Three Lies of Christian Convey

Whenever I speak to ordinary people about the Christian faith, almost invariably I find - to my own disappointment, frustration and dismay, they have believed three common lies about the church. To add insult to injury it seems it is Christians that have conveyed and impressed these lies on people. Now as if that is not bad enough, worst of all I am afraid that I myself may have been party to perpetuating these lies. So, what are these lies and what is the truth.

Three Lies

1) Rules and Regulations
Don't do this! Don't do that! 'Do's' and 'don'ts'. The Christians seem to have convinced people that Christianity is about a set of rules. But the Apostle Paul wrote ...

Colossians 2

[20] Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: [21] “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? [22] These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings.

The Apostle Paul is saying the dead opposite to what people have come to believe. He is clear, being a Christian is not about a load of 'do's' and 'don'ts'. In fact he argues that rules and regulations, 'do's' and don'ts' are the "basic principles of this world" - something Christians should have "died to". He also says in Galatians

[5:1] It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.

And again He writes in 2 Corinthians

2 [17] Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

Of course we can debate the meaning of freedom - I'll do a blog on that some time, but whatever it means, it does not mean living a life bound by external rules and regulations.  The New Testament couldn't be clearer ... 

Romans 6:14

For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law but under grace.

2) Judging and Condemning

Another lie we Christians have conveyed is that, Christianity is about judging people and condemning them. That's what Christians do. But again the Bible teaches the exact opposite ...

Romans 

[2:1] You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.

Jesus said ...

Luke 6 [37] “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

3) Christianity is for the Good and Religious
Christians have also given the impression that Christianity is for religious people and good people. 

But Jesus said in The Gospel of Mark ...

[16] When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the “sinners” and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners'?”

 [17] On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

The 'teachers of the Law' / Pharisees were the religious leaders of the day, they were very religious and thought of themselves as very 'righteous'. Notice though, Jesus is hanging out with ordinary people, sinners - that is people who know they are not so good, They know that when it comes to 'standards', they fail their own - let alone Gods! The average person in Jesus' day - due to life's demands and poverty, was not able to fulfil the meticulous demands set by the religious - they were busy trying to survive - so they were not religious, they were so-called "sinners".

In fact Jesus hung out with so-called 'sinners' so much that he got the nick-name 'Friend of sinners'. 

Matthew 11 [19] The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and “sinners.”' But wisdom is proved right by her actions.”

In fact the most scandalous thing about God, is, again as the Apostle Paul put it ...

Romans 4:5

However, to the man who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.

The word 'work' in the phrase "does not work" refers to the notion that we win God's favour by doing good works. But God justifies the ungodly - not the religious, not the 'good', but sinners. Now I am not proud of being a sinner at all. Sin is selfishness. It is always sin that spoils.  But admitting I am a sinner is what makes me a 'Grace-case'!

So there you have it. If I have ever given anyone the impression that Christianity is about 'do's' and 'don'ts' - I hope I have set that record straight - it is the opposite - it is about freedom - particularly from rules and regulations!

If I have ever given the impression that Christianity is about judging people - it is not - the last thing a Christian should do is judge people.

If ever I gave the impression that Christianity is for good and religious people - and especially if I have given the impression that I think I am a good and religious person - I am sorry. The truth is, Jesus is a friend of sinners - and on that basis I am very proud to say, He is a friend of mine!