How to Act

How to Act

10/22/14

There has been an ongoing debate about how Christians should act towards those who are in direct conflict with the Word of God and to be honest we have not handled these types of situations with the greatest of care.  To be honest, we have acted terribly and through these actions we have driven a wedge in between God and mankind.  I am not going to make a huge opening statement here but I am giving two examples from the Bible that support my claim and then I will end the article with a few supporting words.  Read this article with an open heart and one that acts like Jesus instead of our own predetermined attitudes and actions towards those who we deem caught within their truths; and it asks the question of where you fit in this setting as well.

There is a famous passage in the New Testament where a group of scribes and Pharisees are about ready to pass judgment upon a woman who was caught in the act of adultery and they bring her unto where Jesus was teaching some people at the temple. The key phrase here is not concerning the law that they were invoking nor was it the conduct of the woman herself, it was the way that the religious leaders were going about executing the law that is the focus point here.  Yes, the other points of the setting are important and will be addressed slightly.  However, it is this inherited behavioral trait from the scribes and Pharisees by the Church that needs to be addressed.

Evidently this lady had been physically caught in the act of adultery.  It is not really clear how she was caught or by whom she was caught but it is true that she had been turned over to the “religious police” for immediate action.  According to the Jewish laws of Moses which the Pharisees operated through obviously enabled her to be eligible for a specific punishment and from the scene that is mentioned in this passage, the Pharisees were ready to carry out that punishment as soon as possible.  Would they have been wrong in carrying out this practice?  I guess it was how they looked at it within their hearts that placed them into their own categories of judgment.

From the setting it is clear that the crowd that the Pharisees brought with them into the area was a hostile one and that wanted to see the right punishment done in order to set an example to others that may have the same intentions.  This was in stark contrast to the people that Jesus was teaching at the time so one could understand that the area went from a peaceful setting to a tense one pretty quickly.  If the law and keeping within its limits was the number one issue that life centered around and upon I could see how the actions of the scribes and Pharisees would be justified, but God placed the laws into effect for our protection not to hold over us in passionate punishment for the choices they chose. Everything on the surface that is represented in this passage points to the woman’s guilt and according to the law she needed to be punished; this setting also shows just how “important” the laws were to the Jewish people and it also states where their hearts actually were concerning life and the way that Jewish people lived it.

The next portion of the passage introduces Jesus into the picture and the attention of the leaders is quickly drawn towards him. As they throw the woman close to Him, the leaders turn to Him and immediately ask Jesus a pointed question obviously trying to get Him to agree or to disagree with their opinions. Jesus does not immediately answer them, but kneels down and begins to draw in the dirt as to make them believe that He did not hear them.  What He was actually doing was giving them an opportunity to save face and leave before He spoke concerning the real meaning of the laws that God gave to Moses.  But, like all good Pharisees, and many Christians, they stood there demanding an answer, so Jesus gave them one.  Jesus’ answer infuriates them for He states to them that whoever has no sin could be the first castor of the stones onto the woman and then went back to drawing in the dirt.  What a profound statement that is made here and one that takes everyone involved by surprise, and it forces them look at their publicly unknown secrets and answer the question individually, fully knowing that if they threw one pebble they themselves would be guilty of lying.

Jesus and His disciples were walking through some unfriendly territory when He became thirsty.  He saw the setting of Jacob’s well and approached it while a Samaritan woman was there.  Some type of conversation began between the two and eventually Jesus began to minister to her.  He brought up some intricate details about her life specifically about the man that she was living with at the time and her many other husbands from her past.  How embarrassing this must have been for the woman to have a complete stranger come up to her and give her details about her life that she might not have wanted made public.  Furthermore, this man that was speaking to her was a Jew and considered an enemy to her people, so why was this man even associating with her in the first place?  Which this interaction, setting and testimony could have instilled further hostilities between the two cultures.

Jesus also addressed about the reasoning of which the Jews worship and how they should worship as well, which must have been known enough that even their enemies knew about their religious ideals and practices and how the Jews felt towards others who did not follow the same practices.  Once again Jesus touches upon the religious laws of the land yet bypasses them and accepts her for who she is and tells her that there is another way, one that is through spirit and truth.  Yet, Jesus did not condemn her in any fashion but talked with her and told her that all was ok and that she should change her settings both in the physical and in the spiritual and then do not do things like this again.  Jesus took a potential hostile setting and placed it into a loving and forgiving setting and then allowed the woman to accept God into her life.  What was her response?  She ran off and told everyone about the one who had said these things to her and how this man accepted her faults without recourse against her and that He also proclaimed that He was the One who had come to save the world from their iniquities. 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the disciples were actually appalled at Jesus’ actions for His actions probably would have been perceived as blasphemous and would have them subject to disciplinary action with the religious and sanctimonious misfits called the high priests.  See it was not popular at all for people to talk to those that they believed to be lower in status than the Jews.  The Samaritans were considered a lower created being and should not even be given the opportunity to be treated as an equal.  Also, since Jesus was considered to be a Rabbi, it was strictly forbidden that a Rabbi talk with any woman in public. This was a severe no-no and could land each party involved into hot water, but as we can see Jesus did not care about the so-called restrictions of the man made laws and spoke to this woman from His heart and showed her the Kingdom of God.

