Christian Sin


People are out there who strive to rebuke and condemn.  Our job is not to judge or save.  Our job IS to bring people to the one who saves.  We can not be arrogant enough to truly assume that our hasty condemnation, of the gay man at Express, will give this man the water of life, nor that we can send him to eternal punishment in Hell.Sometimes I wonder if we really have it. Ya know? As a Christian living in a very non-christian world, I wonder why some people treat non christians like they do.Why do Christians lash out at people whom they disagree with?My theory consists of two premises.Premise One   You can not argue with the fact that we all adapt. Not in the way that Darwin explained but, instead in the way that we live our lives. Not changing our physical makeup at all, but rather our emotional make up.  Premise one focuses on the evolution of our emotional state because of the effects of peer pressure, either good or bad.We can use this to better society and contribute by adding good peer pressure or the opposite, bad peer pressure to crush people.  If a certain person who is not at all prestigious, walks into a  room and is made the butt of our jokes, he will sooner or later change the way he looks at himself and ultimately how he acts.  He will eventually either:A:  Stop entering into the situation that persecutes him.orB: Change the way that he enters.The young man's emotions have been manipulated.  He may change the way he dresses or acts or he may change the things he says around those certain people.Like I did mention, it can be used for the better.  If when you enter a room and all of the people immediately quit using profane language, they have changed the way they see you.  You, through your character, have shown them that you have a higher standard.  As a result, they strive to reach your standard, or they stop entering that situation.Premise Two  Premise two's statement is that because we were born in sin then we still have sin instincts.  If we were born into Christianity, and that was all we knew, it would be odd for us to treat our neighbor poorly, but instead it is the opposite.We were born with the sin instinct. We are ready to lash out at our neighbor or curse someone that hurts us or react judgmentally towards someone who does not meet our standards. Would you expect someone who had grown up in the Jungles of the Congo to be able to have a formal meal with the Queen of England?  It wouldn't be his normal. He would revert to his old habits and instincts.So the answer to our original question is this.  Because we were born in sin we have that sin instinct. Even though we hold ourselves to a higher standard than before, we still have that sin instinct.  We are not perfect so we will sin and the old habits will come back.  You being condemning and hateful comes back from the depths of our original nature.We need to know and understand our place.  We need to stand up and be a beacon for those around us so they can go to Christ, the one who saves.Jesus didn't come to condemn, he came to save through relationship and love. Yes at some point we will all have to answer for our sins but, the One came and took all of our sins and died with them on the cross. He did this so we did not have to. He has risen and is alive. Show love and compassion not hatred and condemnation.