1 Grandillusionarians

Inspired by Josh’s comment, I wondered why I thought it isn’t our job to stop people from sinning.

I think, starting with Mark 2:17, that Jesus came to call sinners, not the righteous, because it was the sinners who needed him. Those who claimed to be righteous were often rebuked. Jesus even warned us to “beware teachers of the law” because their focus was on the exterior, on appearance. Luke 20:46. What else did he tell us? That the entirety of the law depended on two commandments. First, to love the Lord, secondly, to love your neighbor. Matthew 22:37. We are to love others, not judge them. Nowhere in scripture are we ever given the commandment to judge or to correct. We are given the commandment to heal, to lead, to love, to forgive…..never to correct, never to judge, never to condemn. Why is this?

Paul, writing to the Romans, talks about judgment and sin. When we judge, we are judged by that measure we use. “You therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else….do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that Gold’s kindness leads you toward repentance.” Romans 2:2. Incidentally, and perhaps ironically, this verse comes immediately after Paul goes into a discussion on what seems to be the sin of homosexuality, as well as other sins.

In 1 Corinthians 13:13, Paul tells us that we have faith, hope, and love, the greatest of these being love. Now,….I know that this verse, as often happens with the scripture (it’s not all strictly consistent, you know), directly contradicts 1 Grandillusions 12:21, which states that “these we have…Faith, Hope, and Correction, the greatest of these being Correction.” But since both Paul and Jesus had somewhat strained relations with the Grandillusionarians, I’ll give greater weight to 1 Corinthians.

But why? Why is the greatest of these love? Paul said it. “God’s Kindness leads you toward repentance.” Watch when Jesus performed miracles, or forgave sins. He never asked for a conversion first. He never said, admit you’re wrong and I’m right, and then I’ll heal you. No, he looked first at their heart, at their needs, and their sickness. The cure was always kindness and love.

That began the healing process. Once we love him, we can have faith. Faith is the evidence of things not seen; it is the evidence of God in our lives. Hebrews 11:1. The more we love him, the more we trust Him, and we will let him into our lives. Once we do that, the more we will see Him at work. The more we see him at work, the more trust and faith we will have. From this is born hope. We learn to rely on our Saviour, and put our hope in him.

In a nutshell, I think it is God’s job to stop people from sinning, by changing their hearts. How does he do that? Forgiveness and love, which he shows through us. That is why Grandilussions was never inspired by God, and Corinthians was. Forgiveness changes a persons heart, both the subject and the object. While condemnation hardens it, again, for both the subject and the object.