NOTE: There are three notes for you to consider:
(1) This is going to be a long blog – so, please read it when you are having a cup of coffee or a tea and relax. ;-)
(2) This is focusing on the Christians. However, I welcome anyone to read because I still care about you whether if you are Christian or not. :-)
(3) This blog is not going to be theological discussion such as “how to be a good person before going to heaven.” I am simply focusing on behavior of Christians in general nowadays.
Before I starting writing, I want to make this clear to readers – I am a Christian and I used to pass a lot of judgmental calls on people. Of course, I went through the dark valley where I felt like there was no hope for my life and me. That was when I learned to realize God’s love through people I met, especially gay and lesbian people. For them, I am eternally grateful for the new life and for the lessons to love the others. Bottom line – the purpose of this blog is to encourage the Christians to LOVE ONE OTHER without making any judgmental call.
What makes me to participate NOH8 photo event? The answer is pretty simple. They were there for me and I want to show that I am there for them too. When I faced the hardship, many Christians I knew backed off while gay and lesbian people came in and support me. That is an experience I will never forget because I used to gloat and to judge on them as hopeless sinners, condemning forever to hell. One day, I asked one lesbian friend, who is still my dear aunt, if she knew I was a pastor and I used to make judgments. She said she knew, but she can see my real love in deep of my heart.
That makes me realize after all of those years of being a Christian in churches since I born, she made me see who I really am in God’s love. For this, I called her my aunt ever since. (I still love you, AUNT!) Point: they were there for me when I faced the darkest times of my life. It will be very hypocrisy of me if I don’t attend to show my love. Believe it or not, I did pray about it and I found peace in my heart to go. I have to thank to my dear friend, Jasun Hicks, for welcoming me to NOH8. He came to me gently and asked me politely. Why should I say, “No, because you are gay!” What kind of love is this?
Anyway, I faced a new experience that one person gloated at me for using my Bible at NOH8 photo event. Furthermore, he gloated to my sweet lesbian friend, who felt so confused and worthless to be saved. That’s where I rolled up my sleeves and decided to shed the light on those Christians who keep passing judgments. To Christians who continue making negative judgmental calls, I am asking you to back down. If you disagree with me, please read James 1:19-21 and, most importantly, Matthew 7:1-5 (which clearly states that we have NO RIGHTS to judge, PERIOD).
And, now I want to show you readers that I know some people who were hurt by Christians and they are NOT gay and lesbian people (they left their comments on my facebook and I removed their names for their privacy):
"Most of time Christians can be very judgmental on people. That s why I quit to have a social with christian people. They just put all wordswith rage, jealous, judgment, and more to me. There were no love of God in this enivornment. I m sorry to say that church is considering one of the most unsafe place to go unless they change their attitude toward people like me."
"I'M W/ (name deleted) BC NO MATTER WHAT CHUCH I GO TO ALLL THEY DO IS JUDGE ME VERY BADLY W/ THIS HORRIBLE RAGE W/O EVEN GET TO KNOW ME FIRST. THAT IS WHY I DON'T GO TO CHURCH ANYMORE. WHY BOTHER GO CHURCH WHERE THERE IS NO LOVE WHATSOEVER! HOW CAN THOSE CHURCH CHRISTIAN JUDGE ME Q DOES JESUS JUDGE U Q THE ANSWER IS NO JESUS DOES NOT JUDGE U. I AM A STRONG BELIEVER IN JESUS. IT IS VERY SAD THAT THOSE CHRUCH CHRISTAIN DARE TO JUDGE W/O EVEN THINK BEFORE U SAY IT. BUT I DO PRAY FOR THEM EVERYDAY NO MATTER WHAT. GOD BLESS ALL SMILE."
Also, I got this wonderful email from one of my friends who happened to share a wonderful story. Please check this out:
I am sorry that you going through this. I know this issue is very sticky situation. As a christian I always show them grace, mercy and love and does them one of my good friend was a former lesbian and somehow she found Jesus and is now sharing the gospel and is on fire for the Lord. that why I feel totally disgust to those who bash out to gay/les with wrong approach. Very dangerous as same concept as
John 8:7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."
It is my call on toward this people because of my father was leading a double life and he passed away of AIDS in 2007. I never forget all of my visitation to my Dad. I never knew until he was dying. I change my view on gay/les because of the Lord show me clear and I even pray and sense the heavenly glory and show deep love, grace and mercy toward my father and I see his tears! It was powerful!!!! Good part that he accept Jesus and went to heaven. So that why I support you on this. May God bless you!!!!
