I make only one request. Please read this post in its entirety before making comments.
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I thank God for all of you. You have been faithful in spreading God’s message throughout the world.
Moreover, you have not been bashful about the nature of Christ from His miraculous birth to His bodily resurrection.
In fact, you understand better than anyone through how you practice your faith that there is no shame in the Gospel. It is the power of this Gospel that unites us as brothers and sisters in Christ. We all believe in the power of the Gospel to transform the lives of those who believe.
You more than anyone have believed in this message as you have been faithful in carrying this message across the world. What’s more, this has been the very foundation of Evangelicalism since it began.
The narrative you have preached emphasizes how much sin displeases God. In fact, there is perhaps no greater sin than when truth is shrouded by wickedness. This is oftentimes obvious and yet we all shroud truth through our rebelliousness. The biblical narrative tells us that God has revealed Himself through all of the beauty we see around us. And yet, throughout history we have chosen to worship idols, such as power, greed, sex, etc. Even ancient Israel, who knew God, made Him out to look deceptive by turning to the worship of these same idols. As a result, it appeared that God gave up on all of humanity.
In one sense we are all prodigal children. We have squandered what God has given us, we have lived lives in selfish rebellion and at times, perhaps many times, we have cared not anything for God. The message we preach is the hope that accompanies our return to the Father.
All around us there is sin. In our day and age we see all sorts of wickedness. People are greedy, hateful, sexually immoral, untrustworthy, self-absorbed, etc. You are right in thinking that sin should anger us. In fact, does not God’s justice require death as the ultimate penalty for a life lived this way?
Part of the message we preach is how destructive sin is. We oftentimes replace the longing we inherently have for God with other idols. We also know how sin does not add, but takes away from our humanity. For we preach that we are only truly human when we are living in Christ and preaching His glorious message.
However, brothers and sisters, you have no right to condemn others because you are just as bad, just as wicked as those to whom you preach against. When you stand on your bully pulpit and are telling others how sinful they are, you are doing nothing but condemning yourself. The message you preach is a message for you to hear, not them. For the message they are to hear is the message of God’s love, and hope for a restorative humanity and a beautiful life filled with the hope of Christ.
You freely judge others even though you are not the judge. As such, you will be judged and punished by God in the same way you have judged and punished others. Don’t you understand that God is kind, tolerant and patient? Do you not remember the love that God expressed towards you? Does this not mean anything to you? Repentance is experienced through the love of God, not the judgment of man. You do NOT represent Jesus when you preach this message.
Like the religious leaders of Jesus’ day you are blind and stubborn to this fact. What’s worse you should know better. As a result you are not progressing the cause of Christ, but you are simply storing up God’s judgement that will one day be unleashed upon you.
One day God will judge everyone. Eternal life will be given to only those who are doing good and seeking to honor and glorify Him. But God will pour out His anger against those who wish to simply live for themselves.
You who call yourselves Evangelicals claim to have a special relationship to God, which you boast about through your condemnation of others. You claim to know what God wants. You claim to know what is right, simply because you have been taught God’s Word. Because of this you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind; a light for people who are lost in the dark. You are certain that you can instruct the ignorant because you are certain that God’s Word gives you complete knowledge and truth.
Well then, if you teach others, why don’t you also teach yourselves? You tell people it’s wrong to commit adultery, and then you go and do the same. You go around and tell others how they are supposed to live and then go around and do the opposite.
“It’s no wonder the scriptures say ‘the Gentiles blaspheme the name of God because of you.’” (Romans 2:24)
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It is my belief that if Paul were writing today, Romans 1:16 – 2:24 would look very much like the aforementioned letter. What’s more, what you intend to use as judgement for others is written as judgement towards you for your lack of Christ-like behavior. Do you have to accept behavior that you deem sinful? No. But you also have no right to judge as though you come bearing the full weight of God’s authority.
We are told by Christ, Himself, that the purpose of the Christian life is to love the Lord with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself (Luke 10:27). Brothers and sisters, you have many neighbors who are not feeling the love of Christ through your actions.
How are you testifying to Christ’s love within the homosexual community when you refuse to serve them? Are we only to serve ourselves? Christ did not serve Himself, rather He made Himself a servant to others.
How can Christ be present when you refuse to shop at a business that is run by or supports homosexuality? Did not Christ go and eat with tax collectors? Was the fact that He ate with them in some way contributing to the dishonest practice of tax collecting?
Please for the sake of Jesus Christ will you begin showing love to this community? Yes, even people you disagree with. For if agreement was a prerequisite for love, then God would have never revealed Himself to begin with.
