As the Post Modern philosophy continues to permeate our culture and the academic world, truth is sold to the highest bidder and the loudest voice! The standard of right and wrong have been replaced with subjective feelings and personal opinions. Unfortunately, Christians have not been exempt from this either. It seems that our relationship with Christ has been condensed to our five favorite scriptures that we like to quote from time to time. Sadly, some use these scriptures out of context creating confusion for the believers and unbelievers alike.
These are tumultuous times, and we, as the body of Christ, must confront these issues in our own lives first. One of the consequences of the lack of Bible knowledge and subjective truth is that nowadays it is easy for people to feel judged by others. If someone tells them something that they don’t like to hear, they consider it being judged. This leads them to being offended, and it eventually causes break up of relationships and division. All along, the devil is probably is smiling and thinking that he didn’t have to do much work for God’s people to get derailed from His purpose.
Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.” Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.”
Jesus said to her, “You have well said, ‘I have no husband,’ for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.” The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. John 4: 15-19
I wonder how the above story would have looked like had it occurred these days!? First, Jesus did not mention anything to the woman about God’s love for her. Second, He spoke to her in allegory about being the living water, which initially, she did not understand. Third, Jesus proceeded to tell her that she was married five times before, and now she was living with someone who was not her husband. Basically, He exposed the woman’s sins! The woman at the well could have felt judged, ashamed, and offended. To the contrary, she called Him a prophet. If she had rejected Jesus, she would have missed out on the transformed life He had to offer her.
Nowadays, it is difficult to talk about sin of any form because people feel judged by others. How often do you hear preachers talk about divorce, fornication, gluttony, abortion, or adultery? Many believers would rather concentrating on God’s love and His great plan for people. The new believers miss out on the truth that God has called them to grow up and put our childish ways aside. No wonder we have a culture of entitlement! We make it sound like God is begging people to have a relationship with Him and that He is desperately in need of them.
While God loves every person, it is not the whole story! If we were not sinners, Jesus did not have to die on the Cross for us. God called us to Himself and He intends to develop the image of Christ in us. He loves us so much that He wants to give us a transformed life and pull us out of the miry pit of sins that have kept us in bondage for years!
The truth is that when God convicts of sin, it is to realign our lives with His good plan. If someone tells us something that exposes our sin, it would be better to admit to it rather than blame the person for judging us. Why are we so afraid of man judging us, but we are not afraid of the consequences of sin!?
