Condemnation Disappears at the Foot of the Cross

I have been meditating and praying a lot lately about how to reach out to those who are gay. Over the past couple of months I have visited the church that my son and his dad attend in order to see (hear) my son sing. That church promotes itself as an inclusive church where everyone is welcomed. This past Sunday the announcements included a petition to join in the upcoming Pride parade – a parade that celebrates those in the GLBT community. I agree with welcoming them, but I still see that the Scriptures teach that homosexuality (and many other things that we tolerate) are wrong.

So, how can we reach them? I still don't have that answer, but God has directed my thoughts on a tangent. Many churches and individuals calling themselves Christians are very vocal in their opposition to gays. I have to ask why? Statistics show that people calling themselves Christians are just as guilty in almost every area as those who do not identify at all with Christ. (see this blog post by Bill Peddie Does Christianity Make a Difference?) In the Old Testament, those who committed any sex outside of marriage, whether homosexual or heterosexual, were condemned. The penalty was either stoning, or forced marriage with no opportunity for divorce. (Deu1813-30, Lev 20:11,13) And then Jesus taught that lust is equivalent to adultery (Mt 5:27-28) I am quite certain that some, if not many – considering today's culture of sexual “freedom” – of those bashing gays are guilty of sex outside of marriage and lust (pornography is a perfect example).

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I'm brought back to the familiar account of the woman caught in the act of adultery (John 8:4-11). Jesus told her accusers that he who had committed no sin was to cast the first stone. When we attack one group of “sinners” we are casting stones at them. If we really follow Jesus, as the name “Christian” indicates, we should not be casting any stones unless we are free from sin.

There lies the problem. Too many Christians think they are free from sin. Jesus has purified His disciples by His blood shed on the cross, so we are free from sin's eternal punishment. He sets us free from slavery to sin. Many people change radically, overcoming deeply rooted sin in their lives, when they decide to make Jesus Lord. However, we still have sin in our lives. 

In my times of prayer and meditation God has revealed something to me.When we add more religion to our lives, we think we have little or no sin. When we can follow the rules of dos and don'ts, we begin to think we are good people – righteous people. We compare ourselves to those people who do not keep the same list of dos and don'ts and we think they are NOT good people – not righteous people. This is where self-righteousness comes from.

When we add more of Jesus to our lives, there is a different response. The closer we come to our Creator, our loving and compassionate Father, our Counselor, our Prince of Peace, our intimate Friend, our Beloved Saviour the more we see how much we don't measure up to His perfection. But in that intimate relationship we are able to receive His truly amazing grace and we are motivated to do whatever we can to please the Lover of our souls. There is no longer any list of dos and don'ts. Do newlyweds follow a list of dos and don'ts to please their lover? NO! Nor should we need any sort of list of dos and don'ts to please our God who desperately wants to be our Lover. When we love Him with all our hearts and all our minds and all our strength then the need for lists disappear. Yes, we need to obey His Word – that is part of loving Him with all of our mind. We need to know His Word to know what pleases Him.

When I draw close to the righteousness and holiness of God Almighty, to Jesus the sinless One, to the Spirit of Truth, I see who I really am. I see my pride. I see my selfishness. I see my weakness. I see my failures. I see my faithlessness. I see how I hurt others with words and actions. I see how my thought life can be soooo far from what pleases God. When He who defines righteousness is my standard, I have no hope whatsoever of measuring up on my own. My only hope comes from Jesus' death on the cross. From this standpoint at the foot of the cross every sinner has the same desperate need for a Saviour. If we go to bed at night and can't name any specific sin (sin is missing the mark of God's perfection) in our lives for that day – and thus praise God for His saving grace – then we have more religion in our lives than relationship with Jesus.

When our relationship with God is truly one of love, deep love, intimate love, passionate love (try reading the Psalms or Eze 16:7-14, Is 62:4-5) then we see our own sin. We no longer think we have the right to condemn others, for in doing so, we condemn ourselves. If I want to reach out to someone who is gay, or anyone – because we are all sinners worthy of the death penalty – then I can't think I am better than that person. If I come at the person with condemnation, then I have become religious and self-righteous. If I come at them as a representative of my Lover, my Saviour, and my Friend, then I will come with a message of love and grace and forgiveness – a message from one sinner to another. I AM NOT any better than that person. 

If we think we have the right to condemn others, we have left the foot of the cross. When we leave that place of desperate humility, we start to think we have the right to sit with Christ on His throne. (That is a promise for heaven – not for earth) We make a list of dos and dont's and count ourselves worthy when we do well with that list. Then we compare ourselves to others who don't know or care about that list and we feel even better about ourselves and our righteousness. Sometimes our lists of dos and don'ts even contradict the Word of God – in those situations we have booted Christ off His throne in order to sit there ourselves!

So how do I reach out to those who are gay? One sinner to another. I share the message of hope and redemption and grace of a loving God that has something much better in mind for our lives. I must be humble enough to confess my own sins. I stand condemned of death for the sin in my life – not just the sin before I became a Christian, but the sin I have committed as a Christian – the sin I still commit. Why am I worthy of death? In order for me to have redemption from my sins – past, present and future – Jesus had to die. I am guilty of crucifying the Son of God! I do not have to stay in that place of condemnation, because God loves me and offers me His grace and forgiveness. However, as many of my other blog posts have mentioned, Jesus wants repentance and commitment in our loving and intimate relationship with Him.

Today's Christian culture has made homosexuality the worst of sins. To Jesus, religious hypocrisy and self righteousness were the worst of sins (Mt 23). It is no wonder the world condemns Christianity today – Jesus would condemn much of it Himself!

Oh Jesus, Lover of my soul, I come to you this morning with great awe for your love. Your love is so intense, so passionate, so sacrificial that you died on the cross to pay for my sins – my specific sins. You died for each and every one of us. Please forgive us when we think we are righteous because we can follow a list of dos and don'ts. Please forgive us when we judge others. Help us to see and deal with the planks in our own eyes before we address the speck in another's eye. Please give us the spirit of wisdom and revelation that we may know You better – that we may know Your perfection, Your holiness Your love, Your grace, Your compassion. May we then share You, our Saviour and Friend, with others. Let us rid ourselves of the condemnation we place on others, as we realize that we, too, deserve condemnation. You have given us salvation through Your grace, not by our obedience to a list. Help us to extend that grace and love to others. I praise You Jesus for Your amazing grace – Your indescribable love! All glory and honour and praise be to Your Name. Amen.