For we are told that it makes no difference what you do or say, if you do so without love, you are nothing. For those who think they are loving others, we are given a beautiful definition in 1 Corinthians 13.
Love is:
Patient.
Kind.
It is not jealous.
Boastful.
Proud.
Rude.
It does not demand its own way.
It is not irritable.
It keeps no record of being wronged.
It does not rejoice about injustice, but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.
It never gives up.
Never loses faith.
Is always hopeful.
And it endures through every circumstance.
Amen!
Jen StainAddict Helsel
June 29, 2015If there were someone walking on railroad tracks, unaware that a ten was coming around the bend, would it not be the most loving thing to tell them? To shout? To point. To insult, and shock, if it gets their attention. To make signs. And, if all else fails, and there is time, to running tackle that person off the tracks. They might be bruised and irritated, but they’d be alive enough to sort it out later.
This is the allegory I was given add a child, raised in evangelicalism. Fear. Fear of hell. Terror at all of the people going to hell. Bewildered that I served a God who would create people whom he knew, in all his omniscience, would not believe and would burn in hell for all eternity. So much fear. Love was always mingled with fear.
Fear makes love ugly and abusive. There are just so many problems with the “repent, or burn in hell for all eternity” on all sides. And this idea that evangelicals spout, that these ideologies that make God appear cruel, are simply our inability to understand God’s great, and apparently very complicated, love. I call bullshit. Love in the Bible isn’t quite that complicated.
Hell, as evangelicals now understand and preach, is a concept that wasn’t in the Judaic scriptures at the time they were written. That came later as the Church was increasing it’s power over less educated masses.
Until we drop this fear, and quit filling in the mysteries with horror stories used to gain power and influence through terror, we will never be able to truly love our neighbor, love ourselves, or truly love God.
Eric English
June 29, 2015First, I should mention that the intent of this post was to interpret Romans 1 and 2 (the passage often used to bolster anti-homosexual beliefs) in its proper context, which is in reference to believers, not non believers. I say this because the rhetoric in the first part is not as much mine as it is Romans – the goal being to stay authentic to what is being stated in the text.
However, to your point about how Evangelicals have used fear as a way to scare people into heaven, I agree. However, we should be careful to not throw the baby out with the bathwater. The biggest problem for Evangelicals has been their theological methodology (based on a misunderstanding of biblical authority). This has lead to a really backwards way of reading and thus understanding scripture. What I see most often happening is a confusion between the secular and the sacred.
For example, most of scripture is not directed toward the unbeliever, but the believer. When we use words like “sin” we are using theological terminology that is part of the language of the Church, not the secular. Moreover, the secular does not have the context for understanding what is meant by “sin”. So why we use sin as the foundation for sharing the Gospel is a puzzle. Perhaps worse is that Evangelicalism uses the idea of sin as a primary communicative concept for testifying to Jesus. Again, it’s all backwards.
I say all of this to say that just because Evangelicalism has used or communicated something incorrectly does not necessitate that the idea itself is inherently incorrect. This is a dangerous rabbit hole that one can find themselves in quickly.
Ultimately, this is why I don’t view myself as something antithetical to Evangelicalism as much as I do a corrective. Taking backward ideas and making them straight. 🙂
Christy
July 14, 2015While I agree with the core of what you are saying in this article, I am struck by your harshness. You quote, “You freely judge others even though you are not the judge.” However, you are doing the same, by judging the Evangelicals. When is judging okay, and when is it not okay?
Eric English
July 18, 2015Christy…Thanks for the note. The first part of the polemic is taken right out of Romans. Most of the first part is simply my application of the Romans text to evangelicals. If you read Romans 1:16 – 2:24 you will see what I mean. The point of the passage (often used to condemns the practice of homosexuality) is actually written to condemn first century Christians and their attitude towards those who practiced homosexuality (among other things). 🙂
Sarahel
March 14, 2023Regardless if you believe in God or not, this is a “must-read” message!
All throughout time, we can see how we have been slowly conditioned to come to this point where we are on the verge of a cashless society. Did you know that Jesus foretold of this event almost 2,000 years ago?
In the book of Revelation 13:16-18, we read,
“He (the false prophet who deceives many by his miracles–Revelation 19:20) causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.”
Referring to the last generation, this could only be speaking of a cashless society. Why? Revelation 13:17 says that we cannot buy or sell unless we receive the mark of the beast. If physical money was still in use, we could buy or sell with one another without receiving the mark. This would contradict scripture that states we need the mark to buy or sell!
