We Are Sinners

The reason Christians don’t kill sinners is that we are all sinners; if we start killing sinners, who would survive?

The fifty people dancing in a gay club in Orlando were sinners – just like me. Just like you.

Yes, homosexuality is a sin – just like stealing, not honoring your parents, infidelity, gossiping and cheating on your taxes. No, I’m not gay but I’m just as sinful compared to God’s perfection. None of us have anything to brag about. Not that we don’t try, which is the sin of pride. We are like children covered in mud, each pointing at the other saying,”He started it!”

To God, these are all sins like murder and rape and abuse. All of them fall short of God’s love and are worthy of judgement, because those sinned against deserve justice. All of us miss the mark of God’s holiness.

The Core of Christianity

Jesus makes it very clear that our judgement should begin with us and that the only one perfect and knowledgeable enough to judge a person is God Himself.

To vastly oversimplify it, Jesus sacrificed himself in our place so that we wouldn’t have to bear the punishment of our sin. He forgives those who repent, who agree that they have sinned, and ask forgiveness. We are released from judgement!

This is the very core of Christianity. It is the center of it. Jesus made it clear that any judgement we made against others after being forgiven such a huge debt ourselves would be the same judgement God would use against us for our insolence. How dare we sinners, forgiven at the cost of Jesus’ life, accuse others of not being good enough?

It would be like standing in a lake in the rain and judging the people ashore to be wet.

Forgiveness is our goal.

Not only can we not judge, we don’t know who will ask forgiveness in the future. We don’t know who God will forgive later on.

We don’t know what’s in a man’s heart, which is where repentance takes place. We don’t have the perspective to judge what we, ourselves, are also doing. In fact, rather than making an endless list, we could just stop with the phrase, we don’t know.

The Reward Is The Same

Not only this, but Jesus also taught us, from the prodigal son to the thief on the cross beside him, that the reward of forgiveness is the same for all. Since we didn’t earn it in the first place, we don’t get extra points for doing a little better here or there.

There are no run down neighborhoods in heaven. Everyone gets the grand prize, the full blessing, all of the love.

God doesn’t do degrees of love.

Jesus Loved Sinners

Jesus drove the religious leaders of the day batty by seeking out people who were the serious sort of sinners that “good” people shunned. He offered them the same undeserved love as us.

Because they are sinners . . . just like us.

But What About . . . ?

But what about wars, the inquisition, witch trials, the death penalty, or self-defense?

If your purpose is to find an excuse not to believe, if you are looking for someone to blame for your lack of belief, then you won’t have much trouble finding a shred of an argument to support your cause. There is no one a man can fool more easily than himself when he really tries.

But if you want the truth then you should at least have the honesty to judge Christianity by its founder rather than his followers. If you want the truth it is also easy to find. It’s usually staring you right in the face if you ask the right question. So, what is the right question? It is this . . .

How many people did Jesus kill?

 

 

 

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