The Sins Of The Saints

1st Corinthians 3:1-3, “And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?”

The Apostle Paul literally called the church at Corinth a bunch of grown babies! Something that I have noticed throughout my Christian life is that religious people, who have never (in their own mind at least) gone into what some call “deep sin” (adultery, murder, drunkenness, bank robbery, homosexuality, et cetera), will condemn those who do commit “deep sin.” No one has a right to judge someone else just because they sin differently than you do!

Our fundamentalist churches are filled with self-righteous hypocrites, who look down their long Pharisaical noses with contempt upon those who have committed “deep sin.” I meet them all the time. I wear my hair longer than most fundamentalists. Since I am completely bald up on top, I like to let my hair grow down a bit on the sides...lol. I cheerfully wear my “John 3:16” cap backwards everywhere I go, except while in church to show respect for the Lord. Some people think I should grow up at age 54, but I love being a big teenager. 

God knows that I am a responsible adult. I didn't build a good credit score over the decades, and have “Safe Driver” printed on my Florida driver's license by being irresponsible. In his wonderful book called “Grace And Truth,” Pastor Jack Hyles teaches that we should be a child, juvenile, adult. In other words, as an adult you ought to still enjoy that ice-cream cone that you did as a child. Many adults have lost the joy of enjoying things they once did as a child, and as a teenager. I still love fireworks. I want to be a well-rounded person.

I admittedly am somewhat of a misfit. When I attend churches I stand out. I almost always wear a black shirt with a collar and hang a ukulele lanyard around my neck everywhere that I go. I love music and the ukulele that I play, and the colorful ukulele strap reminds me of Joseph's coat of many colors (reminding me that my heavenly Father loves me, just as Jacob loved his son Joseph). I boldly embrace my individuality, as the individual being that God created me to be.

When I thankfully attended Hyles-Anderson College (1985-1993), I wore a solid black shirt to my class each day and to chapel. I just liked the color black, with a maroon neck tie and baggy black pants. I also wore black suede shoes. I had worn those colors to school and church throughout my teenage years. I remember one day that another student became upset with me at Hyles-Anderson for wearing a black shirt. He rudely approached me in our Church Education class and said: “How dare you wear a black shirt when all your brethren are wearing white shirts. You have a rebellious spirit in you!” I felt like I was in an episode of The Outer Limits or The Twilight Zone. Where did that nut come from? I once heard our beloved college president, Dr. Wendell Evans, rightly say: “If you leave Hyles-Anderson College as a nut, it is only because you were a nut when you enrolled!” I couldn't agree more! That student who condemned me that day for wearing a black shirt was a crazy nut!

Dear reader, there are a lot of religious nuts in our fundamentalist churches today! They have become so accustomed to dressing a certain way, and thinking a certain way, and behaving a certain way, that they freak out and go ballistic when someone like me arrives who is different. I decided many years ago to be the individual who God made me to be. I don't have to dress like you do, or wear my hair the length you do, or listen to the music you do, to be accepted by God. You'd be surprised how many church members judge me for just being different.

I was listening to this 1976 song by Peter Frampton when I pulled up to Campus Church the other night, but I always turn the music down out of respect for their beliefs. I think it is a beautiful song, and I see nothing wrong with listening to it. But many believers will avoid and shun you for listening to secular music. Aren't we such hypocrites? I learned a long time ago to just let people be people and love them where they're at, and not attempt to impose my beliefs and standards upon them.

So often religious people who have never gone into a life of “deep sin” will condemn others who have. Yet, the Bible teaches that we are all sinners (Romans 3:23). I love Pastor Jack Hyles' wonderful sermon titled: “If Thou Should Mark Iniquities Who Could Stand?” Psalm 130:3, “If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?” The truth dear friend is that NONE OF US could stand if God marked our iniquities against us!!! But praise be to God that He doesn't mark our iniquities as redeemed saints! Psalm 103:12, “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” Do you know why the Bible says east and west, and not north and south? It is because east never meets west. You can travel east forever and never find west, or vise versa. But if you travel north, you will find south once you pass over the North Pole, and vise versa. Isn't that beautiful!

Why do sinners condemn others who sin differently than they do? No one ought to look down upon those who are fallen, divorced or paroled and their life ruined and tarnished by sin. Since we are all sinners, no one is a shining example to the rest of us of what a Christian should be. If a man hasn't commit the sins of adultery, murder or drunkenness, then he must be guilty of envy, gossip or being a respecter of persons. No one can be perfect!

I have observed that the sins of the saints are often hypocrisy, envy, pride, willful ignorance, gossip, stubbornness, a woeful lack of God's unconditional love for sinners, and being a respecter of persons. Yet these sinful saints will look down their Pharisaical noses at other sinners who have sinned differently than they do. I tell you of a truth—the only difference between the most saintly redeemed sinner and the most devilish lost sinner is the precious blood of Jesus Christ that washed our sins away! The ONLY righteousness that I possess is the imputed righteousness of God, which is by faith in Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:9).

So I see that in most fundamentalist churches we find morally upright sinners who have never done what they consider to be “really bad” sins. But dear reader, I don't care who you are or how little of a sinner you may esteem yourself, I assure you biblically that you are as guilty as the vilest criminal upon the earth! What saith the Scripture? James 2:10, “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” If you have any righteousness at all, it is only by faith in the blessed Savior!

