Vessels not Vassals

Christian, do we really think that legislation is the cure for what ails the land? Do we really believe that we can extend love, grace, and mercy to a group of people that for all intents and purposes we are at war with? Do we really think that the kingdom of God is furthered by amendments and laws?  We are called to preach the gospel, not pass laws. Only the Spirit of God can change the hearts of men. We are called to be vessels of God’s spirit, not vassals of the world system.

Perhaps it is easier to take up arms, march out of classes and demonstrate than it is to get on our faces before God and repent of our own sins. Have we forgotten that the same verses of scripture used to condemn the homosexual also include unrighteousness, envy, murder, disobedient to parents, deceit, gossip, strife, malice, unloving, unmerciful, and without understanding in the same list of sins? When is the last time you as a Christian young person disobeyed your parents? Are you a gossip my dear brother? Are you arrogant? Do you lie to your family and friends? Are you envious? Let me ask you; are we to pass laws against these sins as well?

Maybe the answer to what ails the land is congruent with what ails the church. Perhaps we in the church should repent of murdering our babies, cheating on our wives, spending hours looking at porn on the internet, getting high, etc… Maybe then, after we return to the Lord with all our hearts allowing him to cleanse us and continuously fill us with his Spirit, our lives will be a living gospel transforming those around us. Could it be that what the world needs to see is a church arrayed in the beauty of holiness, a church consumed with love for her Lord, a church meting out agape instead of amendments?

Yes Christian, we are called to holiness. We do not condone sin or make excuses for it. But, that’s the conversation that should be happening within the church. Why are we surprised that the world is behaving immorally? They are without Christ, dead in their trespasses and sin, just like we were at one time. That’s what sinners do-sin. Do we honestly think we can legislate a new heart for them? Or, is that really our goal? Could it be that we are so in love with this world’s system, having confused the American Dream with the blessings of God, that we fear the nation’s sin will bring God’s judgment on the land , and we might lose all of our stuff? Spirit of God, search our hearts.

Let’s turn away from of our preoccupations with, “team Zimmerman,” “team Trayvon,” and our hatred for Dan Savage. Let’s come together in prayer and repentance, asking God to give us a hatred for the sin resident in our own lives. It is time for us to repent of our sin, turn away from our dead religion, quit “running to Egypt for help,” and wash our garments. Let us who are called by his name run to the cross, weep and pray between the porch and the altar, turn from our own wickedness, and return to the Lord in truth. For if the righteous are barely saved, what will become of the wicked. Do I hate sin because I am in love with a holy God, or because I am in love with a self-righteous me? Yes friend, judgment is coming, and it begins with God’s house.