Out of
The apostle Paul wrote,
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8,9.
A Story
It's eleven o clock. Inside the court house a judge is about to make his ruling. A community, a nation waits.
Will the new law be legal?
Outside the court house men and women with placards chant.
On one side of the street stand a group of gay men and women. All in favour of the new law.
On the other side of the street separated by a line of police stand radical evangelicals, denouncing the new law.
One man among them screams angrily . "HOMOSEXUALS ARE GOING TO BURN IN HELL!!!"
Approached by the media he says it again, "homosexuals are sinners going to hell."
From my office window I watch asking myself the question, ‘is this man an Christian?"
Wasn't it Christ who told us not only to love our neighbour but our enemy also?
Wasn't it Christ who told us not to judge, lest we be judged likewise?
Wasn't it Christ who said go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation?
Is this man showing love?
Is this man judging another?
Can this man be effective in reaching the whole world of which a percentage are homosexual?
Is this man even a Christian?
A question keeps rolling through my mind for which I know the answer, "Can we truly know what is in someone else's head?
Do we really know why a person is like they are?"
For a moment I stare down at the crowd. All the time asking myself who is on the way to Hell this day, and how can I reach them for my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ?
Turning away from my window I kneel down and pray, "Lord guide me this day. Let me make the right decision on this law."
Jesus said,
“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." Matthew 7:1,2.
Jesus didn’t say anything about homosexuality. Jesus didn’t judge anyone. He sat down and talked with people from all walks of life. Jesus knew that the only way to win souls was to treat everyone as equals.
The apostle Paul writes,
"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," Romans 3:23. That all means all. Everyone that has ever lived.
I like what the American evangelist Tony Campolo said,
"We ought to get out of the judging business. We should leave it up to God to determine who belongs in one arena or another when it comes to eternity. What we are obligated to do is to tell people about Jesus, and that's what I do." Tony Campolo.
Do you do this?
Please think about it.
