"1 You may think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things. 2 And we know that God, in his justice, will punish anyone who does such things. 3 Since you judge others for doing these things, why do you think you can avoid God’s judgment when you do the same things? 4 Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?" -Romans 2:1-4 (NLT)
If you read Romans 1 you see Paul discuss some sins that people had been doing. He lists their shameful acts. He says they were doing every sort of "wickedness." Going on about how it is wrong. When you're reading it, it is easy to start thinking that you are better than them, and condemn these wicked people in your mind for their transgressions. It is like Paul knows what you are thinking and at the beginning of Romans 2 says this. He basically flips it on you.
I focus so much time and effort into improving myself, trying to live up to God's standards, follow the Bible's example, etc. That when I see other people who genuinely don't care about what the Bible says I have a natural response to look down on them. I can easily think of myself as better than them, since at least I'm not committing those sins.
But I'm not better than them. And neither are you. We all sin. The wages of sin is death, we are all guilty of sin. The standard Jesus set was perfection and we all fall short of that. Whether we fall short of it by an inch or a mile doesn't matter, we are all in the same boat: sinners in need of a savior. Through accepting Christ's sacrifice, we are forgiven by God. We must ingrain it in our heads that we earned nothing. God owed us nothing. It is through God's grace that we are saved.
On paper, I know it is easy to agree with that, yet how quickly we forget that we have done nothing to earn God's love, when we see someone doing something we know is wrong. We immediately think of how we wouldn't do that, how we're better than that. We're NOT.
Think of yourself. How you used to be, when you were in their shoes. When you knew no better. What did you need at that moment, condemnation or love? We are all sinners, we have all been there. Be careful not to get too full of yourself just because you found Jesus. He has been there the whole time, He was waiting for you, just like He is waiting for them now.
Remember, God loves them just as much as He loves us. There is nothing we can do to make God love us more or less. He already loves us unconditionally and more than we can imagine. This scripture talks of God's kindness with us, He is patient with us when we sin.
We must remember that if God is patient with us, we must be patient with others. Do not judge them, do not look down on someone, do not condemn someone if you think they are doing wrong. See them as Christ would see them, with compassion.
We love Him because He first loved us.
So we have to love on others, no matter how close or far away they are from God. You're not better than anyone just because you're a Christian. God loves them just as much as He loves us. So love them, too.
The Impact of the Example of Forgiveness
Tonight, I was reading through 1 John mostly by chance. The one theme that really caught my heart today, and normally does catch my heart when reading this book, is that true Christians love their brothers and sisters in the faith.
"If anyone claims, 'I am living in the light,' but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is still living in darkness." 1 John 2:9 NLT
That just always talks about grudges to me. A few years ago, I really struggled with grudges. I had a lot of friends, didn't have any enemies (which is no small feat in high school.) But I had a hard time forgiving the few people that hurt me.
I held it in, and when I thought about what they did or how they treated me, it made me angry. I tried to keep it in, so rarely would I confront those people about their supposed wrongs. But it did seep out. Those people could tell something was different between us, which made it worse, we excluded each other from things and generally disintegrated our friendships.
In one particular occasion, it got to the point that I didn't even know what one person had done to me. Why we were fighting, and why I was so mad at them and waiting for an apology. Eventually, God convicted me that I was holding these grudges. One of the best messages I have heard, from various sources is that forgiveness is not for the other person, it is for you.
Forgiveness is not for that person that hurt you. You can hold a grudge, it will tear you apart, but that person will keep on living life. Waiting for them to say "I'm sorry" could be a long long time. If that anger festers in your heart, it will just burn you, not the other person.
So let go of it. Forgive that person. Let go of the anger. Let go of the thought of revenge. Let go of the thought that that person owes you something. Let go, move on. Lift that weight off of yourself. Go to God, ask for strength.
Eventually, I was able to do just that. Forgive those people of what they did to me. It took some time, and those relationships aren't the same as they were before, but I have been able to re forge those friendships and make matters a lot better between myself and these people. One instance, I even apologized to the other person for holding a grudge against them. They were shocked, but it went a long way to restoring our friendship. I tell you what, it is a lot better on the other side, and in the years since, my heart feels lighter.
I think I have blogged about that in the past, so what I really wanted to share was in verse 10.
"Anyone who loves another brother or sister is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble." 1 John 2:10 NLT
God is saying that loving others is what shows that you are close to Him. More than that, your grudges aren't between just you and the person who hurt you, you are an example for other believers.
If you refuse to forgive someone, that can cause others to stumble. They may hold grudges too. Think of the impact it would cause, if a chain of people rejected forgiveness. There would be anger and bitterness in everyone's heart. There would be certain people you couldn't bring up around other people, there would be lives changed for the worse.
However, if you set an example and forgive those who have hurt you, who have wronged you, it may convince others to do the same. Those people will then experience the joy that comes from forgiveness and salvaged relationships.
We owe each other forgiveness. We have committed far greater trespasses against God than anyone has against us, yet God forgave us. Who are we to say that we can't forgive?
It is because of forgiveness that we are saved. It is because of forgiveness that we can live in love, joy, and relationship with God.
Forgiveness is central to who we are as people. It is a big idea, with big implications.
If we forgive each other, lives will be changed in the same way that God's forgiveness towards us has already changed our lives.
"If anyone claims, 'I am living in the light,' but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is still living in darkness." 1 John 2:9 NLT
That just always talks about grudges to me. A few years ago, I really struggled with grudges. I had a lot of friends, didn't have any enemies (which is no small feat in high school.) But I had a hard time forgiving the few people that hurt me.