These verses could not be referring to something purely spiritual as scripture references two physical locations (our right hand or forehead) stating the mark will be on one “OR” the other. If this mark was purely spiritual, it would indicate both places, or one–not one OR the other!
This is where it really starts to come together. It is shocking how accurate the Bible is concerning the implantable RFID microchip. These are notes from someone named Carl Sanders who worked with a team of engineers to help develop this RFID chip:
“Carl Sanders sat in seventeen New World Order meetings with heads-of-state officials such as Henry Kissinger and Bob Gates of the C.I.A. to discuss plans on how to bring about this one-world system. The government commissioned Carl Sanders to design a microchip for identifying and controlling the peoples of the world—a microchip that could be inserted under the skin with a hypodermic needle (a quick, convenient method that would be gradually accepted by society).
Carl Sanders, with a team of engineers behind him, with U.S. grant monies supplied by tax dollars, took on this project and designed a microchip that is powered by a lithium battery, rechargeable through the temperature changes in our skin. Without the knowledge of the Bible (Brother Sanders was not a Christian at the time), these engineers spent one-and-a-half-million dollars doing research on the best and most convenient place to have the microchip inserted.
Guess what? These researchers found that the forehead and the back of the hand (the two places the Bible says the mark will go) are not just the most convenient places, but are also the only viable places for rapid, consistent temperature changes in the skin to recharge the lithium battery. The microchip is approximately seven millimeters in length, .75 millimeters in diameter, about the size of a grain of rice. It is capable of storing pages upon pages of information about you. All your general history, work history, criminal record, health history, and financial data can be stored on this chip.
Brother Sanders believes that this microchip, which he regretfully helped design, is the “mark” spoken about in Revelation 13:16–18. The original Greek word for “mark” is “charagma,” which means a “scratch or etching.” It is also interesting to note that the number 666 is actually a word in the original Greek. The word is “chi xi stigma,” with the last part, “stigma,” also meaning “to stick or prick.” Carl believes this is referring to a hypodermic needle when they poke into the skin to inject the microchip.”
Mr. Sanders asked a doctor what would happen if the lithium contained within the RFID microchip leaked into the body. The doctor replied by saying a terrible sore would appear in that location. This is what the book of Revelation says:
“And the first (angel) went, and poured out his vial on the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore on the men which had the mark of the beast, and on them which worshipped his image” (Revelation 16:2).
You can read more about it here–and to also understand the mystery behind the number 666: [url=https://2ruth.org]HTTPS://2RUTH.ORG[/url]
The third angel’s warning in Revelation 14:9-11 states,
“Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, ‘If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.'”
Great hope is in our midst, and is coming in a mighty way–the greatest revival for Jesus in the history of the world where we will see the most souls come to Him of all tribes, tongues, nations, and peoples (Rev. 7:9-10); for we have this promise in God’s Word in the midst of these dark times:
“Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years (not literal–rather a spiritual label for time spent in eternity); and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while (when the Antichrist and false prophet will rise up and God will test the world).” (Revelation 20:1-3)
“The coming of the lawless one (the Antichrist) is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12)”
Who is Barack Obama, and why is he still in the public scene?
So what’s in the name? The meaning of someone’s name can say a lot about a person. God throughout history has given names to people that have a specific meaning tied to their lives. How about the name Barack Obama? Let us take a look at what may be hiding beneath the surface.
Jesus says in Luke 10:18, “…I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.”
The Hebrew Strongs word (H1299) for “lightning”: “bârâq” (baw-rawk)
In Isaiah chapter 14, verse 14, we read about Lucifer (Satan) saying in his heart:
“I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.”
In the verses in Isaiah that refer directly to Lucifer, several times it mentions him falling from the heights or the heavens. The Hebrew word for the heights or heavens used here is Hebrew Strongs 1116: “bamah”–Pronounced (bam-maw’)
In Hebrew, the letter “Waw” or “Vav” is often transliterated as a “U” or “O,” and it is primarily used as a conjunction to join concepts together. So to join in Hebrew poetry the concept of lightning (Baraq) and a high place like heaven or the heights of heaven (Bam-Maw), the letter “U” or “O” would be used. So, Baraq “O” Bam-Maw or Baraq “U” Bam-Maw in Hebrew poetry similar to the style written in Isaiah, would translate literally to “Lightning from the heights.” The word “Satan” in Hebrew is a direct translation, therefore “Satan.”
