Condemn or Love?

"What would Jesus do?"

Matthew 5:26-28 (King James Version)
26Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.27Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:28But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

In John
8 (King James Version), Jesus dealt with the the scribes and Pharisees of a woman committed adultery. Jesus wrote on the ground.9And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.10When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? 11She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

The love of Jesus is so inclusive that love knows no boundaries. We may be disgusted with other people's beliefs or their lifestyles. We are often ready to condemn and turn away from them. But not Jesus, He keeps on loving them. During all of 3 years of His ministry, Jesus helped an "unworthy" person more than worthy. The great spiritual needs around us should drive us back to the gospel records of the life and ministry of our Lord Jesus. The best thing we know about our Lord and Savior is that He loves all sinners. He has always love the outcast and for that we should be glad, for we, too, were once outcasts.

When we argue and disagree, we will know what kind of a Christian others are and what kind of a heart they have. We always argue over things that we love, or that we disagree. If you look back that Jesus rebuked religious leaders who had extreme doctrines that intimindated others who don't follow their rules. Christian faith is not to manipulate and intimidate people with doctrines but rather allow the Holy Spirit to do the work in convicting people's hearts. We are not to persuade people to follow certain extremist views of doctrines (that each of us hold) because only God can take care of that based on each individual as the Holy Spirit convicts their hearts. It is something of a paradox that while thoughts deeply affect a person's will and go far to determine a person's choices, a person's will on the other hand has the power to control the thoughts.

In the concept of God's forgiveness, this also contradicts. God loves us very much and has forgiven our sin (i.e. adultery & divorce) when we confessed it from our heart. He not only forgives our sins but rebuilds our lives from where we are. Love hopes all things (1 Corinth 13). Love refuses to take human failure as final. With Christ in me, my human failures are never final. Love never keeps a record of wrongs. Love forgives and love is unable to think about them anymore. Forget the past and move on. Focus on the future as I focus on Christ at the same time. Romans 4:8 (also Psalms 32:2) "Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him". That if a local church forgive those who sinned (divorce), our heavenly Father will forgive us. But if we refuse to forgive others, our Father will not forgive our sins. Jesus is also saying that He cannot do our repenting for us. He died for our sins, now it is up to us to pick up the cross. "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what as lost." Luke 19:10 (Many are called, but few are chosen.) The rest of mankind... still did not repent.

"Faith...comes only when the outward fact penetrates to the inner heart of man and takes possession of him there -- and this is the work of the Spirit." ------ George Hendry, The Holy Spirit in Christian Theology.

Love is an act of endless forgiveness. Jean Vanier

"God never gives us discernment in order that we may criticize, but that we may intercede." ------ Oswald Chambers "Defend the Bible?

If we truly love people, we will desire for them far more than it is within our power to give them, and this will lead us to prayer: Intercession is a way of loving others. Richard J. Foster

When a Christian shuns fellowship with other Christians, the devil smiles. When he stops studying the Bible, the devil laughs. When he stops praying, the devil shouts for joy. Corrie ten Boom