Love your neighbor.

Anne Rice, who ten years ago famously rejoined Christianity, has recently renounced Christianity, in the name of Christ. This was done on her Facebook after a series of postings about things rather notorious "Evangelical Christian" groups have done; most notably Westbrook Baptist Church, famous for protesting soldiers and declaring that God hates people.

Ann's Facebook Page



While the Westbrook group is extreme, and most Christians would argue that they are off base by declaring that "God hates the world and all it's people," there is a tremendous amount of antipathy and hostility coming from America's pulpits. A lot of it is directed towards the homosexual community, and towards the "liberals". This stems from Evangelical Christianity's focus on "holiness" and "righteousness".



There is an idea among Evangelical Christians that they must obey the moral laws laid down in the Bible, and that failure to do so equates to damnation. This is coupled with the idea that God is actively punishing people and nations for failure to adhere to the moral laws laid out in scripture. I believe that these ideas are off base, and are missing a larger point.



In the books of Romans and Galatians, the apostle Paul spends quite a bit of time re-emphasizing one point in various ways. It is this, no one is able to obey all of God's moral laws because we are all broken in some way, God knows this, and he has provided a means of help. To put a more modern spin on it 1.) everyone has issues, and everyone has done things they shouldn't have. That is human nature. 2.) Actions have consequences, and sometimes the consequences are harsh. At the same time, everyone needs forgiveness, and everyone needs help dealing with life. God gets this and provides mediation and forgiveness through Christ. 3.) No one is perfect, but the goal is to become better. The idea is to be kind, loving, and patient with each other and to each other. God provides an example and help to this end through Christ and through his Spirit.


Anne further goes on to say that:

"It's simply impossible for me to "belong" to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group."

She continues to say that she refuses to be anti-gay, anti-Democrat, anti-feminist, etc. In a video interview, she says that she has struggled with how much Christianity backs away from the teachings of love and forgiveness for others, and sites several examples. Her over-arching argument is that the teachings of Christ emphasize loving others, and she doesn't see that in Christianity. She makes the argument that, historically, you see quite the opposite in Christianity. Sadly, this is true.

I think that a lot of Christian leadership has gotten caught up in what it thinks are the pressing moral issues of the day, and entirely misses the point. It then becomes a matter of fighting with society over moral issues, or fighting with other Christians over doctrinal positions.

The pressing moral and doctrinal issue of any day is to love people. Christ taught, that of all God's moral laws two were most important. They were these: 1.) Love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. 2.) Love your neighbor just as you love yourself.

When Christ taught about the judgment of God, he didn't speak about what rules people broke. He spoke about judging people based on how they treated others.


Matthew 25:31-40

31)"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32.)All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33.) He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.


34.) "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35.) For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36.) I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'


37.) "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38.) When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39.) When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'


40.) "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'


What we can take from this, from the two great commandments, and from the famous Sermon on the Mount is rather simple:

How you treat others is how you treat God.

"Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."

How you let others treat you is how you let others treat God.

How you treat yourself is how you treat God.

"Love your neighbor as yourself."

It changes things when you consider that God considers everyone you deal with, Christian or not, a representative of himself, and that he judges us based on how we treat him/them. It changes how you treat people in traffic. It changes how you treat your spouse. It changes how you treat your children. It changes how you treat strangers. It requires you to be more thoughtful and deliberate in your dealings with others. It also requires you to be more deliberate in how you live your daily life.

For example, when a Christ follower is dealing with people who don't believe in Christ, God's judgment would be something like: "My immortal soul was in danger, and I needed someone to show me who Christ is and what He's all about, and you did that for me." (or the scary/bad ending) "And you didn't do that for me."

or

"I was dealing with a rough patch in life, and I needed someone to walk with me through that and you did" or "and you didn't do that for me."

or

"I was struggling with issues of sexual orientation and you told me you disagreed with the lifestyle, but remained a compassionate and loyal friend", or "you held protests against me, ostracized me, and told me I was going to hell."

It's really hard to hold the moral high ground when you understand that God doesn't judge you based on how well you obey moral laws; but judges based on whether you accept the forgiveness he offers, and on how well you treat those around you.


Sources:

Galatians 2:11-21

11When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. 12Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. 13The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.

14When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, "You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?

15"We who are Jews by birth and not 'Gentile sinners' 16know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.

17"If, while we seek to be justified in Christ, it becomes evident that we ourselves are sinners, does that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! 18If I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove that I am a lawbreaker. 19For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. 20I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"[d]





Matthew 5:44-48


43)"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor[h] and hate your enemy.' 44.)But I tell you: Love your enemies[i] and pray for those who persecute you, 45.) that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46.) If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47.) And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48.) Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.


Matthew 25:31-40

31)"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32.)All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33.) He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

34.) "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35.) For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36.) I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

37.) "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38.) When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39.) When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

40.) "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'


1 John 4:7-21

7) Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8) Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9) This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son[b] into the world that we might live through him. 10)This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for[c] our sins. 11) Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12) No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

13) We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14) And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15) If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. 16)And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 17) In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. 18) There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

19) We love because he first loved us. 20) If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. 21) And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.


Romans 7:7-25

Romans 7:7-25 (New International Version)

Struggling With Sin
7What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, "Do not covet."[a] 8But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from law, sin is dead. 9Once I was alive apart from law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. 10I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death.

11For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. 12So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good. 13Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! But in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it produced death in me through what was good, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.

14We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[b] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

21So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.


The Parable of the Good Samaritan

Luke 10:25-37

25On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

26"What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?"

27He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'[c]; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'[d]"

28"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."

29But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

30In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two silver coins[e] and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'

36"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"

37The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."
Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."