Showing Redemption

It is profoundly sad and entirely unchristian to see professing believers present sinners as enemies and objects of hate. And there seems to be two categories that elicit the most loathing, especially among those who see themselves as conservative evangelicals. They are Muslims and gays.
When did redemption take a back seat? When did the gospel change from the offer of redemption into a billboard of people’s sins as well as a culling out of certain sins? And when did the heart of God Himself, displayed upon the bloody cross for all to see, turn hard and uncaring when it comes to certain sinners?
And all the while the real enemy of our souls remains clandestine and gladly gives up his notoriety, and lets sinners become the enemy. And what do Muslims believe they receive from Christians? Hatred, of course. Surely not a sacrificial love that builds evangelistic bridges and ministers Christ. And most evangelicals see their lost aunt in a loving and redemptive way, and they see her need instead of her sin. But when it comes to the impersonal categorization of sinners, those same evangelicals are stripped of that love and compassion and like sharks feeding in bloody waters they revile and castigate them.
Creating enemies goes against anything in the gospel, and it only satisfies a fallen longing to feel superior and a self righteous mob mentality. “I thank God that I am not like other men” is their unbiblical mantra expressed in many different ways. And when Jesus gave His life for these very sinners, what part of that sacrifice are we not to emulate? Of course the view that Jesus did not die for all sinners contributes to this harshness since it doctrinally insulates some hearts from feeling and showing some compassion for the lost. The logic goes that if God did not offer salvation to some (most) then we can show the anger toward sinners that God presently is showing. That is incongruous to the gospel message in this age of grace.
No one can be saved without a personal faith in Jesus Christ. But as many believers shout about the geography of mosques, or the political agenda of the gay community, or an array of other cultural and moral issues, let some of us manifest the redemption found only in Jesus Christ. Let us refrain from political leverage and public displays of malevolence toward any and all sinners regardless of the deception in which they find themselves. Let us be Jesus to the world. Judgment is surely coming and it is completely in God’s hands. But we are ministers of reconciliation and ambassadors of the new and better covenant.
This covenant in which we live was purchased at an immeasurable and unfathomable price. The bloody death of God, and the subsequent resurrection, is the eternal offer of love and redemption that must be trumpeted to the ends of the earth. This is the message of faith, hope, and love. And this life we now lead should be a shining revelation of the Risen Christ. The law of God has been fulfilled in Jesus, and God now freely offers eternal life through Himself. This is great news for a dark and fallen world, and the last thing sinners need is a documentary about their particular sins, especially a documentary that identifies certain sinners as most offensive, implying that their route to the cross is substantially longer than the garden variety sinner.
And the love of God is much more than just telling people the truth. The love of God is the truth and it is the cross that manifests that love completely. Taking up His cross is much more than just overcoming life’s hurdles. It means a lifetime of dying to self and this world and expending our lives for the sake of sinners. Just as He did.