Q: You said that there are no sins God can’t forgive, but isn’t there an unpardonable sin mentioned somewhere in the Bible?
A: Yes. He can forgive any sin. There is, however, one that he won’t, and that is to blaspheme the Holy Spirit. Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is a continuing process of saying no to the Holy Spirits call up until the time of physical death. After physical death there is no opportunity for salvation.
Q: How are Christians supposed to discourage the judgment of us by the world? We are always called hypocrites, but we’re only human, shouldn’t the world forgive?
A: I don’t think we can have any expectation of receiving forgiveness or a pass from the world when we make a mistake. Remember the world hates us because Christ in us reminds them that they are not self-sufficient. The world doesn’t really have that capacity to forgive. To discourage being judged, we have to live lives above reproach, but they’ll attack us anyway. I don’t think that there is a way to escape their judgment. They put our lives under a microscope and find the flaws to justify their own issues. There’s no way to stop our own hypocrisy. We will make mistakes, we will be inconsistent, but even more than that the world today looks at us as if the truth of our faith, and our belief in God, His Word and His provision are preferences that we have chosen and not as real truth. Therefore, they see us as seeking to impose our preferences on them, rather than our desire to communicate facts that are real truth that will set everyone free. When I was younger, I used to sin more overtly, but now that I am older, I find that I still sin, it is just better contained in my thoughts where God and I can work out those issues. Sometimes my first impulse it still to sin and that drives me crazy because I want to follow God first.
I still condemn people when they drive. I used to think that at some point, older Christians would just stop sinning. That at some point you would get over sinning. There is always an unending battle between the old and new natures of life. I can only encourage you with this. Jesus said, and I’m paraphrasing here, “If you think that you should kill your brother, you’ve committed murder.” So try and stop thinking these things. You always think before you act.
I’ve long since stopped wondering about the world trying to look at my actions. We need to stop worrying. I don’t hate anybody right now, but there are people who follow other faiths that don’t measure up to the standard that Jesus set. I’ve been afraid of being labeled intolerant. I’m not intolerant. I’m just following and believing with all my heart what Jesus said, that he is the way the truth and the life, and that the only way to the Father is through him. That is the kind of faith we need to have if we really believe, so quit living like another faith has the possibility of maybe being right. Next time that you read the gospels, ask yourself, “What does Jesus want me to remember?” Don’t read it like a novel, but as a book filled with transforming truth. Take advantage of the life and truth of the Bible.
Q: Where is the line drawn between making a judgment and condemning someone?
A: I had a friend a ways back, my best friend, his name was Jeff. His dad was a Pastor. Some bad stuff happened in his church and Jeff’s dad lost his job, and due to this, Jeff lost his faith and trust in Christ. When I came to Christ, we had deep conversations, but I didn’t condemn him, I got frustrated, but I made a judgment to love him and pray for him. When we condemn people we declare that they are beyond saving. There is a difference between actively engaging people and acknowledging them and talking when the opportunity arises, and banging your head against the wall in frustration because they won’t hear what you’re saying.
God has called us to tell everyone – so we do, the ones who will listen and the ones who won’t. But ultimately God is the decider, our job is to be obedient to His call – to not share the Gospel with someone because we don’t like their look or customs or politics is to declare that we know more than God and condemn them to a Christ-less eternity. The Bible doesn’t say never make a judgment, rather don’t make those judgments the wrong way or for the wrong reasons. If we do, we will see the stone roll back on us.