I had a flashback yesterday to when I was a Youth Pastor in the Roanoke Valley Baptist Association serving in one of their churches. I was at a ministers event and I ran into a popular pastor in the Roanoke Valley who shunned me at the event because of my past. You see I was a late bloomer to the ministry, God brought me in at 29 with no formal education and a bad past. This pastor didn’t agree with my “calling” and made sure I knew it. In that moment I felt shame and embarrassment and to make matters worse this man of God talked to my friend who was standing beside me while giving me the stink eye.1
So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! - The Apostle Paul, Romans 7:21-24a
I wonder why some Christians think that God’s mercy, forgiveness, and grace is only for them and their friends or whomever they deem His love important? It’s easy to forget that Moses struck the rock and by doing so struck out entering the promised land. Guess what? Moses is with God right now. Moses’ disobedience did not disqualify him from God’s goodness. A lot of Christians today have short scriptural memory, do we not? If King David committed his atrocities around some of the pastors I know he’d be banished to hell for all eternity…because you know… a true Christian doesn’t still sin. At least the ones in their church don’t.2
When we act like we’re the purveyor of God’s goods then we are a god unto ourselves. I cannot say that God has forgiven my wretched self but has not forgiven that brother or sister over there. Is there two Christs? Is there two heavens? Is His mercy tied to our law keeping?
Does he forgive and show grace to some of His children but shun the ones you point out? Simply because they are not living up to your standard Christianity? Or maybe your standard of what being righteous looks like?
Man, break me off a piece of that Kit Kat bar!
Who will rescue me from this body of death? - The Apostle Paul, Romans 7:24b
At the church I currently serve we had a retired pastor and his wife in attendance. He was a former pastor turned missionary to be exact and he would always remind me by sending a Monday morning email about my sermon and how wrong it was. He would be very critical of me and want to argue and debate his theological positions. He even went as far as telling me that my children were going to hell because they hadn’t received Christ as Lord by praying the sinner’s prayer. Our two children at the time were 9 and 4. I asked him about his grandchildren and if they were saved. He told me yes because they had prayed to receive Christ…by the way, the youngest to be saved was 2. God’s grace is for me…but not for thee.
Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord! - The Apostle Paul, Romans 7:25a
You see for some people in Christianity there is no room for Christ to forgive another persons past, present, or future. Because they just don’t like that person and nothing they ever do will be good enough for them or Christ. Or they are not worthy enough in their estimation for God to do anything with or use.
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. - Ephesians 2:8-10
The Tax Collector went home that day justified before God.
The other dude… well, you know.
Let’s come up with a phrase for “Pharisee Eye”, if you have any suggestions please leave them in the comments.
Please see 1st John 1:8-10, especially the 8 and 10 part. The arrogance that I have experienced from others in the ministry has been extraordinary.
The Christian army is the only one that shoots its own wounded soldiers I think is how we used to say it. Some Christians genuinely seem to be able to make the whole godliness thing work. I think they have less sin today than they did yesterday and they make all of these great decisions. I have never been one of them. I used to think that they were full of shit. Now I don't know if they are real or fake I just know that that is not me and never will be. I used to hate them. I'm not sure if I still hate them or not. But what I do know, is that God's goodness to us doesn't depend on any goodness in us. His love is for the black sheep, the wandering sheep, the lost sheep. Perhaps they only seem to look down on you because of what they call sin. Maybe the truth is more that the 99 sheep despise the 1 sheep because of envy, like a bunch of good jewish Christians looking down their noses at the 'Chief of Sinners'. What lawkeeper would not envy the one to whom the Lord does not impute sin? Isn't it clear that the Elder Brother was jealous of the Prodigal? Our own feelings are a poor guide to reality.
From Martin Luther's commentary on Galatians: 'Note especially the pronoun "our" and its significance. You will readily grant that Christ gave Himself for the sins of Peter, Paul, and others who were worthy of such grace. But feeling low, you find it hard to believe that Christ gave Himself for your sins. Our feelings shy at a personal application of the pronoun "our," and we refuse to have anything to do with God until we have made ourselves worthy by good deeds. This attitude springs from a false conception of sin, the conception that sin is a small matter, easily taken care of by good works; that we must present ourselves unto God with a good conscience; that we must feel no sin before we may feel that Christ was given for our sins. This attitude is universal and particularly developed in those who consider themselves better than others. Such readily confess that they are frequent sinners, but they regard their sins as of no such importance that they cannot easily be dissolved by some good action, or that they may not appear before the tribunal of Christ and demand the reward of eternal life for their righteousness. Meantime they pretend great humility and acknowledge a certain degree of sinfulness for which they soulfully join in the publican's prayer, "God be merciful to me a sinner." But the real significance and comfort of the words "for our sins" is lost upon them. The genius of Christianity takes the words of Paul "who gave himself for our sins" as true and efficacious. We are not to look upon our sins as insignificant trifles. On the other hand, we are not to regard them as so terrible that we must despair. Learn to believe that Christ was given, not for picayune and imaginary transgressions, but for mountainous sins; not for one or two, but for all; not for sins that can be discarded, but for sins that are stubbornly ingrained.'