2 Corinthians 5:18-19 And all things are of God, Who has reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 19. To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them; and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
It is right to stand against evil while standing for righteousness. How we stand will determine the success in vanquishing evil and seeing righteousness prevail. When people employ weapons of self-righteousness, evil will remain. It is an instrument of darkness that masquerades as an element of light. It is self-deception in power over the self. There is no peace attached to self-righteousness and it is incapable of reconciliation because it is void of love. It creates a caustic culture that repels people from the true righteousness found in Jesus Christ. The self-righteous embrace an “us versus them” attitude. Unfortunately, it has crept into segments of the church.
Some have taken a militant stance against various segments of society, including those in authority. Of course, people do what they know to do, so this is in no way is meant to attack their intentions. In other words, they have taken a stand for righteousness, which in of itself is a good thing. They’ve come against ungodly policies of government, while also standing for a godly culture. Some have failed to stand for anything at all, and live a life of compromise. The unfortunate thing is that some methods employed have alienated those of whom they are supposed to reach with the Gospel. They’ve lost inroads to share the love of God in order to reconcile them to the Father. It has made it difficult for ambassadors of Christ to gain an audience with governmental officials. None want to dialogue with those they feel are going to judge and attack them. Our battle is not against individuals, but the spirits behind them that influence them to make iniquitous decisions. As long as members of the Church attack people, they will never influence them for righteousness.
If God, in order to reconcile the world to Himself through Jesus Christ, did not impute or hold against them their trespasses, why would we? To illustrate the point, let me briefly share a segment of a conversation I had with someone who recently came to Jesus. He told me, “I did not need someone to tell me I was a sinner. I knew that already. I needed to hear the Good News that I could be saved from my sin.”
If I constantly badger a sinner for sinning, I will have no place to share the love of the Father with him. If we hold people’s lifestyles against them, how do we hope to reach them for the Gospel’s sake? Sinners sin because they are in bondage. Sin manifests in a large variety of ways. There are a lot of spiritual orphans who need to be introduced to the Father. If we throw stones at them, they will run away from us. Romans 12:21 says, “Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.” Acts 10:38 tells us, “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: Who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him.” Jesus revealed the love of the Father by treating them well. Remember, it is His kindness that led us to repentance (see Romans 2:4).
Since our righteousness is found in Jesus Christ, we do not have to worry about someone’s unrighteousness rubbing off on us. They will not make us unclean if we treat them well. The prophet Daniel influenced king Nebuchadnezzar and all of Babylon by serving them well. He did not attack the government; in fact, he submitted to an ungodly king while staying true to God. Daniel stayed true to God by serving the king well. The children of Israel were commanded to serve Babylon and even pray for the cities in which they were taken captive. Read the book of Daniel and see how Daniel served. Keep in mind that Nebuchadnezzar was responsible for a number of his fellow Israelite’s death, and perhaps even of his own family members. As believers, we are exhorted in the scriptures to submit to and pray for those in authority (Romans 13:1-14; 1Timothy 2:1-3; 1Peter 2:13-17).
We come against darkness by standing for people. We pray for those who are enslaved to sin. Pray light into the lives of those engulfed by darkness. We introduce them to our Father by walking in love. If you have stones in your hands, please by all means, drop them.
The Perfect Faith Podcast: “Whom do You Serve?”
