Facebook teaches theology, something I never expected. I’ve discovered it delves deep into what it means to follow Jesus. Lest you misinterpret this, please read it as sarcasm. Here’s one theology post, “You cannot be a Christian and support Biden because he...” About the time I began to incorporate this into my theology, I came across another, “A Christian cannot support Trump because he...” My mind began to reel.
So how can we put all this together? We cannot. And we cannot because these comments, and the ones similar, reveal a huge misunderstanding of following Jesus. We merely define “cannot” as Webster does: “to be unable to do otherwise than.” “A Christian is unable to…” Just fill in the blank.
Strong terms like that put others outside the realm of faith and ignore the essence of salvation, as given by the apostle Paul, “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it” (Ephesians 2:8-9, NLT).
The only “action” we can take to be saved, to be a Christian, is to believe that Jesus is the Son of God and commit to him as our Savior and Lord. Adding any requirement to be a Christian beyond what the Bible gives is dangerous and at a minimum, verges on heresy. I think it crosses the line. It guts Christianity of the concept of being saved by faith, not works. Those who say this put themselves in God’s position, determining who’s in and who’s out. And not on the basis of faith or scripture, but politics. It implies that Christians have to be perfect or they can’t be one. Disagree with me on this point and you’re outside the faith family.
Frankly, I don’t think most who use these absolute terms take the time to realize what they do, but that is the impact. It divides the body of Christ that he died to save. Here’s a suggestion…or two…or…
First, let’s tone down the rhetoric of absolute statements, unless God gives them. Share your opinion as your opinion, not as holy writ, “A Christian SHOULD not…” Give others the freedom to disagree without questioning the validity of their faith. And maybe we should send them a private message to lovingly share our concerns.
Second, demonstrate love to each other. Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love God with all our being, and to love others just as much as we love ourselves. Love isn’t an emotion, nor agreement on all issues. Love means acting in the best interest of the person you love. When someone reads your posts, do they sense love? Jesus commands that.
Third, value God above partisanship. Protect the unity of his church. Honoring God trumps our party winning an election. I’m convicted by Spurgeon, “To live for a political party is unworthy of the one who professes to be a Christian.” Political beliefs are fine, but let’s not brutalize others nor divide Jesus’ body with them. Keep God first in your priorities.
OK, one more. When your nonbelieving friends see you harshly attack others for differing position, do you think that makes following Jesus more attractive? Think about this.
Kick Starting the Application
Have you made absolute statements like this? If so, did they bring you closer to the person you accused? Have you been on the receiving end of these? If so, how did you feel? How will you apply these principles to your social media?