In my last blog, I discussed church and politics. Today I want to talk about the judgments that come out of organized religion.
1 Cor. 5:12-13: “What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? “God will judge those outside. Expel the wicked man from among you.”
People outside the church see Christians as judgmental, unforgiving, and unloving. They want no part of us. I have no shame in my Christianity, but I have heard many say they don’t like to use the word “Christian” because of their reputation with those outside the church. This saddens me so much! It should you as well.
As Christians, we are to be set apart from the world. It is not based on our judgment of them but because of our love, kindness, honesty, integrity, peacefulness, and pureness of heart.
Certain sinful lifestyles organized religion has picked from the Bible that they have decided will send someone to hell.
“Hell- the land where repentance is impossible and useless where it is possible” Spurgeon
In my personal experience, being someone who has committed just about every sin possible, I have been told by God Himself that I will NOT be going to hell. (John 3:16) So, if God has told me I am forgiven (1 John 1:9), I belong to Him. Nothing will ever snatch me from Him (John 10:28) (Rom. 8:38-39) and if my response to Him is unbelief, and living in fear that every failure to be perfect will send me to hell, am I not calling God a liar and sinning in my unbelief?
I know there are many verses in the Bible that religion likes to use when attempting to prove that certain lifestyles are evidence of no salvation for the people living those lifestyles. 1 John 3:4-9 is one example.
“Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; indeed, sin is lawlessness. And you know that Jesus was revealed to take away sins, and in Him, there is no sin. Everyone who resides in Him does not sin; everyone who sins has neither seen Him nor known Him. Little children, let no one deceive you: The one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as Jesus is righteous. The one who practices sin is of the devil because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. For this purpose, the Son of God was revealed: to destroy the works of the devil. Everyone who has been fathered by God does not practice sin, because God’s seed resides in him, and thus he is not able to sin, because he has been fathered by God.”
Let’s walk through these verses line by line. “Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; indeed, sin is lawlessness.”
We know he is not simply talking about a one time sin, but a practice, lifestyle, or habitual sinning act. We know that EVERYONE who practices sin is guilty of lawlessness. However, we are not given a list of “practices” or “habitual sins” that are considered to be lawlessness. Without that information (I am aware of all the verses that do list specific sins, but here I am speaking to the context of these verses), how can we say one lifestyle vs. another is a “practicing sin lifestyle”?
For instance, say you live a life of lies you’ve been telling for years. Is that a “practicing sin lifestyle” that will exclude you from Heaven? Another example, say you mistreat your body, your temple where the Lord dwells, with excessive food, alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, adultery, fornication, or any multitude of abuses we dole out to our bodies, is that a “practicing sin lifestyle” that will exclude you from Heaven?
One more, say you are a habitual gossiper, pot-stirrer, trouble maker, sower of discord, your tongue is a “restless evil, full of deadly poison” (James 3:8), or perhaps you live habitually harboring bitter envy and selfish ambition in your heart (James 3:14) is that a “practicing sin lifestyle” that will exclude you from Heaven? There are so many examples of sinful lifestyles that we could put into question here, but I think, I hope you get the point.
The obvious answer to each of these questions is yes. Each of these examples of sinful lifestyles deserves the damnation of hell. But, if you are a believer in Christ and His work on the cross, then the next two sentences should give you hope.
“And you know that Jesus was revealed to TAKE AWAY SINS and IN HIM THERE IS NO SIN.” “EVERYONE who resides IN HIM DOES NOT SIN; NO ONE WHO CONTINUES TO SIN has either seen Him or known Him.”
In these two verses, John has defined the mission of Jesus at its most basic root- to take away our sins. Matthew 1:21: ” You shall call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sin.” He takes away our sin in the sense of taking the penalty of our sin. This is immediately finished when we come by faith to Him. He takes away our sin in the sense of taking the power of sin away. This is an ongoing work in the lives of all believers. When a believer in Christ passes into eternity, and we are glorified with Jesus, the presence of sin is taken away. Jesus has taken our sin upon Himself because, in Him, there was no sin.
My take away from these two verses is, as a Christian, I will continue to sin until I pass into eternity; the penalty for my sin has been paid. Sin has no power over me. As a follower of Christ, I should strive to lead a sinless lifestyle, but at the same time, I’m told that isn’t possible until I reach Heaven.
Even though our salvation is complete the moment we first believe, that isn’t a ticket to live our lives however we please. We are expected to grow in our faith; we are not to remain baby Christians our whole lives. Jesus loves us and accepts us just as we are, and in the “lifestyle” we are living at the moment of our salvation, but we aren’t meant to stay in that place if Jesus tells us it is wrong.
