Depending on who is talking it is a time for either rejoicing or sadness in the United Methodist Church. On one side are those who would love to keep our churches untainted by "unclean" sinners. On the other side are those with an intense desire for cheap grace without discipleship.
Which side is right?
In my opinion, neither. Both sides have veered from the path and unless they regain their bearings will lose their way.
The problem I have with the "clean" side is that they want to pick and choose which sin is the dealbreaker. I understand that we are called to repentance and that the "unrepentant" will face judgement. But whose place is it to judge? Is repentance required prior to justification? This group is asking for repentance of one particular sin, when our churches are filled with folks that are unrepentant of other sins. It just makes me wonder that the hot-topic sin du jour just happens to be one that is practiced by less than 10% of the population. Much more prevelant sins are overlooked or even approved of.
The other side of this issue is also missing the point, in my opinion. Yes, grace is available to all, but you must remember that grace comes with a price. You cannot live a life of discipleship when matters of the flesh are at the forefront in your mind. You are not expected to live a perfect life prior to coming to Christ, but justification is only the beginning of life in the Spirit. We must move on toward becoming the people of God that we are called to be. Taking up our cross may mean leaving certain desires behind, not fighting to make them acceptable.
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3 comments:
My point exactly:
ALL FALL SHORT.
If we would put as much effort into removing our logs as we do on pointing out the other folks specks we could be a church that would make Christ proud.
The thing we must remember is that the command to go and sin no more comes from Christ, not us. We are messengers of this command as well as messengers of his love and forgiveness. We must pass on both messages but leave the judgment up to God, for only he can see our hearts and minds. That's what makes it so doggone difficult.
True, but we must also remember that "sin no more" is not possible by our own effort but only by the sanctifying grace of the Holy Spirit.
Also, "sin no more" is called for by Christ after Christ has welcomed the sinner into His presence and company. "Sin no more" is not a requirement for entry into the presence of Christ. And if we turn away sinners from the church we are turning them away from a wonderful opportunity to experience grace. I don't think I want to be guilty of that.
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