There are a lot of "hot topics" on various social networking sites these days. The issue I have with certain people is that they try and stand behind the Bible, behind the words of Christ, in order to justify things that are wrong, that Christ has made known that these things are wrong and against God. They selfishly twist the interpretations until it fits their agenda and then they shout at other Christians for "judging". That seems to be a pretty common one right there - judging.
Is anyone familiar with "admonishing the sinner"? It is one of the spiritual works of mercy. It doesn't mean to judge someone just to be ugly to them; it's means to correct them on something that obviously isn't Biblical in nature (even though they're trying to make it out to be) and something that is sinful and against God. Now, for non-Christians who don't adhere to the teachings of Christ (either through the Bible or through Sacred Tradition, this will go right over your heads anyway because it isn't something you believe in. So you're out of the conversation altogether and can take a coffee and go sit in the lounge and watch television. ;) I'm talking to the Christians here.
We often say that we don't judge others. We ALL do it. We may try NOT to, but we all do it at some point, even if it's over something so small that we don't realize we're doing it. But really judging someone and admonishing them so that they can see and correct their mistake or confusion are two different things. We admonish our children when they do something wrong so that they can be corrected and learn. We're not judging them. I believe people really need to wake up and understand the difference because the phrase "stop judging others" seems to float around rather freely!
Christians are called to do the right thing, to live as Christ wants us to live. I fall short of this every day of my life, but it doesn't mean that I'm not trying. If we believe in God and the words of Christ, we are to take these words to heart. If we see someone praising something that is wrong, it's our responsibility to gently correct them (annnnnd this is usually where we erroneously get labeled as being judgmental). If we participate in another's sin with our approval, our praise, our consent, our silence, our defense of the situation or our assistance in supporting the situation, we, too, are committing a sin! This is why we are not to sit idly by and have our silence interpreted as approval!
Something I've noticed is that people are too afraid to stand up for God. They are afraid of ruffling feathers, of making waves, of upsetting friends because their views clash. (I'm sorry, but if your friend is going to toss you aside over opposing views, that's not a friendship anyway.) We live in a society that would rather offend God than offend our friends! Or even worse, strangers! What is wrong with this picture?! Why is it like this?
So next time someone speaks out for their faith and points out that something is wrong, realize that you're not dealing with someone from the Westborough Baptist Church - you're dealing with someone who genuinely cares and is trying to do their part in keeping you close to Christ.
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Sunday, May 26, 2013
Admonishing Sinners
There are a lot of "hot topics" on various social networking sites these days. The issue I have with certain people is that they try and stand behind the Bible, behind the words of Christ, in order to justify things that are wrong, that Christ has made known that these things are wrong and against God. They selfishly twist the interpretations until it fits their agenda and then they shout at other Christians for "judging". That seems to be a pretty common one right there - judging.
Is anyone familiar with "admonishing the sinner"? It is one of the spiritual works of mercy. It doesn't mean to judge someone just to be ugly to them; it's means to correct them on something that obviously isn't Biblical in nature (even though they're trying to make it out to be) and something that is sinful and against God. Now, for non-Christians who don't adhere to the teachings of Christ (either through the Bible or through Sacred Tradition, this will go right over your heads anyway because it isn't something you believe in. So you're out of the conversation altogether and can take a coffee and go sit in the lounge and watch television. ;) I'm talking to the Christians here.
We often say that we don't judge others. We ALL do it. We may try NOT to, but we all do it at some point, even if it's over something so small that we don't realize we're doing it. But really judging someone and admonishing them so that they can see and correct their mistake or confusion are two different things. We admonish our children when they do something wrong so that they can be corrected and learn. We're not judging them. I believe people really need to wake up and understand the difference because the phrase "stop judging others" seems to float around rather freely!
Christians are called to do the right thing, to live as Christ wants us to live. I fall short of this every day of my life, but it doesn't mean that I'm not trying. If we believe in God and the words of Christ, we are to take these words to heart. If we see someone praising something that is wrong, it's our responsibility to gently correct them (annnnnd this is usually where we erroneously get labeled as being judgmental). If we participate in another's sin with our approval, our praise, our consent, our silence, our defense of the situation or our assistance in supporting the situation, we, too, are committing a sin! This is why we are not to sit idly by and have our silence interpreted as approval!
Something I've noticed is that people are too afraid to stand up for God. They are afraid of ruffling feathers, of making waves, of upsetting friends because their views clash. (I'm sorry, but if your friend is going to toss you aside over opposing views, that's not a friendship anyway.) We live in a society that would rather offend God than offend our friends! Or even worse, strangers! What is wrong with this picture?! Why is it like this?
So next time someone speaks out for their faith and points out that something is wrong, realize that you're not dealing with someone from the Westborough Baptist Church - you're dealing with someone who genuinely cares and is trying to do their part in keeping you close to Christ.
Is anyone familiar with "admonishing the sinner"? It is one of the spiritual works of mercy. It doesn't mean to judge someone just to be ugly to them; it's means to correct them on something that obviously isn't Biblical in nature (even though they're trying to make it out to be) and something that is sinful and against God. Now, for non-Christians who don't adhere to the teachings of Christ (either through the Bible or through Sacred Tradition, this will go right over your heads anyway because it isn't something you believe in. So you're out of the conversation altogether and can take a coffee and go sit in the lounge and watch television. ;) I'm talking to the Christians here.
We often say that we don't judge others. We ALL do it. We may try NOT to, but we all do it at some point, even if it's over something so small that we don't realize we're doing it. But really judging someone and admonishing them so that they can see and correct their mistake or confusion are two different things. We admonish our children when they do something wrong so that they can be corrected and learn. We're not judging them. I believe people really need to wake up and understand the difference because the phrase "stop judging others" seems to float around rather freely!
Christians are called to do the right thing, to live as Christ wants us to live. I fall short of this every day of my life, but it doesn't mean that I'm not trying. If we believe in God and the words of Christ, we are to take these words to heart. If we see someone praising something that is wrong, it's our responsibility to gently correct them (annnnnd this is usually where we erroneously get labeled as being judgmental). If we participate in another's sin with our approval, our praise, our consent, our silence, our defense of the situation or our assistance in supporting the situation, we, too, are committing a sin! This is why we are not to sit idly by and have our silence interpreted as approval!
Something I've noticed is that people are too afraid to stand up for God. They are afraid of ruffling feathers, of making waves, of upsetting friends because their views clash. (I'm sorry, but if your friend is going to toss you aside over opposing views, that's not a friendship anyway.) We live in a society that would rather offend God than offend our friends! Or even worse, strangers! What is wrong with this picture?! Why is it like this?
So next time someone speaks out for their faith and points out that something is wrong, realize that you're not dealing with someone from the Westborough Baptist Church - you're dealing with someone who genuinely cares and is trying to do their part in keeping you close to Christ.
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