Fear and Loving in the Public Venue

In Ohio, a village Mayor is under fire from a Wisconsin based atheist group for hanging two crosses on the side of the village’s municipal building. 

In Iowa, the Governor declared July 14th of 2014 to be a day of fasting and prayer. Another secular atheist group declares Iowa is now a theocracy, according to their webpage, euphemistically named Liberty Voice.

The Clemson Tigers football coach appointed a team chaplain, allowing him to lead lessons on being baptized in the school’s athletic building. The Freedom From Religion Foundation is in a tizzy. As if they didn’t have enough on their plates trying to remove In God we Trust from our coins.

Why all the hatred and animosity? I have one word for you. FEAR.

Believers in Christ see love on the cross. Those in darkness, those who shun the light, fear the power of the resurrection.

The Gospel of John tells us,

And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

But Colossians 1:13 reminds us,

He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love

Pray that those suffering from that fear would be open to Christ’s redemption.

Love the Sinner

There are those who believe that homosexuality is not a sin. They may listen politely to arguments that the Bible insists that it is indeed sin, but then respond with “Oh, those references are to cultural norms of the times the books of the bible were written in. Those verses don’t apply anymore."

There are those who see homosexuality as a sin, and rail against those who practice it, and condemn them publicly. Their revulsion to homosexual behavior overwhelms them to the point that they elevate the sin so much that it seems worse to them than so many other sins.

I would suggest a third option.

Homosexual activity is sinful in the eyes of God. We cannot pretend that parts of the Bible do not apply anymore, or claim that anything we disagree with falls into the category of ceremonial law when it obviously doesn’t. But neither is it more sinful than adultery, fornication, or any other sin.  Sin separates us from God. In its bondage we are all equal.

I would not tell the homosexual community their activities are acceptable, but I would not tell them they are any less worthy of Christ’s love either.

And while its not our place to condemn the sinner, its not our place to accept the sin either.

Walking Humbly

How are we to respond to social evils and immorality? This is a huge question. Unfortunately, too many of us aren't even aware of it. We see society accepting things that are clearly contrary to the Word of God and we scream at the top of our lungs, No! Acceptance of homosexuality and homosexual marriage, abortion, euthanasia, pornography, child abuse, human trafficking…The list is endless.

The trouble we have is that while we see sin for what it is, we spend too much time focusing on the sinner,and in the wrong way.

Yes, these things are wrong and they should not be sanctioned. But attacking the sinner is like throwing the baby  out with the bathwater. 

As emissaries of the One True King, ought we not behave that way? 

Micah 6:8 says 

He has shown you, o man, what is good
and what the Lord requires of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?

Its a question. What does the Lord require of you? The world loves the darkness. We are to be the light. But in truth and love.

We don't have to compromise our beliefs, but we don't have to compromise our love for the lost either.