When people think of modern Christians, they think of two things: The ridiculous Christians who only preach about going to Hell for basically breathing, and the reverse of that, the ultra positive Christians who like to pretend Hell either doesn't exist or isn't that big a deal if it does. Today I want to talk about the ultra positive Christians and what Jesus would actually think of the way they handle things, because the reality of being a Christian is actually more the middle ground between these two types. Now when I talk about ultra positive Christians, I am talking about the people that can look at someone sinning right in front of them and smile like they didn't do anything. The kind of people that don't really bother with the bad news of the Gospel where they would tell you that you're a sinner, instead they just talk about how Jesus loves everyone, no matter what. They're the kind of Christian that will respect your beliefs, regardless of what you believe, and just want you to learn about Jesus by spending time with them. In most cases, this type of Christian will never actually bother to preach the Gospel at all, lest they offend someone. They like to think that people will come and ask them questions so that they won't have to do anything awkward. This is the Christian that cares more about being positive than actually getting people saved. Everything they say and how they act is pretty appealing to people, but it does not get people saved and it is not how Jesus acted even remotely. To show this, well I will just let Jesus speak for himself. Here's what you may consider Nice Verses: Matthew 5:38-48: Matthew 11:25-30: And here are what we'll call the Mean Verses: Matthew 8:23-26: Matthew 12:30-37: These are just a couple examples of each but it is actually far easier to find verses where Jesus is being mean (by our standards) than it is to find him being nice. People around Jesus liked him when he was performing miracles for them but shunned him whenever he preached something they didn't like. Very few people actually wanted to be around Jesus for anything other than physical gains, proven by the fact he was crucified by the same people he came to save. This is something we need to understand because, in general, I find almost no one actually acting like Jesus did. If anything, even I am actually too nice when you consider how Jesus spoke to some people. He could be very harsh and very nice. Even when harsh though, he was always kind, because kindness isn't just acting nice, it can also be doing something that someone needs even if they don't like it. That is what Jesus did the entire time he was here. It didn't matter if it meant being stoned or applauded, he was always going to do what was best for the people around him and in his case, every person who has ever existed. Sometimes that means getting mean with people and telling them things they don't want to hear. The Gospel has two parts, the bad news that we aren't good people and we don't deserve Heaven, and the good news that Jesus died for our sins because he is merciful and awesome. Without the first half, the second makes no sense, but if we focus on being positive you only ever get the second and a lot of false converts. It also makes it almost impossible to correct bad theology because everyone is afraid to judge each other, but it is something that needs to be done.
We can always do our best to be nice, it doesn't have to be insanely harsh when you tell someone something they don't want to hear, but it still needs done. As Christians, we are called to do exactly that, bringing more people to Christ and holding each other accountable so that we can grow in our faith! P.S. We are actually called to judge. People that think you aren't allowed to judge anything are ripping verses out of context and ignoring several verses telling us how to go about it righteously! Remember to read all of Matthew 7, not just the first 2 verses.
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