32 salvation option on 2...break

The other day I was watching a news story about a young gay man that was being harassed by a church organization. I won't repeat the words that where used but I will tell you that it made me angry. Mostly because on every overtly anti-homosexual sign was a sign of the cross. I began to think about that sign and I realized that I don't think Jesus would have reacted in the same way. Don't get me wrong I don't advocate homosexuality. I believe it's a sin. But does anyone remember the story of the woman that was caught with another man...the local people brought her to Jesus as sort of a trick. They knew the punishment for such a crime was stoning so they brought her before Christ and asked him to lay judgement upon her for the sins she committed. Jesus began to write something in the sand at his feet and his answer was simple, "If anyone of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her" (John 8:7) If there was anyone who had the right to cast judgement upon the woman it was Jesus. "I pass judgement on no one. But if I do judge my decisions are right, because I am not alone. I stand with the father who sent me. (John 8:16). Amazingly in the life of Jesus we recognize the awesome mercy of God. Later in the chapter Christ says " Has no one condemned you...than neither do I condemn you...Go now and leave your life of sin." In a nutshell this should be exactly how a christian (one who follows in the footsteps of Christ) should respond to sin. In no way should we accept sin but Christ gives us a very clear blueprint in this one incident of exactly what a christian does when encountering sin. First, recognize that the sin you may recognize in someone else is no worse than the sin in your own life. There are not varying degrees of sinners, and according to Matthew in chapter 7, we will be judged to the degree that we are judgemental. Furthermore we should concentrate on eradicating sin from our own lives before looking to fix anyone else. I might add that in Romans 3:10-23, that we are instructed that not one of us meets the heavenly standards required for salvation. Essentially, none of us carry the credentials of Christ to pass judgement upon another.
Secondly, we need to first forgive recognizing ones struggle with sin. Jesus does this when he says "than neither do I condemn you." We must approach sin as sinners. Holding are brothers and sisters in Christ accountable is not the same as sin judgement upon uncommitted souls. I do not expect one who has not accepted Christs salvation to understand a judgemental attack without personal involvement. The hecklers standing in line felt justified to stand up for scripture and against sin. I too feel it necessary to stand up for scripture emphatically, but as Jesus teaches us, it is more important to lift up the sinner. Someone very smart told me one time that no one has ever been argued into the kingdom of heaven. Do you think that the homosexual man was prompted to look at the message of Christ and the sin in his life because of the attacks of the crowd? The last part of the message is as telling as the first two and leads me to my final point. By telling the woman to "leave her life of sin", Christ emphasizes the importance of a sinless life. With love and forgiveness, Christ instructs her not to sin. At no point does he make light of her sin pointing out the importance of change, but he does this not from a position of judgement (as was his right) but from the depths of love and mercy. I have often thought about what Jesus wrote in the sand that day. But I don't question what he has written in my heart. As Christians we are to hate sin because it stands in the way of our relationship with Christ, but Christ has given us an escape from the sin in our life and he even offers it to sinners like me. I remind myself of this whenever I feel the sin of self righteousness brewing. As I said before I don't think uncommitted sinners are argued into heaven...perhaps we should take a look at Christs playbook.