Offering Ourselves To God

I can tell you that you will definitely be able to reach out to many, many more people and get them to become so called Christians, if you don’t tell them the cost of becoming a Christian. Before you think it is an excellent idea, think whether Jesus said the road to the kingdom of heaven is a broadway, or whether it is a narrow path. Do you know why it is a narrow path? It’s because once people find out what it takes to become a Christian, not too many people will choose this path. You may be able to get many people onto the broadway by telling people they can keep their sins and become “Christians”. You may be able to get many people to get on the broadway by avoiding using the name of Jesus which may be offensive to them. But how many of them can get through the narrow gate?

It always sounds loving to say you are tolerant and inclusive. On the contrary, the person who tries to tell the truth always sounds judgmental. But this is absolutely not the case. I can still remember interviewing a lady for her baptism in my old church. She was very appreciative that we made sure she understood the true meaning of being a Christian before we baptized her. She broke down in tears and told us that her husband and son were blindly baptized as “Christians”, although they never did give up their sinful lifestyle and they never went to church. Because they thought they were saved, they turned down all future invitations to become Christians and continued in their sinful lifestyle. Thus one may think it is very loving to get more people onto the broadway, but it is absolutely the most hateful thing one can do to deceive people into thinking they are saved, but are not, with Jesus telling them at the end time, I never knew you.

I am sure a lot of people may ask me, “who are you to judge? The Bible clearly tells us not to judge”. They may even say that I am legalistic or I am a Pharisee. I have even heard a pastor throwing John 8:7 at me when I pointed out that it was wrong to baptize people into the body of Christ without repentance from their sin. What is John 8:7 one may ask? In John 8:7 Jesus told the Scribes and Pharisees, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” The implication was that I am a sinner also, and who am I to judge. This is what the secular world would like to tell Christians, shut up and don’t judge, because we are sinners too. The sad thing is that such a worldview is taking over the church, and even Christians and pastors are saying it too. Did Jesus really tell people not to judge because we are all sinners? If Jesus did mean that, then we have a serious problem, because even judges are sinners too. If this were the case then no one can speak the truth. This way, the laws have to be thrown out, because no one is fit to enforce the law. But Jesus said in Matthew 5:17-18, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.” If Jesus did mean that we should not judge because we are sinners, then He was contradicting Himself in saying that He did not come to abolish the law. What did Jesus mean then? In order to understand what Jesus said, we should read John 8:7 very carefully. Did Jesus say, “He who is without sin among you, let him judge her first.” No, Jesus did not say that. Instead, Jesus said, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” What is throwing stones? To throw stones is to execute the Law. It’s to take the law into your own hands. It’s to condemn. It will become crystal clear if we look at another passage. Right after Jesus said, “Don’t think that I came to destroy or abolish the law,” He said in Matthew 5:38-39, “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.” Do you see the similarities between stoning people to death and an eye for an eye? Both stoning people to death and an eye for an eye are execution of the law. We are not to execute the law or take the law into our own hands. On a personal level, we are to forgive and turn the other cheek. But that doesn’t mean the law is being abolished or there is no longer justice, or we should not judge. It’s like a burglar broke into your house, stole your properties and beat you up. Jesus is not trying to tell you to tell the burglar there is more cash in the basement safe and since he broke your left arm, he should break your right also. What Jesus is saying is that on a personal level, we should forgive, but there is still justice and the law. We should still report the case to the police and point out the wrong doing of the burglar. However, on a personal level, we should forgive and not retaliate. I hope you see the beauty of the Bible. It never contradicts itself. People may be able to force the Bible to say what they want to hear in one passage. But if you look at the teaching of the entire Bible, it falls apart. When your interpretation finds harmony throughout all the Scripture, you know you have the correct interpretation. The Bible is the word of God and it never contradicts itself. So, the wrong interpretation is to say that we are all sinners, so no one is supposed to judge or point out others’ mistakes. The correct interpretation is that we should not take the law into our own hands and try to condemn others, but be forgiving and speak the truth with love.