“Be kind; Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.” This contemporary quote, often attributed to Plato, Philo of Alexandria, John Watson, Ian MacLaren, Brad Meltzer and even Robin Williams, has profound implications for Christians who want to spread the good news but are often seen as judgmental when they share their faith.
Jesus said in the seventh chapter of Mathew, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” Mathew 7:1-5.
The good news of the gospel exceeds our abilities to keep it to ourselves. In fact we are not to keep it to ourselves (Luke 8:16; Luke 11:33). By positioning ourselves as ambassadors for Christ in a world hostile to him, we become vulnerable to critique and can be perceived as vane or pious so it is requisite to study God’s word often so we have the tools in our tool box to face challenges to our faith. While we are not to judge others, but they will judge us.
1 Peter 3:15 tells us, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.”
Reaching out to others in love and sharing the good news while maintaining a measured posture that resists the temptation to judge, can separate effective evangelization from impotent witnessing. There is a fine line between adhering to the gospel through self-discipline and repentance and allowing others to experience firsthand the gospel of grace. There are many ways to lead others to Christ and each of us are called to a unique ministry that only God can ordain.
Understanding that it is the Holy Spirit indwelling in us that leads us in our walk of faith is paramount in recognizing that each and every one of us is on a different point in the journey and that it takes a community of fellowship to nurture, coach and mentor each other along this path. Certain personalities tend to want to accomplish everything very quickly and it becomes critical that we don’t attempt to do God’s work for him (like putting the cart before the horse). No one can do God’s work better than God, so there are times when we need to just take a step back and allow the Spirit to perform the miracles.
These comes a point when we must develop in maturity in order to follow Christ and his words. We cannot remain infants in faith indefinitely therefore we must be able to walk the walk and not just talk the talk. This is what Christ meant when he said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny himself and take up their cross daily and follow me.” Luke 9:23.
Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commands.” John 14:15, and “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” Luke 6:46. As the bride of Christ, believers are called to be loyal to him and to keep ourselves pure for him. This means repentance and this is how we remove the plank from our own eye so we can see clearly to lead others. Without this progress, the church becomes stagnant and loses its power to be a credible witness for Christ.
The writer of Hebrews states in the fifth chapter, “In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.” Hebrews 5:12-14.
The recognition that we are called to repentance yet saved by grace is difficult for some to swallow insofar as they still find their sin desirable and hang onto it, procrastinating fully surrendering to Christ in obedience. This means the Church must be able to strike a balance in the way the gospel message is delivered that encourages those struggling in their walk of faith while preaching solid doctrine from the pulpit and maintaining the integrity of the teachings of Christ. Anything less diminishes the price paid by Jesus on the cross and reduces the message of the gospel to a social commentary or a feel good message that no longer possesses the power to save.
Perhaps the passage of scripture that best exemplifies this delicate balance of love and repentance is found in John 8:3-11. “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say? They were using the question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 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. Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’
‘No one, sir,’ she said.
‘Then neither do I condemn you,’ Jesus declared. ‘Go now and leave your life of sin.’”
In this discourse we see Jesus demonstrate the summation of his ministry. The free gift of grace in perfect balance with the call of repentance. One without the other can never harmonize with the character of God.
There are those who dismiss a message of repentance as preaching salvation by works. Not only is this nonsensical it is impossible. Jesus illustrated in the sermon on the mount that even our thoughts condemn us of sin. By simply looking at a woman in lust, a man is guilty of committing adultery with her. Jesus drove home the message that it is humanly impossible to live a life without sin (apart from Jesus who never knew sin). Therefore, salvation can only come as a gift of grace. It cannot be earned.
However, the gift is given with the expectation of repentance and to accept the gift one must become born again. To neglect the latter is to devalue the former and to devalue the former is to diminish the precious giver who justifies the latter. This is the tension in the balance between grace and repentance. This tension can only be resolved by the Holy Spirit and believers must stand down and allow the Spirit to do his work. Let us maintain truth in the context of love and allow God to do the rest.
