I like to read church signs as I travel around. The interesting sayings often convey some degree of scriptural wisdom, advice giving or some sort of practical observation that may, or may not, actually be valid. Sometimes, signs like the "oil & lube" praise service I saw about a year ago, really make me wonder. Recently I passed a church sign that read, "Don't Be Against Evil.. But Be Only For Love". Now that one really made me wonder. Christians should be loving. That is one of the ways that we show Christ as the example in our lives. The first part of the message though makes me wonder. The dilemma is this; God states that we have all sinned (Rom 3.23), since we have all sinned, we are lost until we repent and obey Him. Now, in essence, our lives are "evil" in the sense that we are not living as God would have us to live, no matter how good we may seem to be in worldly terms. In order to be convicted of our sin, one must be shown that sin is what kills us spiritually, and is therefore evil. One must come to the knowledge that we are lost until we access salvation through Christ. In order to be brought to that realization, there has to be a confrontation in which the "evil" deeds, those that will kill the soul, are exposed for the danger that they represent. Once this is done one must grapple with the fear and guilt that comes from knowing that we are lost and doomed to eternal destruction. Of course if we are not to "be against evil", then there is no way that I, as a Christian, could, or should ever tell anyone else that they are wrong. We should only tell them that Christ loves them and they need to love Christ. But why? Where is the knowledge that one's life is not what it should be if one is not made aware of how they are living in error, whether they profess to be Christians or not. Is it any wonder why those who are lost, seeing the fallacy of religious thinking, see no need to be a Christian?
Another question that came to mind was about the underlying philosophy that crafted such a statement as this. The sign appears on a "community" church and as such I understand that they try to appeal to as many people as they can. The idea is to get as many people involved with the "church" as possible and in that way they will be "loving" Christ, regardless of who or what they are. This of course means that those whose lives would be questionable in the sight of God, if not condemned outright, would come under the protective umbrella of the "church". This is magical thinking. Salvation is not a matter of having one's name on the roles of organizations whose aim is to serve God through community outreach programs and the general promotion of good will to all, with no questions asked. I have had discussions with some members of this particular group and it appears that they look down on any type of scriptural disagreement and are heavily influenced by the idea that we can all serve God in our own way. That of course is how one does not stand against evil. Love everyone, tell them to love Jesus and then we are all going to heaven. Really?
Jude instructs us to "earnestly contend for the faith" (Jude 3). One way that we contend for the faith is by letting those who are lost know that they are lost and there are things that they will have to do to change their lives to be transformed into what God wants them to be (Rom 12.1-2). That involves telling people that they are wrong, perhaps even evil in a worldly as well as a spiritual sense, and that they will burn in Hell if they do not change. Of course the socialzed doctrines of the day, bending to social and technological pressures, have come to the conclusion that we are the way we are because that is what we are and there is no way that we can change that. If that is the case then the Bible is no better than any other book and God probably does not exist and all that is written in the scriptures is a well fabricated lie, because the Bible tells us that we can change, that we must change, and will be lost if we do not change. I believe God understood genetic, social and environmental forces that shape what we are. Change is tough and brings pain. James states, "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. " (James 4.7-9). This passage details the effects of repentance on those who have been pursuing a lustful and worldly course. Interestingly this passage was written to Christians. I wonder if James really intended to make anybody feel bad by confronting evil? I don't suppose we would want to make anybody feel bad or guilty now would we?
TLC