Romans 13:8-10 ESV
“Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,’ and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.”
How is it, Then?
So, how is it, then, that so many “pastors” of “churches”
today are not teaching repentance, submission to the Lordship of Christ,
obedience to our Lord’s commands (New Covenant), and holy living? Why is it so
many are not insisting on purity and righteousness and godliness but instead
they are coddling people in their sins and they are making sin to be no big
deal?
And how is it that so many of these “pastors” of “churches”
are not teaching this biblical teaching on what love is but they are teaching
that love is tolerance of sin, and it is “staying in your own lane,” and it is “not
judging people in their sin,” etc. Do you know who the “bad guys” are in today’s
modern churches? The ones who practice biblical love and holy living.
So, if you confront someone in his sin you are being
judgmental and unloving and intolerant and unaccepting of people. You may even
be accused of being hateful and of being self-righteous and legalistic and negative.
Memes on social media will be against you and for those who are living in sin,
convincing people that love tolerates sin and hate confronts sin.
Throwing Out the Scriptures
So, let’s just throw out the Scriptures, right? I mean, that
is what these pastors are doing when they coddle people in their sins rather
than confront them and rather than call them to repentance and to obedience to
the Lord. And it is what they are doing when they spiritualize walking in sin
and while they condemn those who are actually following Jesus with their lives.
Do you know why Jesus died on that cross? Not just to
forgive us our sins and not just to give us hope of heaven when we die, either.
He died that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his
righteousness. He died to put sin to death in our lives so that we would now
walk in holiness and righteousness and in moral purity and in genuine love for
one another.
Do you know that there are “churches” which provide “support
groups” for the sexually addicted where they can share with one another their
successes and failures on a weekly basis, but that most of them do nothing to
confront the addict in his sin and to call him to repentance and to obedience
to the Lord Jesus? And guess what? Who is primarily being sinned against here?
Their spouses. And who is standing up for them? Almost no one.
You see that the modern church in America has a warped idea
of what love is. They think if you confront a sinner in his sin that you are
being hateful but that if you tolerate his sin and accept him despite his sin,
and even give him ministry opportunities in the church, that you are being
loving. But who is loving the spouses? Do you know? Pretty much ZIP! That’s the
truth!
So these “churches” are not practicing love but hate, for
they are pampering the one who is living in sin, in adultery (sexual sin),
which is the big “elephant in the room” in most gatherings of what is called “church”
today. And they are demonizing anyone who tries to help them out of their sin.
Therefore, they are condemning their spouses to you know what, and it ain’t
pretty.
A Call to Repentance
Therefore church, and Christians, and pastors, we need to
get back to what the Scriptures teach on what love is. Love does not
deliberately and habitually sin against God or against spouses or children or
neighbors or anyone. And if someone in your congregation is deliberately and
habitually sinning against other people, especially those of his own family,
then you need to confront him or her and command repentance and obedience.
And you need to reach out in love to those who are being
sinned against, not to those who are deliberately and habitually and premeditatedly
hurting other people without genuine repentance. Love is not tolerance of
habitual sin. Love puts sin to death. And you need to offer your support to
those who are actually doing what the Scriptures teach and who are confronting
sin, and who are calling people to repentance and obedience. Don’t shun them!
But you know what the reality is here? You may have guessed
by now if you don’t already know. Sin is being normalized and accepted within
the gatherings of the church and it is being downplayed and minimized and being
referred to as “I messed up,” as though it was just an accident and not willful
defiance and rebellion against the Lord and not willful acts of doing harm to
others without compassion and without conscience.
They show way more compassion to those steeped in habitual
and addictive sin than they ever show to the ones who are the object of those
sins, i.e. to those who are being injured on a daily basis by the sins of others
who are calling themselves “Christians,” and many of whom serve as pastors and
elders and deacons and Bible teachers and in other ministry positions within
the church. So a false “love” has overtaken the church in place of genuine love.
And it is obvious to those with eyes to see.
Now, please don’t misunderstand me here. I am not saying we
should not show compassion to professing Christians who are trapped in sin. We
should. But then we should show them the way out of that sin and insist on
repentance and obedience and confession of wrongdoing and then make them
accountable to the church to make certain they are changing. And then give love
and support to those who they have been sinning against.
Romans 13:11-14 ESV
“Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”
So, yes! It is way past time for much of today’s “church” to
wake up from their spiritual slumber and to bow the knee to God in humble
surrender of their lives to Jesus Christ. But while there is still time, you
can still do that. You can repent of your sins and die with Christ to sin, not
just once but daily, and now walk in humble obedience to the Lord Jesus making
him truly Lord (Owner-Master) of your lives.
Now is the time for you to turn away from your sinful
practices and from hurting other people deliberately and habitually. And it is
now time to put on the love of God which practices holiness, godliness, genuine
love, kindness, compassion, moral purity, faithfulness and honesty. Now walk
according to the Spirit so you make no more provision for the flesh, to gratify
its desires. And then love others by doing good and not harm to them. Please!
And to the hurting out there who are being sinned against
regularly by those who are being given permission to keep walking in sin under
the guise of God’s grace, please know that God cares. So put your lives in his
hands and trust him with your future, and forgive those who are hurting you, or
who have hurt you in the past, and then walk in his love.
Under His Wings
By William Orcutt Cushing and Ira David Sankey, 1896
Under His wings I am safely abiding;
Though the night
deepens and tempests are wild,
Still I can trust Him, I know He will keep me;
He has redeemed me,
and I am His child.
Under His wings—what a refuge in sorrow!
How the heart
yearningly turns to His rest!
Often when earth has no balm for my healing,
There I find
comfort, and there I am blest.
Under His wings—oh, what precious enjoyment!
There will I hide
till life’s trials are o’er;
Sheltered, protected, no evil can harm me;
Resting in Jesus I’m
safe evermore.
Under His wings, under His wings,
Who from His love
can sever?
Under His wings my soul shall abide,
Safely abide
forever.
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