Our Brutal Witness

I’m not saying you can’t believe things are wrong.

Of course you can. Everybody makes decisions about right and wrong every single day. You can totally believe something is immoral, unethical or even evil to your heart’s content. The Christian faith demands it. What I’m saying I have a problem with is that we’ve convinced ourselves that attacking people with their sin is the way Christians witness to people.

The world is drowning and we’re yelling at them from the safety of the shore about how they should have taken swimming lessons. Why is it that we feel as though that finding a sin in a lost person’s life that is most obvious to us and then threatening them with eternal fiery damnation if they don’t admit they’re wrong about it is how we reach them with the love of Christ? Is sin the gospel? Is the fact of them accepting that sin as sinful salvation itself? Or is salvation only in Christ and him crucified for the ungodly?

The Seriousness of Sin

I get where you’re coming from. I do. I mean, of course we have to see that we are sinful and needy before we are even capable of wanting the gospel enough to accept it. I understand that. And, once again, I am not poo-pooing the seriousness of sin. It is what separates us from God. I am simply wondering out loud why we feel compelled to do the work of the Spirit in convicting the heart of total strangers rather than giving them the Good News that Jesus saves the worst of sinners.

Is it because we worship morality rather than God? Do we not clearly see that salvation is a free gift, given by God, and not earned or worked toward in any way? Do we actually believe that by convincing someone that they are an awful person, we will somehow ignite in them a passion for their need of Christ?

We can be anti-sin. We can have solid beliefs about issues and even express those beliefs as long as we are known for what the bible says a Christian should be known for, love, and not our stance on those sins.

No, love doesn’t pretend sin doesn’t exist. But it reaches through the muck and mire to the heart of the person and cares for them as someone made in the image of God. It whispers God’s sweet love for them and his death on their behalf, while they are still sinners. In his presence are forgiveness, love and truly amazing grace that no one can find any pride in. Only awe and thankfulness. Only peace with God for all sinners. That’s the message. Unflinching ultimate love dooms sin’s schemes to failure.