Minister to Apologize

The Atlanta Journal is reporting today that a minister at a large Southern Baptist church in Gwinnett County is planning to "apologize" in his sermon this Sunday to those who've been condemned by Christians over the years. Included in his list of those who need an apology are gays (homosexuals), women seeking abortions and couples not married.

The pastor, Rev. Richard Mark Lee is quoted as saying:

Just as the Christian church has done many wonderful things throughout history, it also has done many terrible things, such as targeting, judging and condemning various individuals and groups.

First of all just who is he apologizing for? Is the good reverend planning to apologize for all of Christendom, the entire subset of Christians known as Southern Baptists, just his particular church or just himself personally? In truth, the only ones of these he can legitimately and meaningfully apologize for are the last two.

Secondly, just what specifically is he apologizing for? It's the Bible which calls homosexuality, murder and fornication sins. Is the reverend sorry for what scripture says about these things or just sorry over how some people have dealt with sinners of these kinds? There may be some legitimacy to the latter but again, only if he or his church have been involved in specific ungodly actions towards people in these groups. He can't apologize for the mistreatment someone has received at the hands of others beyond his sphere of influence and have it be meaningful in any way.

Lee goes on to say:

Some churchgoers have condemned gay people, picketed abortion clinics or ignored the poor and homeless. If Jesus were alive today, he would minister to these groups.

Well, yes He would, he would minister to them the way He ministered to the woman taken in adultery. She'd clearly been mistreated by the religious establishment and was being used by them as nothing more than a pawn in an attempt to trap Jesus. However, Christ didn't apologize to her for that, He told her "go and sin no more". There is no reconciliation with God through Christ apart from repentance of sin. However, I get the distinct impression that Reverend Lee is not going there. My guess is his is a theology of God's love absent His wrath and judgment of sin. A theology of let's all hold hands and sing "We are the World", in short, a theology that is foreign to scripture. Besides, what exactly does the good reverend have against picketing abortion mills? Would he have had a problem if the people of Germany had picketed the extermination camps of the Nazis? Perhaps Reverend Lee doesn't believe that an abortion is the murder of a little defenseless baby.

The article concludes with this quote from Reverend Lee:

"Why is the gospel of love dividing America? The unchurched world views us as judgmental and homophobic, I don't think God is going to ask what label we wore. He's going to ask what did we do for Jesus."

The reason the Gospel divides is given to us in the Bible (you know that same judgmental book that calls homosexuality, murder and fornication sins). The Bible says that the Gospel is foolishness to those who are perishing, perishing because they refuse to repent of their sins and come to Christ. The best thing we can do for murderers, homosexuals and fornicators (and all sinners) is to share the Gospel with them, the true Gospel, not the "God loves you no matter what" gospel of the seeker sensitive/church growth movement but the Gospel of the Bible which calls sinners to repentance and to freedom from their sin in Jesus Christ.

As to what God is going to say to us one day, it will either be "Well done good and faithful servant" or "Away from me I never knew you" it will not be "What have you done for me". We don't need to do anything for Christ, He has done it all. Our works are a response to His grace, not a means of obtaining His favor.