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Judging Sinners - A Scheme of the Enemy

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You cannot cherry pick verse 15 out from the middle of these three verses! If anything, this set of verses teach the opposite of the point of this article! The things of God are utter nonsense to those who are unsaved! Why? Because they do not have the Holy Spirit in them to lead them into all truth. That is entirely the point! Yet while citing these verses on one hand, Pastor Idleman would have us wield Leviticus verses with our other hand against sinners in the world? They will not understand them! That is why we are not to judge those in the world. Paul teaches us:

For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. "Purge the evil person from among you." - 1Corinthians 5: 12-13 (ESV)

Realize the whole context here. Paul is admonishing the believers at Corinth for celebrating the sin of one of their brethren. He was in a relationship with his father's wife. That is the evil person Paul is referring to. Do not miss sight of the clear directive that is given here. We are NOT to judge those outside the church at all. Why? Because they are walking in darkness and the things of God are foolishness to them. Because they are still facing the judgment of God Himself and he does not need our help. Idleman marches on:

"Regarding moral issues that destroy lives and dishonor God, we are to judge ("call into question") behaviors, choices, and lifestyles that lead people in a dangerous direction, especially if these issues are to become social policy and legally sanctioned."

Hear me very clearly beloved. I understand that this argument might ring true to you. It might sound so right. But realize it is entirely a carnal argument. It is not a Scriptural argument at all. Nowhere in the Bible does God instruct us to play the social police. Nowhere does He instruct us to play the moral police. Ironically Pastor Idleman goes on to sidestep judging fellow believers, which the Bible instructs us we are to do. We are our brother's keeper. If we see our brother sinning we ought to correct him lovingly. It may be true that the direction this country is heading in is down a very dangerous path. That does not change what we are and are not instructed in Scripture to do. No matter what laws are passed, 1Corinthians 5:12 means the same thing. Idleman starts to wrap up:

From time to time, God clearly calls us to do just that--to confront, rebuke, and challenge. I encourage you to read Jesus' words to the seven churches in the book of Revelation, to the religious leaders of His day, and to the cities that did not repent."

Wow, talk about missing the point. Beloved the words from Jesus to the seven churches in Revelation are compelling. They are frightening even. But they are to believers, not the unsaved. Jesus could say to these churches spiritual truths because they had the Holy Spirit. The things of God were not foolishness to them. He was judging those in the faith, not those on the outside looking in. The second group cited here are the religious leaders of His day and to that I say amen. Jesus did rebuke those that claimed the faith but who were hypocrites. Not only that He derided them. He mocked them. He overturned their money changing tables and called them out for the robbers that they were. While they were all of these things there is one thing they were not - unbelievers. Are you sensing a pattern here? A consistent false thread running through this narrative? To use all of the examples of Jesus rebuking believers does not mean the Bible teaches us to rebuke unbelievers. Especially when it actually and directly teaches the opposite. The last group cited here is interesting because the unrepentant cities were in fact filled with unbelievers. So let us as always, return to the context:

Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you." - Matthew 11: 20-24 (ESV)

Remember, this group is being offered as a biblical basis for openly challenging and rebuking unbelieving sinners. What is the problem though? There are two major problems. First of all, what He was specifically speaking against was that they had witnessed the miracles of Jesus and still not believed. In fact, MOST of His mighty works were done there yet they refused to repent. The world today is in no such predicament. Perhaps the larger faux pas in trying to cite this is that Jesus is not speaking to the people in those cities. He is merely pronouncing woes over them. You cannot use that as a basis for then denouncing sinners in the world. Jesus is not personally denouncing them. He is stating how much trouble they are in. Idleman concludes:

"We should not excuse sin in exchange for tolerance--extending grace does not mean approving of sinful behavior, but it does mean extending compassion."

The excusal of sin is in dealing with our own lives beloved. Not the lives of others. The sad truth is there was little compassion or grace in this article. It seems as if it were a premise in search of Scriptural support. The premise being that it is somehow biblical to stand up against the sinners of this world. It is not. Remember the woman caught in adultery? She was brought before Jesus to test Him. Her accusers wanted to stone her to death as per the Law of Moses. After Jesus dispels the accusers by reminding them of their own sin we see this exchange:

Jesus stood up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more."]] - John 8: 10-11 (ESV)

I bring this up because it is important to recognize that the whole Gospel includes sin and repentance. The message of Jesus' ministry was repentance. There is no salvation without repenting. But there is also the message of "neither do I condemn you." There has to be a balance. That is not what we are seeing in these last days at all. What we see is the church standing around a sinner with rocks in their hands. Bakers and florists alike. All morally offended by people who think the things of God are utter foolishness. I have written this before but it bears repeating. They circle around the sinner with bad intent. This is the chance to represent Christ and bring the Gospel. This is the one chance the person might have to hear John 3:16. But instead we throw our stones at their heads"

Romans 1:27!

Jude 5:7!

Leviticus 18:22!

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Credentialed Minister of the Gospel for the Assemblies of God. Owner and founder of 828 ministries. Vice President for Goodwill Industries. Always remember that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to (more...)
 
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