Everlasting Place
  • Home
  • One way
    • Proof
  • Sadie Sparrow
    • Sadie Sparrow Excerpt
    • Author Chat
    • Articles
    • Book Reviews
  • Memoir
    • Memoir Excerpts
    • Reviews, interviews & endorsements
  • Blogs
    • Eternal eyes: a blog about forever
    • Golden years: a blog about the elderly
  • Old folks
    • Planting tips for Christians
  • Messages from Chris Carrillo
  • Library
  • Bookstore
  • Contact

The onus is on us

3/10/2022

1 Comment

 
Picture
Not long ago, I heard yet another unbeliever citing “hypocritical Christians” as her primary excuse for rejecting Christianity.
 
Unfortunately for those who rely on it, it’s not an excuse that will fly on Judgment Day.
 
In the first place, born-again believers may be ambassadors for Jesus Christ, but we are not Him. We are all, in fact, colossal failures in the obedience department, and that indeed makes us all hypocrites to some extent. It's what makes His grace so amazing.
 
Secondly, our behavior has nothing to do with truth. To equate the two is a fallacy that logicians call a category mistake, “the error of assigning to something a quality or action which can only properly be assigned to things of another category” (Oxford dictionary).
 
The trouble is, unbelievers seem to be unable to grasp any of this. I write as one who spent 30 years of her adult life in that blinded condition, refusing to let such facts interfere with my beloved sin – in particular, my pride, self-righteousness and unbelief. 
 
Instead of investigating, unbelievers tend to cling to this logical fallacy as tenaciously as we believers cling to our Bibles. They use our behavior to judge Christianity’s validity. And that means they almost invariably reject truth, because it’s so very easy to find flaws in us.
 
All of which underscores the eternal importance of cleaning up our acts before unbelievers – because the onus is quite literally on us. It’s our responsibility to present Christ in the best possible light in spite of the unbeliever’s category error.
 
As imperfect beings, we’re going to be angry at times; we’re going to gossip; we’re going to break the speed limit; we’re going to snarl at a surly waitress or an ignorant comment about our faith. We need to repent of our sins, of course. But equally important, we need to do everything we can to avoid committing them before a lost and dying world, and be ready to apologize when we fail.
 
Above all, we need to put the love of Christ on permanent display in our lives, knowing that we are being watched, and that unbelievers are judging Christ Himself on the basis of our behavior. It's the only way we'll earn the right to ​share God's truth with them.
1 Comment
KHAY link
3/27/2024 08:55:02 pm

It's evident that you prioritize delivering value to your audience, and it doesn't go unnoticed. Thank you for consistently providing such enriching content!
(<a href="https://www.7xm55.app/register?affiliateCode=spjiz">CLAIM FREE BONUS NOW</a>).

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Kitty
    Foth-Regner

    I'm a follower of Jesus Christ, a freelance copywriter, a nursing-home volunteer, and the author of books both in-process and published -- including Heaven Without Her. 

    Archives

    May 2025
    November 2024
    August 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    December 2023
    September 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    September 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013

    Care to subscribe?

