Heart of Condemnation

            We may think there are no ugly crimes perpetrated within Christendom, especially in the likes of Nirbaya or a Sandy Hook massacre. That thought could lead us to be smug in our glass houses, thinking all is well within Christendom. But no, not all is well in Christianity.

            Do we think of our church as the best, our denomination so close to God’s heart, our music and worship even appealing to the heavenly realms, our knowledge of the Bible so vast, deep and impressive, our prayers greatly remarkable and efficient, and our sermons enchantingly admirable?

            How often do we mock at our neighbors faults? How often do we boast to our family and friends that we are so unlike the other sinful and appalling mortal (Cf Luke 18:9-14)?

            If we have gone through these motions, then welcome to the world of spiritual pride!

            At the heart of spiritual pride is a deeply embedded superior religiosity that looks down on everybody around. Let me give you an example from my own life. By the grace and power of God, I discarded smoking and alcoholism several years ago. My immediate response to practicing Christians who drink and smoke was that of a holy scorn. I mocked the legitimacy of their Christianity. How can they continue to drink and even drink like a fish, and smoke and even smoke like a chimney, and yet claim to be practicing Christians! I walked with a powerful halo around my condescending head showering utter disregard to these Christians.

            Condemnation also manifests in other ways – subtle as they may be. Couple of days ago, I had a short chat with a person I shall leave unnamed. He was shifting home, hence they requested their Pastor to visit and bless their new home. But on the day of their moving in, they were told that the Pastor was ill and cannot visit. If the Pastor was genuinely ill, then one should give him the latitude, for he is also a human being with a legitimate need to rest and recover. However, we need to ask one question here, if the same request had come from a powerful and influential member of that church, or from a rich member of that church, or from one of the elders, would the Pastor have visited the home in spite of his illness? The answer is only known to that Pastor and of course, God. If a Pastor or a church leader shows favoritism, then the person who has been deprived of the Pastor’s attention has been condemned to a state of humiliation.

            The holocaust was motivated because of the Nazi principle, “Life unworthy of life.” Then and literally, the Nazi’s decided who lived and died. Today and not so literally, we decide who lives and dies. Those condemned die a million deaths. One would not realize this fact unless they have experienced condemnation.

            The Bible screams against spiritual pride. I will endeavor to dig deep into this subject soon. May the good Lord bless and keep us always. Amen. 

Transformation: Christlikeness – Why Condemn?

            Christlikeness for God’s people is God’s plan (Romans 8:29), God’s mandate (Philippians 2:5), and an obvious development (2 Corinthians 5:17) after our “born again experience.” A believer of Jesus Christ ought to be like Jesus Christ.

            However, the most difficult existential reality to encounter is questions relating to the hypocrisy of Christians. People may not read the four gospels in the Bible (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), but they can surely read the fifth gospel - the Christian. But are we the gospel people read and give glory to God or are we the gospel people read and question the existence of the God and in some cases even lose faith in God?

            Someone said that Christians ought to be more redeemed before people believe in their redeemer. “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ,” is another famous quote against Christians.  Ravi Zacharias expresses his difficulty in answering questions of the likes, “Why is it that you as followers of Jesus Christ lay claim to a supernatural transformation, but there is very little evidence of it in your lives?” (Source: Marching to a Different Drummer)

            Just as how the Bible is the most critiqued document, we Christians are being observed by our brothers and sisters of the other worldviews. Within the safe precincts of our home and the church, we make life-size statements staking claim to our supernatural transformation. We also pray that the world is a dark world, and of course it is! But the question we need to ask of ourselves is if we are the light (Matt 5:14-16).

            Ravi Zacharias wrote a book titled, “Has Christianity failed you?” Would he have written that book if there was not a need? The need is a popular notion that Christians are ailing and failing. Many have suffered rejection in the hands of Christians. Even if one is convicted of a sinful act, does he merit that rejection (condemnation)? Is it what the Bible teaches?

            The good news is Christ came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10), and HE came to save the sinners, not the righteous (Luke 5:32). Christ saves by not condemning the sinner but by being gracious to him. Even when the woman was caught in the act of adultery the Lord’s response was, “When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin” (John 8:7-11, NIV).

            We focus so much on John 3:16 that we, for a moment, ignore the very next verse, John 3:17, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (NIV)

            Why condemn when we can love like how Christ loved us? Are we not hypocrites when we stake claim to be Christ’s disciples yet betray HIM through our condemnation of our neighbor? We are not Christlike when we condemn our fellow neighbor!

            If you have suffered condemnation in the hands of Christians, do not worry, for the Lord Jesus Christ loves a repentant sinner. My prayer is that we, by the grace of God, will not condemn each other, but be Christlike through our love for our neighbors (Matthew 22:39; John 13:34). Amen.