Stage In The Sky

In 2019, a woman named Hannah Brown made headlines while starring as the “Bachelorette”…where she proudly proclaimed, “I’ve have had sex and honestly, Jesus still loves me.“

Fair enough. Jesus still loves you. Sure. Sure. Now ask yourself…do you think he’s happy with you? Do you think he’s happy with what you’ve done? Do you care? Is that important to you? Because talk is cheap. What do your actions demonstrate?

This is number two of my four-part series where I break down the REAL REASONS why Christians hate being judged. Disclaimer, I’m not talking about all Christians. Nor am I saying I’m perfect. This needs to be said because our fear of being called judgmental, it’s not helping. All it does is silence those who should be speaking up, while enabling the ones who need to hear it, to plunge deeper into their sinful behavior.

So, what am I talking about? What “Truth” are Christians afraid of?

Well…for starters, just because you call yourself Christian, it doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed a spot in the Kingdom of Heaven. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 gives a succinct list of lifestyles and behaviors that will not inherit God’s kingdom. If you click on that link and see behaviors you indulge in…now’s the time to repent.

Furthermore, Christ himself said that “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 7: 21-23)

God’s word the Bible is replete with this kind of language. It’s really comfortable and convenient to think to yourself that all you have to is say you’re a Christian and believe Jesus Christ died for your sins, while doing nothing to learn what he asks of us.

The truth is, there are conditions to the blessings you want. The word “if” means that there’s a condition to the benefit. If you want (Blank) you must do (Blank). Even with the famous John 3:16, it says that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. IE…there’s a condition. There is something you must do to have eternal life.

“Saying” you believe is easy. Talk is cheap. Anyone can say that. What do your actions demonstrate? (James 2: 14-26)

A lot of Christians don’t know what those conditions are. And I think their reactions when they discover the truth exposes what kind of people they really are.

What do I mean?

Well…Consider Jesus Christ when he started teaching the people in parables. Remember? Huge crowds had gathered to him after he became famous for performing miracles, healing others, and bringing people back from the dead. In Matthew Chapter 13, he gave the Parable of the Sower, where he talked about planting “seeds” and how they’ll grow depending on what kinds of seeds they were.

I used to wonder why he did this. Even some of Jesus’s disciples didn’t understand them when he first gave them, so why use such language to hide the meaning of his illustrations?

I could be wrong, but now I believe I understand. The situation is very similar today’s Christians who hear bits and pieces of the Bible that sound very pleasant to the ear…things like “judge not lest ye be judged” and “he who is without sin cast the first stone.” But unlike Jesus’s Disciples, these Christians do nothing to seek out what they really meaning or gain greater insight. They’re satisfied with their surface level understanding , especially if it suits their own motives. (like shutting up people from calling out their bad deeds)

Your neglect, the lack of importance you place on finding out the truth exposes what kind of person you are. Hence, you get haughty attitudes of, “Well, I have had sex and Jesus still loves me.“

I believe Jesus Christ spoke in parables to reveal the attitude of those who came to him. A lot of them were interested in Jesus simply because he was a master storyteller and a miracle worker. He was famous! Yet, they had no intentions of obeying as their Lord to be unselfishly followed.

That’s why you get people who criticize the good churches who stick to the scriptures instead of conforming to modern progressive times (see Hillsong essay where woman criticizes church because there aren’t female pastors). There’s a saying that so many want Christ’s teachings to conform to them, instead of them conforming to Christ’s teachings.

There are many today who claim that Christ is their king, but they do not obey. They don’t even want to find out what he and his Apostles commanded.

Pastor John MacArthur seems to have the same conclusion. He writes in his study Bible: “Parables required more explanation and Jesus employed them to obscure the truth from unbelievers, while making it clearer to his disciples. Jesus’s veiling the truth from unbelievers was both an act of judgment and an act of mercy because it kept them in the darkness they loved, but it was mercy because they had already rejected the light, so any exposure to more truth would only increase their condemnation.“

This year, I plan on going hard and shining the light on that truth. I know things will only continue to get worse before Christ Returns (2 Timothy 3), but as I live and breathe, I am determined to do my part. I will be a voice calling out in the wilderness.

SHOULD THE CHURCH BE MORE ACCEPTING? 

To the above pic, a male commenter said, “God sees our filth and doesn’t just accept us, but died for our acceptance. We need humility to stop thinking we’re somehow better than unbelievers, who we would be if not for Christ.” 

Here’s the truth ladies and gentlemen…We are better than nonbelievers. If you don’t want to die, believers in Christ are “better off” than those who don’t believe.