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
Photos from tracie7779, Luci Correia, Maxwell Hamilton, giardinaggio, Doug1021, Angel Xavier Viera, Damian Gadal, Reboots, leoncillo sabino, mRio, HikingArtist.com, guymoll, csath07, Guudmorning!, fred_v, homegets.com, ishaip, jinxmcc, freeparking :-|, CallMeWhatEver, BryonLippincott, simpleinsomnia, csread, nicephore, Doug Beckers, mandydale, berniedup, tontantravel, h.koppdelaney, Jill Clardy, anieto2k, NASA Goddard Photo and Video, QuidoX, Ryo | [ addme. ], ShebleyCL, TinyTall, proggy-yahoo, Infiniteyes, Genista, kippster, Speculum Mundi, HerPhotographer, Tauralbus, megallypuff, harshxpatel, Waiting For The Word, CoreBurn, Gordon Chirgwin, {Guerrilla Futures | Jason Tester}, John McLinden, Patrick Feller, jikatu, Peter O'Connor aka anemoneprojectors, byzantiumbooks, bizmac, H o l l y., Peter Blanchard, sheriffmitchell, Tony Webster, hectorir, City of Overland Park, luis_cunha, Sam Howzit, bertknot, QuotesEverlasting, iturde, ejmc, VARNISHdesign, Cimm, Good Book Reader, Renaud Camus, banjipark, romana klee, 00alexx, erix!, branestawm2002, amsfrank, m01229, cbcmemberphotos2477, rhode.nel, Veronique Debord, joshjanssen, zenjazzygeek, h.koppdelaney, Laurel Mill Players, quinn.anya, *ErinBrierley*, Ben Pugh, Photographing Travis, BarnImages.com, anees.waqas, swambo, Alan Miles NYC, glenngould, Patrick Feller, davecito, wade in da water, Endre Majoros, France1978, dainamara, theseanster93, insightpest, eliduke, volker-kannacher, wuestenigel (CC BY 2.0), cogdogblog, Editor B, poshdee, brewbooks, J D Mack, ThomasKohler, mayeesherr. (in West Bengal!), TEDxHouston, Ms. Phoenix, PBoGS, Eselsmann™, Inside Guide To London, ShironekoEuro, Tom Anderson, flequi, cogdogblog, njaminjami, Search Engine People Blog, ShanMcG213, Julie Edgley, randihausken, pescatello, Waiting For The Word, moriza, Iain Farrell, Arizona Parrot, digitalmindphotography, enjosmith, www.WeisserPhotography.com, STC4blues, Holidayextras, Randy Roe, goprogresswent, BenDibble, kstoyer, Rennett Stowe, williac, ImNotQuiteJack, Life Mental Health, Jose Antonio Cotallo Lopez, gruntzooki, electricinca, adactio, miheco, Zemlinki!, bnilsen, chispita_666, Francis Storr, mattbuck4950, BiblioArchives / LibraryArchives, subarcticmike, Shutterbug Fotos, faeryhedgehog, kev.neagle, mikecogh, Tjook, LladyYas, Arend Vermazeren, the hopeful pessimist, Jim Makos, John Beans, Steve @ the alligator farm, New York National Guard, cosmo_71, edenpictures, Paul Stevenson, David Paul Ohmer, Berries.com, bmstores, susan solinski, uvw916a, Free Public Domain Illustrations by rawpixel, Sthetic, Beau B, r2hox, chrisd90, bee wolf ray, Julio Roman Fariñas, BLMIdaho, shoebox27, Kris Mouser-Brown, WVTROUT, www.davidbaxendale.com, hillels, timsamoff, Graham Ó Síodhacháin, Wiertz Sébastien, Pictures by Ann, SodanieChea, berniedup, trendingtopics, Sangre-La.com, Apuane, Valeri Pizhanski, PinkMoose, MDGovpics, Tuxified, spline_splinson, BioDivLibrary, Gerry Dincher, -Ebelien-, dno1967b, joshuamckenty, homethods, GlasgowAmateur, homethods, byzantiumbooks, ell brown, d.koranda, byzantiumbooks, Tim @ Photovisions Nebraska, Vilmos.Vincze, quinn.anya, hillels, www.ilkkajukarainen.fi, akigabo, trendingtopics, 23am.com, CJS*64, Leyram Odacrem, fauxto_digit, mrdorkesq, Rushen!, jdxyw, beltz6, PersonalCreations.com, {Futuretester | Jason Tester}, Gabriel N Moreno, Steven Pisano, wuestenigel, themcny, Vassilis Online, Aramisse, logatfer, bambe1964, Glyn Lowe Photoworks., Ted Drake, Smabs Sputzer, colonelchi, ulisse albiati, TYLERHEBERT, joncutrer, edenpictures, Brett Jordan, ViaggioRoutard, R_Pigott, thedailyenglishshow, caligula1995, Film Star Vintage, Hotel Kaesong, pburka, Claudio Marinangeli, thedailyenglishshow, mikecogh, nan palmero, quinn.anya, senza senso, O.Ortelpa, efradera, Wheeler Cowperthwaite, chez_sugi, "Stròlic Furlàn" - Davide Gabino, Carodean Road Designs, Castles, Capes & Clones, alljengi, DonkeyHotey, jinxmcc, grisha_21, homethods, wuestenigel, Guido Sorarù, James St. John, donnierayjones, changeable focus, psyberartist, Pest15