Tag: Sin

The Ultimate Betrayal

Today’s a new day! On this Wednesday of Holy Week, we remember how one of Jesus disciples Judas Iscariot betrayed Him. The same Judas who had walked with Jesus and the other disciples and who Jesus loved. How could Judas betray Jesus? Let’s take a closer look.

Ultimately It was Judas’ choice to betray Jesus, but it wasn’t just one bad choice, it was a series of bad decisions. The first decision was to confer with the chief priests. The second was agreeing to their terms. And then he had to intentionally seek an opportunity to betray Jesus. 

But isn’t that how life works? One bad decision, can lead to another bad decision and before we know it, we become someone we do not recognize.

Let me stop before I end up writing a different post and let’s continue unpacking Judas betrayal of Jesus.

What did Judas get out of this betrayal? Thirty pieces of silver. In Biblical times, that was equivalent to four months wages. It was the exact price paid to a master if his slave died by an ox (Exodus 21:32). That’s all the chief priest, the elders and Judas considered Jesus to be worth. Thirty pieces of silver. While it was not an insignificant amount, it certainly wasn’t a get rich quick scheme. But did Judas really do it for the money?

As I have studied Judas betrayal of Jesus, I came across some interesting opinions. Many scholars and historians believe Judas became disenchanted when Jesus didn’t prove to be the political leader he had hoped. Judas was caught up in the narrative of overthrowing the Roman Empire. Other scholars and historians believe that the Jewish authorities viewed a rebellion as potentially dangerous for the Jewish people. Could Judas have handed Jesus over in order to prevent a larger rebellion?

While we may never completely understand Judas’ motives, we know he regretted his actions. Fulfilling Zechariah’s prophecy, he gave the silver to the temple and later hung himself in the field they purchased with the blood money. The guilt and regret was too much for Judas to handle.

While it’s easy to sit around and vilify Judas, remember, Judas isn’t responsible for Christ’s death. It was our sins that held Jesus on that cross. We are all guilty of condemning Jesus to death. I hope Judas’ shocking betrayal will remind us to question our own motives and consider where our loyalties lie. Just because someone is in ministry or serving others does not mean they love Jesus. If someone who followed Jesus so closely could turn his back on him, we must guard our hearts and minds from loving the things of this world more than we love Jesus. Popularity. Money. Political Ideology. Religious Denominations. Nothing should come before Jesus.

And let us not forget, after agreeing to betray Jesus, Judas returned to Jesus to partake in the Last Supper and have his feet washed by Jesus. Just waiting for the perfect moment to hand Jesus over in the ultimate betrayal.

So on this Spy Wednesday, let us remember how quickly things can change when we take our eyes off of Jesus and put them on the material things of this world. ~OC

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Not in the Bible

Today’s a new day! There is a saying in the Church and the Christian Community that has always bothered me. Maybe it’s rubbed you the wrong way too.

“Love the sinner, hate the sin.”

Not a fan.

As Christians, we can repeat that phrase quicker than we can recite John 3:16, Romans 6:23 or Psalm 137:9. I encourage you to check them out.

Here’s the problem. Jesus never said it. The Apostle Paul never wrote it in any of his letters. Moses never carved it into a tablet. King David never used it in a song.

“Love the sinner, hate the sin” is not a Bible verse. Surprise! Surprise! You can look from Genesis to Revelation, but you will never find it.

To be fair, maybe the phrase draws on some different scriptures. But you will never find the phrase “Love the sinner, hate the sin.”in the Bible.

I guess somewhere in church history, the phrase evolved into being a neatly packaged quip ready for quick and easy use.

It is like opening a packet of instant hot chocolate or preparing a cup of instant coffee; here, though, we have instant judgment.

Yes, of course, I love you, but … And off we go on the long judgment train.

It appears some Christian’s consider the saying more authoritative than what Jesus actually does say in the Bible (things like not judging others. Check out Matthew 7:1-5).

One of the issues with “love the sinner, hate the sin” is that the second part of the saying always gets in the way of the first part.

The second part of this phrase gives people the license to judge others, to hold something against someone else. That doesn’t seem like love to me.

When people use the phrase “love the sinner, hate the sin” it blocks their ability to love people God loves. This phrase brands someone as less than, not good enough or worthy enough for God’s unconditional love.

