18 June 2008

Love the sinner; hate the sin

We must guard our hearts against hypocritical condemnation, yet we must also guard our hearts against cultural accommodation that contradicts God’s laws.

Shannon Vowell

I fail to see any justification for this warning against “cultural accommodation”. This is exactly the kind of hypocritical condemnation Jesus spoke against. I have no standing to tell anyone else that they are sinning unless I am without sin myself. I am called to not sin myself and to share God’s love with everyone. Whether another person sins—unless it is a direct sin against me—is between God and them.

The truth is that too many evangelicals deny the power of Christ to redeem and transform all of us who have fallen short of God’s glory, by denying homosexuals the right to fully serve and contribute in the United Methodist Church. The truth is that too many evangelicals do not love homosexuals and do not wish to see homosexuals experience the love of Christ. Otherwise, they would view homosexuals attending and serving in the church as an exciting opportunity and not as a threat.

Bill Mefford

I wouldn’t go as far as Bill does. (See the reasoning above.) I do agree, however, that Christians are called to introduce others to Christ and leave it up to God to do any saving that needs be done.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I have no standing to tell anyone else that they are sinning unless I am without sin myself...

However, there's the instruction in Matthew 18:15-17, although it's clearly meant to apply only as between fellow Christians. Of course, many fellow Christians disagree on matters of faith and morals, which can make it difficult to refer the matter "to the Church." If the brother at fault protests against what the church has to say, he's likely to seek out a different church that more perfectly matches his taste.