faith in Christ you will see a diminishing of sin in your life, but only as a byproduct of resting in and depending on Jesus Christ. However, for those that do believe being a Christian is to live a life of overcoming sin, they will only find things getting worse for them and their faith. The Bible says, "The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law (1 Corinthians 15:56)." Therefore, if you believe that the goal of the Christian life is to overcome sin through a life of obedience and repentance to laws designed to modify your behavior, your Christianity will become "make-believe." The more you subject yourself to the law, any law, the more power you give to sin. You won't overcome sin, you will be overwhelmed by it. And those who are judging will say you are a "make-believer." And, unfortunately, you will agree with them because you believe the same thing about what being a Christian is all about. You will be insecure about your salvation because you know you will never overcome sin and that sin is getting worse in your life. Sin will have power over you. You not only will question your eternal security, but you will also question if you were ever a Christian in the first place. Then where will you turn? Do you redouble your efforts in trying to live an impossible life? Do you risk confronting those judgmental Christians who have put you into bondage? Can you approach a God you feel is ashamed of you and disgusted with you? I suggest you say exactly what Paul exclaimed. "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death (Romans 7:24)?" The law has done its work in you. It has brought you to the end of yourself, so the only direction to turn is towards Jesus Christ. The God you thought was upset with you, is rejoicing that you have finally stopped trying to live the life only He, in Christ, can live through you. "Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 7:25)!" The only thing that is "make-believe" about one's faith in Jesus Christ is believing you are responsible for your eternal security. Now you know the truth and can believe.
On the subject of eternal security, a popular pastor said, "I have a message that I used to preach. And I preached it quite often. There is the security of the believer. But, there is the insecurity of the make-believer. The problem is not whether or not we have an eternal salvation. The problem is have you really, genuinely, trusted the Lord Jesus Christ ... Let me ask you the question, 'Have you sincerely, truly, trusted the Lord Jesus Christ?" From what I gather, based on the question he asks at the end of his comment, that the only way to determine whether or not someone is a believer or a make-believer is if they confess to having "truly" and "genuinely" trusted in Jesus Christ. This begs the question, "What does it mean to truly and genuinely trust in Jesus Christ?" That is such a vague determination that each individual can make up whatever they want to define what those terms mean. Besides, what person is going to admit to being a "make-believer"? There is no scriptural support for calling someone a make-believer. Yes, scripture does say that "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us (1 John 2:19)." One could say that those that John says "were not of us" could be make-believers. However, if you keep reading, John goes on to talk about these are people who are liars that deny Jesus is the Christ. I doubt you will find many Christians, aside from cult members, who deny that Jesus is the Christ. In my opinion, the only way in which someone could be labeled a "make-believer" is because they are not living up to the expectations of the individuals making this judgment; i.e. a pastor. I would not call anybody a make-believer. You either believe in Jesus Christ and are saved or you don't believe in Jesus Christ and are lost. It is when we get caught up focusing on a person's behavior that all these judgmental terms start to form. One of my favorite quotes is, "The law is of no use unless you have someone to compare yourself to." It is when one set of Christians are comparing themselves to other Christians that the condemnation towards one's faith begins to rear its ugly head. After all, if someone doesn't just come out and say they don't believe in Jesus Christ, what else is there to go on to judge them for other than their behavior? And, to me, it is the people doing the judging, like this pastor calling people make-believers, who are to blame if someone is insecure about their salvation.
You don't have to look too far before you will hear a Christian teaching that we are to lead lives of "obedience and repentance." Well, in order for one to live such a life you have to have a set of standards to live by in order to judge a person's ability to obey. While most Christians will agree that we are not under the law of God, they will definitely put people under the law of their particular denomination or even their own personal law they have made up. From personal experience, I have been judged negatively in the past over things like my church attendance, whether or not I participated in Bible study, how much I was giving to a church, my participation in church activities, and, of course, my ability to "overcome" the sin in my life. It is this last one that I believe is what leads people to be called "make-believers" or worse, believe that their personal faith is not genuine. From the day you are born until the day you die, sin is your companion. It will never go away entirely. Although, I do believe that as you grow in your faith in Christ you will see a diminishing of sin in your life, but only as a byproduct of resting in and depending on Jesus Christ. However, for those that do believe being a Christian is to live a life of overcoming sin, they will only find things getting worse for them and their faith. The Bible says, "The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law (1 Corinthians 15:56)." Therefore, if you believe that the goal of the Christian life is to overcome sin through a life of obedience and repentance to laws designed to modify your behavior, your Christianity will become "make-believe." The more you subject yourself to the law, any law, the more power you give to sin. You won't overcome sin, you will be overwhelmed by it. And those who are judging will say you are a "make-believer." And, unfortunately, you will agree with them because you believe the same thing about what being a Christian is all about. You will be insecure about your salvation because you know you will never overcome sin and that sin is getting worse in your life. Sin will have power over you. You not only will question your eternal security, but you will also question if you were ever a Christian in the first place. Then where will you turn? Do you redouble your efforts in trying to live an impossible life? Do you risk confronting those judgmental Christians who have put you into bondage? Can you approach a God you feel is ashamed of you and disgusted with you? I suggest you say exactly what Paul exclaimed. "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death (Romans 7:24)?" The law has done its work in you. It has brought you to the end of yourself, so the only direction to turn is towards Jesus Christ. The God you thought was upset with you, is rejoicing that you have finally stopped trying to live the life only He, in Christ, can live through you. "Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 7:25)!" The only thing that is "make-believe" about one's faith in Jesus Christ is believing you are responsible for your eternal security. Now you know the truth and can believe.
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