"I Can't Accept a God Who Doesn't Accept Me"

Last Tuesday, I met a young woman who told me this. We were talking about what God requires of us and His moral laws. She said that she was a lesbian and that she could not accept God because He could not accept her. She had to catch her bus soon after this so I did not get to speak to her more, but I wish that I could have explained the following to her.

God can and does accept people steeped in all kinds of sin from lying to homosexuality to murder and everything in between. (Romans 5 "But God showed his own love for us, in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us). However, God does not and cannot accept sins. (Leviticus 26 "If after all this you will not listen to me, I will punish you for your sins seven times over.") What this woman wanted, was not for God to accept her, but for God to accept her sins.

She did not want to give up her sins because she did not see Christ as infinitely valuable and beautiful. Instead, she saw her wicked passions as more valuable than Christ. Christ will not accept a person who does not put Him first because to be saved we must confess and have faith in Jesus Christ as LORD. (II Timothy 2: Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: ... "Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.") When you confess someone as LORD, you are pledging to obey that person ... making that person your boss. You will obey the person or thing that you truly serve. (Romans 6: "Or do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death or of obedience resulting in righteousness")

This woman would not submit to Christ as LORD and that is why she is unacceptable to God - not because of her sins. All of us who have been saved by Christ still sin every day, but we are not condemned because Christ took our punishment. What is different between those who are saved and this woman is not the presence of sin in our lives, but the submission to Christ. Followers of Christ hate their sin and struggle against it every day because we see Christ as infinitely more valuable than our wicked passions. We want to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect because we love and are so thankful to Christ for his mercy.

I pray that God opens this woman's eyes to see Christ as more valuable than anything in her life including her most treasured sins.

A Loving God Must Punish Sin

Tonight I met a girl who did not believe that God would punish sin. She said that God is love and does not punish, but merely forgives. This is wrong. Two reasons pop to my mind now - the first is how I responded, and the second is a bit of a deeper reason now that I have had some time to reflect on this question.

In my response to the girl's statement, I noted that God is, in fact love, but He is also just and righteous. If God is also just and righteous, He must punish wickedness in the same way that a judge in a court here in Minneapolis must punish for crimes. If the judge is a good judge, the judge cannot just forgive a rapist or a murder no matter how sorry the criminal feels. No, a just human judge must pronounce judgment on the criminal. In the same way, God cannot leave sin unpunished, and the Bible makes it perfectly clear that the punishment is death. ("The wages of sin is death" - Romans 6).

Also, if God is love, he cannot leave sin unpunished because it does not show love to the ones harmed by that sin. For example, if a human judge were to forgive a murder, how is that showing love to the murder victim's family. That is not love, nor justice. The girl did not like this answer, but I think it gave her pause.

On further reflection, I think that there are other, deeper answers. One is that true love is limited in the way it is expressed. Just as a mother would not show true love to her 3-year-old child by letting the child hit her in the face, God does not show true love by overlooking or ignoring our sin. No instead, God showed His own love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Yes, God is love, but true love cannot mean leaving sin unpunished. Rather, true love is taking the punishment for our sins on Himself.

Another answer is that God's love is first and foremost directed to His glory.

See Isiah 43:1-7 describing how God created us for His glory: "Bring ... everyone who is called by my name and whom I have created for my glory"

and
Isaiah 43:20-21 describing how God created us for His praise: "I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert to give drink to my chosen people, the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise."

and
Isaiah 48:9-11 describing how God is motivated for His name's sake and glory: "For My name's sake I defer my anger,for the sake of My praise I restrain it for you,that I may not cut you off... For My own sake, for My own sake I do it,for how should My name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another."

Above all, God loves Himself and upholds His glory, and to uphold His glory as infinitely valuable requires that punishment be executed on those who profane, or disgrace, God's glory. Overlooking, or ignoring, sin would communicate that an offense against God was not that big of a deal. But God does see it as a big deal - a huge deal. He demands that sin be punished - either by condemning the sinner to hell or by pouring His wrath out for the sinner onto Jesus Christ. If God could just overlook sin, there would be no need for Christ to have taken our punishment on the cross. No, God demands that his Glory be restored and held up as infinitely valuable, and He does this by punishing either the sinner or His son. God's love for His glory demands that a punishment must be paid for sin.

Questions?

Following the Wrong Jesus

During my witnessing tonight I met a young woman named Jaquesha (I've probably spelled her name wrong). She was fundamentally confused about Jesus, yet said she was following Him. I pray that she meets and follows the true Christ.

