Author's note: This message consists of an open letter to today's Church, which includes all believers everywhere.
Back during the Carter administration, one journalist commented that if Jesus Christ himself was to show up at a certain church in Plains, Georgia, they would probably call the police to have him thrown out. I can just imagine the reaction of most church people to a strange man with long hair, a beard, and sandals. The journalist was probably right.
Now before you judge this particular church or community too harshly, think about your own attitude for a moment. Is there no one that you look down upon or feel superior to? If you think not, perhaps you are guilty of the sin of pride. Often, "tolerant" people look down on "intolerant" people.
It saddens and angers me that so many who call themselves Christians have no use for anyone who is not "their kind of people." They have no real love for sinners, no real desire to see them saved.
Many carry the attitude that "Our doors are open. If they want to come, they can come." But they accept no responsibility to "Go into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in" (Luke 14:23). And if sinners do come, they have no tolerance or accomodation for them; they want sinners to clean themselves up and act like Christians before they come to hear the Word of God, lest they offend any of the righteous. Jesus, however, ate with sinners and tax collectors, and would have no patience with these modern-day Pharisees (see Luke 15, 16:15).
It would seem that many Christians would just as soon send all the sinners straight to hell, along with most people from other "less right" denominations. Sinners just mess things up for the righteous folks.
Now make no mistake: I believe in moral absolutes and calling sin sin. I preach about hell, along with the earthly consequences of sin. But too many of us forget the age in which we live, the Church Age. This is the Age of Grace, the "acceptable year of the Lord" (Luke 4:18-22) -- not the hour of judgment.
Will you not take Christ's own teaching to heart? A certain Samaritan village refused hospitality to Jesus. James and John got in a righteous huff and asked, "Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, as Elijah did?" But Jesus rebuked them, saying, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of, for the Son of Man has not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them" (Luke 9:54-56).
When Jesus was arrested at Gethsemane, Peter struck out with his sword, cutting off the ear of Malchus. Jesus, however, replaced the ear and healed it. He told Peter, "Put your sword back in its place; for all who take up the sword shall perish by the sword." Jesus reminded Peter that, if He had wanted to take his kingdom by force, He could have called twelve legions of angels to his aid (John 18:10, Matthew 26:51-54).
Jesus also taught, "Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you, and persecute you" (Matthew 5:44).
Likewise, the apostles exhorted us to "be all of one mind, having compassion for one another . . . not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing, but on the contrary blessing" (1 Peter 3:8). James noted that among many Christians, "Out of the same mouth proceeds blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so" (James 3:10). And Paul wrote, "If your enemy hungers, feed him; if he thirsts, give him drink . . . . Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:20-21).
We are to "be patient toward everyone," being sure "that no one renders evil for evil unto anyone; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to everyone" (1 Thessalonians 5:14-15). "Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it; being defamed, we entreat" (1 Corinthians 4:12-13).
I have a real problem with people, claiming to be Christians, who go around being offended all the time. If Christ could say on the cross, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34), can we who were redeemed from sin by that cross not have the same attitude? We are to hate sin, but love the sinner. Most of us seem to have great difficulty doing both. Many of us don't even try.
Are you, like James and John, ever tempted to call down fire out of heaven? Of what kind of spirit are you?
Copyright 1996 Paul A. Hughes
Last updated September 1996. For more information, comments, or suggestions, write RevHughes@aol.com.