The Truth vs Judging

The author of "Conversations with God," Neale Donald Walsch, said that God doesn't judge, that its not a part of His character. Well, that is not the God of the Bible I read. He isn't quick to judge, but He loves justice and truth. He does not stand for evil and won't let it thwart His plans for good. And He is the last, final, and ultimate judge of every human heart. We should have a reverence and healthy fear or respect for God. I do not think God is very happy with that man posing as Him and writing books with answers to people's questions that do not accurately depict His true character (which is what Walsch does in his books).

The word "judge" is getting a bad rap from Walsch. It's a dirty word that we tend to run away and hide from. We think we are evolved if we believe we are above that. Well, even though I do not believe we should judge people (the way many people wrongly judge others) I also think that it's important to remember that the TRUTH is not a variable, it's not irrelevant, and its not subjective. Diluting the life saving truth of God and Jesus' death on the cross and His resurrection, for example, doesn't help anyone! Yes, we are to love our neighbors as ourselves, I don't think we should lose sight of that. But there are times where its best to stand for what is TRUE and if you love someone, as a friend, or a family member, or a boyfriend or girlfriend, then you will lovingly speak the truth to them without it being watered down. And speaking this way to some people may feel like judgement, or un-fairness. But it is more loving to speak the truth then to walk on eggshells for fear of making someone feel judged and that person ending up in some place like H-e-l-l.

That's why I write my blog postings like I do, with passion and conviction, because I love you! I want you to know the life saving Truth of the Bible and Jesus' work on the cross. I also want you to know that I accept you for who God created you to be, Gay or Straight, black or white, Jew or Gentile... it doesn't matter. What matters to me is that you understand the Truth and that you ultimately accept that Truth personally in a life saving way!

After my Mom's passing I felt an even stronger urgency than I had before to talk to loved ones about their faith. I had been batting around the idea in my head that I should talk to my parents-in-law about Jesus and if they have accepted Him as their personal Savior. For several months prior to her death I had been feeling the tug of the Holy Spirit on my heart to have "the talk." While its one thing to blog away about my belief and to preach it loud and proud to a silent audience, its quite another to talk to your husband's parents about where they stand in relation to God and Jesus. Its always easier to talk to a complete stranger about my beliefs than it is family. Actually, even my husbands parents it was easy to talk about MY beliefs... but getting the conversation to sway in the direction of, "What do you think about Jesus and his death on the cross?" and make it about them was more uncomfortable. I feel like I am putting them on the spot, and well... I should. Its the only way to get the answers I was looking for, to be direct and not beat around the bush.

My Mom was a believer, a very devout Christian woman of faith. And I can't even explain how comforting it is to know without a doubt in my mind that she is in Heaven. I mourn, but in a different way. There is only ultimately joy to be found in her death. I miss her, and will miss her during many moments in my life: Christmas, Thanksgiving, the birth of my next child, every birthday of her grandchildren that she misses. But those pale in comparison to the experience she is having right now in the presence of her Savior, and her God! I am jealous in many ways. She has no more sorrow, or pain (physical or mental), or worries, or bills to pay, or sickness or any of the many other pains of this life. I will be very happy when the day comes that I get to join her among the choir of Angels in Heaven. It's a day every Christian looks forward to. And if I believe that Jesus is the Only True Way to God, and ultimately to Heaven, then I would have to hate you to not tell you about Jesus and The Way! Right?

