How should Christians react to....

[Joe_Raymond]

Sex offenders.

So I read today that a man I had admired growing up has been arrested for some stuff that had done. I know the man is a Christian. However, looking on his facebook page today, I am heartbroken for him. There are people who are confessing to be Christians being down right mean towards him. Saying he is going to hell and that God will never forgive him and how can he call himself a Pastor for what he did. Now, I am not saying what he did was right in any way. It is a sin and a crime. However, why do Christians feel the need to throw stones at a man or a woman who has fallen and made some bad choices? Shouldn't we pray for someone in that situation? We are all human. We all have made bad choices. Some with worse consequences than others. But God still loves us despite of who we are or what we have done.

I guess my question is how would you react? Say you met a sex offender who wanted to change, who wanted to accept Christ. Would you push him/her away like society does or would you minster to that person. Even though they may have done something we consider horrible and vile, does that person not deserve to know that Jesus still loves them?

 

[yeshuaslavejeff]

Maybe.
The punishment is still meted out though.

Remember Moses ? He hit a ROCK, not a child... not a woman.... A ROCK ..... (twice)....

and for hitting a ROCK, he was taken from this earth without being allowed to ENTER THE PROMISED LAND. (he was allowed to climb a mountain and look over the PROMISED LAND, but not allowed to enter it)

Ananias and Saphira - for telling a lie, they were killed. They lied to God, and fell down dead.

Sex offenders ? They used to be stoned to death. Not any more, but used to be.

 

[salt-n-light]

Sex offenders.

So I read today that a man I had admired growing up has been arrested for some stuff that had done. I know the man is a Christian. However, looking on his facebook page today, I am heartbroken for him. There are people who are confessing to be Christians being down right mean towards him. Saying he is going to hell and that God will never forgive him and how can he call himself a Pastor for what he did. Now, I am not saying what he did was right in any way. It is a sin and a crime. However, why do Christians feel the need to throw stones at a man or a woman who has fallen and made some bad choices? Shouldn't we pray for someone in that situation? We are all human. We all have made bad choices. Some with worse consequences than others. But God still loves us despite of who we are or what we have done.

I guess my question is how would you react? Say you met a sex offender who wanted to change, who wanted to accept Christ. Would you push him/her away like society does or would you minster to that person. Even though they may have done something we consider horrible and vile, does that person not deserve to know that Jesus still loves them?

You mean why do Christians sin? Because even though we are saved by grace, we are still sinners. Its unsettling that even with the Truth, sometimes love doesn't abide with us, but I think the focus you have in your post right now is the ex-sex offender, not the Christians reacting to it. So I'll just stay within that parameters.

Honestly, i would be taken aback at first, since he's bringing the background story, but ultimately I would be excited for him, give him the Word, and praying for him and his journey in Christ. He does deserve to know the love of Jesus, because I know how where God has brought me for, so in gratitude I want to extent that same opportunity I have to him.

 

[drjean]

It takes an act of God to convict any pervert of the sexual nature, truly. They cannot change on their own. Not that any of us can, but those without such perversion overcoming them can turn to God and truly repent and be free from sin. The devil's power is in the sexual perversion in my experience with them...

I work hard at not hating people, but I surely hate their sin! If anyone ANYONE would ask to be shown Christ, I would. If I spew hatred, they aren't coming to me to find God! We must love them as God loves them: wanting them to come to Him. Yes we are to judge those whose pretense is following Jesus and sexual offenders do not follow Jesus, now do they? This is an alarming fact given that 1 IN 4 men who claim to be Christian are addicted to inappropriate contentography. They may have accepted Christ at some point but they surely don't have Him as Lord, do they? Not Christian (Christian meaning Christ-like).

Compassion and support for healing and repenting...and nothing else?
Personally, I can never trust someone who has abused...unless the Holy Spirit gives me inclination and assurance of their complete change.

While I was not "so sinful" as someone like "this".... what if the person who led me to Christ felt I was "too far gone" regardless and did not lead me to Christ???? I am not to judge the lost: God will do that. I am to show everyone I can the path to eternal life through Jesus. There is no place for hating a person.

 

[Sarah G]

It's not our calling to judge people (unless we are judges!)

If we do not want to be around certain types of people we should remove ourselves from their company.

We should pray for sanctification so that we can always see our brothers and sisters through the eyes of God and love them as God loves us

 

[redleghunter]

Sex offenders.

So I read today that a man I had admired growing up has been arrested for some stuff that had done. I know the man is a Christian. However, looking on his facebook page today, I am heartbroken for him. There are people who are confessing to be Christians being down right mean towards him. Saying he is going to hell and that God will never forgive him and how can he call himself a Pastor for what he did. Now, I am not saying what he did was right in any way. It is a sin and a crime. However, why do Christians feel the need to throw stones at a man or a woman who has fallen and made some bad choices? Shouldn't we pray for someone in that situation? We are all human. We all have made bad choices. Some with worse consequences than others. But God still loves us despite of who we are or what we have done.

I guess my question is how would you react? Say you met a sex offender who wanted to change, who wanted to accept Christ. Would you push him/her away like society does or would you minster to that person. Even though they may have done something we consider horrible and vile, does that person not deserve to know that Jesus still loves them?

