Sometimes the biggest problem I think Christianity has is the Christians who populate it. There are so many diverse opinions and judgments that it can be overwhelming. Much of it accomplishes the devil’s work very nicely, in my opinion, by distracting our brothers and sisters (myself included) from the task at hand of winning hearts and minds for Christ.
There are many who believe that those who are divorced, have practiced any sort of alternate lifestyle or ‘living in sin,’ don’t give 10% or more of their earnings to a church fellowship, etc. cannot be Christians (at least in good standing). Perhaps there is some obscure doctrine they teach or believe in (often that has little or nothing to do with anything) that eliminates them from God’s mercy. By the criteria some people use, I can’t imagine who would be allowed into the kingdom. Clearly, scripture tells us that we are saved by grace and not of works. This is explained quite simply and clearly in Ephesians 2:8: God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. (NLT).
I was saved in my teens when I accepted Jesus and Lord and Savior of my life. I’d like to tell you that I staid true to Him, but I fell prey to many temptations in this world and strayed away from His teachings and the life he wanted me to live. After years of sexual promiscuity, drugs, alcohol and thievery I found my life empty and meaningless. I turned to God and asked his help in surrender. He gave me the tools I needed (people, a 12 step fellowship) and now a wonderful Christian fellowship to find my way back to His presence and grace. God loves me as He does you and wants the best for his children. I know this because the Bible tells me and He proves it to me through people and events that happen in my life.
Of course, sin still happens. If it didn't, I’d live forever right here on this earth. Like wonderful Christian people before me (who were also sinners), I will eventually die to this world — that’s the wages of sin as defined in Romans 6:23 (KJV): For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.Because sin happens in the believer’s life, I also think it is important to identify it and repent. By no means am I suggesting that we just live a worldly life and do whatever we please, thinking we are good-to-go because we uttered a prayer accepting Jesus or attend a church on occasion and shout praises to Him. No, I know it’s a lot more than those hollow expressions of faith which are little else.
I’m not sure who has the corner on rating sin, in terms of its severity level. All sin separates us from God, so how can it get any worse than that? I can’t get into who is the worse sinner or who is beyond any hope — I would not wish to answer to God for such behavior (I have enough to deal with). Let’s focus on the fact that God truly is love as stated in 1 John 4:8 (NIV): Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. When I embrace that truth, suddenly everything and everybody else seems OK with me and I can love them as God intends for me to do. So let’s share the love, spread the message of salvation through Jesus and leave the judgment where it belongs: in the hands of God.
From Matthew 7 (KJV):
| 1 | Judge not, that ye be not judged. |
| 2 | For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. Mk. 4.24 |
| 3 | And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? |
| 4 | Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? |
| 5 | Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye. |
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