If you think your lifestyle or habitual sins are exempt from these expectations as a Christian but at the same time, you are casting judgment on others’ lifestyles; you should ask yourself these questions to determine if your thinking aligns with scripture. “Have I spoke the truth to the lies I’ve been telling? (John 8:31-32) Have I corrected all the sins I commit against my body, God’s temple? (1st Cor. 3:16-17) Have I removed all the harmful “habits” from my life? (Col. 3:5:15) Is there any envy or selfish ambition left in me? (James 3:16) Have I stopped being a busy body? Do I mind my own business?
*A busybody is a person who meddles in the affairs of others. Sometimes, this meddling is under the guise of “helping,” but the “help” is usually unwelcome and uninvited. Busybodies are often people who are dissatisfied with the level of drama in their own lives and gain satisfaction by becoming involved in other people’s problems. Gossip is usually a staple of every busybody, but it is usually camouflaged as a “prayer request” or given under the pretense of asking for advice.*
The Bible has strong words for the busybody. (2nd Thess. 3:11; 1st Tim. 5:13 and 1st Peter 4:15, where it’s listed right up there with murderers and thieves, John 21:20-22) Am I keeping my life simple, or am I living a materialistic lifestyle? (Matt. 6: 19-21) Is the lifestyle I’m living, causing anyone harm or hurt, even myself (..be sure, your sin will find you out Numbers 32:23)? Am I guarding my words? Do I use them as a weapon to hurt? (1st Peter 3:10; Col. 4:6; Eph. 4:29; Matt. 15:11; Pro. 15:4; 21:23; 26:20; 31:26; & 34:13: these are just a few.
The Bible says a lot on this subject. I encourage you to search them out and read them.) Am I putting Christ first in every area of my life? (Matt. 6:33) Is there anything in my lifestyle that does not honor God? (1 John 1:19) Is there anything I’m doing continuously, habitually, that I would not do if Jesus were standing in the flesh before me? (1 Cor. 6:12) When I present these questions to myself, it humbles me every time to the point that I will not dare point a finger of accusation in any other direction than at myself.
As Christians, we are expected to grant much forgiveness because we have been granted much forgiveness ourselves. We are in no way expected to allow the sins of others to be reaped upon our heads. I believe God gives much knowledge and wisdom through our sins if we use them as a lesson and turn from the actions that hurt us and keep us from being productive Christians, living a life that is beneficial to others.
Sin does not send us to hell, but it sure can make life feel like a living hell. In my personal experience, I’ve learned that if I continually, habitually make the same choice over and over, it’s because I haven’t learned the lesson God is trying to teach me. For this reason alone, being that I am not God, I can never know another person’s heart and therefore should always, ALWAYS, mind my own business and tend to my own sins.
In my daily journaling, I have been asking God to answer this question, ‘will our sinful lifestyles damn us to hell, even if we believe Jesus is the ONLY BEGOTTEN SON OF GOD, WHO CAME TO SAVE US FROM OUR SINS’? Is that truly all we have to do? Today I believe He has answered me, and I think I found the answer in the most unlikely of places.
If you’ve read my last blog, you know I’ve been studying the book of Revelation, and I intend to blog through it chapter by chapter with you. I’m looking forward to it. Today my reading was Rev. 18: 4-5. From these two small verses, I feel God speaks volumes. Let’s check it out together.
“And I heard another voice from Heaven, saying, ‘Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto Heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.”
Back up to Rev. 18:2-3, we read the angel announcing the fall of Babylon. Is this same Babylon described in Rev. 17? Maybe it’s just the two manifestations of Babylon, one religious and one commercial or material. It could be the two are one, and both are being judged at the same time. I think they are more likely the same because religion has become very commercial and materialistic even today. I can see religion becoming both of these things, to the extreme, when this point will play out these verses in time. Is Babylon of Rev. 18 a literal or a symbolic city? Some feel it is literal, but most likely commercial and religious Babylon is symbolic.
“When the Lord was here on earth He spoke of the great hatred ‘the world’ had for Him and His own (John 15:18-19). What is this world but a combination of religion, government, and commerce? In other words, Babylon in all its parts stands for that which Christ called ‘the world’.” (Barnhouse)
We know it’s God’s voice John hears in Rev. 18:4-5 because He says, “my people.” We know the “her” He speaks of is Babylon; literal or symbolic does not matter, because either way, His people are there, and He is calling them out. This proves that true Christians will still be following their religion instead of their Savior even after living through several years of tribulation. But God is so loving and forgiving. He doesn’t hold their misplaced faith (their religion, their government, or their commerce) against them. He calls out to them with a warning and a plea to “come out of her.” He is saying to His people, come home. To “come out of her” at this point will be to lose your life on this earth.
