EXCERPT FROM MY BOOK
FROM CHAPTER 5
Condemnation and acceptance are the way we get past, around, or avoid people Jesus came to serve and save. The Religious Right removes Jesus Christ from his cross so the sinner may be crucified in his place. The Religious Left removes Jesus from the cross, because where there is no sin there is no need of a suffering savior. Jesus says in Matthew 23:13, “You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.” And again in Matthew 23:24 , Jesus says, “For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.” Sexually broken people deserve the opportunity and invitation to know, “…Jesus and him crucified.” Condemnation and acceptance add up to the same thing: People are refused Christ. When we deflect broken people through condemnation or acceptance of sin then we, without thinking, have shut the door of heaven in the faces. We are tying up heavy burdens for these people because we demand they free themselves, or by demanding that they merely accept their sin because of the specious argument that “nature” made them that way. Their sin is to heavy for the to carry, but Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” We can’t say to the hooker “Lilly”, or the LGBT person at work or school, “You made the choice, so make a different choice,” and we also can’t simply say, “Well God just made you this way, so you need to just accept that.” Jesus says the opposite of what Both the Religious Right and Religious Left say. Jesus came to open the gates of the kingdom of heaven and to take away the heavy burden. “Can you help a brother out? Does it make sense? Are you getting the gist of what’s written here? Do you agree or disagree, and why do you agree or disagree? Do you think the verses from Matthew 23 fit the context or can rightly be fitted to the context of the excerpt?
I’d honestly appreciate your input!!
Forgive the formatting error, I don’t know how I did it and I don’t know how to fix it.