The phrase “love the sinner, hate the sin” puts condition on our love for others. I will love you, but only so far; there are limits. It makes people unable to see beyond what they consider faults or sins in someone else’s life. It makes people unwilling to see anything more than what they do not like about an individual or groups of people.

In my flawed Christian life, I will never be able to love people as God loves them, or as God loves me.

But something that Jesus really does say is, “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.” Luke 6:37-38

In the Gospels according to Matthew and Luke, Jesus says we should pay attention to the big oak tree growing in our own eyes and distorting our vision.

We get all worked up about something that looks like a speck in someone else’s eye, but, truthfully, we cannot see much of anything with that big ole red wood tree sticking out all over our face and blocking our view.

If we actually looked at our own lives, we might discover that what we thought was a horrible speck of dirt in another person’s eye in need of removal was really just a harmless eye freckle.

So today, let’s not get so fixated on the things we do not like and make a conscious decision to just love people. Warts and all. ~OC

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Romans 8:1

Today’s a new day! I am currently studying Romans and here are some thoughts from Romans 8:1:

In Romans 8:1, we read “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

The power of Paul’s words are very strong. There is absolutely no possibility of condemnation coming from God towards believers. Once you are in Christ you are uncondemnable by God.

But what is condemnation? It is an unfavorable or adverse judgment made about us. God makes no unfavorable or adverse judgment about his children.

Now, we might condemn ourselves. We might not yet feel and experience the grace of God upon our lives. We might roll around in our feelings of guilt and shame for past mistakes but this is not from God. There is no condemnation from him.

We might feel condemnation from the world. Others might point and criticize and judge. Being a disciple of God’s will raise the bar of expectation. Condemnation might flow from others, but this is not from God. There is no condemnation from him.

And condemnation might come from the enemy of our souls. A shadowy feeling of failure is a great weapon of the enemy. The enemy loves to convince us of God’s dissatisfaction in our lives, but this also is not from God. There is no condemnation from him. ~OC

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Racism In America

The following was written based on the white guy from Arizona who traveled to Atlanta in May to start a race war in America. The story broke my heart. I wanted to take some time before commenting on this horrible incident. So here I go.

Anyone who believes racism is no longer an issue in America is lying to themselves. Some might say this is an isolated incident, but it’s not. This story just made the news. But every day, there is a good chance a person of color will face some type of racism. That’s not a made up statistic, a political statement, it’s a fact. As a nation, we can no longer keep our heads in the sand and hope racism away. We need to have constructive dialogue on the issue of racism in America. There can be no American Dream if we refuse to acknowledge and discuss this issue. We cannot experience unity if we refuse to have real conversations about racism. We cannot honestly say the United States of America, if we do not discuss the issue of division caused by racism in America. This is a conversation where everyone needs to be sitting at the table. Only by having real, raw and constructive conversations can we even begin to think about a country and world without racism. I hope you will take your seat at the table. I will be waiting. ~OC

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Stop Using Jesus

Dear Christian Brothers and Sisters,

We need to talk. I need to share my concerns over the current state of Christianity in America. This talk is not meant to attack the Church or my fellow believers in Jesus Christ. But I feel, I need to share my concerns. Did you catch that? My concerns. My opinions. My thoughts.

When I study scripture, I see a God who is loving, forgiving and stern when the situation calls for it. I see a God who is full of grace and mercy. I think we could all use a little grace and mercy. As I study scripture, I see a lot of Love. There is even a chapter in the Bible called the Love Chapter (Check out 1 Corinthians Chapter 13). Jesus commands us to love. To keep no record of wrongs. To be patient. To not boast. To not be rude. If you check out the books of Matthew and Mark, they talk about not judging others. As I have studied the scriptures, I still have not found a section where it says we should be judging or hating others.