I’m done feeling ashamed or sorry for that because it’s not helping anyone. All it does is appease the egos of nonbelievers and lukewarm Christians who have gotten comfortable with their sinful lifestyles. 

I responded to his comment with: “What’s better, being on a sinking ship, or being saved on one of the lifeboats destined to port? I get what you’re saying, but more and more, I’m beginning to believe those who reject Christ because they don’t feel accepted have an ego problem in which they think they’re entitled to acceptance.”

“Christ welcomes us all, but not as we are. We have to repent. Some people don’t know this. And when we tell them, they feel unaccepted. That’s their ego and pride refusing to humble themselves.” 

Even here, there are some Christians who believe in the concept that all you have to do is say you believe in Christ and you’re saved no matter what you do or how often you sin (no doubt, drawing from Romans 10:9).  

That is a very comfortable and convenient belief that inspires no fear or reverence, no urgency or importance. It implies that there are no consequences for your bad behavior. This is wrong and, I’d argue, disrespectful to the one you claim to call your Lord.

If Christ tells us to repent, to go and sin no more and his Apostles outline a succinct list of sinful behaviors that have no place in the Kingdom of Heaven, if you believe as you say you do, would you still indulge in these behaviors? 

“Well, maybe people don’t want to engage in their sinful behavior but it’s hard. And God knows our heart. He can see that we’re trying but we all fall short. That’s the beautiful thing about Christ is that he keeps forgiving us and loving us no matter how many times we fall short.” 

You make some good points there. So, allow me to illustrate two types of people here. 

The first is the woman who washed Jesus’ feet with her hair. This is in Luke 7: 36-50. According to the Scriptures, this was during a dinner at the Pharisee Simon’s house. Apparently, this woman was well known by everyone for her immorality, maybe a prostitute. 

The woman knew that Jesus would be here, so she came to wash his feet with perfume. And she was so ashamed of what she had done that she started crying. The Bible says she washed his feet with her tears and her hair. This woman humbled herself. She demonstrated great sorrow and regret. A penitent spirit.  

Compare that this second woman. A modern Christian named Hannah Brown from the Bachelorette. During the show, she was called out by another Christian for her sexual immorality. Her response was not like the woman with Jesus. She boasted, “Well I’ve had sex and Jesus loves me.”  

Even in the follow-up interview (see above) she doesn’t talk about how she needs to get better or acknowledge that she was wrong to indulge in sexual immorality. She’s so focused on protecting her ego. Not wanting to be judged. Promoting this message of you can do whatever you want. 

“Well, how would you feel if someone judged you like that on live TV?” 

The “live TV” part doesn’t matter because she had the above follow-up interview and displayed no remorse or contrition. She was used by the mainstream media to promote the narrative that we shouldn’t judge or shame anyone. It’s one of the reasons why so many worldly “Christians” hate the ones who do. 

Jesus Christ himself said this at John 3:19, “Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.”

…for fear that their deeds will be exposed. That fear, is real. You saw it in Hannah Browns face the moment sexual immorality was brought up. And instead of embracing the light and putting on a spirit of regret, remorse, and “you’re right. I shouldn’t have done that. But God’s forgiven me and I won’t do it again,” she stood on, “I have had sex and Jesus loves me!”…so there! You self-righteous, holier than thou, judgmental person!

“No, Rock. When you’re judged like that, it’s an attack on her faith. She had every right to get emotional and defensive to protect the relationship she has with God, which was called into question.” 

I understand that. Truly I do. Last year, I was judged by other Christians for my stance on Baptism. Like, this was a real event, a real dinner I went to where two older Christians judged me for not believing in Baptism the same way they do. I listened to their opinions, disagreed, and was able to articulate why I believed they were wrong, using the Scriptures to back it up.  

The problem I have with Hannah Brown and Christians like her is that they use emotion and the fact that they’re offended as a deflection tactic to take the spotlight off of her sexual immorality and need for repentance. And because our society leans more toward leniency for the victim, it makes sense why evil doers act like they’re the victims.

“How is she evil?”

If God says don’t do this, but you do it…you’ve done evil. I know you conjure up any excuse to justify why you did it. But it doesn’t change the fact that you did it. I’m not passing sentence on her. But identifying what’s been done, this is what we should be doing as Christians. It’s how you hold people accountable.

“But Rock, that’s nobody’s business.” 

I disagree. If you put on the badge of calling yourself a Christian, you must live by that standard. Especially if you have a public platform. People are watching. You have the ability to uplift and inspire thousands to be better. Or you can corrupt them towards a more ungodly lifestyle. 

“But Rock! The Bible says don’t judge!” 

Alright let’s get into it!

Stay tuned for Part 3…The Shaming Tactic of Calling Others Judgmental