So when Jesus said to His disciples in Luke 10:18 that He saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven, if this were to be spoken by a Jewish Rabbi today influenced by the poetry in the book of Isaiah, he would say these words in Hebrew–the words of Jesus in Luke 10:18 as, and I saw Satan as Baraq O Bam-Maw.
The names of both of Obama’s daughters are Malia and Natasha. If we write those names backward (the devil does things backwards) it would be “ailam ahsatan”. If we remove the letters that spell “Alah” (Allah being the false god of Islam), we would get “I am Satan”. Coincidence? I do not believe so!
Obama’s campaign logo when he ran in the year 2008 was a sun over the horizon in the west, with the landscape as the flag of the United States. In Islam, they have their own messiah that they are waiting for called the 12th Imam, or the Mahdi (the Antichrist of the Bible), and one prophecy concerning this man’s appearance is the sun rising in the west.
“Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people— saying with a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.'” (Revelation 14:6-7)
Why have the words of Jesus in His Gospel accounts regarding His death, burial, and resurrection, been translated into over 3,000 languages, and nothing comes close (the Quran about 110 languages)? Because the same Spirit of God (YHVH) who created all people likewise transcends all people; therefore the power of His Word is not limited by people; while all other religions are man-made, therefore they tend to primarily stay within their own culture. The same God who speaks to all people through His creation of the heavens and earth that draws all people around the world likewise has sent His Word to the ends of the earth so that we may come to personally know Him to be saved in spirit and in truth through His Son Jesus Christ.
Jesus stands alone among the other religions that say to rightly weigh the scales of good and evil and to make sure you have done more good than bad in this life. Is this how we conduct ourselves justly in a court of law? Bearing the image of God, is this how we project this image into reality?
Our good works cannot save us. If we step before a judge, being guilty of a crime, the judge will not judge us by the good we have done, but rather by the crimes we have committed. If we as fallen humanity, created in God’s image, pose this type of justice, how much more a perfect, righteous, and Holy God?
God has brought down His moral laws through the 10 commandments given to Moses at Mt. Siani. These laws were not given so we may be justified, but rather that we may see the need for a savior. They are the mirror of God’s character of what He has written in our hearts, with our conscious bearing witness that we know that it is wrong to steal, lie, dishonor our parents, murder, and so forth.
We can try and follow the moral laws of the 10 commandments, but we will never catch up to them to be justified before a Holy God. That same word of the law given to Moses became flesh about 2,000 years ago in the body of Jesus Christ. He came to be our justification by fulfilling the law, living a sinless perfect life that only God could fulfill.
The gap between us and the law can never be reconciled by our own merit, but the arm of Jesus is stretched out by the grace and mercy of God. And if we are to grab on, through faith in Him, He will pull us up being the one to justify us. As in the court of law, if someone steps in and pays our fine, even though we are guilty, the judge can do what is legal and just and let us go free. That is what Jesus did almost 2,000 years ago on the cross. It was a legal transaction being fulfilled in the spiritual realm by the shedding of His blood with His last word’s on the cross crying out, “It is finished!” (John 19:30).
For God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 18:23). This is why in Isaiah chapter 53, where it speaks of the coming Messiah and His soul being a sacrifice for our sins, why it says it pleased God to crush His only begotten Son.
This is because the wrath that we deserve was justified by being poured out upon His Son. If that wrath was poured out on us, we would all perish to hell forever. God created a way of escape by pouring it out on His Son whose soul could not be left in Hades but was raised and seated at the right hand of God in power.
So now when we put on the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 13:14), where God no longer sees the person who deserves His wrath, but rather the glorious image of His perfect Son dwelling in us, justifying us as if we received the wrath we deserve, making a way of escape from the curse of death; now being conformed into the image of the heavenly man walking in a new nature, and no longer in the image of the fallen man Adam.
Now what we must do is repent and put our trust and faith in the savior, confessing and forsaking our sins, and to receive His Holy Spirit that we may be born again (for Jesus says we must be born again to see and enter the Kingdom of God in John chapter 3). This is not just head knowledge of believing in Jesus, but rather receiving His words, taking them to heart, so that we may truly be transformed into the image of God. Where we no longer live to practice sin, but rather turn from our sins and practice righteousness through faith in Him in obedience to His Word by reading the Bible.
Our works cannot save us, but they can condemn us; it is not that we earn our way into everlasting life, but that we obey our Lord Jesus Christ:
Jesus says,
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ (Matthew 7:21-23)
“And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.” (Hebrews 5:9)
“Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.’
Then He who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’ And He said to me, ‘Write, for these words are true and faithful.’
And He said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.'” (Revelation 21:1-8)