I think the biggest thing lacking in churches today is simply to love people as they are, and not try to force them into a mold. I receive countless emails from frustrated hurt people, who have been rejected and ostracized by self-righteous hypocrites in churches. We need a revival in our churches of loving people. The average church today won't love someone unless they conform to the beliefs and standards of that particular church. That is so wrong and sinful. It bothers me when I hear about a pastor physically throwing a transvestite out of their church. What that pastor is actually saying is that only righteous people are welcomed at their church. I love Pastor Jeff Owens' beautiful sermon titled: 'The Unrighteous Are Welcome Here.'

Different churches operate upon different policies. Certainly open sin ought never be permitted in the churches (1st Corinthians 5:1-5), but for someone to attend a church whose life is broken and in shambles because of sin ought not be shunned. How can we reach the lost for Christ if we reject them from even sitting in church to hear Bible preaching? Some pastors are so hateful of sin that they also hate the sinner. That is not good. Biblically we ought never accept the sin with the sinner, nor reject the sinner with the sin. Either extreme is wrong. A church ought not welcome unrepentant sinners without preaching against all sin. Nor should a church turn away those unrepentant sinners from hearing the Word of God preached to them.

It is ridiculous to demand that a messed up broken sinner straighten out their life before we will allow them to attend church. Romans 10:17, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” How then can unrepentant sinners hear the Gospel if we don't permit them to come to church to hear the Bible preached? I am not impressed with most pastors today. Something is wrong with a pastor who doesn't care about everyone, and not just the majority of his congregation. Being a respecter of persons is just as horrible a sin and murdering your Christian brother. Romans 14:10, “But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.” Something is very wrong when a laymen tells his pastor that he loves him in Christ, but that highbrow pastor never reciprocates such love.

I often receive emails from people who have been hurt by pastors. A common complaint that I hear is that pastor ignore them and fail to reply, or brush them off. Anybody who knows me knows that I always take quality time to reply to emails, often writing book length emails to help them. God has entrusted me with this needful website ministry, for which I am grateful. One of my favorite sermons by Pastor Jack Hyles is called: 'Where Did David Get His Mighty Men?' My ministry is to the losers, misfits, criminals, rejects and unloved of society. They come to me because no one else will receive them. God uses me to help others simply because I have a servant's heart and am willing to be used. Most of today's bigshot pastors are too busy to take quality time to help the one hurting INDIVIDUAL.

In that regard I am like Jesus. John 6:37, “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” Our great Savior promises that whosoever comes to Him, He will IN NO WISE CAST OUT!!! The reason why I never turn anybody away is because of Jesus in me. Our dear Lord left the ninety-nine to go help that one lost lamb. At the time that the one lamb was in dire need, the Lord placed more importance upon helping that one individual, than He did upon the other ninety-nine who were doing okay.

Dear friend, if you are hurting in your body and/or soul, as I am, God has a special care and love just for you, because you are that one lamb that has strayed. Psalm 34:18, “The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.” How terrible it is then, that so many church pastors today ignore and shun hurting people? I too know the pain of soul from being ignored, shunned and made to feel like garbage by today's shallow pastors. I have been kicked out of churches for being King James Bible only. I have been kicked out of churches for taking a biblical stand against “Lordship” salvation. Pastors often don't like me because I speak my mind and call them out for heresy. How else can we earnestly contend for the faith if we don't hold pastor's accountable for what they teach? (Jude 1:3).

The problem is that most of today's pastors are graduates of shallow Bible colleges, which in most cases are mere academic institutions and not church-building ministries. I thankfully attended Hyles-Anderson College between 1985 to 1993. Dr. Jack Hyles didn't put teachers in the classrooms, he put preachers in the classrooms. Teachers cannot reproduce preachers. Only preachers can reproduce preachers! I have a degree in Pastoral Theology, but that is just a piece of paper. My true degree is in the precious eight years that I spent studying the man Jack Hyles. Brother Hyles taught me by example to love the unlovable, to care for the uncaring, to always root for the underdog, and to care for the poor bus kids and the hurting rescue mission men. Luke 14:23, “And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.”

It is tragic that today's churches have strayed away from the Lord's command to go out into the highways and hedges, to bring in the poor, the halt and the maimed. It was Pastor Dwight L. Moody (1837-1899) who sent out horse-drawn carriages throughout the city of Chicago, to bring poor little children to church to learn about Jesus. Pastor Jack Hyles often made mention of Pastor Moody, and continued that beautiful ministry of sending buses throughout Chicagoland to bring in the poor, the crippled, the hurting and the unwanted of society. That is the great heart of our dear Savior, to reach out to everyone, and not just to the righteous.

Oh how we need a revival in our churches, Bible colleges and religious seminars today of loving everyone. The Apostle Paul addressed the carnal church at Corinth as grown babies. Sadly, some of the biggest grown babies are today's unloving, uncaring, arrogant and shallow-minded pastors who are respecters of persons. Dear friend, little things matter to God. Our great God doesn't miss a single bird that falls from the sky (Matthew 10:29). God cares about that one hurting sinner that most religious people wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole.

God cares about that hurting divorced person that many churches shun. You dear friend matter to God. You can tell how right with God a pastor is by the way he treats the least desirable person in his church. Most pastors couldn't care less if one person leaves, just so long as the ninety-nine remain. We've got too many pastors to whom the position of pastor is a mere career, but we need pastors who have a consuming love for all people. That is why America is going to Hell, because individual people don't matter anymore to pastors and churches. Thankfully Jesus thinks the exact opposite! Jesus left the ninety-nine to go after that ONE INDIVUDAL.