Sanctify

On facebook a few weeks ago, a friend of mine posted a status suggesting something like wanting to "denounce" modern christianity that has been distorted and morphed into something it's not supposed to be: judgmental hypocrites who sit on a lofty throne and criticize those around us... and that it's OK to be imperfect, to the extent of drinking, cursing and behaving like the world, because God did not ask for perfection from us. And because I thoroughly understand this perspective, because it is not an uncommon one, after much prayer and consideration, I have to respectfully disagree.

First off, I feel it is necessary to say that I do believe a lot of people who call themselves Christians ARE neglecting the commands in scripture to LOVE one another, forgive as we have been forgiven, and reach the world for Christ because they are stuck inside of themselves, and that is not what Christ desires for us. Hundreds of times in scripture, Jesus talked about the importance of love, who we should love, and what that love should look like. Not only did He TELL us how to love, He came to earth and SHOWED us how to love. He spent time with the people society had judged and rejected, He demonstrated love and forgiveness to those who had been cast out of their homes, and criticized the hypocritical societies that had rendered judgment against these people. Several times, He called out those hypocrites for pushing themselves into the spotlight, and practicing worship in a way that only brought glory and respect to themselves. Several sentences started with something like "did you NOT understand when I said this before?" which was the Jesus-equivalent of "did I stutter?" I love this about these passages of scripture because in His eyes, both parties (the judgmental and the judged) were living in sin and He did not hesitate to humble the proud and redeem the sinful. But (and this is a very important 'but'), they all had something in common: they were all commanded to "go and sin no more." The fact that He loved the prostitutes and the drunks and demonstrated this love to them gently did not rescue them from the responsibility to turn away from sin. The fact that He corrected them gently didn't mean that their sin was less severe than that of the judgmental jerks who felt entitled to throw stones at them. It was a demonstrative example of how they were all called to treat each other.

We live in a world that is not much different from the one Jesus walked among, we have the "Bible-thumping Southern Baptists" who don't dance, drink or miss an opportunity to repost anti-gay, pro-life propaganda on social media, and the other extreme who, if they're not gay, drinkers, drug users, or strippers, valiantly support the rights of those who are and very strongly oppose the first category of "religious people."

Clearly, I'm not being serious (so put away your pitchforks). It's never, I repeat, NEVER, that black and white, is it?

One of the big problems that is repelling the unsaved of the world is that, though the worldviews are very rarely that extreme, they do exist, and we don't do anything to correct this malformed stereotype. Instead, since we don't feel we fit into either category, we either remain lukewarm and silent, or try our best to be a church-attending Christian who "loves" the unsaved by living in moderate amounts of sin as well, so as to not make them uncomfortable. These viewpoints/behaviors are just as unhelpful (and even downright harmful) as the stone-throwers in the New Testament, because they do nothing to represent Christ or honor His commands. If you feel you identify with one of these "in between's," do not be discouraged, it is a really easy mistake to make.

For the past three years, my husband and I have been involved in an incredible ministry - Celebrate Recovery. Now, this is not a paid advertisement for CR, but I seldom find the truths of the program irrelevant from a spiritual discussion such as this. The first thing that blew me away upon entering CR was the lack of a veil; though it was a unwavering biblical ministry, there was no pretense or "fakeness." Having just [physically] recovered from a miscarriage and in desperate need for emotional and spiritual recovery, I begrudgingly stumbled back into CR, hoping to find at least one person to relate to my current mess of a life. I sat in a big group I did not want to be in, and listened to an older gentleman talk about how he was celebrating several years free from a sexual addiction that involved pornography, prostitutes, escorts, you name it, this guy had done it. But not since he had found the support group of CR. I rolled my eyes thinking he must be the exception to the rest of mankind, because real, lasting change couldn't happen for "people like that." I went to the small women's group upstairs and disclosed that I had just had a miscarriage at 6 weeks gestation. After the group sharing was closed, I had at least 5 woman come up to me and say that they had also had miscarriages, and I was not alone in my suffering. Then, one woman I still remember very clearly, because she is now a very dear friend of mine, said "I'm sorry about your baby." The past week had been full of doctors refusing to say the word "baby," referring to my loss as the loss of a "pregnancy" or "tissue," and in that they had denied my suffering. The body of Christ scooped my heart up off the floor and validated my grief. Since this meeting three years ago, I have met several more brothers and sisters in Christ who have come out of the adult sex industry, the gay lifestyle, alcoholism, drug addiction, severe depression, abusive marriages... the list goes on. The reason why this is SO relevant, is because I've never once heard one of them excuse their behavior because God doesn't expect them to be perfect. On the contrary, we acknowledge that in the flesh we would be hopeless, insane, people who desperately needed a Savior. And we have accepted His unconditional forgiveness, while still striving to correct our negative behavior and put it behind us in order to glorify Christ and fulfill His purpose for our lives.

No, the bible does not instruct us to be perfect or tell us that we will be judged by a perfect standard. However, Christ states at least 100 times in scripture that we are to be set apart as He was in His time on earth. This instruction does not translate to a judgmental, haughty, prideful attitude, nor does it call us to a nonchalant, lukewarm attitude. Christ enables us to find the balance of loving others and leading them to Him through the power of the Holy Spirit. He calls upon His children to show the world that they are loved by Him, through our words and our actions. We cannot fulfill this calling if we are too busy trying not to make the unsaved uncomfortable. You cannot lead the masses if you think, act and speak just like the rest of them. We are obligated through the Lord's commands to put aside our sinful behavior and be sanctified in Christ. Act justly, love mercy, walk humbly with your God.

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." Romans 12:2

"I do not ask that you take yourself out of the world, but that you keep yourself from the evil one. You are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify yourselves in the truth." John 17:15-18

"I appeal to you brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God - THIS is your spiritual act of worship." Romans 12:1

"Since we have all these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God." 2 Corinthians 7:1