My friend John Smulo has posted something on the subject of Playing Judge. He asks a few questions that I attempted to answer there, and so I thought I would repost a version of my remarks here. 1. Do you believe some sins will be judged worse than others? Why or why not?
I think that certain sinning may be worse than others. That is, the practices and intentions of an individual sinner play a role here. Also, I’m not entirely convinced that all sins are equal. At the very least, we must admit different degrees of judgment, which tells us something about the practices of those who commit sin. I don't think that “stealing” a paper clip is the same as planning a bank robbery or breaking into an elderly woman’s apartment or raping someone or . . . you get the point. Then again, it’s probably not the sin alone that is at issue but also the accompanying circumstances (motives, degree of selfishness, etc.). I do think it is possible–based on Paul’s language when discussing homosexuality, for instance–that certain sins could be “worse” or out-of-alignment with God’s ideal. On the other hand, maybe we’re confusing apples and oranges. Maybe some things fit into what we might call an unnatural category, things like pedophilia and incest and the activities of Auschwitz. But, at the end of the day, all sin is an affront to a holy God and is probably uglier and far more heinous than any of us imagine. If I think my greed is okay but my neighbor’s adultery is not, I’m kidding myself; who cares which is worse, for they are both wrong in God’s sight! Indeed, it is probably healthy for me to view almost all of my sins as worse than almost any of yours. I wonder how often our greed or lust or pride or whatever (you know, those “acceptable” sins) blind us to the reality that all sinners require mercy and kindness and grace. Bottom line? We all struggle with lots of things and need the love of God to envelop us.
Many evangelicals have been critical of homosexuals to the point of meanness, imbalance, and just plain stupidity; this is arrogant and unfortunate and has driven many away; this clearly runs contrary to the attitude of Jesus, who was a friend of sinners (that includes you and me). At the same time, the media and popular culture portray homosexuality as an almost “darling” lifestyle, the one thing you cannot talk about or be critical of.
Both the judgmental attitudes and practices of the church and the politically correct attitudes of contemporary society frustrate me. If we treat as acceptable the idea that homosexual practice is okay, we are, I think, minimizing aspects of Scripture. In my opinion, this would be akin to treating casual sex, adultery, and the like as okay (as popular culture has already done). Indeed, it is already something of a joke to even consider abstinence as an option in many circles. Movies poke fun at it (e.g., The 40 Year Old Virgin–which is funny, by the way), and nearly everyone treats virginity as abnormal. My, how quickly we have changed! Not long ago, the “abnormal” or unacceptable thing was to sleep around. Now, among some people at least, it is considered strange to not sleep around.
On the other hand, many evangelicals are obsessed with pointing the finger at homosexuals and decrying their behavior. Part of this is due to a hyper separatistic mentality, for many Christians simply spend no quality time with the people of their culture. Perhaps, this is something of an overstatement, but I do believe that a good number of believers either form completely separate communities or they (in the name of supposed faithfulness) merely dabble in relationships with the people of the world. When you take such a stance, you aren’t really a homophobe but rather a “worldaphobe” or a “culturalaphobe.” You are afraid of any relationship that might challenge your faith, pop your bubble, or make you feel uncomfortable. (This doesn’t mean that your evaluation of what you observe in culture is necessarily wrong, but it does mean that you will likely lack the empathy and compassion that occurs when you truly get to know people.) A lot if this amounts to phariseeism.
[I should point out here that I teach health–including sex education–at a local high school. Thus, we discuss matters that have a bearing on this issue. For instance we talk briefly about the act of fertilization and the possibilities. These include those rare cases, sometimes termed hermaphrodites, were a child is born with male and female sex organs. This presents quite a difficulty for those who like to believe that almost everything is easy to decipher and categorize. There are some cases, frankly, when–to put it bluntly–I’m not sure if such a person would be considered more male or female. Talk about confusing! Therefore, there may be complicating matters that make our evaluation less than certain. That said, I do think we must view these matters as the exception, not the rule. Does that make any sense?]
2. Do you believe that there are sins that can nullify a persons salvation, even if they have professed faith in Jesus Christ?
