So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. Romans 8:3 (NLT)
I hate what religion does to people. I also hate what it does to churches.
I spoke to one woman who told me that she and her children were removed from their church. Her husband had left her, and because the church felt that divorce was wrong, she was asked to leave.
You can’t find examples of Jesus rejecting people for their sin. When He was speaking on a mountainside, people didn’t have to pass a morality test to be accepted into the crowd. He didn’t say, “This person lies and gossips… I’ll let that pass. She’s on her third marriage though. Kick her out.”
What would happen if we all focused on Jesus and the love that He has for each of us instead of focusing on rules and religion? Some would say that sin would run rampant in our churches, but that’s not what the Bible teaches.
God’s laws show us the right way to live and protect us from harm, but beating people over the head with them doesn’t work. These rules and laws can’t keep us pure. Simply knowing something is wrong doesn’t give you the power to avoid it.
The only way anyone can hope to follow God’s life-giving principles is by accepting what Jesus did on the cross for us and then tapping into Holy Spirit’s power to do right. So instead of judging people for their wrong doing, let’s point them to the answer: Jesus.