You cannot simply love Jesus and reject parts of the Bible that you don't agree with.
This modern world has made Jesus to be someone who he isn’t fully like. They love the “love” side and grace side of Him. They shut out his Truth, conviction, and power. They want to make Him like the nice guy that everything is all cool, no worries. Jesus isn’t just love or truth, he is both.
A lot of “Christians” love Jesus but reject some of the words in the Bible as, “not fitting for me,” or cancels it out. Welcome to cancel culture.
The Word is sharper than a double-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12). It hurts sometimes with its conviction, but we need conviction to know what to work on. It scares me when Christians do not have any conviction for their sin. Did God leave them to their depraved minds? (Romans 1:18-25) Yet they aren’t worried about it because that’s “their truth.” It’s okay to just push some verses under the rug because they don’t feel good, and they don’t agree with it.
God’s Word can’t be argued. It’s the real truth. It’s not up for debate. We can’t simply pick what we want to believe and reject what we don’t. That’s not being a follower of Jesus and surrendering your life to Him. That’s making up your own modern version of Jesus that’s literally living a lie. I'm just so frustrated with so many living as a believer yet OKAY with rejecting parts of the Bible as false or twisting it to make their agenda work. Listen, I understand living in two worlds, I've done it, but let's not be okay with our human ways. Let's run to Jesus and godly people for help.
Sometimes I'm deeply afraid to share the truth of God's Word for fear of being rejected or labeled as judgmental or legalistic. I'm afraid to share the truth in love because we're living in a generation where anyone can be written off especially by the Christians. I hesitate to be authentic about the Word of God which is a lack of faith. Despite this, I feel that I must urge you and I on to cease hiding from sharing the real truth of the Word of God. Not in a legalistic way because the law is gone, but in a loving way.
I have a whole past of sin where I knew the Word of God yet rejected parts of it because I didn’t want to follow it fully. I chose sin first based upon how I felt. It was a dark and lonely place. It was an ache in my heart knowing that I had pushed God very far away, yet He didn’t give up on me. I had so many glimpses of His presence even in my dark times. I’m thankful that His conviction came through to lead me to repentance. Repentance wasn’t fun. It hurt terribly. My chest ached and it hurt to breathe as I realized the state of my sin. Jesus wasn't inflicting this pain on me; it was my eyes opening to my depravity. I so badly needed Jesus in the forefront of my life. (I was also a Christian during all of this.) Although it was so incredibly painful, I saw Jesus in a new light like never before. I saw a whole side of mercy that I had never seen quite like that. It was so needed. It was a wrecking moment but I’m so glad it was. That's where I experienced truth and grace. Conviction and love. Without both sides I wouldn’t have fully experienced the real, Biblical Jesus.
I understand why some might think that the Bible might seem too traditional for us Gen Z/Millennial or that it doesn't fully represent our modern world today. That's not the truth though. The Bible is the most famous book ever and has existed for a few thousand years. The Bible also deals with sins and struggles we have today. It's actually very relevant to today and can't be twisted to fit one's human agenda.
So please, if you wish to stand up boldly for something please check in the Word of God and in prayer first. Check for the Truth. Sometimes we think we hear from God when really, we are listening to our own voice because it feels right.
The Bible isn't a feel-good Gospel. It's a transformational book of why we needed Jesus to come save us.
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