"The greatest single cause of atheism in the world todayI totally agree with what they stated. How sad and disheartening it is to hear stories and read stories of so-called Christians doing this. They talk the talk but never walk the walk. You can tell a lot by a person, not by the words they speak, but rather the actions they take.
Is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips
Then walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle.
That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable."
I recently watched a video (it happened about 2 years ago), where a Westboro Church member was disowned by her family. As I was watching this video, I could not believe what I was hearing!. "God Hates You!" "Jews, Fags, etc will go to Hell". They chant that American solders are evil and will go to hell for fighting because of the mean things they do. And the people who say these things claim to be followers of God.
Now, the Bible teaches us not to judge. However, there is something that can be done. It is called rebuke. Now first I want to define what this word means.
Now, there is a fine line between judgment and rebuke. Rebuke, however is done out of love, judgement is usually done out of spite.
Verb:
Express sharp disapproval or criticism of (someone) because of their behavior or actions. Noun:
An expression of sharp disapproval or criticism.
Judgement is seen as this: You are going to hell because you lie cheat and steal.
Rebuke is seen as this: Can you not see the hurt that your lying and cheating causes others?
With this in mind, Christians do have the ability to correct their fellow believers, and this is what I intend to do in this post.
God desires all to be saved, for all to know the truth.
1Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 1 Timothy 2:1-4
God does not hate us. God loves us. Hate is the absence of Love.17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. John 3:17
6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. Romans 5:6-11
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16I want to look at the above verse, John 3:16. Let's look at the word "world". Greek: "world" = "cosmos" = all mankind. It is not selective. It does not say "for God so loved Jews, Whites, Blacks, Catholics, Gentiles, etc". It is ALL MANKIND, regardless of one's race, nationality, religion (or lack thereof). It is all of mankind that He loves, every single human being who has ever walked this planet and will walk this planet. So for a group to say "God hates you", they are TOTALLY leading people astray. And I rebuke them saying this. What they state is false, it is not of God, nor is it of the Bible.
There is this woman that I know. She professed to me how she was a Christian, listened to Christian music, and disliked many things that were of the world. Sad thing was, all that she said, it was merely a front, a mask if you will. As I found out who she truly was, I was disheartened to even think of her as a Christian. Numerous times was I called names by her, and not the nice ones either. I was cursed, hated, scoffed at. And yet, she claims herself to be a Christian! I rebuke her in her actions. For if one is a Christian, they do not curse another, they do not hate another, they do not scoff. They do not tell lies, they walk in the light, they desire truth and demonstrate love. She has shown me the complete opposite. Despite the hurtful words she has spoken/written, there is no animosity that I have towards her. I have no contempt, no anger, no hate, nothing. All I have is love that one day she will recognize what she is doing and realize that it is not good nor uplifting and showing god in her actions.
Alas, I am not a perfect person. I still struggle with my own issues. But if I am going to tell those around me that I am a Christian and a follower of God, I better show it in my actions. When I was growing up, I was homeschooled from grade 6 to graduation. My last year in elementary, grade 5, and I had trouble reading. I didn't even know the difference between a long vowel and a short vowel. So my mom decided to homeschool my brother and I as we were being pushed through the grades. One of the years we were homeschooled, my mom told us that we had to do our best when we were out, to watch what we do, for people will be watching us, watching our actions. Homeschooling was a new concept to some people and we wanted to show that homeschooling was not something to be afraid of or scoffed at. It got to the point where we acted in the best way possible without even thinking about it. My brother and I were well behaved, we volunteered lots, were part of some amazing things, and all the while, people would come up and ask us where we went to school, or why we were not in school and it would open up the conversation about what homeschooling was.
Similarly, as a Christian, we are being watched. People are watching us, how we act, behave, what we do to others. I can't help but sometimes take the side of an Atheist when he says "this is why I don't believe in a God, for Christians just lie, curse, hurt others, etc". I can't help but agree with them. This is the same for Muslims. Because of some extreme Muslims, they all get a bad name. Even Atheists have this issue. Heck EVERY GROUP has this issue. It only takes one/a few to ruin one's perception of that entire group.
Jesus is the perfect example of how we are to live and treat others. He lived the Ten Commandments. They are summed up perfectly. Commandments 1-4 - Love the Lord your God with all your heart. Commandments 5-10 - Love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus lived this, He showed us the example we need to present to the world. How dare we judge and say "You are going to hell" for only God knows a person's heart, He knows their struggles, the secrets they dare not share with another. He knows their hurt, their sorrow, what their purpose is. How dare we think we can take God's place!
We need to be showing love for one another, for God loved mankind to send His Son to die an innocent man so that Jesus could bridge the gap that the original sin caused. I am going to quote a verse from the Bible about love.
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8aWhat I note interesting is a few verses down. It reads:
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is loveFaith, hope and love. But the greatest is love. We can have faith in God, that He will be there to guide us. We have hope that one day we will be with Him. But it is the love that we show to others that draws people to Him. It is true love, not Hollywood love. It is the love of acceptance, of truth, justice, selfless, forgiving, never proud. And until our actions show this, will we have people scoff at us. And can I really blame them?
I will tell you right now the many things wrong with Christianity:
1. The Sabbath is not Sunday, it is Saturday. The seven day week has remained the same. The Bible does not command a change. In fact, man made the change. The Catholic Church admits to changing the day and even persecuted people for not obeying their change.