I held it in, and when I thought about what they did or how they treated me, it made me angry. I tried to keep it in, so rarely would I confront those people about their supposed wrongs. But it did seep out. Those people could tell something was different between us, which made it worse, we excluded each other from things and generally disintegrated our friendships.
In one particular occasion, it got to the point that I didn't even know what one person had done to me. Why we were fighting, and why I was so mad at them and waiting for an apology. Eventually, God convicted me that I was holding these grudges. One of the best messages I have heard, from various sources is that forgiveness is not for the other person, it is for you.
Forgiveness is not for that person that hurt you. You can hold a grudge, it will tear you apart, but that person will keep on living life. Waiting for them to say "I'm sorry" could be a long long time. If that anger festers in your heart, it will just burn you, not the other person.
So let go of it. Forgive that person. Let go of the anger. Let go of the thought of revenge. Let go of the thought that that person owes you something. Let go, move on. Lift that weight off of yourself. Go to God, ask for strength.
Eventually, I was able to do just that. Forgive those people of what they did to me. It took some time, and those relationships aren't the same as they were before, but I have been able to re forge those friendships and make matters a lot better between myself and these people. One instance, I even apologized to the other person for holding a grudge against them. They were shocked, but it went a long way to restoring our friendship. I tell you what, it is a lot better on the other side, and in the years since, my heart feels lighter.
I think I have blogged about that in the past, so what I really wanted to share was in verse 10.
"Anyone who loves another brother or sister is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble." 1 John 2:10 NLT
God is saying that loving others is what shows that you are close to Him. More than that, your grudges aren't between just you and the person who hurt you, you are an example for other believers.
If you refuse to forgive someone, that can cause others to stumble. They may hold grudges too. Think of the impact it would cause, if a chain of people rejected forgiveness. There would be anger and bitterness in everyone's heart. There would be certain people you couldn't bring up around other people, there would be lives changed for the worse.
However, if you set an example and forgive those who have hurt you, who have wronged you, it may convince others to do the same. Those people will then experience the joy that comes from forgiveness and salvaged relationships.
We owe each other forgiveness. We have committed far greater trespasses against God than anyone has against us, yet God forgave us. Who are we to say that we can't forgive?
It is because of forgiveness that we are saved. It is because of forgiveness that we can live in love, joy, and relationship with God.
Forgiveness is central to who we are as people. It is a big idea, with big implications.
If we forgive each other, lives will be changed in the same way that God's forgiveness towards us has already changed our lives.
Preparation
Hey everybody, I have a couple things on my mind, so I will break this up into two posts so it will be easier to read.
The first thing is that yesterday, while I was on campus reading at a picnic table, this kid walked up to me and asked me if I knew Joseph Smith had a vision, I said I did, but didn't know much about it.
This young man, no older than 17 or 18, then went on to profess his faith to me. He was a Mormon and said that proselytizing is what he did all day.
I told him he had a lot of courage to go around and openly talk to people about his faith, but I didn't agree with him that the Church of Latter Day Saints was the way to God.
He was well prepared and argued every point I brought up. I told him I didn't think Jesus walked in America after the resurrection, I didn't believe there was a complement to the Bible, and I didn't believe in Joseph Smith's "vision" that the Mormon Church was the only church with true authority from God.
I tried to express to Him what I believed and why I believed it. What it really came down to was that I believe the Bible is the true word of God by faith, and he believed that the Book of Mormon was the word of God also, by faith.
The hard thing was, he said he believed in the Bible. Everything I believed in, he believed in too. I then asked what is the point of Mormonism and he said that you had to be baptized in the Mormon Church to be saved. First off, I don't think you have to be baptized to be saved, and I don't think it has to be in any specific church.
I guess what I am getting at, is that it is hard to witness to someone who is part of the Church of Latter Day Saints. We both believe Jesus is the Savior and both believe in His resurrection. The biggest differences I could see (excluding that whole polygamy thing) was they follow the Book of Mormon, and believe in that whole baptism under authority deal.
I wish I would have been more prepared as to why I see holes in their faith, by Scripture. So now I'm going to look and search for the major differences between Christianity and Mormonism. I was just wondering what you readers out there know about Mormonism, or any tips on how you talk to them.
The first thing is that yesterday, while I was on campus reading at a picnic table, this kid walked up to me and asked me if I knew Joseph Smith had a vision, I said I did, but didn't know much about it.
This young man, no older than 17 or 18, then went on to profess his faith to me. He was a Mormon and said that proselytizing is what he did all day.
I told him he had a lot of courage to go around and openly talk to people about his faith, but I didn't agree with him that the Church of Latter Day Saints was the way to God.
He was well prepared and argued every point I brought up. I told him I didn't think Jesus walked in America after the resurrection, I didn't believe there was a complement to the Bible, and I didn't believe in Joseph Smith's "vision" that the Mormon Church was the only church with true authority from God.
I tried to express to Him what I believed and why I believed it. What it really came down to was that I believe the Bible is the true word of God by faith, and he believed that the Book of Mormon was the word of God also, by faith.
The hard thing was, he said he believed in the Bible. Everything I believed in, he believed in too. I then asked what is the point of Mormonism and he said that you had to be baptized in the Mormon Church to be saved. First off, I don't think you have to be baptized to be saved, and I don't think it has to be in any specific church.
I guess what I am getting at, is that it is hard to witness to someone who is part of the Church of Latter Day Saints. We both believe Jesus is the Savior and both believe in His resurrection. The biggest differences I could see (excluding that whole polygamy thing) was they follow the Book of Mormon, and believe in that whole baptism under authority deal.
I wish I would have been more prepared as to why I see holes in their faith, by Scripture. So now I'm going to look and search for the major differences between Christianity and Mormonism. I was just wondering what you readers out there know about Mormonism, or any tips on how you talk to them.
