Let's be honest for a moment here,
Christianity does not have the best public image; at least not here
in the US. To many people, we are the embodiment of intolerance and
closed-minded, bigoted, and superstitious belief. They see us a
simple-minded holdouts of a time gone by, long since left behind by
those with discerning minds. Anti-science, anti-thought, and
anti-love are the labels many would place upon us. We have not, for
the most part, done much to help this image.
Many modern day “Christians” spend
a great deal of time blasting other groups and other people,
hammering away at them and shoving the Bible in their faces. They do
not care for the souls of others, only that those evil sinners stop
making their lives so uncomfortable. They are crass and rude and
belligerent and do nothing to progress the cause of Christ. Let's be
honest once more, would you willingly seek out the faith held by
these people? Would someone screaming in your face at the grocery
store really convince you of the truths of scripture? Is it not more
likely that these people who blithely use the name of our Lord and
become indignant and preachy at the slightest offense, push people
further from God?
Worse still are those far from truth
who claim it still. People like the members of the Westboro Baptist
Church who seem to have no love at all, or
the “name it and claim it” groups who turn God into a servant of
man. People who claim the name of Christ but are not known to Him.
These people parade the image of the people of God before the firing
line of society. The world see's them, see's their hatred and their
cold facade, their greed and materialism, and that image bleeds
across everyone who calls themselves a Christian. God is just yes,
but He is also love. Any message of judgment must come through the
voice of one who desperately yearns for the salvation of the damned!
God does not find joy in killing off the evil or the sinful (Ezekiel
33:11) rather He desires that all would be saved. These people and
these groups lift up an image of Christianity that is heartless and
mean, devoid of any attractive features, or who is weak and subject
to the whim of his followers. Again, how likely is it that anyone
will hear this message and truly repent? How will they see the love
of God who longs to forgive if those who are supposedly His people
lack all forgiveness?
Don't get me wrong, this is not a
popularity contest. Christians -real Christians- will be hated by
the world (John 15:20). A sinful world cannot and will not accept a
message that says that it must change. That being said, we must be
sure that we are accurately displaying and relaying the message of
God to those around us. God is just but He is also the justifier. He
is the judge who condemns and who has mercy. He is the sword and the
sacrifice. Real biblical Christianity is to so many, lost in a fog
of falsehood; hidden behind a crowd of inaccurate teaching and
unbiblical behavior. We must stand strong and show the world the
Christ of the Scriptures. We must stand against false teachers and
preach the truth of God in our land. People need to hear the words
of God and if we must shout to be heard above the din then so be it.
If we must risk our lives by standing above the foxholes then that is
what we must do. Eternity lies before us, whether in heaven or in
hell. Let those who reject Christ reject the real Christ of
Scripture. Show Him to the world that hope may be found.
“As
was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as
is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. And as we
have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image
of the heavenly Man.”
(1
Corinthians 15:48-49)
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