Thursday, September 18, 2014

We are Christians, but are we Christlike?

I saw this video on Facebook today.  It was taken at a local college here, and it really got me thinking.  Obviously, this is only a short except, so I don't have the whole story, but apparently this preacher is calling out homosexuals and called young college women whores, and so on when a group of presumably Christian college students begin singing "He Loves You."  Here are my thoughts on the matter (not relating to this particular incident just in general.

Let me preface this by saying, I am a Bible believing born again Christian.  I believe both homosexuality and sex outside of marriage is sin.  I believe in standards and separation and calling sin what it is, but is there a time and a place for this?  It really made me think.  I thought back to Jesus' ministry.  Jesus was comforting to the sinners.  He went to them in compassion to show them the way of life.  The only people we have record of him condemning were the religious people who were making so many rules for others to follow.

We find Jesus going to the Samaritan women (technically going through Samaria and she came to the well where he was sitting) and talking to her about living water and then pointing out her sin in love.  We see Jesus loving sinners.  Sin is wrong, but when did we start just condemning sinners instead of pointing them to Jesus?

Jesus calls the Pharisees (religious people) vipers, children of Satan, and other things like that, but he never calls out those that need his help.  I'm not sure that I'm saying this how I'm thinking it.

I do believe sin should be preached about, but I think the best place to preach on sin is in the church.  Public preaching whether to an individual or a crowd should be about pointing them to Jesus, not getting them to turn from their sin.  Because, without Jesus, they can't turn from their sin.  Without His indwelling Holy Spirit, they can't conquer the flesh or the devil.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this!


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