“Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory?”
2 Corinthians 3:7-8
Paul is talking about the Law (the 10 Commandments) that was given to the Israelites when he speaks about the "ministry of death." We know this because when the 10 Commandments were given to Moses, they were carved in stone, and Moses' face was shining to the point that the Israelites wanted him to cover it (Exodus 34:29-35). So we know Paul is speaking of the 10 Commandments when he mentions "the ministry of death." This seems almost heretical, doesn't it? But Paul had grown up as a Pharisee, and had enforced the law by killing his opponents, the Apostle Stephen being one of them. So this is what Paul means when he calls it the "ministry of death": that it was misused to the point that death to unbelievers was an accepted practice.
There are modern day people who mimic the Pharisees in evangelical circles. I act like a Pharisee at times, just like everyone else. We look to God’s law, and not to God’s Spirit, to save us. We who act like Pharisees tend to demonize people we disagree with politically. Trigger warning, I am going to talk about homosexuality and abortion almost exclusively, because the political movements against them are broadly associated with Evangelicals, and I am speaking to change the hearts of believers in this article who may unknowingly be acting as Pharisees.
I believe both homosexuality and abortion are sinful and would not encourage anyone to do them, but I am making a Biblical argument that changing laws should not be our primary focus as Christians: it should be changing hearts. By getting involved in passing new laws exclusively, while demonizing the sinners who would fall to that law, we are looking to the Law to save us, and not looking to the Spirit. We are looking to worldly political mechanisms as the “be all end all” of our goals as Christians instead of looking to the words of the Gospel: love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you. (Matthew 5:44) Go into all nations and preach the Gospel. (Matthew 28:19) With the money that we as American Christians devote to political goals, we could be spreading the Gospel in our land. We could be reaching the heart of that woman who wants to have an abortion and speaking Life into her instead of ignoring her plight and simply outlawing the act. We need to reach her heart!!! We need to reach the heart of the homosexual man or woman who wants to make their lifestyle permanent through marriage.
We need to supernaturally heal them with the Holy Spirit’s power instead of showing them the law and telling them to follow it. Paul said the Law is impossible to follow to a tee. (Romans 3:9-20) When we don't have Jesus, doing nearly anything right according to the law is impossible. So how do we expect unrepentant people to follow God’s law? They will break it, because they break God's laws all the time. It is the very nature of living without Christ. How do we expect them to respond to God with love when we claim God primarily wants punishment for their sins through the United States’ justice system? That God wants justice only? When Jesus spoke to the Pharisees about their following the law by giving God sacrifices, He said, "I desire mercy, not sacrifice (Matthew 9:13)." So the Lord doesn't want law-following people who have no mercy in their hearts toward sinners. He wants merciful people who pray for their enemies (Luke 6:35). In fact, Jesus had mercy toward every kind of sinner He encountered, except one: the Pharisees, the religious elite who were big on the Law and had little to no mercy in their hearts. His mercy was preaching to them to change their ways or face punishment in hell. He said this because they were the only group that believed they were already holy, and that was the problem!
Only when we know Him is it possible to obey the law, and only then because the Holy Spirit writes it "on our hearts" (Hebrews 8:10). Even then, we slip up and sin, because we are not going to be perfect in this life - we are only saved sinners. So how much more should we have mercy on the behavior of unsaved sinners who do not have God's law written on their hearts? How can we condemn someone for not following the Truth if we ourselves sin against God even after repenting (1 John 1:8) It's like trying to help a child who lost their Father in the supermarket by hitting them: it will not help them find their Father, and they are worse off than before you helped. This is the Spirit of condemnation and judgment, from which we are forbidden by Christ (Luke 6:37, Matthew 7:1).
In the case of homosexuality, the oppressed are the homosexuals people – they are spiritually oppressed by the devil. How do we give liberty from the devil to homosexuals by making homosexual marriage illegal? They may be victims of demonic oppression or possession, or they may have suffered sexual abuse or rape at an early age by a member of the same sex. We’ve got to take the heart of the sinner and let God transform it.
In the case of abortion, many of the women who commit this act have no way to support themselves, much less a child. They may live in abject poverty, so they sin by killing the child. But Jesus says that anyone who has had anger in their hearts toward a brother or sister is a murderer. So how can we condemn this woman if we have committed the same crime in the Spirit? The action we need to take is to minister to her – to minister to poor, single, pregnant women. And praise God there are pregnancy centers like this that exist, but too few.
The bottom line is that if, in our effort to stop homosexual acts and abortion, we demonize the homosexual or the mother, we are committing sin. The same goes for if our effort is to demonize all white people for the sin of racism, or all black people for whatever reason. For our enemy is not flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12), but demonic powers.
If we are Christian, we should not hate any class of people. If we start a movement that demonizes people, it is an evil movement. If our movement redeems people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, it can be a good movement, provided that Christ is the center.
Paul says in Romans 3:20: "Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin." So let’s say we pass God’s laws in the United States, and make them federal law. No abortion, no homosexual marriage, etc. What will happen? Will we suddenly see homosexuality decrease? Will abortion disappear? Unless the hearts of those who commit abortions are changed and their needs are met by a local church or group of Christians, they will still consider illegal abortion an option.
Unless those trapped in homosexual lifestyle and urges are personally healed of this by people who love them and possess the power of God, they will still want to live the homosexual lifestyle. Only Jesus, and His empowered hands and feet (us), can stop homosexuality and abortion. Even if every non-Christian stopped committing homosexual acts and no one aborted unborn children, they would still die apart from Jesus Christ and would end up in hell. Why? Because as Paul says, “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin. (Romans 3:20)” If they become conscious of their sin by the law of the United States but are not offered Jesus Christ as a solution by the same entity (and due to freedom of religion, that will never happen), they will only feel condemned without recourse for solving the problem. Why? Because we haven’t given them Salvation, we’ve given them rules.
They may be Holy rules, but they will never save. We should devote our effort to prayer, intercession for homosexuals and single low-income women, give to them as need be, and show them Christ in our kindness, for kindness leads to repentance (Romans 2:4). That, and Jesus says, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another (John 13:35).” When we demonize them, it is as if we categorize them as “in hell” before they even die. Before they have the full chance of their natural life to receive the Gospel. These people may have mothers praying for them. Don’t be the one to ruin that by demonizing the child of a fellow Christian. Have mercy and lead them to Christ with love, for that is what God desires.
We as Pharisees enforce the law of God on people who have no power to follow it, and condemn them for failing. We as Christ-followers minister to the hearts of every sinner and tell them they must receive the Living Gospel of Jesus Christ to obtain eternal life, obtain power over sickness and death, and receive the Living Water, which is the Holy Spirit. I have Pharisaical and Christ-follower attributes, but I want to be a Christ-follower, not a Pharisee. Let’s pray the Lord helps us to become more like Him and less like us. God bless you, God love you, and God save you!
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