The Love of a Judging God

So, a Thursday a while back I went and heard the street preachers who came to the Free Speech area at Georgia Tech. People had been telling me about them since freshman year, and how they usually come out with a banner that says "Homo-sex is Sin" (which a friend of mine misquoted as "Homo-sex is gay"… so now I know them as the "Homo-sex is Gay" people…). This group did not have the big banner but the preaching was all about judgement, and not about love. His view of sin was all about action, and not about the heart and its desires and motives. His view of grace was all about how he was now good (better than the heathens at Tech), and not about how awesome God was for giving him grace and offering it to the world.


Here's my thoughts from that day:

I talked to one of the guys at Tech for about half an hour today, Showing him verses like 1 Corinth. 5:12-13 where, after talking about church discipline Paul says "What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. 'Expel the wicked man from among you.'"

We also looked at John 8:1-11, where the Pharisees brought an adulterous woman to Jesus and wanted him to tell them to stone her. Specifically, I love the order of renewal in verse 11: "Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more." A sinner is at Jesus feet. He does not minimize the sin, he just knows that through his sacrifice he will take its condemnation. The forgiveness is not conditional, but the expected response is natural and obvious.

I hate messages, I hate forms of preaching, that seem to say the opposite: "sin no more and I will not condemn you." Instead of "my grace is sufficient for you" (2 Corinth. 12:9) this message states "my grace is sufficient… for a better you."
He (the guy I talked to) kept saying "there are many ways to fish" to explain the method of preaching, but I kept feeling that they were throwing in the dynamite and watching the fish float to the surface...


On the other hand, it is an awesome opportunity: Where else can you walk up to someone and be in a conversation about eternal perspective in one single question: "What do you think of this?"

Anyone listening: Atheist, Agnostic, Jew, Muslim, Christian, Hindu, …anyone… has thoughts and feelings about the message, and is ready to share them with others and to hear other people express their anger, malcontent, and ideas about the street preachers, even if that dissatisfaction is because of the true nature of the Gospel that is being misrepresented :)

I can't help but feel that this can fit in Joseph's response to his brothers: "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." (Gen. 50:19-20)
That is... except that the people doing it misguidedly intend good, Satan intends evil, and God still shows that he can work good :-)