This past Sunday was week two in our Stupid Christian series, and I believe each person was brought face to face with some harsh realities as to how we've treated other people or been treated ourselves. Our focus was on how being judgmental makes us look like Stupid Christians.
God gets the praise for the 5 first time guests and 11 total guests this past week!
The worship set Sunday night was powerful...
"I am Free" as done by Newsboys
"I will God" as done by Starfield
"You Alone Can Rescue" as done by Matt Redmon
"Arms Open Wide" as done by Hillsong
We can't ignore the fact that the Bible makes some very difficult and apparent "judgmental" claims. For example, John 14:6 and 1 Timothy 2:5 identify Jesus as the ONLY way to Heaven. 1 Corinthians 5 and Galatians 6:1 discuss how we should deal with sin in the lives of other believers. Acts 3:19 reminds us that unless we admit we're sinners, we can't be forgiven. However, we then come across a passage like Matthew 7:1-3, and we can easily think we shouldn't judge anyone. So what do we do?
First, we have to examine our motives and actions. Too many people major on the minors and cause extreme problems within the church and in our attempts to reach people for Jesus. We can't speak truth to anyone if we first aren't willing to admit our shortcomings and apply God's Word to our own lives.
Second, in connection with John 8:1-11, we have to understand that speaking the truth doesn't automatically make us judgmental, but it can, if the following things happen.
#1 Personal agendas become the priority
As a church, we are committed to God's vision He has given to this church. We will passionately love people with an overflowing love that reflects the character and nature of Jesus Christ. If personal agendas become the priority, someone will always get impacted negatively. In this passage, the Pharisees were so determined to take Jesus down they made a spectacle out of this woman's sin.
As a church, we won't fight over certain things that can easily become personal agendas such as the clothes people wear, how many tattoos someone may have, or the type of music we play. However, topics such as the divinity of Jesus and the truth of Scripture are things we won't back away from teaching.
#2 Sins are classified into categories
People are often so quick to call out others if they commit a "major" sin. However, they are often quick to ignore the sin that may be hidden in their own life. The Pharisees had called out this woman's sexual sin in public. They were very focused on the physical sin she had committed. However, Jesus said if any of them were sinless, then they should cast the first stone. I don't believe Jesus meant "no sin at all" because He knew none of them were sinless. I believe He was referring to sexual sin. In other words, if any of her accusers were not guilty of the same sin, then they should cast the first stone. All of the men walked away.
Jesus then tells the woman to go and sin no more. Notice He didn't just say, "Don't have sexual sin anymore." Jesus died for all sin, and to Him, sin is sin. Yes, some sins do bring greater consequences upon us during our lives, but in reality, sin is sin, and we can't place an emphasis on one sin while ignoring another.
#3 Love is replaced with condemnation
Jesus stood up for this woman when she was guilty of a sin that according to the Law required death. He showed this woman love when she was at a very low point in her life. The people God has called this church to reach need someone to stand up beside them and show them the love of God apart from the condemnation of the religious elite. Consider what Jesus said in John 13:34-35. We ought to overflow with God's love, not with our own condemnation and preferences!
At the same time, we can't miss the fact that Jesus didn't ignore her sin. Jesus knew she had sinned, and He didn't deny that reality. However, He models for us the balance between love and speaking truth. The bottom line is this, we can't speak the truth nor do we have the right to speak the truth if we aren't first willing to allow God's love to overflow from our lives!
No comments:
Post a Comment