I was thinking about the word “judgment” recently in light
of all the political attacks against Christians in the debate on same sex
marriage. I`m not sure where to start because so many thoughts run through my
head, but let me preface this post with a short story.
I have a dear friend who is a mighty man of God. He is doing
great work in the body of Christ and for the coming Kingdom of Heaven. I
respect him tremendously, and his love of Jesus is true and very real. I saw
his reaction one day to a political discussion. I was not paying any particular
attention to this, it`s just that as a biker, and as a man who was trained to
watch people to survive, I never miss body language—I always watch things even
when I don`t have to—it’s a habit. I couldn`t help but notice his complete
rejection of the topic; his total lack of interest and disdain for the subject
was easy to see in his body language and facial expressions. Moments later, as
the conversation continued, he made the statement that he hated politics, TV,
anything to do with this world. He cited a scripture referring to the fact that
we are in the world but not of the world (basically, I think he meant Romans
1:2)
Now, the question in my mind is this—is that wrong? Not necessarily;
however, I don`t think it`s completely responsible either. I think we have a
God that made men to build civilizations and societies filled with people. In
that, I also think we are supposed to use the Gospel, and our God given talents,
to advance the Kingdom if possible within our society and our government, respectively.
To tie this together: my earthly human/political side tells
me that Gays deserve legal protection under the law; on the other hand, my
Christian faith is solid about the fact that homosexuality is a sin. On that
note, so is adultery, so is theft, so is abuse, so is murder…and on…and on…
Did you ever start a diet and on the second day or so see
someone eating a pile of greasy French fries and think, “How can they eat that
crap?” Is it not funny how the moment we do something good, or change our
behavior to something resembling morality—we begin to judge others? Pride tells
us not to look in the mirror, but instead, to look at others.
I must admit, I`m confused a bit on this issue of politics
and faith. God is not the author of confusion, so I must be under attack—I don`t
know. What I do know is that Jesus died for sinners. I know he told us to make
disciples of others. I know that he said we should love the Lord God above all
things, and our neighbors as we love ourselves. I know he said I must not judge
because God alone holds that authority. But, I also know I must not deny Gods
word when asked. If someone asks if something is a sin—I must answer him or her
in truth and in the spirit from the word of God. Homosexuality is a sin—period.
The question is whether or not it is any different than the long list of sins
Paul spoke of in Romans. Is it not a worse thing that they are not believers? What
is worse—to be in sexual sin (or sin of any kind), or to not know Christ? How
can I preach the Gospel to people that I greet with a curse?
In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul speaks about not judging those who
are in the world. He basically says that it is Gods business; however, we can
judge those within the body of Christ who are living in some form of sin (1
Corinthians 5:9-12).
