The choice you’ll make today
Check out this tweet and choose better
I used to follow him religiously simply for the material. John Pavlovitz is a progressive activist who wears the name of Jesus and uses elements of Christ’s teaching as a battering ram to advance his favored political agenda - one which conveniently aligns almost identically with the modern Democrat Party.
There was a time in my career when I was writing profusely – Disrn had just launched, so I was writing daily for them, I was still writing for the Indianapolis Star, and was writing for Erick Erickson’s Resurgent publication. As much as a lot of people probably assume, “Peter Heck, oh he has something to say about everything,” that really isn’t true. In fact, more than a few times in those days I would be scouring the internet looking for something to give inspiration.
Pavlovitz never failed to disappoint. As a provocateur, he was always spouting aggressive hot takes that hijacked Scripture to bolster his point. I engaged him directly a couple times on Twitter and wrote more than a few rebuttals to his widely read columns. But once Pavlovitz started admitting publicly what was clear all along, that he really wasn’t a Christian, I honestly lost interest. (To be clear, John acknowledges his membership in the Unitarian Church which still espouses some belief in Christ as a moral teacher, but rejects the full counsel of Scripture that Jesus affirmed)
It’s not that there isn’t plenty of his writing to still critique. But the passion with which I want to respond to the spiritual meanderings of a wayward soul that has become detached (if he ever was attached) to biblical moorings pales in comparison to the passion I felt wanting to engage false teaching wrapped in the veneer of Christianity. The former is predictable and pitiful, the latter was dangerous.
So now that I’ve prefaced with all that, let me undermine it all by telling you to check out this recent social media remark from John Pavlovitz:
A couple Sundays ago, my heart was really convicted by a message I prepared and delivered over the way Jesus viewed sinful humanity. The premise was straightforward: if we want to think like Jesus, we will not be able to regard ourselves as morally superior to, or more deserving of the grace of God than another fellow image-bearer. That is true regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, or behavior.
It’s that last point (behavior) that is often hard for me to reconcile in my mind. I know that far more people are walking the path to eternal destruction than the narrow road that offers salvation through Christ alone. But the point is that even those of us walking the narrow road, when we reach our eternal reward, none of us will ever be deserving of it. We will enter only by accepting the invitation of Jesus. That’s what Paul means when he says we have been saved, “through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.”
Certainly, we are aware when others are disobedient to the commands Christ has given us as a barometer to measure the strength of our devotion to Him as Lord. But when we see a fellow human being failing to obey those commands, our response should be like that of Jesus who found even the vilest sinner – whether that’s the adulterer or the pious, self-righteous religious teacher – worth engaging and saving.
I think of those who turn my stomach at their moral failings – domestic abusers, child rapists, serial killers – and am overwhelmingly thankful that I am not God because of what I know I would do to them. How unimaginable, inconceivable, unthinkable, and extraordinary is the love of a God that would, despite the most offensive conduct of His human creations choose to offer them the gift of everlasting salvation paid for by the blood of His perfect Son?
Yet that is the God we Christians serve. And therefore, if God – in His perfect holiness and justice – does not wish to condemn any of us to Hell, who are we – imperfect and sinful humans – to wish it upon one another?
That’s what came to mind when I read John Pavlovitz’s flippant declaration that Hell was “made” for a political opponent of his. Is it weird (and almost funny) that a guy who does that has just written books like, “A Bigger Table,” “Hope,” and most recently, “If God is Love, Don’t be a Jerk?” Of course. But the far greater observation we should make is how this worldly response is something we cannot let tempt our hearts to emulate.
I don’t think it’s any coincidence that I came across a Tim Challies piece yesterday that provided the Christian approach to the sins of others:
“We will inevitably see people behave in sinful ways and sometimes even see them sin against us. And while our first thought is usually outrage and vindication, perhaps our first thought ought to be pity—to feel compassion for them in their sin, compassion that they are sinners. Sometimes mercy is overlooking an offense, simply setting it aside as if it never happened. The Bible says “it’s the glory of a man to overlook an offense”—to just leave it between that person and the Lord. Sometimes mercy is confronting an offense and in love helping people escape sinful habits and patterns that will lead them to destruction. Sometimes a situation truly does call for the full measure of justice. But I hope that our first instinct is toward mercy—to be merciful toward our fellow sinners.”
Amen. You and I have the choice today of which of those two paths we will take. Let’s pray for the strength to choose wisely.
ICYMI…
I followed up that message I mentioned earlier – about loving humanity like Jesus – with one on the Good Samaritan and the idea of what godly compassion really is. If you’re interested, you can see it here:
Also, here are a couple articles I wrote that you might like: