Condoning sin?
On Friday I had a conversation with a homeless guy I know. He sells Big Issues on a road I travel down on my way into work, and I’ve got to know him a bit over the past couple of months. On Friday we talked about how he became homeless – about how his parents, “supposedly Christians”, had turned him out because he’d got his girlfriend pregnant.
We talked about John 8:3-11, the story of the woman caught in adultery. The Pharisees bring Jesus this woman, trying to trick him. If he lets her go, he is ignoring the Law (capital L, given to Israelites a couple of millennia back by God) and they’ve got him nailed (possibly not the best term, considering his future) as a false teacher. On the other hand, if he agrees they should stone her, he won’t be popular with the people.
What Jesus does is brilliant. He shows that, as humans, we cannot justly judge. Only God can do that as only God is perfect. Disowning a family member who sins is wrong – no-one is blameless.
Are we condoning sin in this attitude? Well, that was one of the outcomes Jesus was facing in the above situation. If he let the woman off, he would be condoning her actions. Does he let the woman off?
He doesn’t condemn her there and then, certainly, and in that we should follow his attitude. However he is also the Judge of all mankind, and in that role will judge the woman at the end of time. We don’t know the eternal fate of the woman, but that is not what should concern us. It is for God to judge, not us. Jesus wasn’t letting the woman off – he was giving her a chance to turn to him. He knew what she was doing was wrong, but loved her anyway and wanted her to turn her back on it.
If we accept people like this woman into the church, it doesn’t mean that we’re condoning what they do, because we’re all in the same situation – and this is what makes the Christian gospel so powerful. All of us, however hard we try, cannot stop doing wrong. We have all rejected God – but we can all regain the relationship with him we were meant to have. God provided a way for us to be forgiven. God can’t ignore our rebellion – so he punished the perfect Jesus in our place, so that we could know him. The church is made for sinners to come into and be saved! Condoning sin? No. Accepting sinners? Yes. We can love the sinner and still hate the sin. We can encourage others to change – as Jesus does at the end: “Go and sin no more”.
There’s so many theological issues that come out of this passage, and I could write for weeks on it, but I don’t have the time or the expertise to do it well. It’s terrible though how those who profess to be Christians so often ignore Christ.
Matthew @ 16:59, November 20, 2005 to Discussions | Comments (4)
Comments:
Rory
I can only agree with you – not surprising, as we follow the same god.
I feel some quotes from Baha’u’llah are appropriate:
“O SON OF MAN! Breathe not the sins of others so long as thou art thyself a sinner. Shouldst thou transgress this command, accursed wouldst thou be, and to this I bear witness.”
“O SON OF SPIRIT! Know thou of a truth: He that biddeth men be just and himself committeth iniquity is not of Me, even though he bear My name.”
“O SON OF BEING! Bring thyself to account each day ere thou art summoned to a reckoning: for death, unheralded, shall come upon thee and thou shalt be called to give account for thy deeds.”
“Consort ye, O people, with the people of all religions with joy and fragrance.”“
“Consort with all men, O people of Bahá, in a spirit of friendliness and fellowship. If ye be aware of a certain truth, if ye possess a jewel, of which others are deprived, share it with them in a language of utmost kindliness and good-will. If it be accepted, if it fulfil its purpose, your object is attained. If any one should refuse it, leave him unto himself, and beseech God to guide him. Beware lest ye deal unkindly with him. A kindly tongue is the lodestone of the hearts of men.”
I think that’s enough for now. More to come later!
If anyone wants clarification on the admittedly difficult language, just ask, I’m more than willing to aid anyone’s understanding.
Comment added at 21:03, November 20, 2005
Sparticus
Alright, what about Paul’s letters when he says “don’t hang around with those who claim they believe yet are sinning” (iamsparticus.com paraphrase)? What about that huh?
Okay, I know that’s not the issue that you’re writing about in a sense but it needs to be mentioned to balance it all out.
Comment added at 10:10, November 21, 2005
Matthew
Paul is talking about people in the local church, church membership, that kind of thing, so it doesn’t apply to this context :)
Comment added at 11:25, November 29, 2005
Matthew
…I think. I can’t remember the exact passage so I can’t go and check.
Comment added at 11:26, November 29, 2005
Post a comment:
Most XHTML auto-generated via Markdown. Email addresses are required but will never be displayed. If you have a website (or want to link to someone else's) please enter it in the URL field. Otherwise, leave this blank.
If you have a TypeKey identity, you can sign in to use it here.