In some circles, Christianity as become more about what we hate and less about what we love. That breaks my heart. More importantly, it breaks Jesus heart. When did Jesus give us permission to start categorizing the levels of sin? Or to hate someone based on their brand of sin? Once again, I looked through scripture and did not find any giving us that permission. Sin is sin. Jesus  is not up in heaven categorizing sin. I do believe Jesus is shedding some tears because we judge people more harshly based on their brand of sin. I totally get why some people want nothing to do with this brand of Christianity and why so many people walk away from Jesus. Have you turned on the tv, scrolled through social media or walked  into some churches lately? Some people have turned Christianity into a bad Jerry Springer Show. I know the Church is full of broken people, but we must do better. We share we love Jesus and his teachings, but our actions and words show a completely different story. We cannot only talk the talk of faith, we must live it out. The Church and it’s people need to be a safe place for other broken people to come. In Mark 2:17, Jesus shares “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Did you catch that? 

I truly love the Church and it’s people. I have spent over half of my life in the church. I have spent over half of my life reading and studying scripture. That is why it grieves me, that so many professed Christians spend more time judging others than they do loving them. Jesus did not come down from heaven, die on the cross and rise three days later so we could judge others. No, Jesus came down from heaven, died on the cross and rose three days later to teach us the true meaning of love. So dear Christian brothers and sisters, lets stop using Jesus to judge and spread hate. Instead let us be a people of love, forgiveness and grace. ~OC

 

 

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Why We Need To Talk About Racism

I can hear it now. OC is talking about racism again. Can I be honest with you? I really do not like talking about racism. I know that is hard for some of you to believe, based on all my post about racism. But truly, I wish I never had to talk about racism again. Really, I do. So OC, why do you keep talking and writing about racism? Good question. I am glad you asked.

As a white man in America, I have a lot of privileges. I did not asked for these privileges. I did nothing to earn these privileges. I just happened to be born white in America. But as a white man in America, I have been bestowed these privileges for simply being born white. Here are some examples of my white privilege in America.

*I can walk down the street and no one is going to clutch their bag a little tighter. My brothers and sisters of color do not have that same privilege.

*I can hail a cab with no problems. My brothers and sisters of color do not have that same privilege.

*I can walk through any store and not be followed by security. My brothers and sisters of color do not have that same privilege.

*I can drive in any neighborhood and not fear being pulled over by the police for simply driving. My brothers and sisters of color do not have that same privilege.

I wonder how many people stopped reading when I mentioned white privilege.? I hope you stayed with me and take some time to really think about the examples above. Those are not made up examples. Those things plus a lot more happen everyday in America. That is why I will continue to talk and write about racism in America. I believe with everything going on in our nation, we can no longer make excuses for not talking about racism. Only by discussing the issue of racism, can we hope to end one of the original sins of America. ~OC

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Criticizing America is Not a Sin

Over the last week or so, there has been a lot of debate about criticizing America. Some people believe if you criticize America and it’s leaders you should pack up and leave the country. Others, like myself believe it is healthy to discuss the warts of America. That does not mean we do not love America. Actually, it shows that we really love this nation.

America was built on people having the right to share their concerns about this beautiful country. These debates have shaped this nation. Let’s take a look at some of those debates.

Women’s Suffrage. In 2020, we will celebrate 100 years since the ratification of the 19th Amendment. This gave women the right to vote. Did you catch that date? Women have only had the right to vote for 99 years. The brave women of the Suffrage Movement were criticized for criticizing the way things were being done in America. Can you imagine the Sunday dinner conversations? But those brave souls did not pack up and leave America. No, they pushed forward until the 19th Amendment was ratified and signed on August 18, 1920.

End of Slavery. Who can forget we actually fought a war against each other over this terrible part of American history. Imagine if some very brave people would have stayed silent and not criticized America about the sin of slavery. We would never have seen the passage of the 13th Amendment which was ratified and signed on December 18, 1865.

Civil Rights Act. For some this seems so long ago, but this landmark act was signed on July 2, 1964. That was only 55 years ago. Some people reading this were alive during this turbulent time in America’s history. Some were on the right side of history, while others fought to hold on to the terrible past of America. The brave souls of the Civil Rights Movement were criticized for wanting to make America a better place for all. Some gave their lives for that freedom. What if they would had stayed silent? Where would we be as a nation?

I could go on and on with examples of how America was changed for the better by people who criticized her. Think about all those people involved in the examples above. Today, we celebrate them. But during those struggles, those same people were being beaten and killed for speaking up. So before you pass judgement on those brave enough to criticize America, remember America was built on people criticizing her. Oh, by the way, criticizing America is not a sin. It is a right that many have died for. A right we should continue to fight for. ~OC

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