A Hypocrite - So What?

With regard to all the hot topics circulating the Christian blog world these days, it's not hard to find discussions on homosexuality, recreational drug use, Hell, and the like. What I have found so frustrating is the approach many Christians are taking when addressing these issues. 

Time and time again, I both read and hear Christian pastors, bloggers, and concerned-filled Church-goers "caution" the Church about fulfilling one of the most significant roles of the Church - speaking the Truth found in the Bible. 

The point of contention centers on hypocrisy. How can a person share what the Bible says when they themselves are failing to live out the Truth they are proposing?  

Without a doubt, hypocrisy is a devastating issue, but it is a separate one. 

Lets consider something...

When demons confessed that Jesus was the "Holy One of God" in Luke 4:33-36, did it make the claim untrue simply because the Truth came from untrue ones?  

What makes the Word of God (Bible) the Truth is not the piety of the ones proclaiming it (the Church?), but the One whom it reveals. 

I, as a preacher, have validated this by my own shortcomings. Haven't we all?  Hasn't every preacher, teacher, and average-Joe-Christian shared some nugget of Truth from the Bible that has not been fully synchronized, at whatever degree, into their own personal walk with Jesus?  Does our own shortcomings dilute the actual Truth?

I don't think it does. ...or at least, it doesn't have to. 

I recently read a quote from a lady named Dorothy Day. You might have read the more edgy translation of it. 

"The Church is a whore, but she's still my mother."

Perhaps the better approach, when broaching such topics as those surrounding the LGBT movement, Hell, recreational drug use, and abortion, is to let the Bible be the Bible and the Church be the Church. 

The moment the Church, or anyone belonging to it, moves the validity of The Message from Bible to the Church, we immediately lose our center of gravity and fall over in defeat. 

Share the Truth...

Disciple believers...

Love the lost...

Do not tolerate sin

Walk with Jesus...unceasingly

jb

Bury Your Head in the Sand

My wife tells me from time to time, “Burying your head in the sand won’t make the problem go away.”  

Now, in case you’ve never heard that little phrase before, it means that ignoring something won’t fix it.  Pretending that it’s not there or not happening, doesn’t help.

By default, I spend a lot of time hanging around the Church - I mean, I’m a traveling preacher, where else would I be?  Therefore, I hear a good amount of “Church-people-perspective” on political and social issues.  All to often, and most of the time with good intention, Church folks embrace the “bury your head in the sand” approach to the World around us.  I often wonder, is this the best approach to the World in which we live?

I wonder…  Is my “bury my head in the sand” approach more about fear of rejection and persecution and less about keeping my “white hat” free from the dirt of this World?

I wonder…  What does “garbage in / garbage out” really mean?  Should I shun the world and isolate myself from all ungodly people or should I be aware of / familiar with / keenly in-tune with the World in which I live?

I wonder…  Are we, the Church, cowards?  I think not…  Ignorant?  Maybe irresponsible is a better term.

I wonder…  How did Jesus act to the World He lived in, 2,000 years ago?  Did He bury His head in the sand and go about His business?  What was His business?  What is our business?

I wonder…  In the midst of a world where everyone is shouting, fighting, parading, rebelling, hurting others and being hurt, showcasing, fronting, posing, and defending - if there is a place for some who calmly linger in their midst...whistling softly...with a smile on their face?

If a tree falls in the woods and no one is around to hear it, does it still make a sound?  Yes, it does.  But that is irrelevant when the tree falls through your TV set onto your pretty, clean, and organized ottoman.  

I think…  In the same way that a father is inherently responsible for his child, perhaps the Church is equally responsible for the neighborhood / town / state / country in which it is located.  Perhaps me being a Christian is just as much about me as it is about the World in which I live. 

I wonder if you will wonder with me…  What are we going to do about what we see taking place around us...everyday?

A non-bury-my-head-in-the-sand guy,

jb 

It Can Be Complicated...

To judge or not to judge, that is the question?  

Jesus says, "Do not judge, or you too will be judged."  Matt 7:1

Paul says, "What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. 'Expel the wicked man from among you." 1 Cor 5:12-12

Okay, now that's all cleared up...

I hate thinking of myself as judgmental, but hate even more not knowing if its true. 

It seems obvious, in light of the mountainous evidence in the New Testament, that labeling sin and unright-ness is what Christians are called to do. I mean, from Jesus, to the disciples, to Paul - the early church had no problem calling out behavior that was wrong in the sight of God. That is a fact. 

Were they judging?  Are we to judge?  ...I'm confused!!!

FACT - There is such a thing as judging...and it is wrong and Jesus calls us not to do it. 

FACT - We are to judge rightly and distinguish evil from good. 

FACT - We are to not yoke-ourselves with unbelievers (correct judgement is needed here). 

FACT - We are to distinguish false from true prophets. 

Consider this...

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn... 

---John 3:16-17a

Condemn (John 3:17) and Judge (Matt 7:1) are the same word. 

Do you think it is possible to see wrong behavior, not tolerate wrong behavior, call out wrong behavior, and yet not condemn the wrong-doer?  

There is ungodliness, and that ungodliness must be confronted - not excused, over-looked, dismissed, etc. There is far to much "over-looking" for the sake of not "judging" taking place in the church today. 

Judging is wrong when condemning is its cloak. 

Perhaps confronting (judging) is real love toward those we see living unrightly...  Confronting is confessing that we've ALL been there and done that. We've ALL chosen our way over His way at some point. 

Perhaps real Love is confronting one another in dedication, understanding, unswerving loyalty, and an I'm-not-going-anywhere type of attitude that says, "I understand and I don't condemn you - I want to walk with you through this so that you can overcome it!"

I want to be this to others...  ...just as Jesus was and is this way toward me. 

An Optimist...

A Helper...

A Shoulder...

A Christian...

Jeremiah 

While In Rome...

Since becoming the companion of Jesus in 1995, virtually everything in my life has changed. That is how He is and Who He is.  He is the immovable one, the influencer. 

Yet after all these years, I still struggle with how that "change" in my life works. There are times, whether during temptation or simply in a self-taught response, that I feel like the "old" me. I feel no different than the way I was before He entered my life. But then I know, without knowing how, that I am different. Not because of any physical or spiritual change of my own, but because of a perspective He has shared with me. 

What used to be pleasure for me in this world, still at times looks appealing, but whatever is facing me in that moment, has new knowledge attached to it. It is His perspective, His way of seeing it.   ...and change is recognized. 

I am different because He is with me. I am no longer living independent from Him. He reveals and I see. What is more, it is not simply new knowledge, but Truth. It's how it really is. 

This is the Answer, Him, that our world is looking for. The answers are not morals, the inclusion of this, or the exclusion of that. There is no rule or law of righteousness apart from Him. It is only through Him that living rightly, to ourselves and to others, is found. 

Just a thought...