On Love
Someone brought it up again tonight. How the church today is so far away from the the New Testament church. “We just need to love people.”
What’s interesting to me is, the people in the early church tended to get themselves killed. Now, in general, you don’t kill people for being nice. They didn’t crucify Jesus for being nice. They killed him for speaking the truth, for being Truth.
It bothers me when people think they can disconnect the proclamation of truth from loving people. As if it’s possible to love without being faithful to Jesus, as if following Christ means hiding the truth.
Jesus told people they needed to repent, that they were risking hell fire. His love was shown in healing people, but also in caring for their souls.
In Acts 7, Stephen said:
You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.” (ESV)
For this they killed him.
Yes, we’re supposed to love people: Feed the hungry, help the sick, clothe the naked. And through all this, we are to tell them the gospel of Jesus, that they can come to know Christ and love him as well.
I pray we’ll stop this nonsense about loving without the proclamation of truth.
August 3rd, 2007 at 11:07 pm
I think sometimes people (myself included) are worried about be branded as radicals trying to “force religion” on someone.
August 6th, 2007 at 1:55 pm
mgroves: That’s a concern, yes. The reality, of course, is it’s not possible to force beliefs on people. Behaviors, yes, but not beliefs. And any Christian should freely attest that keeping certain rules of morality will not make you a true Christian. Jesus came to save souls, not modify morals.
March 19th, 2008 at 8:01 pm
Thanks for your response, Mark a response has been too long in coming.
I would never say that a non-christian can’t be loving and caring. My comments, specifically, were directed to people who claim to be Christians yet disregard the teaching of Jesus.
Anyone’s motivations to be loving is based on their beliefs. As you state, you believe “it makes sense to help others.” You believe “[t]he world could use more kindness.” So, that is your belief, and I have no problem believing it may make you a better person than me. The larger question, as I see it, is: Can you be loving and disregard truth? And I would say No, you can not, not ultimately. If you miss the ultimate point of life then… well, just that — you miss the point.
I would agree with you to an extent: If your belief that we being kind makes sense inspires you to be more ‘loving’ or kind, fine. There are larger questions, though, of whether your belief is enough, and whether it even makes sense.