This is not About Their Souls

"THIS IS NOT ABOUT THEIR SOULS,"

he said.



The old and tired and familiar words continue to spill out. “Godless” and “Immoral” and “wretched” and “liberal” and “leftists” and “socialist” and many other words and pejoratives are molded into verbal ammunition meant to harm and attack. And like a lion who identifies the weakest and most vulnerable prey, these self righteous carnivores separate a class of sinners and devour their very souls. It has become a sport and it feeds the insatiable desire for self righteousness that emanates from the fallen nature.

It in no way is the way of Jesus in any sense. It has been constructed by the classification of the culture and in an attempt to redirect prying eyes into our own sin, both open and clandestine. It hides behind the founding fathers, and the Constitution, and the Judeo-Christian ethic, and from that secure location it tosses those incendiary pejoratives. And since the best defense is an offense, it employs that tactic. Instead of sinners being part of the fields in which we are called to labor, they are portrayed as enemies of the nation and the culture.

But again, Jesus and His Spirit have nothing to do with such a moral conflict. God has concluded all of us in unbelief.

Rom.11: 30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

Mercy? Are you kidding me? If all the self righteous and destructive language would be collected and presented publicly concerning American sinners it would shock the world. This kind of personal rhetoric not only misrepresents the faith of Christ, but it creates an entirely new religion based upon nationalism and works. It is decidedly not the Christian faith. But still it lives and it is widely practiced individually and in thousands of churches.

Verse 31 suggests that unbelievers might find mercy through the mercy we show to them. Now I ask you, how can these people who say they believe the Bible show such disdain and such contempt to those to whom we are commanded to show mercy? Does the parable of the Good Samaritan mean nothing anymore? Does the Constitution take precedence over God’s Word? Remember, the Samaritan was a part of a sinful class that was roundly despised by the Jews. They were not true “patriotic” Jews. Hmm. Perhaps that Samaritan had a father from Kenya.

The earthly battle rages while the reservoir of Christ’s redemptive blood is funneled into an in-ground doctrinal pool which is used primarily for the self righteous to swim and frolic in and sing songs. I hope that image offends you…it should. I recently read something which used the words I identified in my firsts sentence. This person claims to be a believer and yet he constantly posts about certain sinners and their diabolic strategies to take down the America he loves. His recent post used the word “socialist” often. I commented:

“Socialists have souls in need of a Savior just like capitalists do as well. We must fight the real fight which is unseen.”

He replied, ‎"This not about their souls. This about protecting the Constitution of the United States of America."

Could there be any more profound revelation concerning the profound idolatry in nationalism? Protecting the Constitution is more important than the souls of men? Do not believe his attitude is an isolated spirit. No, this kind of heart felt attitude runs wild in many forms throughout the American evangelical churches. Does it not break your heart to hear such a thing? The blindness of which we were once a part is breathtaking. And it is this very thing which is keeping millions of believers from embracing the fullness of Christ and the depth of the cross. And in the end, it is what is keeping millions of sinners in our midst from seeing an unbusheled light, or a salted life, or a city lifted high. It is what has presented to sinners a gospel lie.

And after my comment this man referred me to the founding fathers. It is this kind of exchange which presents in stark relief just how deep the deception is and how desperately the western church needs a revival which breaks up all the fallow ground. Many of us seem to address this situation often, but it is because it remains so prevalent all around us. And this year’s election seems to only throw gasoline upon that which already burns brightly with strange fire.

Let us reveal something. Our God is great, and He has refused to obliterate us all, even though He alone would be justified. It is of the mercies of God that we are not consumed because His compassions fail not. God has presented to us a long season of gospel grace, and yet man has molded that grace into a moral crusade which is designed to identify and defeat sinners. Nothing could be further from the gospel. Men have received the loving grace of God and instead of reaching down to rescue those from which they just came, they turn and begin throwing stones of condemnation. And with that they reflect Moses and not Jesus.

When that man said to me, “This is not about their souls” he uncovered the very core of the deception. Everything is about the souls of men if you are following Jesus.