Nothing can separate us from the love of God, and we are certainly not saved by works. There is one very strange and difficult-to-decipher sin, called the “unforgivable sin,” which is much debated, but that’s another discussion. The issue here is not whether a truly saved person can lose his/her salvation. Rather, it is how a person can know if he/she is truly saved (have assurance) if he/she is living in ways contrary to the gospel. Granted, this is notorious difficult and slippery subject (some people drive themselves crazy wondering if they are “in,” while others simply live anyway that they want). Still, I think this we have to come to grips with these things: (1) Grace means just that–grace! We are freely accepted because of Jesus, period. (2) Those who claim to follow Jesus are expected/assumed to follow him, and this is not to be taken lightly. Those who receive Jesus as Savior will attempt to follow him as Lord. While I do not pretend to know what this looks like, I can’t deny that it is a part of the NT data that we must grapple with. (3) What happens when our sin or consciences get the best of us? What strategy should we employ? I’d say we should take our sin seriously, but our serious thoughts should take place within the environment of grace. Again, we mess up all the time, and we may have serious questions about our status before God. But, our uncertainty and doubt, whether warranted or not, should be considered from within the presence and sphere of God’s unconditional love. I would even argue that an awareness that “He loves me anyway” is actually a better strategy for changing us than a “Woe is me” approach, though, again, they both have their place.
3. Why do you think some are quick to use verses such as 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 to point out homosexuality, while ignoring, say, greed?
Because we all want to minimize our own culpability. If we can spend a lot of time blaming others, lowering their place in the world, making them out to be less than we are, we naturally feel better about ourselves. I don’t think we can sit idly by and never point out the wrongs of society, etc. That in itself would be a sin. But we must somehow (together and by his grace) try to keep in mind who and what we are. Paul in Galatians had a great strategy. He talked about pointing out the wrongs of others but in such a way that you “look to yourself first lest you too be tempted.”
I think that certain sinning may be worse than others. That is, the practices and intentions of an individual sinner play a role here. Also, I’m not entirely convinced that all sins are equal. At the very least, we must admit different degrees of judgment, which tells us something about the practices of those who commit sin. I don't think that “stealing” a paper clip is the same as planning a bank robbery or breaking into an elderly woman’s apartment or raping someone or . . . you get the point. Then again, it’s probably not the sin alone that is at issue but also the accompanying circumstances (motives, degree of selfishness, etc.). I do think it is possible–based on Paul’s language when discussing homosexuality, for instance–that certain sins could be “worse” or out-of-alignment with God’s ideal. On the other hand, maybe we’re confusing apples and oranges. Maybe some things fit into what we might call an unnatural category, things like pedophilia and incest and the activities of Auschwitz. But, at the end of the day, all sin is an affront to a holy God and is probably uglier and far more heinous than any of us imagine. If I think my greed is okay but my neighbor’s adultery is not, I’m kidding myself; who cares which is worse, for they are both wrong in God’s sight! Indeed, it is probably healthy for me to view almost all of my sins as worse than almost any of yours. I wonder how often our greed or lust or pride or whatever (you know, those “acceptable” sins) blind us to the reality that all sinners require mercy and kindness and grace. Bottom line? We all struggle with lots of things and need the love of God to envelop us.
Many evangelicals have been critical of homosexuals to the point of meanness, imbalance, and just plain stupidity; this is arrogant and unfortunate and has driven many away; this clearly runs contrary to the attitude of Jesus, who was a friend of sinners (that includes you and me). At the same time, the media and popular culture portray homosexuality as an almost “darling” lifestyle, the one thing you cannot talk about or be critical of.
Both the judgmental attitudes and practices of the church and the politically correct attitudes of contemporary society frustrate me. If we treat as acceptable the idea that homosexual practice is okay, we are, I think, minimizing aspects of Scripture. In my opinion, this would be akin to treating casual sex, adultery, and the like as okay (as popular culture has already done). Indeed, it is already something of a joke to even consider abstinence as an option in many circles. Movies poke fun at it (e.g., The 40 Year Old Virgin–which is funny, by the way), and nearly everyone treats virginity as abnormal. My, how quickly we have changed! Not long ago, the “abnormal” or unacceptable thing was to sleep around. Now, among some people at least, it is considered strange to not sleep around.
