Well, what would he do?
Over the years, as a Christian, I have been told many times that Jesus would never judge anyone. I have been told that He accepted everyone as they were, no questions asked. I have been told that He did not point out sin or heresy. That He only professed love and acceptance.
It sounds good in theory. It looks good on paper. But is it truth?
We are warned not to accept everything we hear or every doctrine that is preached to us. We are told to test the spirit that comes to us to "teach" us. We are warned about false prophets and the twisting of the word of God in order to serve man's purpose.
"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world." - 1 John 4:1
2 Peter 2:1 warns of false prophets among the people, saying, "But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction."
We have to be very careful not to paint Jesus in any light apart from what is written in the word. We have to be careful not to tailor Him to our "liking" or set Him up as an idol; a god of our own making.
How do we know the "truth" of who Christ was and is? We read the word.
How do we know if what is being told to us is true? We compare it to the word.
"For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough." - 2 Corinthians 11:4
In 2 John we are given a very stern warning about straying from the teaching of Christ:
"Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works." - 2 John 9-11
In considering those things that have been spoken to me, those admonishments that I have been given, I have prayerfully spent time reflecting on these questions, reading and studying what is taught in the Bible. A few things stand out to me, the first of which is this...
Would Jesus point out sin or heresy?
This is a image of Jesus that is often forgotten, overlooked or even ignored.
We rightly acknowledge the examples of love and grace that Christ gave us but we tend to "forget" his many teachings and examples of intolerance of sin.
Jesus did not enter the temple and show love and fuzzy-warm-kindness to the money changers and sellers. He knocked over their tables; He drove them out. He publicly condemned their actions. He was intolerant of their sin and their corruption of the purpose of the temple.
"Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out all the people buying and selling animals for sacrifice. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves. He said to them, 'The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves!'" - Matthew 21:12-13
He did the same thing with the Pharisees. He pointed out their hypocrisy. He condemned the motives and attitudes of their hearts. He made a very public statement and example of their sins of pride, greed, self-indulgence and lawlessness. He even told them that they would not enter Heaven. (See: Matthew 23)
Yes, Jesus called out sin.
Consider the Samaritan woman at the well...
"'Go and get your husband,' Jesus told her.
'I don’t have a husband,' the woman replied.
Jesus said, 'You’re right! You don’t have a husband for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!'" - John 4:16-18
Jesus did not shy away from her sin, instead He brought it out into the light. Why? So that she might repent of it.
That's what He does. He calls out our sin so that we can be free from it. Tolerance of sin opens the door for sin to take root in our hearts and facilitates the spread of it's destruction to others. Likewise, we cannot keep it concealed. When sin is kept secret, in darkness, it continues to grow and fester. It consumes and destroys.
He tells us that all things concealed will eventually be revealed.
"For all that is secret will eventually be brought into the open, and everything that is concealed will be brought to light and made known to all." - Luke 8:17
If we want to break the hold of sin in our lives, we must bring it out into the light.
“Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. For this reason it says, 'Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.'" - Ephesians 5:11-14
We must confess it. Then, we must repent of it.
"'Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed.'" - James 5:16
He does not see us defined by our sin. He does not hold it over our heads to shame us. He does, however, point it out, so that we can be free from it.
"But if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness." - 1 John 1:9
He did, and does, forgive sins when we repent of them. He doesn't just ask us to confess and repent of our life of sin, He asks us to turn from it. To the woman caught in the act of adultery, He said:
"'Then neither do I condemn you,”Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.'" - John 8:11
He did not come to give us a "FREE PASS" to live as we wish and be pardoned of it all. He came to show us how we should live.
He came to pay the price for our sin; to take our punishment. He offered His life for ours, so that we may be forgiven.
We are not to ignore sin. If we are to help our brothers and sisters, instead of judging and condemning them as the Pharisees did, we must first deal with our own sin.
"Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend's eye." - Matthew 7:5
This verse teaches us so much. A few things that struck me in this passage are:
1. We cannot judge anyone else for their sins because we are guilty of our own.
2. We must address the sin in our own lives.
3. We can help each other overcome sin.
To choose to embrace and justify any kind of sin is to mock His sacrifice. To continue our own sin and refuse to turn from it is to reject His work on the cross. To ignore the sin of a brother or sister is to leave them trapped in bondage and to, on some level, condone and even participate in their subsequent suffering and destruction.
We don't call out sin in judgement or to shame others, we reach out to them in love so that we may help them.
Would Jesus judge?
The answer is yes. Yes He would. Yes He did. Yes He will.
"Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war. His eyes were like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him that no one understood except himself. He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the Word of God. The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses. From his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, like juice flowing from a wine-press. On his robe at his thigh was written this title: King of all kings and Lord of all lords." - Revelation 19:11-16
So what would Jesus have us do?
- He would have us not condemn another for their sins when we are guilty of sin ourselves.
- He would have us confess our sins, repent of them, and turn from them.
- He would have us fight against sin, not tolerate it.
- He would have us encourage one another, and help each other overcome sin, in love.
- He would have us not just accept teachings at face value and not embrace something as "sound doctrine" just because it sounds "good". He would have us test it against the word.
- He would have us read the Bible regularly so that we would be able to tell the difference between truth and false teachings and heresy.
- He would have us seek to serve one another instead of be elevated above one another.
- He would have us walk humbly rather than boast in ourselves, in our own goodness, in our superiority or our works.
- He would have us share the good news of love and hope with the world.
Yes, Jesus loves us... with an unparalleled love. Yes, He forgives our sin when we repent and turn from it. Nothing we have done/can do will cause Him to not love us. Which is why, in that great love, He wants to see us set free from our sins and no longer be slaves to them.
Lord, it is my desire to walk humbly in Your TRUTH. I pray, God, that you would shine Your light upon any ares of darkness within me. Show me any areas of sin in my life, that I might repent of them and turn from them. I pray that You would show me any false teachings/beliefs that I have embraced. I pray that You would stamp them out and pour in Your truth to replace them. Holy Spirit, guide me in truth, guard my mind from false doctrine. Give me strength of conviction to resist the beautiful lies of the enemy that would lead me astray and set my feet firmly on the the rock of truth. Help me to love and serve others as Christ did. In Jesus' name, Amen.
*I am not a "scholar". I don't have a degree in theology. This is just what I have learned from what I have read and my understanding and conviction on these points.
Bless and be blessed, my friends. <3
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