Originally posted 2/20/24
Many people have said the “”He Gets Us” was their favorite commercial from the Superbowl. I saw it posted on many Facebook pages expressing appreciation for the commercial. I have also heard great criticism. On the surface, this may sound pretty good. After all, Scripture tells us that we are to love one another. Many verses in Scripture speak to loving one another.
John 13:34 “A new commandment I give to you, that you
love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.”
John 15:12, “This is my commandment, that you
love one another as I have loved you.
Romans 12:10 “Love one another with brotherly affection.
Outdo one another in showing honor.”
1 Peter 1:22 “Having purified your souls by your
obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one
another earnestly from a pure heart,”
1 John 3:11, “For this is the message that you have
heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.”
1 John 4:7 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is
from God, and whoever loves has been born
of God and knows God.”
2 John 1:5 “And now I ask you, dear lady–not
as though I were writing you a new
commandment, but the one we have had
from the beginning–that we love one another.”
I checked out their website and this was on their home page: “How did the story of Jesus, the world’s greatest love story get twisted into a tool to judge, harm, and divide? How do we remind people the story of Jesus belongs to everyone? These question are the beating heart of He Gets Us.” https://hegetsus.com/e
As I watched this commercial, I was struck by how our society has changed what it means to love one another. Loving each other is a complete acceptance of behavior. It has become increasing more difficult to correct behavior. People do not want to be told something is unacceptable. Children in school don’t respect authority as much as in years past. Many parents do not want anyone to correct their children. Many parents do not correct their own children. The perception of love is saying nothing and accepting everything. Is that really love?
One of the most misunderstood passages is Matthew 7:1, “Judge not, that you be not judged.” Does this mean we cannot ever tell people they are wrong? Does this mean that everyone has their own truth? Many people quote this passage to stop Christians from telling them the truth. Christians have taken a beating in recent years. The world is telling us that Christians are judgmental and hateful when we try to share God’s truth. We are told we must be tolerant. Even many well-meaning Christians buy into the trap that Jesus is only about love. Love is not just about the warm and fuzzy feelings. Love can be very difficult.
When raising a child, parents often have to be pretty tough on their kids. Does that mean the child isn’t loved? Raising children can get really messy because it involves a ton of correction. Children are trying to find their place in the world. Parents exhibit love through discipline. As a parent, it is not any more pleasant for us than it is for the child. Why do parents correct misbehavior in their children? Is it a demonstration of love or are parents just being mean? If a child is about to run into the street, do you stop him? Why? The child wants to be in the street. Shouldn’t we let them do what they want? Of course not. The only way to show love in that instant is to stop the child. We show love by correcting wrong behavior.
According to https://hegetsus.com/en, “the story of Jesus has been twisted into a tool to judge, harm, and divide. There is so much more to Jesus than just a love story. As we were watching the commercial, we were all struck by the message. It is absolutely true that Jesus understands your current situation. However, a big part of the gospel message was not included. Jesus does love us, but there is so much more. Jesus changes people. You don’t believe in Jesus and remain the same. It requires a change on our part.
John 8:3-11 “The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman
who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst
they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the
act of adultery. Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to
stone such women. So what do you say?” This they said to
test him, that they might have some charge to bring against
him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the
ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up
and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you
be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once more he
bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard
it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older
ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing
before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where
are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one,
Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you;
go, and from now on sin no more.”
Jesus told this woman to “go and sin no more.” She was not condemned but her life required a change. The people around her were not to condemn her, but she was required to change. You cannot follow Jesus and continue to sin.
Christians have been convinced that we cannot say anything to anyone. We are continually told that we are not to judge. However, Scripture indicates that we do need to judge rightly. We are to test the spirits to see if they are from God. John 7:24 says “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” 1 John 4:1 says, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
There is no such thing as “your truth” and “my truth”. The only truth that matters is God’s truth. We are to present ourselves to God as an approved worker. 2 Timothy 2:15 tells us to “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”
God gives us the gift of discernment. Proverbs 14:8 says, “The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way, but the folly of fools is deceiving.” Romans 12:2 says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”Ephesians 5:10 tells us “and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.”
Christians have been convinced that we cannot say anything to anyone.
Romans 12:3 “For by the grace given to
me I say to every one of you not to think
more highly of yourself than you ought to
think, but to think with sober discernment,
as God has distributed to each
of you a measure of faith.”
Ephesians 4:11-16 ”And he gave the apostles,
the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and
teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry,
for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain
to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of
the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the
measure of the stature of the fullness of
Christ, so that we may no longer be children,
tossed to and fro by the waves and carried
about by every wind of doctrine, by human
cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to
grow up in every way into him who is the head,
into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined
and held together by every joint with which it is
equipped, when each part is working properly,
makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”
We need to help people understand that there is a standard of what is right and wrong. Believing in Jesus will change everything. The gift of salvation is free. However, following Jesus is costly. We should be lovingly sharing God’s truth. It’s real love to tell someone the truth. When we only share the partial gospel with people, we are lying to them.
Psalm 119:66 “Teach me proper discernment and understanding! For
I consider your commands to be reliable.”
Hebrews 5:14 “But solid food is for the mature, for those who
have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to
distinguish good from evil. There will be nothing worse than
being turned away because Jesus didn’t know us.”
Scripture is pretty clear about the expectations of those who believe. When we believe in Jesus, we are to share the truth that is in the Scripture. Many have watered down the gospel in the name of being loving and accepting. There is absolutely no passage that tells people to continue living their sinful lives. If someone is preaching something contrary to Scripture, they are a false teacher.
Matthew 7:15 “Beware of false prophets, who
come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly
are ravenous wolves. Matthew 24:11 “And many
false prophets will arise and lead many astray.”
Matthew 24:24 “For false christs and false prophets
will arise and perform great signs and
wonders, so as to lead astray,
if possible, even the elect.”
We run the risk of harming our brothers and sisters in the name of love. If we don’t speak the truth in love, some are going to think they are believers. At some point they could hear the dreaded words in Matthew 7:23 “And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” If that happens, did we really love them after all? Will you love the way Jesus wants us to love or will you love the way the world wants us to love?
#faith, #Bible, #Scriptures, #Christian Women, #Discipleship, #womenintheBible, #Hegetsus