Day 14 of 40. Don't love them straight to Hell

We've all heard it, these days. Don't judge others. Love them for who they are. After all, Jesus was a friend of sinners! And while on the surface, these words may be "true" if you look at the Bible, you will realize that it's not "right."

First, let's look at judging. The very verse that is "do not judge" ends with saying to judge. First remove the plank out of your eye then you can help your neighbor with their speck. Over and over again, the church is actually told to rebuke, to correct, to judge one another. The command to not judge is a command that we cannot judge a heart. We cannot judge intentions, reasoning or salvation. But we can judge actions. We must in fact! So when we are told not to judge, know that they're coming from Satan's twisting of scripture and not scripture itself. Of course, do it out of love, for the betterment of the individual.

Now the main point I want to reach today. Jesus accepting people as they are. How he was friend of sinners. Yes this is true. But if you read the Gospels, you see over and over Jesus telling everyone to repent and turn from their sin or they will end up in Hell. He got extremely harsh in saying that there will be those on Judgement Day who preached the Gospel and even performed miracles who will be sent to Hell, because of their heart. One stat often referenced is the fact that Jesus talked about Hell even more than he did Heaven. Because Hell is a very real place. Not only that, but we are all destined and deserving of Hell. It's only be the grace of God are we able to avoid our punishment.

Our salvation, our avoidance of Hell, is by faith and faith alone. By God's grace and nothing we have done. When we gain salvation, we can't lose it. There is nothing that can separate us from God's grace. So we don't have to stop sinning once we have salvation. But as James points out, our faith in our salvation should have us wanting to stop sinning. If you are living in sin, it might not mean you do not have salvation, but it is a concerning thing to experience.

Jesus was a friend of sinners. But he told them to repent. Repent for the kingdom is near. Repent and turn from your sinful ways. Repent or go to Hell. That is the foundation of the Bible. Sin entered the world and we need to be free from it or be punished.

You can't say you love someone, if you contently watch them throw their life into Hell. How terrible a thing to do! Show them love, which should be the love of God. And when they are drawn in by that, you can share the freedom from sin in Christ.