Back in March before Donald Trump had gotten the nomination, a young friend of mine was being a big cheerleader for him. He attends Liberty University, so I blame Mr Falwell for influencing him. After one discussion on Facebook where I was pointing out reasons a Christian shouldn't vote for DT - his strip clubs, his adulterous affairs that he bragged about, his vulgarity - this young man commented and said "I am bothered by you rating his sins worse than yours." I didn't tell him what bothered me about him..... but I did do a blog post on rating sins.
I have many Calvinist friends, and appreciate them and have confidence in them. I believe they are wrong, but I believe if we are living for God and doing our best to live above sin it is different than merrily sinning and chirping that we aren't under law, so it doesn't matter..... as some do.
Many Calvinists, including my young friend, have this idea that since we all have sinned - and supposedly continue sinning - that we have no right to call out sin, or criticize sinful actions in anyone. So DT has strip clubs where women are used and abused....you have also sinned, how dare you say anything. So he committed adultery on both wives and bragged about it... let him who has not sinned, cast the first stone.
Can you imagine these same people chirping this for other things? No, because the only time these Scriptures are used are when attempting to lessen or excuse sins in either ourselves or in someone else.
Saddam Hussein was a wicked and evil man. He put people through big meat grinders to kill them, and the horrors he launched on his own people should earn him a special place in hell. Can you imagine one of these people saying "but we all have sinned" when confronted with the evil he did?
Or Hitler. Can you imagine going through the Holocaust museum, hearing of the horrors Hitler did, and then having someone pipe up "let him who is without sin, cast the first stone!"
Jeffrey Dahlmer was a disturbed individual who kidnapped young men and did unspeakable things with them, including cannibalism, and I believe sex with them even after he killed them. Imagine someone saying "oh we all sin, you have no right to judge him".... especially if their son or brother was one of his victims.
John Wayne Gacy. Between 1972 and 1978, this man sexually assaulted 33 teenage boys and young men - that they know of - in Illinois. Imagine your friends have just been told their teenage boy was kidnapped by this man, raped, and then killed. Could you sit there and say "we can't judge him - we all have sinned, remember.... and don't cast any stones unless you haven't sinned....."
Imagine posting "all have sinned! Judge not! Let him who hasn't sinned cast the first stone" on September 11, 2001 after the worst terrorist attack in our history was launched using airplanes.
Imagine sitting at the trial of a man who has molested several little boys and piping up with those pet Scriptures..... you'd get seriously hurt.
Many of us have watched in horror as ISIS executed Christians in pictures or on video for serving Jesus. I have never, ever seen one of these people comment and say any of these trite sayings they love to excuse sin in their lives or their candidates at that time.
And one more to bring it home even more: I have yet to see any of these people piping up with these Scriptures about DT, bring them up when the Clintons are being exposed for what they have done. When someone posts about Benghazi and Hillary being responsible for those deaths, no one uses Scripture to defend and excuse her.
You see, we all admit there are sins worse than others. I believe God even views some sins as worse than others. Read your Bible and you'll see a list of things God hates, things God calls an abomination, and times certain things kindled His anger more than others.
Get real: owning a strip club IS worse than telling your kid there really is a Santa Clause.
Adultery and being in a porn movie IS worse than stealing a piece of candy.
Rape and sex trafficking IS worse than blowing up at your boss.
The truth of the matter, is people like to excuse their own sins and sins in others. They would never chirp their favorite Scriptures in the scenarios I mentioned above, or in others I haven't mentioned.
Go back to me a couple of a thousand years. Jesus is speaking and teaching, when there is a ruckus. The religious leaders drag a beautiful young woman barely dressed in front of Him and shove her on the ground. "She was caught in the very act of adultery... the very act! The law says she be stoned, so what do you say we should do?"
This story resulted in the famous line "whoever among you has not sinned, cast the first stone". You may disagree with me on this, but this gets quoted out of context. These were not upstanding men that God had saved and they were living sinless godly lives. These were hypocrites who had their pet sins, but were walking around condemning others for lesser infractions. Many of them likely had used this girl, or others, sexually. Jesus knew their hearts, and called them on it.
Now go with me further back in time. King David had a beautiful wife that he had worked hard to get. He had had sex with her while she was married to someone else, and then had her husband killed to cover it up. And then in walked the prophet Nathan who said "don't worry David, we all have sinned... let him who is without sin, cast the first stone, and don't anyone dare judge you......" No, that isn't how the account goes. He called David out on it, and David repented and was sorrowful (which doesn't fit with those comparing David to a certain politician).
All through the Bible, prophets, apostles, and other followers of God called out wickedness and sin in people.
In the Gospels, Jesus gives instruction on how to deal with a Christian brother who has sinned....if you aren't supposed to judge, and if we all have sinned.....how does that work?
I am not a Calvinist, and I don't believe we sin daily. I don't believe that once we are in, we can never walk away from God. Not all sin is equal. If God can save the murderer so he doesn't kill anymore, he can save the liar so they don't lie anymore. If we are truly living for God, we will be doing our best with His help to live above sin. His Word DOES say he who is born of God does not sin, but IF we sin, we have an advocate.
So no, if you are secretly living in sin, you shouldn't be pointing out sins in others...... but if you are a Christian truly living for God, you are going to be disgusted by evil and sinful acts, and by people's defense of them. And if you are one of those chirping these Scripture verses to excuse sin in you, a politician, or anyone else......then you had better be consistent and chirp them all the time..... even in scenarios like I gave above.
Yes, I have sinned.... but all of my sins are forgiven and under the blood. My past sins does not mean I can't call out sins that others are trying to excuse or defend.
All sins are not equal. And we do have the right to find certain things offensive in a politician and grounds for us to not support and vote for them. If you do that in the candidate of the other party, then you are a hypocrite and have a double standard.
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