I've noticed that some churches see certain sins as being worse than others, despite the fact that all sin separates us from God. There are some Christians who seem to believe that only perfect people can go to church, or at least only people who don't commit certain sins that they consider particularly evil.
I've seen churches turn people away for being homosexual, cast people out for committing adultery, shame and shun members for struggling with pornography or substance abuse. I've heard that people who don't dress a certain way don't belong, and people who don't do certain things need to find somewhere else to worship. I guess they are afraid their church will be contaminated by these sins, or maybe they feel that these souls aren't able to be saved.
I don't really understand this mentality. We're all sinners in need of grace, and how many of us would have met the standards for "good behavior" before we became Christians? More to the point: how many of us can honestly say that we are "perfect" or even "really good" now that we are Christians? None of us. Not one single one of us is perfect.
So why do we expect other people to be perfect? How do we expect them to come to know Christ, and find a desire to change their behavior, if we turn them away before they're ever given a chance? If our mission is to share the gospel with all people, are we fulfilling that by picking and choosing who we think is deserving of hearing it?
Obviously, this is just plain silly. But don't take my word for it. How did Jesus respond to sinners? The woman at the well (John 4) was clearly a sinner, but he didn't run away in fear of being contaminated. Instead, he offered her compassion and shared his message with her. And what did he tell the Pharisees who questioned his associations? Healthy people don't need doctors, sick people do (Luke 5:31). Furthermore, Scripture tells us that we are all sinners (Romans 3:23) but Christ died for us even though we are sinners (Romans 5:8). The message is clear.
Clearly, there is a problem here. Jesus himself told us that he did not come for the righteous, but to call sinners to repentance. How dare we place ourselves above him and tell those who sin that they are not welcome in his Kingdom? We are all sinners, and not one of us deserves the grace that God has given us through Christ. Let's try to be compassionate, following Christs' example, and win the souls of sinners to God instead of driving them away.
What does your church do to reach out to those who need healing? If you aren't involved in a church, what experiences have you had with Christians being compassionate toward you--or not?
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Comments (12)
Original entry is here:
http://radicalramblings.xanga.com/714031090/sinners--churches/
As Christ said, It is the sick who need a doctor, not those who are well.
Just as it would be ludicrous for a hospital to shut out the people who are too visibly ill, it is ridiculous for the Church to exclude those who, in our opinion, are too "visibly" in need of a savior.
And really, where do we get off deciding that someone else needs Jesus more than me?
Good post.
Just make sure you don't shut out those who are sick and don't know it. They're sometimes the hardest to treat, but they still need help.
@deepestrecesses - Agree~
@deepestrecesses - That would be the point - not excluding *anyone* who is in need of salvation
@radicalramblings@xanga - Lets also not forget that we don't win souls-- that is Gods work. If we stuck to proclaim the whole, unadulterated message of God and let him do the rest, there wouldn't such a mess; the mess comes when we start trying to pin things on people that God doesn't pin on them.
@deepestrecesses - Kinda like people who discount good messages because they'd rather argue semantics?
The church should allow anyone to show up for services, that is not trying to purposefully cause a distraction. But if you are in open or obvious sin. such as if the entire church knows you are having an affair because you told everyone and you don't care if everyone knows because you do not planning on stopping, you shouldn't be expecting the church to allow you to teach sunday school or be a member in good standing of the church. There is a big difference between being a church that is open and accepting, and being a church that allows you to teach and preach while violating God's laws. There is such a thing as church discipline and sometimes with some people, the only thing to do is treat them as a tax collector, to borrow a phrase from the New Testament.
I appreciate your insights. A similar thought I heard was in a sermon a few weeks ago and suggested that as Christians, there is no difference in how God handles different sins in general. To clarify what that meant to me, Jesus didn't die on the cross in varying degrees for different people. He died equally for all people. The only difference which determines the end result is those who do not come to Him and those who do come to Him seeking forgiveness,cleansing, and a life change. Therefore, who am I as a Christian to fault and judge someone for their sin when I am guilty of sin as well whether they be "saved" or not? My main concern as a part of the church should be making sure that others know what separates hell-bound unforgiven sinners from heaven-bound forgiven sinners.
@ProudToBeAChristianFruitcake@xanga - according to Christianity, all people are in a constant state of open and obvious sin. it's your holier-than-thou judgment that is what's being addressed in this post.
THE BIBLE TELLS US TO BE MORE JUDGMENTAL WITHIN THE WALLS OF OUR OWN CONGREGATION, THAN IN THE WORLD, IF YOU KNOW A BROTHER WHO IS SINNING, WATCH YOUR STEP LEST YOU FALL DOWN WITH HIM
@ProudToBeAChristianFruitcake@xanga - You basically said what I was thinking.