Not that which is entering into the mouth is contaminating a man, but that which is going out of the mouth, this is contaminating a man.
Matthew 15: 11, Concordant New Testament
It seems that I have something in common with former (and hopefully future) President Donald Trump. During his 2016 campaign, Trump ruffled more than a few feathers when he engaged in some salty words in reference to females during a interview. Now, most people already know that Donald Trump is a man who tells it like it is. Trump would refer to this interview as "locker room talk." Indeed, many of us have been in that situation when, surrounded by the guys, we engage in some talk we probably wouldn't proclaim outside of the presence of our homies. I get it. You see, I've been there as well. I've been in those situations where banter leads to language most likely not befitting a believer. Had I given up my faith? Nope. If anything, I had forgotten the man that I really am. I know that I might get some pushback from more than a few people, but I know that Donald Trump is not defined by those words that he used back then. That's not who he is. Now, some select liberal leaning media would argue that Trump is a misogynistic hater, but according to their ratings nobody listens to them anyway. Why do I hold this belief? Because I have seen Donald Trump at his best. I have seen him in his moments where he stands on his faith. I, also, am not defined by some of the language which I have engaged in over the years. That is not the man that I am. The man that I am has been presented to me by the words of the apostle Paul. For it is Paul who has proclaimed the truth of my real identity. The truth that it is Christ Jesus who resides in me {Galatians 2:20}. This is the man that I am. One in Christ {John 17:21}. It is during those moments where I engaged in questionable language that it seems that I had forgotten who it is that I am. I didn't give up on God, brush aside my faith or turn from my beliefs. I simply forgot what had been revealed to me. The man that I am had not changed.
With Christ have I been crucified, yet I am living; no longer I, but living in me is Christ. Now that which I am now living in the flesh, I am living in faith that is of the Son of God, Who loves me and gives Himself up for me.
Galatians 2: 20, Concordant New Testament
There has been a lot of people, believers included, who claim that behaviors which I myself and Donald Trump have engaged in are a abomination, a punishable offense. Really? Let us once again refer to the words of Paul where he proclaims that we no longer "Regard anyone according to the flesh" {2 Corinthians 5:16}. Do I still deserve to be punished? How about we take a look at what Paul had to say about sin? As Paul put it, we should "Reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin" {Romans 6:11}. Still think that I need to be punished for my transgressions? Consider the words of the prophet Isaiah concerning Jesus. For it is Jesus Himself who bore our punishment, and it is by Christ Jesus by which we are saved {Isaiah 53:5}. Still think that I need to be punished? If you do then there might be a few pews open for you in your local institutional church organization. For it is the church which continues to pound home the agenda of sin and punishment. This is not the God I serve. The God I serve is a nature of love {1 John 4:8}. Not that God "has" a nature of love, but that He "Is" love. God loves me enough that He threw all of my transgressions on the shoulders of His only Son that He and He alone would bear weight of them {2 Corinthians 5:21}. When I forget the revelation of the man that I am, it does nothing to take away what Jesus has already done for me. Christ is the man that I am.
So that we, from now on, are acquainted with no one according to the flesh. Yet even if we have known Christ according to the flesh, nevertheless now we know Him so no longer.
2 Corinthians 5: 16, Concordant New Testament
~Scott~
No comments:
Post a Comment