Chuck Colson started Prison Fellowship after getting out of the can himself for Watergate.

Prison Fellowship: Our Founder - Charles "Chuck" Colson

Bottom line, we treat sex offenders as we do fellow sinners. The Gospel is the answer.

 

[Dave-W]

Honestly, i would be taken aback at first, since he's bringing the background story, but ultimately I would be excited for him, give him the Word, and praying for him and his journey in Christ. He does deserve to know the love of Jesus, because I know how where God has brought me for, so in gratitude I want to extent that same opportunity I have to him.

Would you say the same about a serial killer?
(I have known 2 from my college days)

 

[salt-n-light]

Would you say the same about a serial killer?
(I have known 2 from my college days)

Yes. The amount of times I have cursed out people in my mind, I am a murderer at heart (Matthew 5:21-22). But just to highlight, this would be someone who shows a heart of repentance. Just like every other sinner wanting to come to Christ, I won't withhold that opportunity from them.

 

[HermanNeutics13]

I think we should sympathize with the accuser but also not assume the accused is guilty without any evidence. It seems the court of public opinion is taking precedence over "innocent until proven guilty" and it totally can ruin someone's life.

 

[Dave-W]

Yes. The amount of times I have cursed out people in my mind, I am a murderer at heart (Matthew 5:21-22). But just to highlight, this would be someone who shows a heart of repentance. Just like every other sinner wanting to come to Christ, I won't withhold that opportunity from them.

OK I get that. But AFAIK, neither Donald Miller or Coral Eugene Watts were all that repentant.

 

[salt-n-light]

OK I get that. But AFAIK, neither Donald Miller or Coral Eugene Watts were all that repentant.

So they shouldn't be able to receive salvation?

When it boils down to it, its either everyone is able to have salvation, or none of us.

 

[Dave-W]

So they shouldn't be able to receive salvation?
When it boils down to it, its either everyone is able to have salvation, or none of us.

So afaik, Watts was never interested in salvation, and Miller claimed to be saved and spirit filled BEFORE he started killing young blonde girls. (first one was his fiancee) And never thought he was doing anything wrong.

 

[salt-n-light]

So afaik, Watts was never interested in salvation, and Miller claimed to be saved and spirit filled BEFORE he started killing young blonde girls. (first one was his fiancee) And never thought he was doing anything wrong.

Yes but thats not the point made in the OP. The point is if they had such backgrounds, and they came to you expressing a desire to change and salvation, would you reject them or minister to them. Its not if they would actually be saved or not, because thats not our responsibility.

 

[Dave-W]

Yes but thats not the point made in the OP. The point is if they had such backgrounds, and they came to you expressing a desire to change and salvation, would you reject them or minister to them. Its not if they would actually be saved or not, because thats not our responsibility.

I had another friend (CD) who was in my congregation. His wife sang in our choir and was a good friend of my wife. A few years ago he snapped after getting a promotion at work and shot/killed his wife and his 2 teen age kids. He was already "saved" (as was Donald Miller) so that was not an issue. But if I had the opportunity to minister, I am not sure what I would have done.

 

[salt-n-light]

I had another friend (CD) who was in my congregation. His wife sang in our choir and was a good friend of my wife. A few years ago he snapped after getting a promotion at work and shot/killed his wife and his 2 teen age kids. He was already "saved" (as was Donald Miller) so that was not an issue. But if I had the opportunity to minister, I am not sure what I would have done.

Wow, I'm sorry to hear that. I mean I don't know much about your friend, so it hard to say that anyone could just turn back and knew exactly what went on in his mind or what to do to prevent that. That's the heartbreaking part about salvation, even within John 3:16-17, the fact that God came that people might be saved, gives that grey area that people even with all that He's done and the power of salvation, even with grace, ultimately they may not be saved. That's why at the end of the day, God knows the heart, and our hearts are deceitful and desperately wicked, no man can truly say what they are capable of when it comes to our sinful nature (Jeremiah 17:9).

But even with that reality, the opportunity has to be there in order to receive it in the first place, and me robbing them of that chance off of endless probabilities that I have no control of, i will be held accountable for that, the cowardly can't inherit the kingdom of God. We can only give them the information, and pray that their hearts actually do receive God.

 

[Dave-W]

Wow, I'm sorry to hear that. I mean I don't know much about your friend, so it hard to say that anyone could just turn back and knew exactly what went on in his mind or what to do to prevent that.

He himself has no idea why he did it. His mom was living in the basement and came up to see what the banging was all about. She said he looked like he was sleep walking or something. When she yelled at him, he "woke up" and told her to call 911. He then went out on the front stoop and sat down to wait for the police.

 

[Doug Melven]

A sex offender is not a worse sinner than a person who occasionally tells a little white lie.
God sees all as sinners until they accept His Son.
There were some pretty evil people in the Bible that God turned around and used.
Abraham was a liar. He told the Egyptians that Sarah was his sister. This was a half-truth, which is a full lie.
Isaac was a liar. He did the same thing as Abraham.
Jacob was a deceiver.
Moses was a murderer.
David was an adulterer, and he tried to cover it up by murdering the woman's husband.
Solomon, was an idolater.
Peter was a denier of Christ.
Paul was a serial killer.

God used all of these men in mighty ways.
If God couldn't use sinners, who does that leave?