Loving? Like Hell.

I was listening to a sermon today in which Matt Chandler mentioned a church who had put up a message on their church sign attacking the popular song by Katy Perry called “I kissed a Girl”.  I’m sure most of you have heard it, so I won’t address the content of it.  Anyway, a church in Ohio put up a message on their sign that read: “I kissed a girl and I liked it, Then I went to hell.”  How heartwarming.  And in fact the pastor said that that was the point.  Church pastor Rev. Dave Allison says the Bible is clear that homosexuality is a sin, so the sign is intended as a loving warning to teens.  (story)

What an idiot.  I mean come on, what kind of stupid, insensitive message is that?  All that message did was make homosexuality out to be a far worse sin than any of the ones that each of the rest of us hide.  But as long as we are not gay, we don’t have to worry about hell.  And that kind of reckless attitude greatly belittles the depravity of our own sin. 

I think two things need to be understood.  First, our own sin, and especially sin that we continue to satisfy and ignore all the while that we know it is wrong and know that it pains the heart of God is just as damnable as any sin that anyone else commits, publicly or otherwise.  And the thing that makes it worse is that our gossiping, anger, lust, coveting, and judging are inexcusable because as Christians (and you would assume even more so for pastors, but I would not give so much credit to them) we should know better.  At least on the surface the people who haven’t heard the gospel and haven’t read the bible or attended church can claim that they didn’t know.  (And of course ignorance is not a good enough argument for trampling the glory of God on judgment day.)  A lot of the world can claim that they didn’t know or understand, but not us.  We know and we continue in our own sin, yet we like to attack those who continue in sin and have not met Christ.  Maybe because it makes us feel better about the skeletons in our closet when we are able to point out the sin when somebody comes out of their own closet.

Secondly, Jesus told us to love people, not hate them into the kingdom.  And hate is all I saw in that sign.  I didn’t see love, I didn’t see the gospel, all I saw bas bad news and judgment.  People aren’t saved by our judgment of them, they are saved by the love of Christ in us that brings them to the cross where God dealt His hand of judgment to Jesus and in turn gave us forgiveness.  Interestingly enough the justice of God toward sinners who are saved was purchased by Christ on the cross and we can stand before God one day pleading the blood of Christ and see no judgment.  Ironically, even though we won’t see any judgment on that day, most of us don’t shy away from dolling out judgment to others today.  Loving is not judging.  Loving is remembering and understanding the weight of the chains of sin and showing compassion to someone who is completely content to let sin win.

And remember…

6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Romans 5:6-11 (ESV)

So, let’s stop acting like other people are worse off than we were when we were saved.  God saved us when we were evil, not good, so why do we expect other people to get free of their sin before we show them compassion?  How about we let God grow grace in us to flow from us instead of choking it out with our arrogant and unloving remarks.

Oh, and one more thing.  Can’t churches get rid of their stupid signs?  Isn’t it time that they stop showing off their judgment and hypocrisy, and giving ammunition to those who already despise Christianity?  Yes we need to be firm about sin, but we need to be more passionate about the grace that frees people from sin, and bring Jesus to them through love, not condemn them to a life of hopelessness because we have the answer but are not willing to share.

9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Luke 18:9-14 (ESV)