Greetings,
There are some common phrases we use that make little to no sense at all. Like when someone finds something that was lost, and then says, “It's always the last place you look.” Of course, it was the last place you looked. You don’t continue looking once you’ve found it. How about the good old, “You can't have your cake and eat it too.” What else are you supposed to do with “your cake”? Some say, “You think so?” after a person said what they think. Or, “Needless to say” and then go on to say what was obviously “needless.”
Just like we use some of these statements without a second thought, we often hear statements that don't hold up when analyzed through the lens of God's word. The number one thing that I hear is the validation of a person’s feelings over scripture. They may say something along the lines of, “I just have to do what feels right for me.” For the believer, this thought flies in the face of Jeremiah 17:9 which says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” Much of the time what “feels” best is exactly the opposite of what God calls us to do. For the unbeliever, this belief might be all they have to measure by and the greater issue at hand is not this belief, but the need for a savior.
I've also heard people say things like, "marriage should solve my loneliness or solve my porn issue." Matthew 11:28 says, “come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Nowhere in all of scripture is there a time where God tells us that marriage will solve anything. Marriage is meant to be a picture of the beauty of the relationship between God and mankind. It is sacred and a partnership. A believer should be aiming to individually, “trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding…” Proverbs 3:5-6. Unfortunately, many people trust in their own thoughts, beliefs, or other people more than they trust in the Lord. On the other hand, an unbeliever isn’t particularly concerned with porn issues or purity in a biblical sense. Their greatest need is a savior.
Another lie often believed is, “I deserve to be happy." In reality, the only thing that any of us deserve is the punishment that Jesus took on our behalf. Isaiah 53:5 says, “he was pierced for our transgressions he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” Without Christ, we have absolutely no hope. It is only by His sacrifice that we can stand before a Holy and just God. We do not get what we deserve because of the awesome blessing of Christ taking what we deserve on our behalf. The youngest of believers should understand this principle as it is foundational to our Christian faith. The unbeliever should eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die (Ecclesiastes 8:15). Without a belief that we are in need of a savior, we are left to our own merit and strength--and no matter how righteous, holy, and pure we think we are, it is woefully insufficient to be allowed into the presence of the perfect majesty of God Almighty!
The challenge to the mature believer is: if a person says things like this that reveal beliefs that are contrary to scripture, is it loving to let it slide? Is it Christlike to move along without challenging the mindset that leads to these comments? As we grow in our sanctification, the challenge is to love all with the love of Christ. Jesus Christ gives us the perfect picture of loving in grace and truth.
It is a natural response of anyone living outside the will of God to feel judged by someone that may confront a faulty belief. It is the humble responsibility of a mature believer to confront these things in humility and with proper self-examination. We should live with the humility to remove the log from our own eye, so that we can see clearly to remove the spec from our neighbors’ eye (Matthew 7:2-5). The imperative in this passage is not simply “don’t judge people.” We are to confront untruth, first having properly humbled ourselves and examined our own lives. As ministers of reconciliation, we should challenge other believers in truth and love. It is “sharpening one another as iron sharpens iron” (Proverbs 27:17). However, trying to sharpen an unbeliever will only cut them and give them a bad experience with a believer. We are only to deal with a believer’s speck.
As we grow in fellowship as the body of Christ, I pray that we can be bold enough to confront sin, humbly and in love, and also be wise enough to hear some challenging things from our brothers and sisters in Christ. All of us have blind spots in our lives and need the body of Christ to be faithful to tell us when we are believing something that isn’t in line with the infallible, unchanging word of God.
Love ya,
Chris
