A pastor of a large church denomination in New York, refused to label killing the unborn a sin on a televised talk show.
A Hillsong pastor was recently invited to speak on a talk show. When the conversation turned to the controversial subject of abortion, the pastor seemed hesitant in replying. His answer was not to condemn the sin, but to say that he prefers to know the person before judging whether it is a sin. While his answer is admirable in the respect of knowing the person, as ambassadors for Christ, we must be the salt of the earth and speak the truth about sin and condemn it regardless of the situation. If we do not do it, then who will? In Matthew 5:13, Jesus said the following:
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
Being the salt, the light, and the truth in this world, we must represent truthfully, Christ who is all these things. Imagine if Jesus was asked about abortion and hesitated to condemn it? As representatives of Jesus, what use are we as light if it does not reveal truth, or as salt if the salt loses its saltiness? Rick Joyner said it best when he posted these words on the same subject:
It can be a challenge to field questions on talk shows that are intended to be challenging, but they would not be nearly so much if we are clear on what we believe, and courageous enough to say what we believe clearly. We should each settle these things in ourselves now, before we are put in such situations, and resolve to never compromise the truth we have been trusted with.
Condemning sin allows those who have sinned to receive forgiveness. If they are NOT told it is sin, then people may not seek the much needed forgiveness and we could be held accountable if the sin condemns that person. As the saying goes,
Hate the sin, love the sinner.
The law of God leads men to repentance because it shows the standard and the need to receive forgiveness from God. In Galatians 3:23-25 we read:
Before this faith came, we were held in custody under the Law, locked up until faith should be revealed. So the Law became our guardian to lead us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.…
To conclude: we must condemn sin when confronted by it. But we must also offer the true gospel of repentance to the sinner, so that they can be forgiven their sin.
