We have been in a season of life where Christians are needing to figure out where they are rooted and what they are going to choose to ground themselves on when it comes to their beliefs. The church is being shaken, and there are people who are wanting to land in the center of Christ no matter how unpopular that place is, and there are people who are hungry to stay relevant to the people around them and to keep everyone happy; ending up with compromise or twisting the words of God to make everyone happy and to feel good.

I have been deeply burdened by the division I have been seeing among the church, and I have been crying out for insight from Jesus. I don’t want to follow what feels good, and I don’t want to just accept the things that seem like they could be Jesus. I want my life to reflect Jesus; all of Him. I want to promote Jesus and His way in everything I do the best I can as a broken vessel.

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you. Titus 2:11-15

God’s grace is a sweet, sweet thing. His heart is so good and the way that so many of us have found His Love is why we claim Jesus like we do. But His grace is not for the sake of making people feel happy. His grace presents opportunity to all; opportunity we would never have without His grace and goodness. It presents opportunity to live freely in Christ AND reveals to us the right way to live. It does not give license. His grace is not a tool to mask the sins we feel like accepting and living in. It is not a phrase to use to defend our selfish choices or other people’s choices. It is instead a tool to teach us how to live in godliness and how to step out of those dark places. His goal in saving us through grace was to set aside a purified people for His own possession. Which means there is a process of washing and removal. He loves us and accepts us AND calls us higher. It’s all of the above, not just the ones you want to accept.

There is a real reason why the Bible says the road is narrow to the gates of the Kingdom. There is a way to live that will be different from the world. Being “progressive” or “relevant” is not the calling of the Christian. Being steadfast and faithful and SET APART is the calling of the Christian. 

When we contort the Word of God, we commit blaspheme, and we lead people astray. And the waywardness of the people we lead astray is our responsibility. This is a season to stand up to relevance and fitting in and to say, “I am standing with Jesus.” Not standing with sin simply to make people feel loved. Jesus never stood with people in sin for the sake of making them feel better. He always showed incredible love in someone’s sin and challenge. He encountered people with great love and told them to turn from their sin. He loved deeply and challenged deeply. How do we expect lost people to encounter a holy God and discover a transformative life if we are just telling them their sin is ok? We love them in their sin and show them a better way through Jesus.

The verse above doesn’t just end there. It goes on.

Be submissive to rulers and authorities, be obedient, and be ready for every good work. Speak evil of no one, avoid quarreling and be gentle, and show perfect courtesy to all people. For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to our various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out so richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

The calling as Christians that we have does not give us right or reason to judge people who have not experienced the goodness and kindness of Jesus through salvation. We are to relate to those who don’t know Jesus in remembering when we were lost and led astray; this means with COMPASSION not COMPROMISE. Just as Jesus showed incredible love and incredible challenge, so are we to follow the example. We see people where they are at, we show them love in the middle of where they are at, but it doesn’t end there. Our love isn’t our own. It’s the love of Jesus. And those who are lost need to know the love of God. They need to know and taste the experience of sweet salvation in Jesus. That opportunity is for all, and we are the ones who carry the ability to give all that opportunity. But we don’t leave people there. God’s grace through salvation teaches us how to live in godliness, and part of walking in the way of the Lord is walking OUT of our flesh and INTO the realm of the Holy Spirit. We are to be examples of holiness to a world that finds it absurd to have freedom in purity. It is a contradicting idea to the world, but God in his grace gives us the supernatural ability to do it for the sake of being an example to the world and to new believers as a people set apart.

We need to exhort one another to stay in perfect love AND obedience, not being led astray by new teachings or ideas, but adhering to the commands of the Lord and lining our lives up with the narrow road. The road unpopulated by the popular, but the one that gives us Light to shed on a dark world. Our compassion flows from this place; a passion for people in understanding their lostness, but also in understanding the freedom they could have in Jesus to come out of their sin and into the supernatural freedom of walking in holiness.

I want people to know the great love of God. And I want them to know it is possible to live a life of FULLNESS in purity and holiness. I want them to know they don’t have to be bound by their sin anymore. Jesus died for THAT freedom. I want to see chains broken and lives redeemed. I want the fullness of Jesus to sweep over people. That is revival. Transformation in thinking, in choices, in behavior. I want to see people discover their identity in Christ, an identity so much greater than anything they could make or plan for themselves. I want the discovery of their worth and value in the kingdom to cause people to “set aside every weight that slows them down” from running toward more of Jesus and His purposes for them.

The church is the only entity that holds the power to see a culture and society change. We are the vessels God chose to put His authority into to redeem and love and set free. We need to come together as a set apart people, understanding the power vested in us by Jesus, and move forward with revival mentality. If we are not united, we can’t do what we were made to do. Consecrate yourself to Jesus; let him set you apart. Let him give you compassion and endurance to walk that narrow road toward the kingdom and see what happens as you attract the darkness around you. You are an attractive light when you are lit up! And when we as a church are lit up, we are an immovable force that even the gates of hell cannot stop.