Modern Christianity and a big fat lie

"Accept me as I am. Don't judge me"

  I was reading through the book of Luke when I noticed the chapter headings—the unclean spirit cast out, the sick healed, the leper cleansed, a man with palsy healed (and his sins forgiven), a demoniac boy healed, etc. Did you notice something odd about those headings? I did. I noticed something that did not fit with American Christianity today. But think about those headings, while I deviate with a short story. I promise to return and explain why this struck me.

 

~A DISEASE IGNORED~
 

  She came into the doctor's office, sick and emaciated. The disease had destroyed her body. She sat in the cold examination room, her hands rubbing the plastic examination bed. All she could hear in the silence was the scratching of the doctor's pen. The scratching noise stopped.

“All right, I want you to take this prescription to the pharmacist. These pills will help you feel better.”

“Will they cure the problem?” asked the girl as she took the paper from him.

“No, but they will cure the pain.”

“But what about my illness? Can you fix my problem?”

“Don't worry about the disease. These pills should help you feel better.”

“Doctor, what can I do to get well?

“Lady, I accept you as you are. Don't worry about your disease. I've seen worse. You just keep taking these drugs, and coming to see me, and we'll talk about your little problem later.”

“So... I'm not as sick as we thought? We don't have to worry about the disease?”

“If it worries or offends you, we wont talk about it. We will just pretend it doesn't exist.”

  Ok, I know this story is unbelievable and I wrote it that way on purpose. But look at the contrast between the way that Jesus treated the sick and the way this lying doctor treated his patient. Which was the kind physician? It certainly wasn't the doctor because all he gave her was false hope and drugs to cover her pain. But Jesus addressed his patients' problems and sins. First, he fixed the physical ailments and then he fixed the spiritual sicknesses.

   Please pay attention because I want to expose one of the biggest false doctrines among Christians today. I am going to be honest with you, and I believe that my honesty will offend many Christians.   

http://pinterest.com/pin/23925441741906982/

   Christians preach a false doctrine called, “Judge not lest ye be judged.” When people come to us in spiritual sickness, we ignore their sins. We are so bent on accepting everybody, that we have become worthless Christians. We only want to love each other. We tell them that “you're sin isn't so bad. I've seen worse. I accept you as you are.” How can we accept their sin when we know the consequences of letting them continue in sin? Do you know remember that “the wages of sin are death”? Death! We are letting them die when we accept their sin.

   When sinners came to Christ to be His disciples, what was the first thing that He did? He confronted their sin. He didn't beat around the bush, because He knew that the sinner had to abandon his sin before he could find Christ.

   Don't tell me that Christ was the friend of sinners and publicans. He was the friend of former sinners and publicans. These sinners that surrounded him were healed and forgiven. They had turned from their sins because Christ was merciful and cleansed them from their sins.

   We need to have the boldness of Christ and speak the truth with people. “No, your sin is wrong. And this is why, because the Bible says its wrong.” How can you ever surgically remove a cancer if you never make the first cut? Yes, the truth will not only hurt, it will cut like a “sharp edged sword.” But we have to give out the t~ruth, because the only way we will ever save a person is by our boldness. How can we hide such a marvelous, life-changing truth like the gospel? Do we even care about those people who are on their way to hell because of their sins? We will never change them if we cannot tell them the truth. And a person will never be saved until he knows that he is lost.

   Now the opposite side of the coin is a brutal approach to people. I'm not advocating that you wield this "sharp edged sword" like it is a club. I never said you should beat people up with the truth. The truth cuts deep enough without using a large amount of force. The purpose of the truth should be to cure not to hurt even though it will do both.

   Our whole purpose for being truthfull with people should be to kill the sin in their lives because we hate its destructive power over them. We should hate sin. Did you know that to be a true follower of God, you have to hate sin? Did you forget about the God who hates sin? What about the God who, consumed with righteous wrath, flooded the earth to punish sinners? Has our God changed? He says that he never changes. Perhaps, we are the only ones who have changed our mind about sin. 

 

"The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate."

~Proverbs 8:13~





   We are to hate evil and love good. God draws us away from the evil of our sin and into his goodness. We are to forsake iniquity and seek God. It is a biblical principal that we cannot have fellowship with God if we are still clinging to our sin. And it is wrong to tell others that God accepts a person as they are. He does not. He has never promised to accept a person as they are. He said that we should come unto him “all ye who are weary and sick and he will give us rest”, but he never said that he wouldn't change or heal us. He is too kind of a God to accept our sickness.

   I want you to understand. I want myself to understand. We are not doing lost people a favor by being “loving” and non “judgmental”. We are simply saying that we don't care enough about them to tell them the truth. We are too weak to throw a safety line to those in need. I'm tired of weak and wimpy Christianity. I want to be a Christian that truly loves my neighbors, who tells them the truth about sin because I love them.