This billboard is pretty controversial in some circles. I’m sure I’ll get some haters for posting it.
Love your neighbor. There is no clause on that. It doesn’t say love your neighbors, except if they are gay, lesbian, black, white, colored, drunk, addicted, gossips, hating, intolerant, bigots, atheists, agnostics, Catholics, Baptists, Charismatic, Pentecostals, Muslim, Jewish, Gentile, institutional, organic, hypocritical, pharisaical, cheating, stealing, lying or whatever other conditional you want to place on love.
Whatever you believe disqualifies somebody from God loving them, will also prevent you from actually loving them. There is but One who is perfect, and He loves us perfectly. In our own strength we can never remove the labels, the faults, the mistakes or the pain. But His perfect love perfects us. His love received cleanses us. His love poured out recreates us. His love undying keeps us ever alive. His love reciprocated inspires change, joy and freedom for ever more.
As we learn to both receive and reciprocate His unmerited love, with which He first loved us, our lives will not be earmarked by any labels such those above. Instead, I live to be defined by His love. I mess up, I fail, I fall and I get dirty. But His love is there to clean me off, catch me, pick me up and to support me. His love is my life. I am that I am His love.
Thank you for loving me unconditionally Jesus! When nobody else loves you, Jesus does.
Cornel
5 Responses to Who Is Your Neighbor?
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"Your life is transformed to the degree that your mind is renewed. Cornel's book goes a long way to removing the hindrances to that renewal."
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This is awesome Cornel and I really like the direction you are going lately. Please do not stop my friend. One day we will climb that Mountain in China!
Cornell…I was reading some scripture today and when I read this, it kinda made me wonder. After reading it I was trying to find a place to post it as a question where appropriate. Your topic here seems like a good place.
This relates to the Grace message. Anyway in 1 Cor 5:9-13(NKJV) Paul writes….
9 I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. 10 Yet I certainly did not mean
with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous,
or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of
the world. 11 But
now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a
brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a
reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a
person. 12 For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? 13 But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.”
Paul seems to be suggesting that Believers should not keep company with other Believers who practice sexual immorality, etc. But it’s okay with worldly people who are not believers. This seems to be the opposite as your topic suggests and as I have been reading about as it pertains to the Grace message.
Now I did find this from a Reformation Study Bible for an explanation…..Prior to the writing of 1 Corinthians, Paul had sent a letter (no longer
in existence) instructing the Corinthians to separate themselves from
believers who practiced immorality. The Corinthians either misunderstood
Paul, as if he were commanding complete separation from the world, or
they tried to sidestep the issue by arguing that his request was
unreasonable. The apostle explains that he had in mind anyone thought to
be a Christian whose life openly contradicted the faith. The injunction
to expel offenders (“not even to eat with such a one”) has primary
reference to community life within the church and probably does not mean
that all personal contact must be avoided (2 Thess. 3:15, “warn him as a brother”).
Any thoughts?
Hi Felix
Interesting thoughts yes. Another thing to note was that the Corinthian church fell into the practice of having drunken sex parties during their meeting times. Paul wrote to tell them that this is not what they have been called to, it does glorify God nor resemble the life of Christ and that they should stop behaving like that. When a group of people is engaging in something and then receive instruction to stop, there will be a split. One half will realise what they are doing is wrong and the other half will rebel, “Who is this man to tell us no?”
When Paul writes and tells them to not associate with brothers who practice sexual immorality and what not, he is saying that if they don’t stop the way they are acting, they are no longer part of this fellowship or community. The grace of God teaches us to say no to ungodliness and worldly lusts. (Titus 2:11-12). The Corinthians who listened to Paul’s words did end up shutting a few people out. After that some repented and were allowed back into the fellowship.
Grace is not a license to do whatever you want. Any person who thinks that does not understand what grace is about. For example, if I somehow end up cheating on my wife, God has enough grace to deal with me, teach me and correct me. My wife most probably doesn’t and my actions will result in the destruction of our relationship. Our actions influence not only ourselves but also those around us. When our actions within a fellowship result in other people inside and even outside the fellowship getting hurt or engaging in things that are destructive, then we should be at risk of being shut out of the fellowship.
To be member of a fellowship means to agree with and live up to the ideals and values of that fellowship. When somebody doesn’t want to live up to values and ideals of the fellowship, the remaining members have a right to break off the fellowship. Yet the breaking of fellowship doesn’t mean loss of family. If I have a falling out with my brother and stop talking for many long decades, it doesn’t change the fact that we are brothers. Nothing can change that.
What say you?
Interesting! But………Seems there might be a fine line between what some may define as sin or worse sin. For an example. And honestly I have had this idea long before I ever caught on to the radical Grace message and have several friendly disagreements with other believers.
For example how many of todays churches would allow a homosexual couple attend services? My thoughts have been what would happen if a homosexual couple were to attend a service and actually come forward for Salvation? Become Believers. Would they necessarily stop their homosexual lifestyle immediately? I say not necessarily but my Christian friends say yes, they should. I say for some it is a process. While they may not immediately stop the behavior right away eventually the power of living a Christian lifestyle and hearing the word, etc should eventually cause them to depart from this behavior.
But this is where I feel my thoughts agree with the Grace message, or so I feel, I have been hearing. I liken this to one who is saved but still smokes. Many don’t expect the smoker to immediately quit once they become Believers so why would we expect any other sinner. How about a heterosexual couple who live together but also attend a church together and are strong believers? Would we demand they quit “living in sin” right away?
And I do understand the idea that Grace is not a license to sin but……….Seems there are some quite obvious sins like murder, theft, etc that one would expect to not occur but what about lesser(for a better word) “sins”? No “Law” no sin as we’re under Grace. Oh my my head is spinning! lol
Expectation will be different depending on whom you say expects what. People will expect instant change even though they themselves know they did not change all their wrong ways immediately. The Father does not love with such expectation. He loves with faith and hope. People love with expectation of performance. And when we fail to meet their expectation they see our inability to change as rejection. Where grace abounds, sin abounds all the less.