It’s amazing that someone as lovable as me can make people mad. I mean, come on… I’m adorable, right?
Seriously, people always get mad at me when I write or preach against things that are unBiblical. Recently, it was a piece I wrote about how there’s no reason to believe pets will be in heaven. Note, I never said their grandmother wouldn’t be there, but that “Mr Fluffy” might not get a complete resurrection.
Instead of caring when I said that wasn’t in the Bible, people assumed I just hate animals. When I countered that theology matters, they just roll their eyes…
“People’s theology doesn’t matter. Why don’t you just let everyone believe whatever they want about God.”
Similarly, I also feel increasing pressure to proclaim that certain ethical opinions are perfectly ok. It’s no longer OK just to keep your opinions to yourself. People expect you to give any way they live your full-throated approval. If not, it’s clear you must hate them!
“That’s judgmental, Dave!” they say. “You’re not supposed to judge.”
I think these attitudes betray how used we are to preachers telling us what we want to hear. Perhaps too many religious promised health and happiness and a God who operates more like a free Costco than supreme being.
Some pastors now preach only “positive messages” and avoid all those negative parts of the Bible. Especially the ones warning us about sin.
They’d never talk about sin or hell in a sermon. That’s too old fashioned and judgmental. Instead, they preach self-help motivational speeches and toss in a few verses here and there to validate their message. But you don’t get the blessings of God if you ignore His warnings…
You can’t have God’s love if you harbor hatred in your heart for your neighbor.
You can’t have God’s forgiveness if you don’t forgive others.
You can’t have God’s peace if you live a life of rebellion against His laws. That will bring you nothing but constant turmoil.
People used to expect pastors to warn them about sin. You’d be considered a rotten preacher if you never told folks how Satan schemes to destroy their lives. But now if you don’t constantly validate people’s lifestyles, you are considered hateful.
When folks ask me if I affirm their lifestyle, I give them a firm no. I absolutely do not affirm their lifestyle. In fact, I don’t affirm MY lifestyle. The only life worth affirming was Jesus’. He’s the only one who got it right. Everyone else, including me, better be begging for God’s mercy, not His affirmation.
Let’s talk about judging.
We are warned “Judge not, lest ye be judged”. But the Bible is filled with warnings against sin. So if you never judge an action to be wrong or destructive, you will spend your life open to Satan’s attacks on you.
God never said not to judge actions. Instead, He warned we absolutely MUST judge all actions to know if they lead to destruction. Asking why are Christians so judgmental of sin is like asking why doctors are so judgmental of cancer! Because it kills!
Moreover, they shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. – Ezekiel 44:23
And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; that you may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ – Phillipians 1:9-10
But he that is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. – 1 Cor 2:15
That last verse shows us the key. We are to judge “things”, but not people. We absolutely must judge the actions people do, so that we do not fall into the same pit. But we are never to pass judgement on a person, saying they are worthless or beyond the love of God. That means I never write you off as hopeless. And I never ever say anything to belittle or diminish you, and I never do anything to destroy you. My words should make you better, not tear you down.
The same Jesus who told the Pharisees “Let him without sin cast the first stone” turned to the Adulterous Woman and said “go and sin no more”. The Pharisees used her sin to try and destroy her – Jesus used it to warn her and restore her.
It is our intrinsic worth and God’s desire for us that makes sin so beneath us. When we participate in sinful actions, we are destroying something that God values…ourselves! When we judge sinful actions, we are saying that action is harmful to God’s beloved creation and will lead to their destruction.
It’s like the old preacher used to say when people told him to preach love, not sin. He said, “If we’re hiking in the woods and you’re about to step on a rattlesnake, I will shout a warning if I love you. If someone were to keep quiet and let you get bitten, that is the person who truly hates your soul!”
Of course, I must be careful how I relay my warning to you. No one likes a know-it-all, and I need to speak as a fellow struggler with sin. When it comes to sin, we are all “in recovery”. But while my warning must be with humility, it must be clear.
But my friends also get upset when I point out theological ideas that aren’t from the Bible. The funny part is, they always say they believe the Bible is God’s Word.
But when they talk about how a loved one who died is an angel now, they don’t like it when I say that’s not really the case.
They say “we’re all God’s children” but get perturbed when remind them the Bible clearly states only those who accept Christ now are adopted into His family.
What my friends often miss is something I’ve learned through the years, that BAD THEOLOGY REALLY HURTS PEOPLE!
Ever talk to a couple whose son just committed suicide, and now some jerk has told them that suicide means he is in hell? It’s not a pretty thing and the suffering is completely avoidable IF you know what the Bible says. God’s Word says nothing at all about suicide being a one way ticket to hell. That is something people just made up as a deterrent to suicide. While I understand their motive, teaching something that’s not really in the Bible has consequences.
Likewise, if I tell a friend everyone goes to heaven even though the Bible says otherwise, I’m a co-conspirator in them avoiding getting right with God. My bad theology actually may end up sending them to hell. I’m not going to take that responsibility just so I can avoid hurting their feelings.
Telling people what they want to hear, no matter how well intentioned, eventually causes harm.
I remember talking to a woman who visited my church once. As we talked after the service, she asked me what our church believed about healing. She asked if I believed it’s always God’s will to heal people. I responded that while God does heal all His children eventually in the next life, that healing doesn’t always occur in this life. People who love God and have faith He can heal them die every day.
I saw a look of relief spread across her face.
“You don’t know how happy I am to hear that,” she said. “My sister went to a church that told her God always heals. She had terminal cancer, but was convinced by the church God would heal her. As her condition worsened and it became clear she was in her final days, she began to believe God had rejected her. If God was healing everyone else but not her, there must be something wrong with her. Friends at the church told her just must not have enough faith, or there must be some sin in her life keeping God from healing her. She finally died thinking God had abandoned her.”
What a horrible way to face death! And it was due to lousy theology.
We have to be careful telling people what they want to hear, even if it’s out of a kind heart. Theology was never meant to be used as “spiritual anesthesia” administered to ease the pain of a sufferer. The true peace of God comes only from dealing with reality and being honest about sin, heaven, and absolute Truth.
So next time I’m doing something wrong and about to screw up my life, I hope you love me enough to give me a good strong warning. Please, don’t spare my feelings.
When someone you love is about to destroy themselves, the nicest thing you can say is the truth.
Because the truth, and truth alone, is all that will truly set us free.
