-
Starting today August 7th, 2024, in order to post in the Married Couples, Courting Couples, or Singles forums, you will not be allowed to post if you have your Marital status designated as private. Announcements will be made in the respective forums as well but please note that if yours is currently listed as Private, you will need to submit a ticket in the Support Area to have yours changed.
Sin, the Gospel, and Kindness
- Thread starter Guid
- Start date
- Status
cantata
Queer non-theist, with added jam.
- Feb 20, 2007
- 6,215
- 683
- 38
- Faith
- Humanist
- Marital Status
- In Relationship
- Politics
- UK-Liberal-Democrats
Depending on the "sin", and the sense in which the gospel is being ignored, and especially amongst non-Christians - I think it's more than kind, actually. It's courtesy.
Upvote
0
WatersMoon110
To See with Eyes Unclouded by Hate
- May 30, 2007
- 4,738
- 266
- 42
- Faith
- Christian Seeker
- Marital Status
- Married
- Politics
- US-Libertarian
As Cantata said, it really depends on the context. Among non-Christians, the gospel aren't even considered (since, of course, they aren't Christians), so it isn't really ignored. And it can be seen, from the perspective of the non-Christians, as a kindness when one lets them alone.
However, if one is in a Christian church, it would not be very kind to ignore the gospel, or to allow many sorts of sins to go on. It would be most rude to sin in church, during a sermon, especially if one was distracting others.
However, if one is in a Christian church, it would not be very kind to ignore the gospel, or to allow many sorts of sins to go on. It would be most rude to sin in church, during a sermon, especially if one was distracting others.
Upvote
0
What is the point of the Gospel?
Christ gave two commandments, and they weren't what you shouldn't do, but what you should do - to love God and love your neighbor as yourself - two things which I believe are one in the same, as provided by:
Mathew 25:45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
and
7Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
He told the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats, and they were separated by their actions of love (giving food to the hungry, caring for the sick, and visiting those in jail), or their failure to do these things.
With Simon and the Prostitute who washed his feet with her tears, Jesus humbles Simon who thought himself better than her, and even questioned Jesus' authority because he welcomed her. Jesus demonstrated that the Prostitute, not the Teacher of the Law who was seen as holy in the eyes of the people, showed Christ more love.
He says it again with the Good Samaritan, who shows love for his neighbor, while the priest and Levite do not.
He says it again about a Pharisee exhalting himself over a tax collector:
Luke 18
9To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: 10"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11The Pharisee stood up and prayed about[a] himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'
13"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'
14"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
Why was the Pharisee not justified? He fasted. He tithed. He didn't rob. He didn't commit adultery. So what was the problem?
He worshipped himself. While God humbled himself by becoming man, and a poor man at that to serve mankind, the Pharisee exhalted himself so that he could look down upon others - and was not honored by God.
A Christian, when being told that if they were without sin, they can cast the first stone, would cast a verbal stone, saying, 'God didn't say to keep doing it. He said to GO AND SIN NO MORE!" Is that the point of the story? Jesus telling the woman to stop committing adultery???
I thought it was humbling the men that were trying to entrap him by showing that they were sinners as well. In short, Jesus probably had the authority to stone all of them as well. He certainly was the one who could cast the first stone, because he was without sin. And he didn't. He even said, "Neither do I condemn you. Your sins are forgiven. Go and sin no more."
Jesus didn't offer condemnation. He offered compassion. He offered mercy. He offered humility. He offered forgiveness of sin.
He told people to forgive 70 x 7.
That is the cruxt of the Gospel.
And yeah, it is ignored. Some versions of it resemble the Pharisees, thanking God that they are no like those "sinners". The Gospel of loving your neighbor has been replaced with condemning them by your standards, and rating yourself higher than them. Ignored is "Judge not, lest you be judged", as Simon was when he judged not only the prostitute but also Jesus, and is replaced with holy condemnation. Forgiveness is replaced with mistrust, demonizing by using words like "lie-berals" who dare think that caring for the hungry and everyone's health care should be a priority, often claiming that it is stealing their wealth.
It is no longer about the freedom that Christ gives from the law, but putting people under it. It is more about following this or that verse, about the focusing on sin, and sadly, more often the sin of others,
and not about the beautiful simplicity of loving your neighbor as yourself, and in doing so, love God.
And no, changing the focus of Christ, and ignoring the Gospel is in no way kindness, and like Christ in his day, whose biggest resistence was not from sinners, but those who claimed to speak from authority of God within the Temple, the same must be confronted and challenged today.
Namaste
Christ gave two commandments, and they weren't what you shouldn't do, but what you should do - to love God and love your neighbor as yourself - two things which I believe are one in the same, as provided by:
Mathew 25:45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
and
7Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
He told the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats, and they were separated by their actions of love (giving food to the hungry, caring for the sick, and visiting those in jail), or their failure to do these things.
With Simon and the Prostitute who washed his feet with her tears, Jesus humbles Simon who thought himself better than her, and even questioned Jesus' authority because he welcomed her. Jesus demonstrated that the Prostitute, not the Teacher of the Law who was seen as holy in the eyes of the people, showed Christ more love.
He says it again with the Good Samaritan, who shows love for his neighbor, while the priest and Levite do not.
He says it again about a Pharisee exhalting himself over a tax collector:
Luke 18
9To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: 10"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11The Pharisee stood up and prayed about[a] himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'
13"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'
14"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
Why was the Pharisee not justified? He fasted. He tithed. He didn't rob. He didn't commit adultery. So what was the problem?
He worshipped himself. While God humbled himself by becoming man, and a poor man at that to serve mankind, the Pharisee exhalted himself so that he could look down upon others - and was not honored by God.
A Christian, when being told that if they were without sin, they can cast the first stone, would cast a verbal stone, saying, 'God didn't say to keep doing it. He said to GO AND SIN NO MORE!" Is that the point of the story? Jesus telling the woman to stop committing adultery???
I thought it was humbling the men that were trying to entrap him by showing that they were sinners as well. In short, Jesus probably had the authority to stone all of them as well. He certainly was the one who could cast the first stone, because he was without sin. And he didn't. He even said, "Neither do I condemn you. Your sins are forgiven. Go and sin no more."
Jesus didn't offer condemnation. He offered compassion. He offered mercy. He offered humility. He offered forgiveness of sin.
He told people to forgive 70 x 7.
That is the cruxt of the Gospel.
And yeah, it is ignored. Some versions of it resemble the Pharisees, thanking God that they are no like those "sinners". The Gospel of loving your neighbor has been replaced with condemning them by your standards, and rating yourself higher than them. Ignored is "Judge not, lest you be judged", as Simon was when he judged not only the prostitute but also Jesus, and is replaced with holy condemnation. Forgiveness is replaced with mistrust, demonizing by using words like "lie-berals" who dare think that caring for the hungry and everyone's health care should be a priority, often claiming that it is stealing their wealth.
It is no longer about the freedom that Christ gives from the law, but putting people under it. It is more about following this or that verse, about the focusing on sin, and sadly, more often the sin of others,
and not about the beautiful simplicity of loving your neighbor as yourself, and in doing so, love God.
And no, changing the focus of Christ, and ignoring the Gospel is in no way kindness, and like Christ in his day, whose biggest resistence was not from sinners, but those who claimed to speak from authority of God within the Temple, the same must be confronted and challenged today.
Namaste
Last edited:
Upvote
0
- Status