Recently I was scrolling through one of my social media groups and the discussion of same sex marriage came up.  We all know that this is a highly contested issue right at the moment and with the recent tide of acceptance the issues can become pretty heated.  This was the case when some Christian believers had stated their opinions and were taking a stand.  However, when others began to challenge their opinions arguments ensued and eventually name games and blame began to fly.

I continued to scroll through the entire thread and read most of the messages back and forth.  What I found was totally heart breaking yet proves this point to which I have just written about.  All of the Christians or those opposed to this topic were quoting scripture left and right and condemning these people for having opposing ideas and beliefs.  The people who differed wanted proof of why it was wrong and some even wanted proof that God even existed.  Yet not one of these people included in this thread never mentioned anything about the proof and existence about God nor did they refer to any direct biblical references as to why this setting is wrong. 

This was not the worst of the messages, the so-called Christians even resorted to name calling and were using hateful language against these people for their beliefs.  Now, as I have recently written it is our responsibility to understand where the people who believe in this activity are coming from and it is just as important for us to ensure this group of people that God loves them and wants to free them from this sin.

The question I pose to you now is this: with the tactics used by these two examples will anything ever get across to these people and will they have a greater or lesser possibility of accepting God into their lives because of these encounters?  The answer is obvious and I am going to make a statement that might not set well with some of you but it is the truth and it needs to be shared. We have all witnessed how much division has been present within our country over the past two decades or so, and our current course does not bode any fairer either.  It is commonly known that this division has forced deep and dark lines between people and even families in some instances and it is all because we have forgotten to accept and to talk with one another about how we believe.  What good does this tactic present?

Another question that I have concerning this topic is that from a Christian point of view and it is: do you think that arguing a specific point in a harsh manner will change their minds and hearts in any way towards Christ or God?  The answer to that question is this: more division.  When the religious leaders of the biblical story with the woman that was caught in adultery, what is the difference from that scene to the one that I just read about?  Not much besides the physical timeline!!  The attitude of the so called religious people were acting terribly and through their actions gave the ones in question no opportunity to think about their beliefs nor were they given the opportunity to try and understand the truth of the situation either.

What other areas of our world have we Christians trounced upon when we have encountered those who do not believe as we do? I can name several off the top of my head and for the most part the manner in which we have responded to those situations have been atrocious.  We love to dictate our godly laws to people without even taking the time to know why someone has gone against them.  We become blind to the fact that they are in our congregations for a reason and that we need to find out why these people are there.  Then we shake our fingers at them and shout at them that they are wrong and wonder why they shut up, sit there and never return.  Jesus actually has the perfect example for this reason and even though His actions mad the “religious” people upset it was the proper and correct way to handle them.

We have many instances where Jesus was out and about talking, milling and teaching the general public.  It is interesting to me that the majority of the time crowds followed Jesus as He continued this course of public appearances.  This means that what He was saying had effects upon the people and they were curious of what He was saying to others.  It is well known that humans do not like to be yelled at or outwardly condemned for how they believe or which direction that they have chosen to proceed with their lives; however, if they are willing to listen to what others have to say they will contend so on the basis that whoever they are listening to will treat them with respect and dignity.

The leaders of that time had every right to facilitate the moral obligation of Jewish law and to stone the woman for her actions. But what good would this have done to her, her family and others around who have had thoughts of committing the same sin or any other sin for that matter?  When pressed for an answer Jesus never once took into question of the woman’s guilt but answered their questions by placing their burden of sin upon their shoulders.  Yes, Jesus understood that a wrong was committed and that everyone knew what had occurred broke the law, but Jesus also understood a greater purpose here in that if He responded harshly and sided with the law, blood would flow freely and unnecessarily.  The greater purpose here was that everyone has done things wrong before the eyes of God and should be punished for these acts yet the division it would have created between the law and the hearts of the people around this scene would have been deeper and far more reaching than the lesson that the priests and leaders were so ignorantly trying to promote.  What about us and how we believe, do we place ourselves into that same category as Pharisees?  You bet we do and it is deepening and widening the gap between God and mankind.