Why does God call them out? Is it to remember their sins and punish them by sending them to hell for their sinful lives? No. We are talking about Christians who are still living inside the one world religion. People who didn’t get there by living Godly, sinless lifestyles. Surely their lifestyles were wroght with many sins. People who truly believed in Jesus but never learned to hear His voice, and they followed the wolves in sheep’s clothing, their religious and political leaders. And yet, God calls them “my people,” and He does not want them to suffer from what He is about to do to “her.” “Lest you receive of her plagues.”
He did not say if they didn’t come out, they would no longer be His people, only that they would suffer from the sins of others. Did you catch that? Not suffering from their sins but the sins of others. WOW! This hit me smack in the face when I read it today. What magnitude of grace and forgiveness God gives His people!! Even though these Christians are so blatantly misled and obviously aren’t living holy lifestyles and at this point in the tribulation have witnessed spectacular, awesome acts of God, yet still refuse to come out of their sinful/lawless lifestyles, God does not plan to punish them. He doesn’t even wish them to suffer from the sins of others.
This answered the question I put before God just yesterday. How much of our sin is covered by the grace of God? The blood of Jesus completely and utterly covers us. To the point that when God looks upon us, He cannot even see our sin because Jesus washed it away with His blood at the cross. This is why in Rev. 18:5, He only speaks of “her” sins because they are not His people, they do not believe Jesus is the Son of God, their sins are still on them. Jesus’ work on the cross made it possible that when God looks upon His people, He sees us as white as snow, Holy in His sight, pure and righteous.
The reason God doesn’t want us to live sinful/lawless lives is that He doesn’t want us to suffer from the consequences of our sins. As Christians, if we are in the Word and on our knees, asking for His guidance and wisdom, we will hear when He says it is time for us to come out of our sins.
How can I, who has been forgiven so much, ever think that God cannot or will not grant that same grace to anyone? Who am I to tell anyone they need to come out of their lifestyle or go to hell. I am not God. I have no business trying to do His job.
This brings me back to 1 John 3:9; “…The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.” The reason Jesus came, not the reason I came. On the day of anyone’s salvation, that is the day Jesus destroys the work of the devil in that believer’s life. His blood covers all their sin so that Satan can no longer stand before God accusing them. If God looks upon someone who claims to be a Christian and remembers their sin (Rev. 18:5), then the only explanation can be that they truly did not believe.
And remember, these people God calls out in verse 5 must all believe they are true believers because He is calling them out of religious Babylon. I believe, as a fellow Christian, I should leave Jesus’ work to Jesus. My job is only to lead the unbelieving to Him, not change them. Jesus knows everything about His own, and when the day comes that they need to change anything in their lifestyles, He will let them know. He also knows where I cannot if that person has grown and matured enough to handle the change.
Is my belief that Jesus is the Son of God and He came to save me from my sins enough to grant me entrance into Heaven on the day my body lays in rest? Yes. Does that belief alone make me a mature adult Christian? No. That is the “works” I must do so that I don’t find myself on the wrong side, almost at the end of the seven-year tribulation, like these saints God calls out.
According to these two verses, the only people who will suffer for their sins are the unbelievers. If His people do not “come out of her,” they will not be lost but will suffer from the sins of others. When believers stand before God, we will not be judged by Him for our sins; He doesn’t see them. We will be judged and awarded according to our works. How we loved, how we forgave, our honesty, how we used our talents and blessings to bring Him glory. To those given much will be expected much (Luke 12:48). This may be how the meek, the poor, and simple will find themselves rich in rewards in Heaven. As Christ-followers, we are expected to stand before God with something to show our lives benefited others.
I cannot stand with my brothers and sisters who think themselves worthy of condemning anyone to hell with this knowledge. When I speak of religion, I speak of the group or associations that dictate to each church of a particular denomination what is to be preached and taught. More and more, I found myself sitting on a pew, listening to political talking points (depending on the church, whether they were liberal or conservative) being woven into the sermon as if they were the exact words of God.
So that’s it for now. I pray you have been blessed in some way by these words, even if it was just a tiny bit. Please, comment. I continue to pray for the conversations to start somewhere. Maybe it will be here. God bless you all! The next time we meet, we will be starting on our journey together through the book of Revelation!!