"But I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath already committed adultery with her in his heart."-Matt 5:28
"All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." -Rom 3:23 All have sinned, not just some of us. Jesus commands us to love the sinner and hate the sin; there is no love in holding a sign saying that God hates a group of people, yet there is no love in doing nothing to stop sinners from receiving the grace to end their sinning. Yes, those girls in those pictures were sinning, and yes their sin is grievous, but is the sin of slandering them any better? All sin will bring about the same result, separation from God, the more you sin the more grievous the sin becomes. To hate your brother (or sister) you already make yourself a murderer according to Jesus. (Matt 5:22) How then can we say that the sin of the girls is worse than murder? When a woman given to fornication was brought to Jesus and thrown at her feet, the Saviour made a simple statement, "He who is without sin among you, let him cast the stone at her."- John 8:7 Those self righteous cavilers were forced to walk away while their stones fell to the ground harmless. They too in need of the divine Saviour and yet they did no more than walk away from Him who could have saved them from the results of the hate they felt towards this woman. I would venture to say that at some point most of us have quoted that verse, yet so quickly it is that men turn from the truth and readily cast stones. Before I came to know the lovely Jesus I would have reveled in those images, now tell me how my sin is different than that of the women in those pictures. I was crucifying Christ afresh, with every time I looked at vile images. Yes their sin is grievous, and no I am not excusing it, but I am saying that Jesus loves them in equal proportion to how much He hates their sin. Jesus would have died for any one of those young women, and His blood is sufficient to cleanse them all. This is the love of Christ, to cleanse us who are but hopeless sinners, and give us a new life. The love of Christ must be on display in His church.
Now The Church is describes as the body of Christ, (I Cor 12:27) so where is the Christlikeness of spirit and of character that ought to mark that body. We spend our time thinking about which sin is worse and which one is better, causing ourselves to be castaways, for all who partake of this unrighteousness are only bringing upon themselves reproach. It is true that some sins are worse than others, that the severity of our sin is going to determine our punishment to a degree, but the severity of sin is not what we need to have our minds set on. We need to be watchful in our own heart for those sins that attract us, we have far more to fear from within than from without. Jesus said in Matt 24:42 that we have to be watchful always for we do not know when He is going to make His glorious return but I for one am longing to be there. God's people are in great need of revival, of this I am assured, but revival and reformation must go together! How many of us claim the principles of Protestantism, the slogans of the Reformation, yet are unwilling to make a personal Reformation our hearts that would truly bring about righteous ends. True I may not have ever killed a man, but by having hated many people during my life, my sin would have landed me in the same reward weather my punishment was equal in severity or not. I will not dwell on my past to make the point I am trying to drive home which is this; irrespective of what your sin may be the cross is for you! Jesus would have died if only one pedophile was to be changed, stop harming children, and become the soul convert to the Gospel. Jesus would have died if His death brought only one young woman out of a strip club and into heaven! Jesus would have died if only to give you personally the strength to overcome your personal sin and live with Him forever and ever. A life for a life and that would have been accosted worth-while to our Saviour who despised the shame of the cross but took it anyway loving the glory. (Heb 12:2) Jesus gave up His seat on the throne in heaven, surrounded by worshiping angels who loved Him and served Him to a cold dark world of sin and degradation, and did all this after four-thousand years of the human race being degraded by Satan. That is how much Jesus loves you personally. Ellen White says that God looks upon us with the value of the sacrifice given for our sake, well it is true that Jesus died for the world, but He would have died for each one of us, life for a life, and therefore we are measured in God's eyes as though that is exactly the price paid for us. He loves us each as though we were the only one for whom He sent His only begotten Son to die; Jesus loves you as though you were the only one whom He lives three and a half years on a dark planet, died a horrid death of suffering and shame, and was resurrected for! This is what Jesus would like us to dwell upon, His great love, and as we spend time kneeling at the cross of Calvary, to be changed there will be fruits of righteousness borne of the seeds of grace.
The fruits to be borne are simply this, true repentance, true conversion, and true sanctification. There is no other. though our sins may be vile His blood is sweet, though our addictions may be corrupting His blood is redeeming, though our trials may be great He moves mountains! There is none, no not one, who is like unto our God. (Jer 10:6) Oh that men would see Jesus, the lover of my soul and say, "Oh to be like You my Saviour." All of us are wicked and in grave need of a Saviour, nothing you've done can cause Him to stop loving you! The fruits of our labor must be to share this, the Gospel of the living God, to bring about God's will that whosoever should come to the Way the Truth and the Life would not perish, but be found in that glorious kingdom the New Jerusalem! To Him that overcometh is promised the reward, and that overcoming will only be wrought by love!
Jesus loves each of us, He loves the stripper and the prostitute, the pedophile, and the atheist, He loves the fallen sinner who refuses to change. His grace is sufficient for us all, if we will but accept it unto ourselves. Jesus is the Author and Finisher of the faith! What greater promise can we have than that God is faithful to complete what He's begun? Surely there is no greater love than that of Christ, because while most would find it hard to give their life for a man who was great, Jesus gave His life for the worst of the worst. no one can fathom that love. No one can deny that love either! We are left without excuse. Let the love of Christ shine in you and the fruits of this be the conversion of the sinner, spend much time at the cross, that you may come to know that divine love! Those who have not yet accepted Jesus, come boldly to the throne of Grace and let the blood of the Lamb of God take away the sins of your past; it doesn't matter how hopeless it seems, for with God all things are possible (Matt 19:26) and furthermore I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me! (Phil 4:13)
