I posted a quote on my facebook :
Christianity has not been weighed in the balances and found wanting.
It's being tried, found difficult, and rejected! - - Leonard Ravenhill - -
And I had a friend reply:
"thats because many christians don't obey jesus two most important commandments "love God and each other..." maybe if we Christians actually obeyed his commandments to love instead of judging everyone elses life people might want to join us instead of reject us."
So I replied back:
" Perhaps I should have posted a more complete quote.
It was:
“Before Elijah called down the fire, he rebuilt the old altar.
We don’t want to go back to old altars, to old vows, to old commitments.
We always try to make new things.
...God knows they’ll be brought down in a few weeks!
Christianity has not been weighed in the balances and found wanting.
It’s being tried, found difficult, and rejected!
It’s too tough.
There’s no part-time service.
“Leave all and follow me.”
(By the way, those 2 commandments are a summary of the 10 commandments, in obeying the 10 commandments we will Love God and each other)
People who don't obey Jesus two most important commandments "love God and each other..." are just demonstrating that they are not followers of Christ (Christians), if they follow Christ, than they will be obeying, and striving to obey each time that mis-step. It is a visible condition of the type of fruit that are bearing if any.
And yes that is a judgment.
And yes it is biblical to judge. But Jesus warns as you judge, judge yourself first, if you are also producing bad fruit, then don't point out others bad fruit. But Jesus does continue in the same statement: “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.” (Matthew 7:5 ESV)
Jesus is not denying that your Brother has a speck, or that it does need to be taken out, nor that in order to do this, you must first judge if what you are seeing is a speck in the first place.
“Judge not” is one of the most mis-quoted and mis-understood verses.
Because it is almost always, as close as 100% as you can get, quoted in part, and NOT in whole, therefore it is ripped out of context and bent like a train wreck.
However, when, and I say when and not if, because I believe most forget, or disregard, or just ignore to look at ourselves first, and therefore make hypocritical judgments, and when the world sees hypocritical judgments they see hypocrites, and want nothing to do with hypocrites.
But a SECOND POINT that nullifies the Arminian assertion you made, “people might want to join us instead of reject us” is that even though one may make a “righteous judgment” the world, because of their love of their sins, will deem the righteous judgment as hypocritical!
The devil provides millions of paths to detour people from the truth. It really does not matter if they see hypocrites in the church or not, they will have a thousand other “rabbit trail” excuses, such as “I don't have time” or “I went when I was a kid, I don't need to go as an adult” or “all they want is money” or “they are too goody-2 shoes” etc...
Interestingly enough, I have heard many use something like the “they are too goody-2 shoes” type of excuse, indicating that they love their sins, they know their love of adultery (pornography or current living with their boy/girl friend will judge them to be the hypocrites), booze, lying etc...
Many do not see the hypocrisy within the church, but they have seen, people who go to church, perhaps a relative, friend, or co-worker, living righteously. They see also that when they got out to party, that these people living righteously decline to party, and they get jealous and instead of admitting that their christian friend is just living what he/she believes, they slam it and start with the “bible-thumper” name calling.
In conclusion, what many see are not “true Christians” but they see the many “rocky ground” hearers and the “tares among the wheat” hearers calling themselves Christians, but when they do see the “good soil” hearers, they still reject the Gospel and want nothing to do with Christ.
Unfortunately most of the churches in America have created the perfect “thorny ground” and are calling it and all in it wheat, when it is not the case. They use many carnal means to gather to themselves a big harvest and hope that when it goes to market, there will be ignorance and tares will pass as wheat or bad fish will not smell and will pass as good fish.
The church that the world wants to join is the carnal church that accepts them and their sins, and will not read the demands that Christ makes.
That is what they find difficult and reject. They want their ears scratched, so they look for a “scratching church” and there are many of those. But the church has no business to scratch itching ears, it has a responsibility point out that what tickles their ears, is evil, and that they are commanded to repent and to obey. And that is what they do not want and why they do not want to join a “real church”.
Then the friend replied that "no one obeys Christ"
To which I responded:
That could get technical...
But when one is regenerated (born-again) they do obey Christ!
Do they obey perfectly? No.
But a christian if, ... if they are truly regenerated, does indeed have a new nature, a new desire, one that follows Christ.
Does that nature struggle with the flesh and sin...?
Yes.
But if... if they are one of Christ's sheep, then they can only stray as far as He allows and He (the good Sheppard) will come for us and put us back on his path, in His pasture.
