The Church Is for the Rapist and the Molester
Earlier this week while I was praying, these words came out of my mouth:
"The church is for the rapist and the molester."
I know that's a difficult statement. Those who know me may be shocked that I'm even writing it.
When those words first left my lips, my flesh cringed for a moment. But as I continued to pray, my spirit rejoiced. I've been asking God to help me see people the way Jesus sees them and to think the way Jesus thinks.
As I reflected on that statement, I realized why my spirit rejoiced: I had stopped placing limits on God's grace.
Who are we to decide who God can or cannot reach?
At the same time, I was reading Romans 1:18-32. Often, homosexuality becomes the focal point of these conversations because it is one of the sins listed in that passage. Let me be clear: the Bible calls believers to hate sin, not people. But Romans 1 does not isolate homosexuality from every other sin. In the same chapter, Paul also addresses fornication, greed, envy, deceit, gossip, slander, arrogance, and many other sins.
Sin is sin.
As I continued reading, I moved into Romans 2:1-4. Paul warns against hypocritical judgment. I understand this to mean that a person who is actively gossiping while condemning a fornicator is standing on dangerous ground. The gossiper is living in sin just as surely as the fornicator.
However, if we keep reading, Romans 2:2 says:
"And we know that the judgment of God falls justly and in accordance with truth on those who practice such things."
That verse challenged me.
God's judgment is not based on our opinions, preferences, or personal rankings of sin. It is based on truth.
The message of Romans is not that sin doesn't matter. The message is that none of us are righteous apart from God's grace. Romans 1 reveals humanity's sinfulness. Romans 2 warns us against hypocrisy. Romans 3 concludes that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
That means the church is for the rapist. The church is for the molester. The church is for the homosexual, the adulterer, the addict, the liar, the gossiper, and the thief.
The church is for sinners.
But the gospel is not, "Come as you are and stay as you are."
The gospel is, "Come as you are and allow Christ to transform you."
God's grace reaches further than we often imagine, but His grace also calls us to repentance. We cannot afford to minimize sin, nor can we afford to limit God's mercy.
The same God who can save me can save anyone.
And if I truly want the heart of Jesus, then I must leave room for the possibility that God's grace can reach the very people my flesh struggles to forgive.