When we first asked her what she believed, she said that she believed in heaven and that she would go there because she did what she was supposed to do - she went to church and tried to do what was right. She had heard about Jesus, but said that she did not believe that He was God. I asked her who she thought Jesus was but she did not have an answer.

I shared with her that we all deserve hell because of our sin, and that doing what we are supposed to do does not cancel the death sentence on our heads. We are still guilty. However, I explained that Christ paid our fine in His life's blood on the cross if we have faith in and follow him. She said that she did have faith in Christ. In response, I reminded her that she did not believe Christ was God, yet the Bible clearly teaches Christ was divine (e.g., Christ accepted the Apostle Thomas' worship when he stated Jesus was "my Lord and my God." - John 20:28)

I questioned Jaquesha about how she could follow Christ if she did not know who He was. To flesh this question out, I asked her what she would do if I asked her to follow a woman named "Jane." Of course, she could not follow Jane because she does not know who Jane is. To follow Jane, she must know who Jane is. It's the same way with Christ. If you claim to follow Christ, you must know who Christ is.

Part of this fundamental knowledge is that Jesus is divine and worthy of worship. Following a Jesus who is not God is not following the same Jesus who said "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, but by Me." (John 14:6) Seeing Christ as divine and worthy of worship is one of the evidences of being saved. You no longer see Christ as boring, but you see him as the most magnificent Being worthy of all praise and honor and glory.

I asked Jaquesha to think closely about what I said and gave her a pocket-sized addition of the gospel of John. I asked her to read it to learn about Jesus so that she could follow the right Jesus, God in human flesh.

Fanning the Spark of Personal Devotion into the Fire of Evangelism

Last Saturday night I went to downtown Minneapolis to share the good news of Christ, except I did something different - I took my wife and kids. This was the first time that they had been out witnessing to strangers with me, and it was a blessing. Although the first time out is always intimidating, they liked it so much, they went out with me again tonight!

God has blessed me with a godly wife who loves Christ with her whole heart; however, she is somewhat shy (who isn't when it comes to talking about the deepest spiritual matters with strangers!). I'm excited that she took the plunge with me in sharing her core beliefs with others who do not know Christ as Lord. I'm also excited that both my children are able to see how our private devotion is more than a personal belief - it is something that affects us outside the home; it is something that drives our lives and fills them with meaning; it is real to us.

Sharing the gospel - that Christ died that we might live - has pushed me past a plateau of spiritual development that I have rested upon for too long. I've felt trapped , knowing the truth, yet so often slipping into a dual persona having a spiritual side and a neutral facade. I would present the neutral facade at work, school, with extended family, etc., while maintaining a spiritual personal and private devotion at home and church.

Since I've been witnessing, the neutral facade is losing ground to the spiritual side, the new man I am in Christ. Thank God. If I really believe that people who do not follow Christ will justly suffer God's eternal wrath and indignation, I should be warning them. It is not enough to just study the Bible and learn myself. It is time to stretch my spiritual wings, so to speak, and reach out to those around me. It is time to fan the flames of my personal devotion into the fire of evangelism.

I believe the same is true for my family. I want my children to see that belief in God is not a private matter, but a very public one. I want their study of God's Word to inform their lives so that they can touch the world. I don't want them to live on a spiritual island "safe" from the world. Instead, I want them to be in the world, but not of it. I want them to see that their parents' faith is different from the dead faith professed by many. I want to show them my faith through works, which are evidence of the genuineness of the faith while letting them know that my works are only in thanks and do not justify me in the sight of God.

Not only this, but I pray that my church, Bethlehem Baptist, has the spark of personal devotion fanned into the flame of evangelism by the breath, or Spirit, of God. For many like myself, it is time to take it to the next level.

Faith Required by Jesus Versus the Belief Espoused by Many

Many of the people that I speak to about Christ confess that they "believe" in Him, but after some probing it seems that their belief does not impact their lives in a meaningful way. Tonight I spoke with a young man named Lua that fit into this category. He knew many of the pat answers about what is required to be saved from God's wrath, namely, that we must believe in Christ Jesus, but his belief did not inform his life.

When we spoke, I tried to explain that faith in Christ is so much more than a mere intellectual assent in a set of facts about who Jesus was and what He did, but rather faith is a commitment. Christ asked us to follow Him and said that people who were reluctant to drop everything and follow (without even saying good-bye to family) were not worthy of Him. We've lost this part of the message in Christianity. Christ said that compared to our love for Him, our love for others including our mother, our father, and even our own lives should look like hate.

I explained to Lua that Christ used a parable to describe how we should value him above all else. He told of a man who found a great treasure in a field and sold everything he had to buy that field. This should be our attitude toward Christ the greatest treasure. He commands that we value Him above all things, and I believe this is the essence of faith - a vital component that is missing from many professing Christians.