2. Yes, we confess our sins to one another, but in no way can one man forgive another man's sin. For only God can forgive sin. For a priest or pope to claim they can forgive sin is to claim they are God. They are NOT! They are but a man in a position of power and authority, but they are NOT God.
3. We need to be accepting of others, despite our objections. Saying to others "God hates you, you are going to hell" is not accepting, it is judging and condemning. And plan WRONG. Is that loving our neighbor as ourselves?
4. Christians do not know their Bible! They take the sermons or the opinions they read on the internet or books and keep that as truth. They do not challenge it with the Bible and what it says. Understanding can only be obtained when one studies the original source. Start reading your Bible, start studying it. Stop relying on man and start relying on God!
5. Enough with the talk and no action. If you say you are going to, then do so. If you say you are a Christian, then show it. Stop professing and start proving it.
6. Church and State need to remain separate. The Church needs to stay out of the government and the government needs to stay out of the church. Combining the two was never meant to be. And we need to fight this to the bitter end. There will come a time when it happens and there is nothing that can be done about it. It will be the time of the end. But until it comes, keep standing and keep supporting its separation.
7. Help those who are less fortunate. Stop making fun of them or scoffing at them. Do something! Volunteer your time. Help them see that there is hope, that we as man kind care for one another. Stop having the bystander affect and start doing something. Visit the elderly who is home alone, play with the child who is left out, serve a hot meal to a family who struggles, listen to a veteran, comfort a widow, be a parent to the orphan. Do something that gives hope! Get off the couch and do something for your neighbor! you hear about someone who requires help financially for their child for medical reasons, start a donation in their name. Be proactive.
8. Stop thinking and talking negatively about others. Stop gossiping. Stop looking at another person's faults. Find the good things they do and encourage them. If someone is homosexual, stop condemning them and start understanding them. Despite the sin that person does, love that person but acknowledge with them that their actions are a discomfort, but don't disown them. Jesus never disowned anyone, what gives us the right to do that?
The above is only a small portion but you get what I am saying. If someone does you wrong, yes you are going to be hurt, but they don't control your feelings and how you react, you do. You decide how you are going to respond. Sometimes that includes walking away without any animosity. Sometimes that is being there through thick and thin. Sometimes it is taking the beating of what they say but standing your ground in a loving way.
Jesus knew the hearts of the men and women that he conversed with, spent time with. We don't have that luxury, but at the same time it doesn't mean we can judge them and condemn them. We are to reason with them, to show them love, acceptance, to know that things can be better if they only recognize and do what is true, right, and just. We do not know their hearts, we do not know the struggles they have faced and continue to face. We can sympathize, listen, and pray for them.
I challenge all those who profess to be Christians to start showing it in their actions. People are hurt, lost, sad, lonely and it does them no good if we condemn them and judge them, for we have no right and it is not our right to. Only God has that right since He knows the hearts of men.
Ps:44:21: Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.
15 And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God. Luke 16:15
10 “I the Lord search the heartEven if we do stumble and fall, it takes a better person to rise up, admit their mistake, make it right with the person they wronged and with God, and do their best to not make the same mistake again. God's love will never cease. Even those who curse God and tell Him to go away, God will always love them. It's like a child telling a parent to leave him be and never speak to him again. The parent will obey that child's wish, but the parent will still love their child and await the day he comes back to him. (the parable of the prodigal son comes to mind).
and examine the mind,
to reward each person according to their conduct,
according to what their deeds deserve.” Jeremiah 17:10
Though the mountains be shakenGod only wishes we all can share in the salvation He gave to us. It's a free gift. We, all mankind, are His children. He also recognizes that we have the free will to decide for ourselves. And He is hurt when He is told to go away, for He simply wants to help and give us strength, He is hurt because He loves us, as a parent loves his children unconditionally, no matter what they do, they are still his children. Shame on us for standing in God's way and turning people away from Him. I rebuke those "God followers" at Westboro, for they turn people from God and curse them. Jesus never did this while on earth, He turned NO ONE away. What makes us think we are better?
and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken
nor my covenant of peace be removed,”
says the Lord, who has compassion on you. Isaiah 54:10
Do not judge lest ye be judged. Do not condemn, but show love, show biblical love, show true love. Do not think yourself better than the next person, for if all was stripped away and only man kind stood, would we all be shown that we are indeed equal and nothing makes us greater than another. However, reason with one another, show each other where we can better ourselves, teach one another, lift each other us. Rebuke those who are wrong in a loving way and do not condemn them, but love and pray for them that they see what destruction their actions cause. And if they not heed, pray for them continually.
Wake up! Get up! Start walking the talk you speak. We are not perfect, but that is no excuse not to try our best. Study your Bible, talk with God, strengthen your relationship with Him so that you can show love and help others in this world, to give them hope that there is something better. God's people are in every church, they are everywhere. We are united in Jesus, for he paid the price so that we can one day find rest away from the pain and sorrow this world has. Let us share this hope!
We have this hope that burns within our hearts.
Hope in the coming of the Lord
We have this faith that Christ alone imparts,
Faith in the promise of His Word.
We believe the time is here,
When the nations far and near
Shall awake, and shout and sing
Hallelujah! Christ is King!
We have this hope that burns within our hearts,
Hope in the coming of the Lord.
We are united in Jesus Christ our Lord.
We are united in His love.
Love for the waiting people of the world,
People who need our Savior’s love.
Soon the heav’ns will open wide,
Christ will come to claim His bride,
All the universe will sing
Hallelujah! Christ is King!
We have this hope, this faith, and God’s great love,
We are united in Christ.
