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Point of Reference
by Fred Price
I have been repeatedly shocked, embarrassed and appalled by the message of members of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas; first gaining national prominence at the funeral of homosexual college student Matt Shepard – who was brutally beaten to death a number of years ago. They have subsequently protested at the funerals of military personnel killed in action in Iraq and Afghanistan; believing these deaths to be the result of God’s displeasure with the U.S. because of it’s growing acceptance of gay and lesbian lifestyles.
The signs, ‘Matt’s in Hell,’ ‘God hates Fags’, and ‘Thank God for Dead Soldiers’ are disgusting not only because of the additional emotional anguish inflicted on the victims’ families but because they are so patently untrue. God does not hate homosexuals – or any other sinner, of which we are all one! (Romans 3:23) He loves sinners, even as he has no tolerance of sin; consciously, repeatedly, intentionally engaged in. (Hebrews 10:26,27) So must we. The problem is in transferring revulsion of sin to the person committing these offensive actions. God so loved the world that he made provision for sinners to be forgiven and saved from their sin. (John 3:16,17) In fact, the specific purpose of his coming was to seek out the lost, saving us from the penalty of our wrong-doing. (Luke 19:10)
1 Corinthians 6:9,10 lists a number of damning offenses, including sexual immorality of the heterosexual and homosexual variety. Also listed are thieves, greedy people, slanderers and swindlers. Romans 1:29-31 includes envy, murder and gossip as damnable activities as well. Sins of the flesh, mind and heart, as all sin starts as a thought; with complacency toward sinfulness being developed over time and exposure. Lust, a heart and head sin; uncontrolled leads to adultery, incest, and rape. Coveting, a desire for things not our own; leads to burglary, assault and even murder. (Jesus using lust as an example of real sin, equating it with the physical act of adultery. Matthew 5:27,28) The reason being, what we become comfortable with in our minds, we become capable of doing in the flesh. He also pointed out the danger of angry finger-pointing and name-calling. HELL! Because when we see our primary responsibility as pointing out the faults of others in anger and discount their worth with derisive names and epithets, we lose focus of our true calling in Christ. Which is to love the sinner even as we hate the sin, pointing out the danger of living in rebellion against God with respectful consideration and loving concern. (Matthew 5:21-24) Is that hard to do? Absolutely! But nobody said being a Christian would be easy.
That does not mean however, we minimize the effects of sin or discount the punishment of it, preaching the love of God to the exclusion of all else; as some misinterpret Matthew 7:1 to mean. For God can be offended by our actions, judging and disciplining us if we force him to. (Hebrews 12:4-11) The truth of the matter being, Jesus loves us just the way we are – but too much to leave us that way.
As humans, we tend to rank, categorize and compartmentalize lawlessness and sin. In some ways we must. But God doesn’t. To him, sin is sin; both what is done that should not have been and what should be done that isn’t. A few genuinely aspire to righteousness, but most of us refrain from overt sin out of a fear of getting caught. God sees us as we really are, and we are all guilty. That’s why James says that anyone keeping the whole law except in one point is guilty of breaking it all. (James 2:10) Because it all starts with a concept; the concept of obedience. If we can pick and choose the degree to which we obey or disobey, we lose respect for the entirety of the law – even the law of love recounted in Romans 13:8-10 – which is meant to be taken as a whole for our benefit as well as the benefit of those about us. If and when we “grade” levels of disobedience, we tend to then become accepting of some sin as opposed to others; understanding, excusing and even enabling some sinners while condemning others.
We are told explicitly by Jesus, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” Not an injunction against discernment between right and wrong, as we all must decide on a daily basis who and what we will or will not associate with based on “judgments” of right, wrong, good, better and best. It is however, a warning against being critically judgmental of others even as we fail to recognize and deal with our own shortcomings. (Matthew 7:1-5) We must be able to tell the difference between right and wrong and offer help in identifying it as such. But it must be done in a respectful, loving, helpful way. (1 Peter 3:15,16) One that offers confident, positive alternatives, not merely condemnation. “…if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.”, as well. Galatians 6:1 Finding comfort in the promise that “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
When Christians act otherwise, they play right into the hands of liberal unbelievers who feel we are the only group its permissible to be intolerant of; allowing and even helping them depict us all as intolerant bigots with violent tendencies. These terribly misguided, insensitive, immature Christians (if indeed they can be called such) excuse their behavior by citing the 1st Amendment rights of free speech and religion. A delighted Shirley Phelps-Roper, commenting for the church a day after a Maryland jury ordered it to pay 11 million dollars in compensation to a grieving family whose son’s military funeral was disrupted by the congregation’s protesting said, “Our message has exploded all over the world.” But what a message! Nowhere in scripture does God say, ‘I hate homosexuals!’ or liars, thieves, adulterers, gossips, etc. Psalm 5:5 does say, “The arrogant cannot stand in your presence; you hate all who do wrong.”, and Romans 12:9 instructs us to, “Hate what is evil, cling to what is good.” But when we consider the totality of scripture, such as Psalm 97:10, Proverbs 6:16-19 and Psalm 5:4, we begin to understand that even as God’s eyes are too pure to look on evil and that he cannot tolerate wrong (Habakkuk 1:13), he continues to care for and love the individuals entrapped by sin and its effects on their lives.
John records Jesus saying, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” There is certainly a qualifier to this declaration that says, “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever doesn’t believe stands condemned already…” John 3:16-18 But the focus of our message should be – must be – that of Christ’s, who says “I have come so that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10 It is not our job to harass and condemn but to lead others to the saving grace of Jesus Christ, realizing that scripture depicts wisdom – representing God – as saying, “I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.” Prob. 8:13 Why? Because arrogance breeds disregard for others and allows us to easily condemn without caring. And that is not the way of the cross!
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Fred Price - married (50 years), father of two grown children, grandfather of six.
Fred retired earlier this year after 42 years as a factory worker. He has always had a heart for young people and the challenges they face today. Over the years Fred has taught Discipleship Groups for High School and college students.
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