After detailing the differences between a lip service belief and true faith, Lua admitted that he did not see Christ like that and had not made a commitment to follow Him with a full heart. Lua, however, said that he would think about it that night and I gave him the gospel of John to read. I pray that God softens his heart and that he can see Christ as a treasure more valuable than anything else in his life.

The Gift of Unrighteous Mammon

What should I do when I am asked for money? I run straight into this moral brick wall almost daily working in downtown Minneapolis. Witnessing tonight was no different. During the day, I typically give out McDonald's gift certificates in lieu of cash to panhandlers. Sometimes, I buy lunch and eat it with them. Sometimes, I just make eye contact, smile, and apologize that I don't have any cash to give them.

Tonight was a little more difficult. A man was walking in a group that included several older children and teenagers. He asked if he could ask me a question. I said that he could ask me a question if I could ask him a question. He agreed. I asked him what he believed happened after death, and he responded that he believed in reincarnation because the Bible taught it "between the lines." I answered that I study the Bible and did not think that the Bible included this, but I was interested in where he thought it might be. He didn't have an answer, but he did ask the question that we had bargained for earlier.

He wanted $10 for bus tickets for all the children. I said that I could not give him cash, but would wait for him and pay for the tickets for him. He changed his mind and said that he would find the money some other way, but wanted me to buy something in the store for the children instead. What to do, what to do? I told him, I had something much more valuable to give him and tried to explain the gospel, but he said he would catch me "later."

Was I wrong? I want to glorify God with generosity and love, but would giving money be right (or righteous) in this situation - one in which this man was so obviously just trying to play me? Would giving money be like a bribe for him to hear me out. He did not value the gospel - just the $10. Would I be throwing the pearls to the swine. I don't want to degrade the gospel of God by sharing it with someone who was not interested (or at least did not appear to be).

On the other hand, Jesus did heal the sick and feed the hungry in his ministry. I want to be like Christ. I want to give generously and let men see my good works and glorify my Father who is in heaven. Was this man in need like the sick healed by Christ or the hungry that my LORD fed? I don't know this man's heart. What is my responsibility to him? I don't know yet, but I will think about this before next Tuesday night's witnessing.

Enlighten me in your comments if you believe you have some truth.

Additional thoughts: Tonight I did give some money to a homeless man named Eric who professed faith in Christ and seemed to have a love for Him. He sang gospel songs for money so I sat with him and we spoke (and sang together!) for awhile. He asked me to pray with him when we met again later that night - that he would get enough money for the shelter. He didn't ask for money, but I gave him what little cash I had.

Was I duped by Eric? I don't think so. Is that the test to whether my actions were right? Probably not. I kept thinking of how the Bible condemns Christians who pray with their fellow Christians, but do not do anything to feed or cloth them. I must not, and cannot, be that abomination.

However, Eric's situation seemed quite a bit different from the man that asked for $10. Eric appeared to be family so I had to help and I think that the money actually would help. I don't think any money given to Ten Dollar Man would have helped anything, but who knows?

Who is a True Jew?

I met a man named Ross today - he was a Jew. I didn't find this out until we had been talking for 10 or 15 minutes about spiritual beliefs. In my manner, I began the conversation asking what he believed. We discussed the law of God and our inability to live up to it, and I explained how Christ's payment on the cross satisfied the law in a way we never could. I continued by explaining that the payment was only for those who followed Christ as Lord, and I asked him if he had ever committed himself to Christ. He said no.

I asked Ross, was there anything preventing him from following Christ with his full heart now and he replied, "I am a Jew." How I pray that God will open his eyes to understand that being Jewish does not in anyway prevent one from following Christ. Christ was Jewish, Paul was Jewish, Peter was Jewish - in fact, all of Christ's original followers, or disciples, were Jewish.

Christ came first to the Jews. Only now, that Christ has been largely rejected by the Jewish nation, do I and the other Gentiles have the chance to follow Christ. Now, I being a Gentile, have the chance to become a true Jew who follows in the steps of the faith of my father Abraham.

Ross needed to understand that being Jewish does not prevent one from following Christ. On the contrary, following Christ defines what it means to be Jewish. "For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, neither is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter, and his praise is not from men, but from God." - Romans 2.

God has circumcised my heart by the Holy Spirit through faith in Christ so that I am a true Jew - heir of all of God's promises to Jews - along with all the other believers in Christ.

I pray that God opens Ross' eyes to see that to proclaim his Jewishness is to embrace Christ.