On the afternoon of Tuesday, February 27, 2018, I stepped out of my final class for the day and on my way to lunch, I saw a man in suspenders and a blue shirt openly persecuting students for their life choices. The guy was a Christian speaker who proclaimed "If you cuss, you are going to burn in hell!"
And seeing this guy spout stuff like this out of his mouth stirred up a qualm in me to rectify any misconceptions people will no doubt have of Christians because of this guy.
Here are some clairifications about Christianity:
1. Not all Christian are as judgmental as guys like that
All Christians are sinners. Until the day a Christian dies and rejoins God in heaven, a Christian is a sinner.
Therefore, we all have sins we commit that are displeasing to God. Even pastors of churches have sinned, and you expect them to be the most pious people. It's human nature to have sinned. The only man to live on this earth without sin is Jesus Christ.
2. Cussing is bad, yes, but even if we live perfect lives, we still fall short of the glory of God
It even says this in the Bible, the book most judgmental Christians claim to be preaching from. In Romans 3:23 it says "for all have sinned and fall short from the glory of God."
This means no matter what works we do, we are still falling short of the glory of God. To be with God, we must believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He died on the cross as punishment for our sins and rose from the dead after three days of death. That's it. That is the golden ticket!
3. Judgment is bad, according to the Bible
In John chapter 7, Jesus was judged by the Jews for claiming to be the Son of God, making himself out to be a blasphemer.
A Webster's definition of blasphemy is "the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for God".
The Jews didn't believe Jesus was the Son of God and thought he was making everything He said up. Finally, in John 7:24 NIV, Jesus says "Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly." "Appearances" can be interpreted many ways.
This could mean physical or character appearances. If a person is doing something wrong, the proper way to handle the situation is to tell them in a nice tone that their actions are wrong.
However, people take this one step further and begin judging people for the things they do wrong. This is wrong.
4. Do not let these people scare you from Christianity
Christianity, in my opinion, is good. I know a lot of people who are Christians and they are good-hearted people.
The message of Jesus dying on the cross for our sins is an inspirational story because no sane father would send his son to die for strangers. But God loved us so much that He sent His son down from heaven to receive the wrath and the punishment we so deserve for the sins we commit.
Jesus is basically your lawyer and God your judge. Jesus will intercede on your behalf and defend you from God's judgment if you just believe in Jesus.
I hope all the people who read this have the opportunity to receive the gift of God's love because it can change your life.
