Straight Talk: The Bible Commands Us to Love, But Not Like This

“He said to them, ‘Thus it is written, and accordingly it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem'” (Luke 24:46-47). 

It’s time America and Christianity return to black and white. 

No, I’m not talking about black-and-white television, or segregation of black-and-white races, or black-and-white photography or anything else like that. 

I’m talking about speaking plainly, talking straight, resisting political correctness, doing away with the overstated sentimentality of American values and this mushy superficial love based on a psycho-therapeutic philosophy of “not hurting others’ feelings” and cultural sensibilities of what is “polite,” “honoring” or “nice”. Let’s stop all that and return to real biblical values. 

Be a real Christian. Read the real Bible—especially, you know, the red-letter edition, the stuff Jesus actually said, and not our favorite God-card response of “Thou shalt not judge” to every black-and-white meaning of Scripture. 

Follow the real Jesus and not this manageable, domesticated Jesus, who never makes any demands on your time, money, words, social life and sexuality. 

Preach the real gospel of sin and repentance instead of one constructed from an idolatrous image of God who thinks and acts as we do. Stop leaving people happy in their sins. 

It is time to say things plainly and clearly and not speak so ambiguously of the things Jesus and the Scriptures hold forth: 

Abortion is murder. 

Homosexuality is an abomination. 

Transgenderism is confusion. 

Adultery is wickedness and forsaking the covenant of God. 

Divorce is adultery or should only be a result of adultery.  

Fornication is filthiness.

Pornography is fornication and adultery. 

All sin is unrighteousness, a transgression of God’s law and leads to death. 

When is the last time you heard a television preacher say these things plainly? Most of them don’t, because they don’t want to appear hateful and unloving. Hateful and unloving? There is a classic example again of how our politically correct and grossly sentimental American culture has shaped our speech and behavior. 

You can’t possibly love people without preaching sin and repentance. The most loving thing you can do for people is to speak the truth to them, not mask it and preach a watered-down version of it where people cannot even draw the line or make sense of it. 

Get out of the gray and get into the black and white, preacher! Quit trying to build a fan base and make real disciples of Jesus Christ. Quit trying to make people feel good while continuing to enable their bondage. Quit trying to make them feel accepted and approved by God when they are at risk of eternal rejection. 

What is wrong with much of the church in America is we have forsaken the message of sin and repentance. A message that is primarily meant for the world now needs to be preached in the church because the church and many of its preachers have become so much like the world.  

We can pray for an awakening all we want, but without plain preaching on sin and repentance, there will be no such awakening. {eoa}