These days you are much more likely to hear 'Jesus loves you just the way you are, no matter what you believe' (random people) than 'For judgment I have come into this world' (John 9:39).
We've all had to endure hearing people who have clearly not read the Word of God presuming to tell us who Christ is.
Just about anyone living outside God's design and will for their lives have become fond of the 'Jesus loves me just the way I am' remark. It suggests that God doesn't have a will for their life, and that He does not stand behind His commands.They stand in the paths of sin and claim to love God, but scripture clearly proves them liars: '(1 John 2:3 and 5:2-3). We show our love of God by obeying His commands.
Yes, Jesus loves us, God is love, but those who have actually read the Bible know that Jesus also took a hard line on sin. 'The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life' (Romans 6:23). Why did the Son of God spend time teaching on such a thorny topic that no one really wants to hear about? He did it because it is only in acknowledgment and repentance of our sins that we will be forgiven. People are fond of saying that Jesus has forgiven us. This is vital to our faith, but it is also an incomplete teaching. Jesus died to forgive our sins, that forgiveness is freely (and miraculously) offered; it is available--all we have to do to receive it is repent.
You see, without repentance we are not forgiven. For people to repent they must first be made aware of their sin, and so we as fellow believers and sinners are commanded to call each other out on sin, to rebuke the sin (not the sinner, though!), Luke 17:3-4. To close our eyes to the sin in ourselves and in those around us is to risk eternity (James 4:17).
If you notice, I back up what I say with scripture. The things I share here are not my personal opinions, but Biblical commands and guidelines, and hopefully encouraging. After all, once we acknowledge and confess, we are forgiven, and our hearts become right with God. And that is a very good thing. God bless!
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