- Feb 5, 2002
- 190,604
- 70,620
- Country
- United States
- Gender
- Female
- Faith
- Catholic
- Marital Status
- Married
- Politics
- US-Others
A while back, some Christian friends we hadn’t seen in years joined my wife and me for dinner. We’ve known each other for decades, attend the same church, and over the years they’ve participated in many of the Bible studies I’ve led.
During the meal, one of them shared that their understanding of Christianity had undergone some “changes.” They described experiences with believers who had been overly judgmental and harsh toward their unbelieving friends and explained that they had since adopted a posture of “loving everyone and letting God sort them out.”
In practice, that “love” had come to include affirming beliefs and lifestyle choices that stand in tension with biblical teaching and moral boundaries. They had even begun to celebrate those views alongside others who shared the same perspective.
Because it had been so long since we’d last seen them — and a quiet inner sense in me that said it wasn’t the right moment to engage — I chose simply to listen, making a mental note to follow up at another time. Still, their comments immediately brought to mind a story I had heard years earlier.
A man who had moved to a new city set out to find a church and eventually settled into one that embraced a similarly expansive, all-accepting approach — welcoming every belief and practice while “letting God sort them out.” It wasn’t long before he left. When a friend later asked him why, he replied:
Continued below.
www.christianpost.com
During the meal, one of them shared that their understanding of Christianity had undergone some “changes.” They described experiences with believers who had been overly judgmental and harsh toward their unbelieving friends and explained that they had since adopted a posture of “loving everyone and letting God sort them out.”
In practice, that “love” had come to include affirming beliefs and lifestyle choices that stand in tension with biblical teaching and moral boundaries. They had even begun to celebrate those views alongside others who shared the same perspective.
Because it had been so long since we’d last seen them — and a quiet inner sense in me that said it wasn’t the right moment to engage — I chose simply to listen, making a mental note to follow up at another time. Still, their comments immediately brought to mind a story I had heard years earlier.
A man who had moved to a new city set out to find a church and eventually settled into one that embraced a similarly expansive, all-accepting approach — welcoming every belief and practice while “letting God sort them out.” It wasn’t long before he left. When a friend later asked him why, he replied:
Continued below.
Loving people into Hell
In my attempt to remain culturally in touch, have I traded a Gospel that confronts sin for a message that manages feelings
www.christianpost.com