On the other hand, many evangelicals are obsessed with pointing the finger at homosexuals and decrying their behavior. Part of this is due to a hyper separatistic mentality, for many Christians simply spend no quality time with the people of their culture. Perhaps, this is something of an overstatement, but I do believe that a good number of believers either form completely separate communities or they (in the name of supposed faithfulness) merely dabble in relationships with the people of the world. When you take such a stance, you aren’t really a homophobe but rather a “worldaphobe” or a “culturalaphobe.” You are afraid of any relationship that might challenge your faith, pop your bubble, or make you feel uncomfortable. (This doesn’t mean that your evaluation of what you observe in culture is necessarily wrong, but it does mean that you will likely lack the empathy and compassion that occurs when you truly get to know people.) A lot if this amounts to phariseeism.
[I should point out here that I teach health–including sex education–at a local high school. Thus, we discuss matters that have a bearing on this issue. For instance we talk briefly about the act of fertilization and the possibilities. These include those rare cases, sometimes termed hermaphrodites, were a child is born with male and female sex organs. This presents quite a difficulty for those who like to believe that almost everything is easy to decipher and categorize. There are some cases, frankly, when–to put it bluntly–I’m not sure if such a person would be considered more male or female. Talk about confusing! Therefore, there may be complicating matters that make our evaluation less than certain. That said, I do think we must view these matters as the exception, not the rule. Does that make any sense?]
2. Do you believe that there are sins that can nullify a persons salvation, even if they have professed faith in Jesus Christ?
Nothing can separate us from the love of God, and we are certainly not saved by works. There is one very strange and difficult-to-decipher sin, called the “unforgivable sin,” which is much debated, but that’s another discussion. The issue here is not whether a truly saved person can lose his/her salvation. Rather, it is how a person can know if he/she is truly saved (have assurance) if he/she is living in ways contrary to the gospel. Granted, this is notorious difficult and slippery subject (some people drive themselves crazy wondering if they are “in,” while others simply live anyway that they want). Still, I think this we have to come to grips with these things: (1) Grace means just that–grace! We are freely accepted because of Jesus, period. (2) Those who claim to follow Jesus are expected/assumed to follow him, and this is not to be taken lightly. Those who receive Jesus as Savior will attempt to follow him as Lord. While I do not pretend to know what this looks like, I can’t deny that it is a part of the NT data that we must grapple with. (3) What happens when our sin or consciences get the best of us? What strategy should we employ? I’d say we should take our sin seriously, but our serious thoughts should take place within the environment of grace. Again, we mess up all the time, and we may have serious questions about our status before God. But, our uncertainty and doubt, whether warranted or not, should be considered from within the presence and sphere of God’s unconditional love. I would even argue that an awareness that “He loves me anyway” is actually a better strategy for changing us than a “Woe is me” approach, though, again, they both have their place.
3. Why do you think some are quick to use verses such as 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 to point out homosexuality, while ignoring, say, greed?
Because we all want to minimize our own culpability. If we can spend a lot of time blaming others, lowering their place in the world, making them out to be less than we are, we naturally feel better about ourselves. I don’t think we can sit idly by and never point out the wrongs of society, etc. That in itself would be a sin. But we must somehow (together and by his grace) try to keep in mind who and what we are. Paul in Galatians had a great strategy. He talked about pointing out the wrongs of others but in such a way that you “look to yourself first lest you too be tempted.”
1 comment:
Hi, Paul.
I agree with your words about Jesus' "redefintion" of sin. He took the true meaning of sin to a deeper, more meaningful level. I also like it when you say that "the kingdom of God is in part an invitation to indwell us where these feelings and attitudes lie."
It is easy to pick on homosexuality or on whatever sin distracts us from our own sins!
It is true that Scripture leaves us with an ethic and motivation of love. It is also true that this transformation is observable enough to be able to identify it. A major part of this, I think, relates to the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, self control), which though difficult to measure is at least fairly easy to recognize.
With homosexuality, it is true that the church has sometimes (but absolutely not always) been extreme and unloving. For this, we ought to be ashamed. At the same time, Scripture does give us general parameters of right and wrong, even if they are often quite subjective, even if we misapply them.
Again, thanks for your helpful thoughts, Paul. :-)
Post a Comment