The Christian / The Hypocrite - part 5

So what have we learned about Christianity today? Like I said before, people view Christians as hypocrites, right off the bat! Some Christians don't even call themselves Christians anymore for fear that someone wont even listen to what they have to say. It is like walking into a Bar with alcohol on your breath saying, "I am a recovering alcoholic", and then trying to tell everyone how much better it is not to drink because it could lead to death. When we walk up as Christians to non-believers we reek of SIN! Then what do we do? We try to use the Law to judge them when we ourselves know we can not live up to the Law! That doesn’t make any sense! The Law will not only condemn them but you as a believer! Our Goal as Christians is not to bring judgment to others or make them feel like they are sinners, they already know they are!

We are to share the Good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! We are to let people know that, yes you have sinned against God and so have I! Let them know that there is a way out from their condemnation, that they don’t have to be reminded of their sins, that they are not perfect and it is okay! God knows they are going to make mistakes and that our sins have been forgiven, Past Present and Future! Once we receive salvation we can never lose it again! It does not matter how many times we sin, or what sin we have committed, we will always be forgiven thanks to the Grace [Unmerited Favor] of God! There is nothing we can do; there is no works that can be done to redeem us! All have fallen short of the Glory of God. We just have to receive Jesus Christ into our own lives, Accept him as our Lord and Savior! Then we can be filled with the Holy Spirit and allow God to start blessing us with his awesome unmerited Favor! He wants to bless us no matter what we do! That is the wonderful advantage of being a Christian! No matter what you have done, you are forgiven, no matter what you will do, you are forgiven! Christianity is about bringing Life to those who don’t have it!

WE [Christians] are not to bring judgment and condemnation, because we are not worthy of that, we ourselves should have been condemned to the pits of hell, but God gave his only son Jesus Christ. If Jesus did not come to condemn man then who do we think we are to condemn man?

 John3:16-17(NKJV):"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved"

We as Christians are just supposed to help guide people in the right direction. I see people out on the streets all the time who call themselves Christians and they have big signs up, and big screens with God’s word written all over it, telling people that they are going to hell if they don’t repent of their sins. They are telling people that the way they live their lives is wrong and God is going to punish them for it! I never see anybody lined up saying “yah sign me up for some fresh punishment from God”! whoo hoo lets do this! I just shake my head thinking “who does this guy think he is? Jesus?” Let me ask you this, did Jesus stand on a soap box in downtown Jerusalem shouting at everyone that passed by trying to get his message across to people? 

NO! If Jesus did not do it, why are we doing it? I have never in my entire life seen someone get saved because they lost an argument to someone like that. All I ever see when something like that happens is believers arguing with one another, trying to convince each other who is right and who is wrong. They are both wrong! While they are making fools of themselves, other non believers are just reconfirming their own ideas about Christianity. The wonderful children of God that try to go out with their big Sings protesting against Homosexuality, and abortion. What did Jesus do about stuff like that, did he run around yelling at prostitutes and homosexuals telling them that his father in heaven is going to burn them to the ground? No way! Jesus did not care if you were an adulterer, a fornicator, a prostitute, a homosexual, a murderer or even a thief! He came to let everyone know that they have been forgiven and through him they will become righteousness in God’s eyes, he will not see their sin anymore he will see Jesus’ blood! Let me give you a couple examples of what Jesus does when it comes to sinners.

John 8:3-11 (NKJV) : “Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst,4 they said to Him, Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act.5 Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?6 This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.7 So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.8 And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.9 Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience [The Law], went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her,Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?11 She said, No one, Lord. And Jesus said to her, Neither do I condemn you (emphasis mine); go and sin no more.”

That is interesting isn’t it? Jesus was the only person in that entire place who could cast a stone at her to condemn the woman for sinning, but he did not! The scribes and Pharisees wanted to but could not! So, Jesus could but he would not, and the Pharisees would but they could not! How awesome is that, it works the same way for us too, Jesus did not come to condemn us so we can not condemn others! Don’t do it, it is not our place in this world to condemn people or convict them of their sins. The law will do that all by itself and that is why non believers know they are sinners; we do not need to remind them of it! We are to be a blessing to them, and free them of the law of conviction! We are to let them know that Jesus is here to redeem you of your sins and bring upon you is wonderful Spirit to remind you that you are righteous! 

Another example of how easy it is to become a Christian and receive God’s blessings no matter what you have done. In the next scripture two criminals who have committed crimes are being punished and are hanging on a cross next to Jesus. If you read the chapter from the beginning you will know that they mocked him saying things like “If you are the Christ, save yourself and us! One of the criminals realized that Jesus was who he said he was. This is what happened:

Luke 23:42-43 (NKJV): 42 Then he said to Jesus, Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.43 And Jesus said to him, Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.

Now did Jesus say to him, NO, You are a criminal and you need to be punished first, so you know that what you have done is wrong! Did Jesus tell him that he was to first confess all of his sins and then discuss them with God or did he sit there like most Christians would do and remind him of the ten commandments to find out which one he broke in order to show him why he is going to hell? Nope. How awesome is that!