Luke 19:10 "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."
I read an interesting letter to the editor in my local newspaper tonight. In it, the writer was denouncing the musicians who pen these anti-war songs yet then claim that they are for the troops. The writer, an ex-Marine who served in
I agree. And you can't separate Jesus Christ from His mission. You can't claim that you love His teachings, His compassion, His radical upheaval of the established religions, His confrontation with the political authorities, yet then say that you don't support His mission to save sinners who are going to a very real hell. The salvation of the lost is who He is - it was His stated purpose for coming to earth in human form.
He did not come to be compassionate, He is compassionate by nature. He did not come to establish a new religious thought or system, that's something we've done. He did not come to make a kind and loving people, because that was not the problem. He came because people are by nature deeply rooted in sin and are dying in it. If you try to wrap other missions around Christ but deny the inherent sinfulness of man and the reality of judgment and hell, you miss who He is and why He came. You can't have it both ways - a Savior for people who don't need saving.
4 comments:
You hit the nail right on the head, Pastor Tom, as this is something I think of daily. Those people who stand and say, "I SUPPORT THE TROOPS BUT NOT THE WAR" make me crazy. Its the biggest oxymoron I've ever heard. The same holds true for those who say, "I am a Christian, but because God forgives all my sins, I can go on about my sinful ways because he will forgive me everytime..." It's like the Pharasees in the new testament--they did things for show and praise, but not becuase they were really praising God. They denied our Savior yet claimed to be so holy. As someone who loves Jesus with all my heart, I hurt for Him to know that people use him as a "get out jail free" card. There's no point in saying it if you don't really belive it. In this country we are taught to "stand up for what you belive in," yet if you belive in Christ, you need to sit down and keep quiet. Sad, sad reality...
I think that we all wish we could say that we stand for the man and the mission but a lot of us like sandra said stay quiet. and when we stay quiet nobody knows what we stand for which is just as bad. dont you think? Us staying quiet is like people who dont vote because they dont think it will make a difference but really it is every man and womens duty to vote.
Tom, you make a great point. I find this to be an incredibly difficult topic. This is because I am decidedly anti-war. I believe that we are to live like the Kingdom of God were here and now, and I tend to lean on the side of non-violence, BUT, I still struggle with this very often. I have friends, as do others, who are serving their country in battle. I truly believe that they are honorable people that their intention is to serve and protect the American people. These are certainly pure intentions!
However, I feel that it is a sad truth that we live in a fallen world where most things must be decided through violent action. As followers of Christ, we must decide if the action is Just and Right, and if Christ would find truth in our efforts to serve and protect not only our people, but the rest of the world. These are the questions that I struggle with daily. I love and support my friends who serve and fight for this earthly land, but we must remember that we serve a higher kingdom.
I support Christ and His mission of peace, love for our enemies and prayer for those who persecute us. Therefore, must I support my friends and countrymen in their missions, or must I support Christ and His mission? If the two coincide, then YES to both, but if one is not in agreement with the other, I will try to follow Christ.
I realized that I got completely off topic in my comment. You analysis was great Tom. Christ's mission was certainly to seek and save the lost. Thanks very much for tackling the difficult topics!
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