“‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Because of your false words and lying visions, I am against you, declares the Sovereign LORD. – Ezekiel 13:8

Today’s Scripture Reading (April 3, 2017) Ezekiel 13

I was once criticized for mentioning a particular Baptist Church online. I won’t make that mistake again. But this church, and others like it, seem to want to preach a gospel of hate that I admit I have a hard time understanding. They carry picket signs protesting what they consider to be the sins of the age, namely homosexuality, and abortion, among a few unimaginative other sins, proclaiming that this is the will of God. But my reality is that I struggle to see the connection. And the one question that I keep asking myself is this – would Jesus carry the signs? Over and over again the conclusion that I come up with is that Jesus would more likely be holding the frightened girl inside of the abortion clinic than he would be holding the picket sign outside the clinic.

In my mentioning this particular Baptist Church, it was with the message that we are not all alike. Those who criticized me asserted that everyone already knew that not all Baptist Churches are created equal, but I am not sure that they are right. At least in my corner of the world, we all seem to get painted with the same brush. But the overwhelming message of the Bible would appear to be love for those that are different - not hate. Jesus partied with the tax collector and welcomed the prostitute into his presence. I am convinced that his church can do nothing less. And anyone who suggests a gospel filled with hate and picket signs must be reading a different Bible – the must be reading different words of God.

I say that I am convinced because I feel that I need to be. Declaring what God will or will not do is a dangerous business. God says that he will set himself against those who attribute words and actions to him that are not his. Declaring “the Word of the Lord” is an activity with which the contemporary church should also be careful. Too often we seem to get carried away declaring the words of God that he has never spoken.

But if there is a message that I believe that we need to state, it is the wideness of God’s love. No other message is worthy of the Body of Christ – the church. And no other message that our world needs to hear more, especially because there are those among us that seem intent on spreading a gospel of hate that just cannot have originated with God of the Bible – and the Son of God who loves tax-collector and always invites the sinner into a relationship with him. 

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 14