Some Christians really need help; they love to pick apart every action and mistake by their fellow brethren and gloat about it on social media. Never realizing they need to look in the mirror before casting insults or condemnation.
This has been on my mind recently and please bear with me as I humbly try to convey a simple message. If we are true Christians we are then of the same body (Romans 12:5, 1Cor 12:12, 14-20). If we are of the same body, how then should we treat fellow Christians? You already know the answer to that. While its good to admonish and correct someone who is going astray, we should do so humbly and with grace and privately at first if we can. 1Thess 5:14 states “And we urge you, brothers and sisters, admonish the undisciplined, comfort the discouraged, help the weak, be patient toward all.” Our job is to bring them back to Christ and a better understanding of where they err etc.
Let me give you another example. When you look at Navy Seal/Army Ranger or any other Elite training, you see a group of individuals in the beginning. At the end of that training you see a TEAM. A team that started out as individuals working together for a common goal in the face of adversity becomes a band of brothers.
I would give my life for my fellow Rangers. After Ranger training as an Infantry Officer, I instilled the same sense of teamwork within each of my units. I truly loved my fellow warriors, faults and all. Because I knew that no matter how bad the situation, no matter how grave the threat- my men would follow me to hell and back.
How much more love should I have for a Christian brother? I would posit that the same or more! You see whether you know it or not, we are in another battle. Ephesians 6:12 tells us we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against power, against the rulers of the darkness of this world. Furthermore, prior to this passage we are told to put on the whole armor of God. As a warrior I know what that means. Put on your gear, check your equipment, be ready for the fight. What’s not mentioned but is understood is that our fellow Christians are the battle buddies to the left and right of us. And just like I would never let one of my soldiers down in the Army, I should do the same here.
So what am I getting at?
Justin Bieber recently conducted an interview with complex magazine where he speaks openly about his newfound Christian faith. Right on cue some Christians were quick to lecture him, or worse to insult him. They attacked a fellow believer, a brother in the same fight as us. Instead of praise, they pursued condemnation. It plays into the enemy’s hands and we loose the high ground by our conceit. By the time it took them to write some of the words below, they could instead have offered up a prayer to God, to work in this young mans life.
Some quotes from Christians.
“His laid back live and let live, lets not get all worked up over silly details, or pay too much attention to what the bible ACTUALLY says hipster doofus speech is all he has shared with anyone, that’s what I am judging, by biblical, not my own standards”
“Awe c’mon! He waited until the whole world hates him to come out as a christian!?”
“Yes, life has seasons for everyone, but those who oppose the Church like this is so fundamentally Unchristian, he must be treated as a non-believer for now.”
Maybe its because he is in the public domain that many Christians find it ok to speak negatively about him. I would say, that if you are posting hateful or negative comments about a fellow believer you are only hurting yourself. We are of one body, why hurt someone new who has just come into the body? Lift a brother up, encourage and if he drops out at least you know you didn’t push him out but instead were there to help thru prayer or in person.
The first verse I ever memorized was “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” At Justin’s age I was saved but not living as I should have been, and that continued for many years. I was the prodigal son, feeling God had abandoned me when it was the other way around. I am grateful God knew I could never handle the fame or fortune bestowed upon Justin. I know I would have been worse and done worse than him.
Jesus accepted me as I was, a broken person.
The model of acceptance for Christians is the Lord Jesus, who accepted us, when we were: “powerless” (Rom 5:6); “ungodly” (Rom 5:6); “sinners” (Rom 5:8); and “enemies” (Rom 5:10). Certainly Christians can receive others who differ with them on nonessential matters. We can learn to love anybody if we are at the foot of the cross. Fishermen clean the fish after they’re caught . . [1]
Remember friends none of us are saved by our own accord, but only because God has allowed it.
Eph 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
This by no means condones any sinful acts he or anyone of us commits, if you got that from my message I am sorry. What it says can best be summarized from a lesson by Paul in Romans 14:8-9
8-For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.
A believer’s individual accountability to the Lord in every area and experience of life is paramount. Every Christian in both life and death is seen by the Lord, and is accountable to Him, not to other Christians. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.
9– For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.
In these verses Paul stated the theological basis for his exhortation for Christians to desist from and to resist judging one another. One of the reasons for the Lord Jesus’ redemptive death and resurrection is to be the Lord of both the dead and the living. [1]
Martin
[1] Chuck Missler review of Romans