I recently read an article by a PHD type discussing homosexuality and
the church. It made me ask the question, “How much sin is too much?”
What I mean by this is at what point in your christian walk does your
sin make you undesirable for the church? Let me put it this way as an
example.
Suppose I am a shoplifter and my best friend invites me to church. I
have no intention of stopping shoplifting, but I am thoughtful about
attending church with my friend. I am not against God. I am just not
for God. Am I welcome at church?
Now suppose I am a wife beater. No one knows I beat my wife. She is
faithful and keeps her mouth shut. I can get drunk and beat my wife.
Now my golfing buddy keeps asking me to go to church with him. He
says my wife and I will fit in great with his life group. Am I
welcome at church?
Well, suppose I am homosexual. Very few people know. Some likely
suspect, but most don’t know for sure. My collegue at work invites me
to church. Am I welcome or do I need to quit my homosexual lifestyle
before I come? You know it is an abomination before the eyes of
Christ and all.
So if I need to quit my queer lifestyle, does the drunken wife beater
or shoplifter have to quit their lifestyle before they come to church?
I just want to know how good you have to be before you can come to
church. There is such an emphasis these days on “being the church”, I
just wonder if we know whether we are willing to accept the tax
collector across our welcome mat, before I invite him?
http://www.1stchurch.org. You’ll find 37stories there and all my friends.
How much sin is too much?
Published by
God Spots 
Anonomous said,”to say any of these portrails needs to change “before” coming to church is blaspheme. Christ takes all and changes those that get saved from there on out walking out a lifestyle of sanctification. there is no work we can do to become anymore acceptable. if we are truly living for the Lord, the sin in our lives becomes a conviction and God like the Father He is disciplines us, if there is no discipline your not His child. Christ said on the cross “it is finished” meaning there is nothing more to do. faith saves you, not you changing your life style. God changes your life style so that you become more conformed to the image of Christ. that goes beyond beating wives, stealing and, sexual immorality, and leads us to a place of truly living a life that brings God glory. our physical life. spiritual life. thought life. work life. family life. relationship (marriage/dating/etc) life. all gets done for His glory, so its not just those external breaking of Gods laws that are sin, but like, there will never be a day when you love God as much as He ought to be loved. after you display faith in Christ and a saved devotion to Him, you will change and turn from all the above questioned sinful life styles because you will hate them.”
I like to refer to churches. As the house of sinners. All who come to church are sinners. But we still, rate our sin. So being gay, is worst then stealing. But Jesus doesn’t preach that.
We have distorted sin in a fashion. That one is worse than the other. Not true. Sin is sin, in God’s eyes. It separates us, from him.
But to answer you musing. The church is to welcome all. For we all have fallen short. Sometimes, I think churches become to much like high school. You have you popular people and not so popular. Clicks start to from and such.
Let us remind ourselves, that we are no better then any other person. Sin is not accepted by Christ.
But he yearns to help, us overcome it. And we should exhibit that same approach. Wanting to help those who are lost and needy. To help the sinners!
I’m still a sinner and I still need help. Does that make me, unworthy for church? Great thoughts
Hi Archie;
Gay is only an abomination in the Old Testament.
I don’t remember Jesus ever mentioning anything pro or con in respect to Gay.
If there is a scale, I think murder is the worst for it removes the ability of the murdered to change one way or the other or to experience life.
If the Church rates sins, what good is the Church?
Who rates the Church and by what measure?
It is a vicious circle is it not?
Jose:
If sin is not accepted by Christ, why did he spend so much time with sinners while they were sinning. Witness turning the water into Wine.
No, your right, but God doesn’t accept sin in the sense of it being ok. That its tolerated by God. He is friends to sinners. But he doesn’t plan on accepting as, if it was ok.
Hi Archie;
That it explains it. Queer lifestyle…..:)
It is so sad that we think that we can now ‘rate sin’. You know, which sin is greater that which. I mean, sin IS sin. Christ came for the lost, NOT the found. So who are we to judge if Christ spent His time with the sinners. Just because someone goes to church doesn’t make them any less of a sinner. infact some of us use it as a cover for our guilt!
Is sad too that we measure our “holiness” by other ppl’s standards “No one knows, few ppl know…..”
06mickey, i checked out your blog at http://06mickey.wordpress.com/ . Great thoughts and thank you for finding your way here.
Isn’t it odd that the Word says sin = sin , but everything in our society is geared toward graduated sin. Stealing a stick of gum is not as bad as stealing a car, etc.
It definitely goes against our training to evaluate sin = sin. I almost have to force myself to believe it when it makes no sense… It is one of those things easiest ignored.
tru dat!