It's popular for unbelievers to think of Jesus as a cool guy who made everyone feel good about themselves, never confronting sinners, always pleasant and affirming.
But sin and repentance were central to Christ's ministry:
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” ~ Jesus, Matthew 4:17
“I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” ~ Jesus, Luke 5:32
“Unless you repent, you too will all perish.” ~ Jesus, Luke 13:3
People hated Christ’s straightforward emphasis on sin.
When his unbelieving brothers confronted Him, He said, “The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that its works are evil” (John 7:7).
In addition, Jesus clearly explained that our mission is to tell people that they will die in their sins if they don't accept His forgiveness (Luke 24:46-47). If we obey Christ, we'll address sin and be unpopular with the world (John 15:18-21; Mark 13:13).(1)
On the day of Pentecost, Peter's message to unbelievers wasn't soft and fluffy. It caused many to be “cut to the heart” by their sin (Acts 2:37-38).
When Paul preached to the Athenians, he said, “In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30).
If we go around affirming people without mentioning their sins, we'll be acting like Satan, not Jesus. And we'll have missed the incredibly important truth that “there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10).
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For more on this subject, see: Righteousness Has Never Been Popular and Was Jesus Likable.
(1) These two passages explain how it will be if we act like Jesus:
John 15:18-21: “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me.”
Mark 13:13: “Everyone will hate you because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.”
We need to hear this message more regularly. Thank u.
ReplyDeleteWow! This is so true. But many people that call themselves Christians and have fallen away from the Lord are being lied to today too. They think that they can accept Him and for awhile they are growing in the Lord but if they decided to go back into their sinful ways, they are locked in for eternity and "safe" from every falling all the way, away from the Lord and to their damnation. They are told that "nothing can separate them from the Love of God," even their sin, when it really means outside forces. If we "go on sinning" we don't know God. Paul wept in 2 Cor. when he realized that there were some in the assembly that hadn't turned from their sins upon their having believed upon Christ. We Christians are just as much in danger of loosing our status as sons of God as those who are outside the walls of Faith, "if" we don't walk by the Spirit and not by the flesh." We know some Mennonites that are sending missionaries to their own people because they know that they have dried up and become unfaithful even though they have been faithful to their traditions. We do the same in the Protestant churches. We need to take the words of Jesus seriously, and pray that we will be revived, "lest we are running this race in vain".
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