A Hard Pill To Swallow.

If any of you know me well enough, you know that I hate conflict. One of my spiritual gifts is being a peacekeeper. If people are arguing, I get pretty nervous about it, because I know it can escalate quickly. If people are really fighting, like hurtful mud-slinging, I might cry. Seriously. That sounds childish almost, but it's true. I have a very tender heart when it comes to arguments and fighting because I used to be one of those people that always wanted to pick the fight, to be right about everything, always wanted to have the last word in. Let me share something personal with you.

I've struggled with legalism. I think a lot of Christians have, and still do. However, mine wasn't just a little problem. It was to the point where I was hurtful and hateful to people because of it. I was one of those people who argued with others about the littlest things, things that weren't worth arguing about. Somehow, that to me, was my crusade; if people were attacking me for these things, then of course I was one of Jesus' soldiers! I was fighting FOR Him. Right?

Then came the night when one of my friends called me a Pharisee over Facebook. I was furious, how could a friend like that do this to me? To this day, that comment still hurts me. I thought to myself, "Well obviously, [this person] doesn't understand." While I don't think it was right for this person to call me that online, they opened my eyes to what I really was. Very slowly, but it was a starting point.

Then, months down the road, I realized what kind of a person I was. My eyes were finally opened to the legalistic thinking I had been submerged in for so long. I recognized that I was living in sin, and I finally backed out of it. I became so turned off by everything appearing to be legalistic, that it got to the point very recently where I was leaning more towards the other side: which is the thinking that since works don't save you, you are free in Christ to do whatever the heck you want. That is equally dangerous.

In more recent months, I've gotten into some pretty heavy debates with my mom over things she finds in the Bible. Mind you, I don't completely disagree with things she says. I agree with her about most things. But there are some things in the past that she brought up that I didn't think were important enough to argue about. If she felt convicted by it, then she should/shouldn't do these things. It almost got to the point of where I was literally thinking, "What's true for you may or may not be true for me." This is part of what the postmodern world believes.

You're probably thinking, "Oh great, here comes things I don't understand nor do I want to understand them." Please bear with me for just a minute!!! Postmodernism is one of the biggest world views out there today. In a nutshell, it preaches tolerance in the most extreme way and rejects any sort of truth, and says, "People can earn salvation or get to heaven in their own way; what's right for someone else may or may not be right for me." That COMPLETELY contradicts the Bible. Jesus said Himself, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. NO ONE comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6 is a very well-known Bible verse. I had it memorized when I was 7. However, I don't think a lot of people believe this to be true. [Of course, if they're postmodernist thinkers, they wouldn't believe anything to be "true."]

You'd be surprised at how many evangelical thinkers and scholars believe that everyone will be saved in the end. This is also contradictory to the Bible. Matthew 7:13 says, "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few." This means that not all people will be saved!!!

The sermon was on the real Jesus today in church. The passage was Luke 12:49-53. [I encourage you to read it for yourself, even though I'm going to pull from it.] In verse 51, Jesus says, "Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division." Then it went into how the Gospel has and will continue to divide households. Then, Pastor Brad also brought up John 3:17, where he appears to contradict himself when he says, "For God did not send His son to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him." Confusing, right? But then, the verse after (v. 18) explains itself: "Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God." Basically, Jesus came not to judge/condemn, but rather to expose the false believers and set them apart from real believers.

Jesus was not popular with many people because he didn't appeal to many people! He came to die for sinners who recognized their fallenness. The Pharisees didn't understand that. Jesus preached against the Pharisees, because they thought they were above being saved.

"Isn't Jesus the Prince of Peace, though?" you may ask. Pastor Brad also gave a good point when he said this: Peace is conditional. You reject the Prince of Peace, you reject the peace he brings. I also loved the illustration he used after that: Jesus is not a Mr. Potato Head that we can mold and shape to our liking. He is who he is.

I think a lot of people, including me, tend to lean toward the loving, gentle side of Jesus. Which is good, but that needs to be balanced with the other parts of him. He said himself that he came to bring division. Are we comfortable with that? Most of us aren't. Even more, are we okay with the fact that he isn't someone we can mold to our liking? Will we still follow Him even and especially when things get hard and we get persecuted or made fun of for following Him?

I say all of this to make this point: truth is real, and it is important. Following Jesus and being constantly in His word is crucial, so that we are able to follow the REAL Jesus, and not just a person we've made up in our heads. We need these things to show that we are followers of Christ. This should not be confused with legalism. We also can't just go the other way and be like, "Hey, I'm free in Christ, I can do whatever the heck I want!" If we obey His commands, then we love him. Obedience is the fruit of our salvation; it's the proof that we are in Christ, NOT the means to become saved. This is something huge to grasp, and it doesn't come easily. I'm not saying that I understand it completely or know everything, because I don't. But I do know these things that I've stated above, and I think they're very VERY important.

We also need to find that balance of sharing the truth in love. We are commanded to. We shouldn't be afraid to do so. I personally shouldn't be afraid of conflict; arguments can be very good and beneficial in strengthening what we believe. However, I know they escalate very quickly most of the time, and can get very ugly and heated, so that is why I tend to shy away from them. But I believe that we can share the truth without getting ugly. Our responsibility is to share with others the truth, and they can choose to either accept it or reject it. Most of the time, people will reject the truth, because the way is narrow that leads to life. And you know what? Not to be hateful or mean, but they'll have to answer for the things they've said and done, just like I will. It's okay if people reject what you have to say. What matters is that you've done the right thing and you've done it the right way. 

This was a lot to write about . . . If you want to discuss this more, please message me over Facebook or email! I'd love to talk about it and discuss it more (of course, in a loving way). I love you all, and I hope you are at least a little encouraged by what I write. God bless!