This is evident through the ways that the leaders left the area and their actions that followed.  All of the people dropped their stones of punishment and abandoned the scene.  How righteous were these people?  How sacred were these people?  Jesus’ answer forced them to choose to be truthful with themselves and by the way that they dispersed none of them wanted anyone around to question their next moves; so they left.  Remember even though there were no cell phones, televisions or modern communication devices humans had eyes and ears at that time that worked just as well as ours do today and that means that certain acts of people could be witnessed at any given moment; which explains Jewish law concerning a chargeable act having to be witnessed by two people.

Jesus placed the proverbial ball back into their courts instead of the woman’s and this did not settle well with everyone.  There is no question in my mind that this type of “ religious justice” took place quite often and was basically not questioned or challenged by many, in fact from how this story unfolds it would seem like there was quite a bit of support for this type of justice.  Jesus’ answer proclaimed that there was another answer for this setting and that He understood what would progress if this act was allowed to proceed unabated.  It is also clear that Jesus did not care how the leaders would react to His answer which means His authority and truth overrode their quirks about quick judgment, another thorn in their side.

It really does not say what happened after Jesus talked to the woman about what had just transpired but you know that the leaders were watching from a side street or behind a curtain somewhere trying to catch Jesus in some mischievous act or compromising setting.  This never happened of course and through Jesus’ answer and actions kept the bridge for the woman and God intact, it pushed the Kingdom of God forward and our enemy’s backwards.  It also provided the religious leaders an opportunity to see their errors and to change their methods of thinking, but it turns out that they chose to have the same hardening effect on their hearts as Pharaoh had in Exodus.  The question that we have to answer today is the same how would we act if we were placed into a similar situation where we know that a sinful act is about to be committed, being committed or just finished being committed?

It has been proven time and time again that Jesus never treated any person who had the heart to listen in any other manner but with respect.  This did not mean that Jesus did not address the issues at hand for Jesus never backed down from advancing the Kingdom of God.  Yet He did so in a matter that proved that God was a loving and forgiving God as long as those who chose to listen and to change their ways did so and not as the high priests and the religious lawyers deemed God out to be.

How many times have we done the same type of acts towards those who differ from our beliefs and God’s?  It does not take me long to think of a few examples from my past that fall into this harsh category and one does not need to look too hard in order to find Christians acting in like manner today.  The Church has become famous for this type of attitude towards those who do not believe and many are ready to “stone” these people for their actions.  I pray every day that we allow God to open our spiritual eyes and even our physical ones to our actions and how they are hurting people instead of bringing them into God’s realm.  It pains me to think that some Christians actually believe that this method of harshness is from God and that what they are doing is correct and biblical.

In no way am I advocating acceptance of sin into the Church walls and allowing it to sit there unabated and festering until its policies are accepted as Church guidelines and by-laws.  This act would be considered treason and would allow the kingdom of Satan to advance instead of God’s Kingdom.  Yet we do not need to condemn others who are willing to listen to God’s commands and are looking for the truth.  Jesus loved humanity and He loved being alive on this earth, but He also understood that He had a mission to fulfill by being the perfect example of how to advance His Father’s Kingdom.

This is exactly what we need to be doing as a Church body and as the future bride of Christ.  Jesus never said it would be easy and there is a reason for that saying; when you fight against the home team it shall always be a tough road.  Jesus accomplished more for the Kingdom in the two examples that I have shared with you than most people do in their entire lives.  Many of us have blown it throughout our Christian walks but we still have an opportunity to change lives and to advance the Kingdom.  Use Jesus’ examples of witnessing as a guide and a tool to complete our mission that He commanded.

So the challenge we have is to thoroughly ask our hearts to which category do we operate through, is it as the high priests did or is it as Jesus did?  I know that I still have many areas within my life that must be absolutely appalling to God and I continually ask Him to show me these ways so that I may allow Him to rid myself of these faults so that I may be more like Jesus.  Is this your personal prayer and desire and is it the prayer of the Church herself?  These are perilous times and they shall continue to get worse and since this is a fact we must be totally prepared to endure such treatment yet keep our spiritual eyes, ears and hearts open to those who are hurting.  See, even though we may be feeling some uneasiness it only means that those who do not know God are going through excruciating pain and agony.  It is these people who are looking for answers and it is our job to not pay the wounded animal but to talk with them about the truth.

DLB