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Stop saying “Christians Aren’t Perfect”

By Jeremy Myers
17 Comments

Stop saying “Christians Aren’t Perfect”

I am so tired of hearing Christians say “Christians aren’t perfect” as an excuse for bad Christian behavior.

The statement can also come out like this:

“Well, the church is a hospital for sick people.”

or

“No church is perfect.”

or

“Christians are sinners too.”

or my favorite of all (*barf*),

“Christians aren’t perfect … just forgiven.”

christians-arent-perfect

These sorts of statements are usually said when you are critical of a church, a church leader, or some other Christian for something they said or did.

If you say that a pastor doesn’t practice what he preaches, or if a church makes poor decisions about how to spend their money, or if a Christian group behaves meanly, arrogantly, or rudely toward some non-Christian group, the response you will often get back is “Well, Christians aren’t perfect.”

Seriously?

What is so hard about saying

“You are right. That was mean. I am sorry.”

or

“That was selfish. I am sorry.”

or

“That was insensitive and judgmental. I am sorry.”

say Im sorryIt is true that everything we need to know in life we learned in Kindergarten, and one of the main things we learned in Kindergarten was the importance of saying we’re sorry to others when we hurt them.

Many of us Christians need to go back to Kindergarten to learn the lesson all over again. When we hurt someone (even if it is unintentional), we need to say “I’m sorry.”

(By the way, apologizing for all the pain we experience in life is one of the things God was doing in Jesus on the cross. Think on it!)

And please, don’t add a “but” to your apology. Don’t say, “I’m sorry, but …”. Grace has no but, and neither do apologies.

And as long as I’m on the subject …

Usually when Christians say, “Well, Christians aren’t perfect either,” they then go on to point out the sin in other people, and if you challenge them on why they can point out sin in the lives of others, they say, “I can’t just overlook sin. Someone has to point out sin in people’s life. If I keep silent, I am condoning the sin.”

I have three things to say against this line of thought.

First, maybe someone does need to point out sin in other people’s life. But that someone is not you. It is the job of the Holy Spirit to convict the world of sin (John 16:8). So unless you are a member of the Trinity, you don’t need to point out the sin in other people’s lives.

Second, if you point out sin in other people’s lives, but then justify your own rude sinful behavior by saying, “Well, nobody’s perfect,” what kind of hypocrisy is that? You don’t want other people to justify their own sin, but you are more than happy to justify your own by saying, “Christians aren’t perfect”?

Third, yes, yes, yes, I am falling into the same trap here myself by pointing out sinful behavior in the lives of others instead of just letting the Holy Spirit do it, and yes, maybe my tone here is not that loving or kind toward my sinning Christian brethren who talk rudely and unkindly toward others.

But you know what? You should just let me be mean and rude and angry toward you because, after all, “Christians aren’t perfect.”

God is Redeeming Theology Bible & Theology Topics: apology, forgiveness, Theology of Sin, Theology of the Church

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I’m Ashamed to be a Christian

By Jeremy Myers
14 Comments

I’m Ashamed to be a Christian

Ashamed to be a ChristianSome days, I’m ashamed to be a Christian.

Today is one of those days.

I want to issue a public apology to all people everywhere who were ever hurt, slandered, abused, or hated in the name of Christ.

I am sorry for what has been done in the name of Jesus.

Ashamed to be a Christian

The reason I am ashamed to be a Christian today is because of a website I ran across which is solely dedicated to spreading the terrible idea that the God of the Bible hates everybody.

The site is so mean and hurtful and angry, I kept wondering if it was just a terrible, horrible, awful joke. I am not going to post the site, because I don’t want anybody to go to it. It is the most despicable, hateful, hurtful, angry, website I have ever come across, and it is all run by “Christians” who claim to be working for “the Gospel.”

One entire section of the site is geared toward helping Christians gather and picket people and businesses with signs that say “God hates _______ (fill in the blank).” I am astounded at the people and places they are planning on picketing, and the way they do it is despicable. They call such events “Picket Crusades.” It’s very reminiscent of the actual Crusades, except that swords and horses have been swapped out for signs and bullhorns.

Personally, I think God hates “Christians” who proclaim hate in the name of God.

Maybe some of us other Christians should get a group together and go picket these picketers. We could write signs that say “God hates people who make signs that say ‘God hates _____ (fill in the blank).'” I’m jesting, but that would be quite a circus.

When people go out in the name of Jesus to do such things, it makes me ashamed to be a Christian, or at least, ashamed to call myself a Christian.

I am Not Ashamed of Christ

Though I may be ashamed to be a Christian when so-called Christians proclaim hate in the name of Christ, I am not ashamed to associate myself with Jesus Christ.

Such hateful behaviors and actions have nothing to do with Jesus, look nothing like Jesus, and are not at all what Jesus taught or wanted His followers to do.

The truth is that while I feel very sorry for what has been done in the name of Jesus, I also feel very sorry for the people who do it. What is going on in their lives, hearts, and minds to cause them to say and do such things? I feel awful that they think this is the way God is. I wonder what can be done to show them the true love and grace of God?

Anybody want to start a ministry focused on reaching Christian picketers?

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: apology, ashamed, Discipleship, evangelism, God hates, Jesus, sorry

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