It's always a touchy subject huh?
In a way it's a sad that churches have to come out and make a statement about their policies and doctrines. A sign of the times I guess.
On the other hand, yes we should reach out to and minister to those who struggle in sin. It's possible Jesus would love them as people
and so should we. But Jesus wouldn't condone their sin and neither should we.
Ezek 3:18; "When I say to the wicked, 'You will surely die,' and
you do not warn him or speak out to warn the wicked from his wicked way that he may live, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but
his blood I will require at your hand.
Ezek 3:19; "Yet if you have warned the wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered yourself.
Ezek 3:20; "Again,
when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I place an obstacle before him, he will die;
since you have not warned him, he shall die in his sin, and his righteous deeds which he has done shall not be remembered; but
his blood I will require at your hand.
Ezek 3:21; "However, if you have warned the righteous man that the righteous should not sin and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning; and you have delivered yourself."
There is a "magic moment" of conversion. I don't know when it happens, I suppose it's different for different people.
Someone might go up for an altar call, and receive Jesus and instantly stop drinking, smoking and fornicating all within a minute a two. I've heard testimonies of people changing almost instantly.
For other people, it's more of a process. In some cases they may not even know doing a certain thing is a sin. Often once they do know... it takes a period of time for them to change.
A few hours? Days? Weeks? I don't know that God has a hard and fast time for people to change. I suspect very few of us entirely quit sinning 100% even after we have been saved for decades.
But while it is important for us to share the gospel and the love of God to these people. It is equally important to warn them of the consequences in continuing in a sinful lifestyle.
The verses in Ezekiel 3 above say if I know someone is sinning and I don't warn them of the consequences, their blood is on my hands. I will be held accountable for not warning them.
All that aside, which is really more loving? To tell someone their sin doesn't matter, God loves them no matter what.... even though the reality is, they will burn in hell. ( or Lake of Fire if you will ).
It seems to me, that is lying to them. Should we lie to people in order to get them to accept Jesus? Or should we tell them the truth up front. If you become a Christian, you have to give up
this lifestyle. You don't have to be perfect. But you do have to quit living a certain way. Now I suppose it's possible they will reject Jesus if they know there are some rules involved.
In that case, they are no worse off than they were before. They're still going to hell. But is that worse, than us lying to them and telling them God is OK with it?
John 8:11; She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said,
"I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more."]
John 5:14; Afterward Jesus *found him in the temple and said to him, "
Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you."
Luke 13:3;
"I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.
Yes Jesus hung around with harlots and tax collectors. But He never told them God doesn't care about your sin.
