God Knows Us Better than We Know Ourselves

The shooting of the Amish schoolchildren has set off a firestorm of opinions regarding the role that the Christianity of the Amish has played in their reaction to the killings. Many people seem shocked about the fact that the Amish have made an effort to reach out to the family of the murderer and many contrasts have been drawn between the Amish and mainstream Christianity and American culture. This discussion is further complicated by the fact that the Amish are not perfect. A Legal Affairs article in early 2005 described the problem of incest and child molestation as a "plague" in some Amish communities. Atheists line up to use this as evidence to disprove God's existence just as Christians point to the good aspects of the Amish as a proof of Christianity. The problem with this is that human behavior is not a reflection on God in any way, shape, or form. It does not prove or disprove his existence. From a biblical perspective we have got to understand a very simple fact: God sent Jesus to die because humans cannot be good enough. Therefore the behavior of humans, good or bad, is not a reflection on the existence or person of God. Are people in the church sinless? Can they be?

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it-- the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. (Rom 3:21-25) If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. (1Jo 1:8-10)

I have to confess, I get confused by people who say, "I believe in God, but I can't go to church because of all the (hypocrites, sinners, bad people, etc.)." This is a misunderstanding of Jesus' purpose:

And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?" And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." (Mar 2:16-17) For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die-- but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Rom 5:6-8) The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. (1Ti 1:15)

And so the church is full of those who were hypocrites, liars, thieves, murderers, homosexuals, etc. (1 Corinthians 6:9-11) Sometimes these stumble because they are human. Could it really be any other way, given the realities of humanity? I am forever thankful that God is more realistic about our shortcomings than we are.