In Christ,
(name deleted)
I want to grab this opportunity to discuss about this passage that was mentioned in the recent passage (John 8:1-11). It was when the religious leaders tested Jesus by throwing the prostitute on floor before Jesus and mentioned that in Bible that if the woman was caught in committing adultery must be stoned to death. The religious leaders tried to trap Jesus: (1) if Jesus said to cast a stone, Jesus will be accused as murderer or (2) if Jesus chose not to cast the stone, he will be accused for not following the law of God. (And Jesus knew that.) Instead of making either decision, Jesus answered that anyone without sin cast the stone, everyone ended up leaving the woman alone. What does it mean? We ALL make mistakes.
For the person who accused me and passed harsh judgment on my lesbian friend, it shows me that he lacks the true meaning of love, grace, and mercy. Therefore, he has my true sympathy because he missed out the beauty of life itself. Life is so beautiful – full of love, joy, and... you name it.
Now, as a Christian who really wishes to see a better community, I am asking you to stop passing judgment and attacking the people. It’s pointless to attack because it clearly shows that you did not share your love.
I want to share one more thing – in the passage (Mark 10:17-22) where one rich man asked Jesus how to be saved. Jesus told him to follow the laws and normal rules, and then sell everything and give away everything and follow Jesus. The rich man refused. So he walked away. What did Jesus do? He respected his choice. And, the most important part is Jesus did not backstab that person. Jesus did not even came to him and screamed his head off, “DID YOU KNOW THAT IN THE BIBLE, YOU WILL BE SENT TO HELL, DIDN’T YOU?!”
The bottom line for me to say to my other Christian fellows: To judge or not to judge...? That's NOT even a question... As a Christian, I am asking you to set aside your judgmental calls and to start learning how to share the love. It is simply because we are not called by God to judge.
And I am sorry to say this, but… If you are a Christian and you look down at the other person for different lifestyle or different belief, you are not a true believer.
Once again, if you do judge the others, you will be judged.
Hi Grabvision,
ReplyDeleteI just read your post, but I have to respectfully disagree. Here's why:
The world often takes the "judge not, lest you be judged" verse out of context and use it to accuse Christians of being "judgmental" when they speak of sin. In the context of the verse Jesus is telling His disciples not to judge one another, something the Bible condemns (Romans 14:10; James 4:11). In Luke 6:41,42 He speaks of seeing a speck in a brother’s eye. In John 7:24 He said, "Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment." If someone steals, lies, commits adultery or murder, etc., the Christian can make a (righteous) moral judgment and say that the actions were morally wrong, and that these sins will have eternal consequences.
The Christian is not "judging others" but simply telling the world of God’s judgment —that God (not the Christian) has judged all the world as being guilty before Him (Romans 3:19,23). Jesus was able to offer the woman caught in the act of adultery forgiveness for her sin, because He was on His way to die on the cross for her. She acknowledged Him as "Lord," but He still told her, "Go, and sin no more." If she didn’t repent, she would perish.
I also need to add in that it also does not mean we are never to judge. Jesus said to judge with righteous judgment (John 7:24). The Greek word for judge in that verse is "krinos" and it means condemnatory judgment. In other words, it means we shouldn't condemn people for fear that we be condemned too. We can never know what's in a person's heart. We are however, to judge and discern others through the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-25) people possess (or don't possess). Basically, we judge people's actions, not their heart. Discernment is called for here.
As for gay and lesbian people, they're no different from straight people. Both are under God's wrath, and without the blood of Jesus Christ, both the gay/lesbian and straight person will die and be thrown into Gehenna (the Lake of Fire). People go to Hell not because they didn't "accept" Jesus Christ, but because they have broken God's Law. If the straight or gay/lesbian person rejects Jesus Christ, they reject God's gift of love for them, and thus, God's wrath (anger) remains on them. By refusing to accept Jesus, these people reject God's LOVE! Because of that, they will stand before God on Judgment Day and be found guilty (whether they're straight or gay).
Also, if we persist in unrepentant sin (even though we claim to have accepted Jesus Christ), then we lie and do not know God (1 John 1:6-10). That is why there is no such thing as a "Gay Christian" because it is a paradox in itself. If the person has truly repented (turned away) from sin, they will honor God by obeying His commandments, and that includes staying away from fornication (sex before marriage), homosexuality, lying, stealing, etc.
The biblical way to witness to a homosexual is not to argue with him about his lifestyle but to use the Law to bring the knowledge of sin. This will show him that he is guilty of breaking God’s holy Law, and he is damned not because of, but despite his sexual preference. The Law was made for homosexuals, as well as other lawbreakers. See Psalm 5:5 and 2 Peter 2:6–8.