So, no, I do not judge people for being Gay, or what ever else. I am not that person. I watch South Park, I watch rated R movies, I laugh at off color jokes, and quite a bit of other things that one may not associate a "good Christian" with. But I take it all with a grain of salt. I don't freak out where I see no need, but I do have my boundary lines. I do not like humor that is all sexual and vulgar and has profanity every other word, it assails my ears! But seeing a sex scene in the midst of a movie doesn't make me stand up and leave and demand a refund. I am not saying that Christians who do that are wrong for doing so, or uptight... I am just drawing you a picture of me personally. I guess I like being able to relate to people on a somewhat "normal" level and not live like a Puritan (even though I do respect many people that do choose to live their life with stricter standards). I was more like that as a young Christian, in my teen years. So I know what its like to live like that, and to be raised in a home like that. My Dad pulled us all out of the movie "Dragnet" in the 80's because there was a stripper bar scene that came along and he didn't want his kids to see that. And as a parent I probably would do the same with my kids, if they were as young as we were at the time. But as an adult that wouldn't stop me from watching the rest of the movie. Anyways... I guess what I am saying is that I am a well balance person. I do have my morals, and I will raise my kids to have some propriety and guard them from things that are only meant for adult eyes, but I will also sit down with you and laugh while watching South Park as they mock the many religions that are out there and our politicians etc. Its funny! I think the creators and writers of that show are very witty and insightful, even if I disagree with their point of view. I know when to laugh and when not to take it personally.

That all said, there is one area of my Christian faith that I will NOT back down on... and that is who Jesus is and the saving work of the cross! Jesus was God in the flesh, the Messiah that the Jews have been waiting for all their life! All throughout the Old Testament of the Bible there were prophesies that foretold His coming. All those prophecies came true in Jesus! And the possibility of that is so amazing that it would be impossible for anyone to fake being the Messiah. Things like his birthplace and lineage, for example, are things that one would not be able to control and "fake." (There is a book by Lee Strobel called "Case for Christ" that I strongly recommend to anyone who questions the validity of who Jesus claimed to be and the Bible. It says that "the probability of just eight prophecies being fulfilled is one chance in one hundred million billion.") Jesus did die on the cross, its a fact! And he rose from the dead, there are witnesses! And there is an empty tomb that no one disputed, even those that hated Jesus and his followers. If Jesus never rose from the dead and was still in the tomb there were many that would have been glad to point that fact out, but they didn't... they only confirmed that He was gone!

There is plenty of evidence out there to support the Bible and Jesus, and Christianity. But there is enough of a need of personal faith as well, which is an important ingredient to being Saved! Salvation is given to us, even to those that haven't seen Jesus die on the cross or witness his Ascension into Heaven after his resurrection, if we just BELIEVE in Him. If we believe that He is who He said He was, God, and accept that his death on the cross was a covering for our sins and imperfections, we will be saved. [Romans 10:9 "If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."] Its a marvelous and amazing gift! [Ephesians 2:8-9 "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast."] All it takes is for you to accept that gift, open it, receive it, and make it your own.

Imagine that there is a package that has been sent to your doorstep as a gift. You pass by it every day, on your way out of your home and when you come back home. Maybe you eventually even decide to pick it up and put it inside your home somewhere, but you don't open it. You walk around it or perhaps store it some place to open another time. What does it take for that package to become more than a gift and to make it your own personal possession? You have to open it! Take it out of the box and make it your own! Jesus is that gift that is waiting to be opened. You may know who Jesus is, or believe in God... but that isn't enough! James 2:19 says, "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that - and shudder." It's not enough to KNOW, you have to ACCEPT. Make that life changing, heart altering decision, accept Jesus as your own PERSONAL Savior, not just someone else's Savior... claim Him as YOUR Lord.

So if I say to you that I do not believe you or someone else is going to Heaven because they do not believe Jesus is Lord, that God raised Him from the dead... am I judging or loving? I would hope you would see that as loving. Also it is a wise thing to judge the words of others cults, religions, and false idols against the life giving Truth of God's Word, the Bible, rather than blindly accept them as true. There are many counterfeit, half-truths out there. You need to be strong, be wise, test those things that exist out there to see if they are really True! If they leave out the work of Jesus death on the cross as the only way to Salvation, then it is false. Many people will water that part down or play it's importance down, and that is a quick way to figure out what is the Truth and what is false. [Read Romans 16:17-20 for further encouragement.]