We need to witness to people in love, and we need to be gentle with people when we can, and I feel bad that there are a lot of Christians out there that aren't showing love the way Christ did, but the Truth is the Truth, and the fact is, many people get angry simply at the subject being brought up. They don't want to hear it, and if the Christian tries to reason with that person, they're accused of "forcing" their beliefs on them, when they're not.
Much love and God bless!
In Christ,
Eric
Eric -
ReplyDeleteI wish I can see your profile, but it appears that you chose to be anonymous and your name may not be real.
Nevertheless, you are welcome to express your disagreement. However, to me, it appears that you miss the point. And those passages you shared are out of contexts as well.
Romans 14 - read the whole passage. It clearly explains everything and warns about the danger of criticism.
The bottom line is that I was a pastor and I was in churches since my birth. What I can say is that I had quite profound experiences with God and I shared. :-)
In Christ,
David
David! I LOVE THIS!!!!! can I post this to my facebook share with others ??? Thanks david that makes me tearrrs! i used to judge on others. now I need to keep it myself... thanks soo much brother DAVID!!! xoxox
ReplyDeleteTeresa
Teresa - you are welcome to share with anyone! :-)
ReplyDeleteEric- I would like for you to consider John chapter 3 in reference to the following statement that you made:
ReplyDelete"People go to Hell not because they didn't 'accept' Jesus Christ, but because they have broken God's Law."
In John chapter 3 Jesus clearly states that the way those who believe in Him shall have eternal life and will not be condemned. I truly believe that you will NEVER be good enough, you will NEVER be able to ask for enough forgiveness, and that the only way to receive eternal life is to have full faith in Jesus and the promise He has given us. We are instructed to treat others in a Christ-like manner, which I believe excludes judging others actions.
"16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son."
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+3&version=NIV
David,
ReplyDeleteI found this post on the NOH8 Campaign website and I wanted to thank you for sharing it. I have written a post and included your information on my blog (with links back to this post as well as your main blog page). I shared your post because it sums up the ideas and beliefs that I have on this topic and I wanted to share it.
Feel free to visit my blog and join in on any conversations! (My blog is fairly new so there aren't many 'followers' yet, but I hope to have more soon so that there will be great discussions amongst 'followers'.)
Thanks,
Laura Ann
http://sermonnotesandvariousquotes.blogspot.com/
Hi!
ReplyDeleteI don't really have a blog account or whatever. I think I used my google account. Not sure. You can find me on facebook at
www.facebook.com/deafspartan
Laura,
I have no disagreement with you there, except for the judging part. Jesus actually tells us to judge with righteous judgment. But like you said, whoever believes in Christ will have eternal life. None of us is good, and never will be. Only through the shed blood of Jesus Christ are we able to obtain mercy and forgiveness. I also agree that we are instructed to treat others in a Christ-like manner, but remember, simply "believing" isn't enough. There must be repentance because the book of James tells us that even demons "believe and tremble." James was talking of dead faith vs genuine-saving faith.
But what I mean by "People go to Hell not because they didn't 'accept' Jesus Christ, but because they have broken God's Law," is the very biblical definition of sin. Sin is transgression of God's law. It's violation of His law, and because of that, the law condemns us. That is why Jesus came not to "destroy the law but to fulfill it" and through Him, we have grace. The Bible tells us that the law is a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ Jesus. Only by receiving Christ are we able to escape from the wrath to come.
Eric - it's a pleasure to meet you officially.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, right now, what I can simply say is that I am enjoying everyone not to judge. However, inside our groups, I do believe that we need to keep each other on account based on our personal discernment. It's part of the purpose on fellowship for the personal growth.
My message was to simply tell everyone in general not to "shout" and/or to "rebuke" toward anyone on sight.
Anyway, once again, I am glad that you shared your feelings.
In Christ,
David
it is nice to see someone who feels the way i feel.
ReplyDeleteif you think about things from a certain perspective then most of the world looks like some real big jerks (i can include myself their sometimes too, sadly)
but if God does not look down and think that this sin is worse than that sin, then why should we?
if we tell someone a simple lie, like "i went to bed at 10:00" when really we went to bed at 2,that is a sin. if you are gay, that is a sin. if you cheat on your spouse, that is a sin. are any of these different? no.
we are not asked to save people, b/c if we were, then no one would be saved. we are asked to tell the world about Jesus and his love. thats it. to share his love, and to love others. not to judge. not to discriminate. to love.
if we cannot love, then life is pointless.
sharethelove<3