The Christian Distinctive (Warning: soapbox alert)

“And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.” Luke 6:33

I am a Pentecostal. I am glad to be a Pentecostal (notice I did not say “proud”). I have been “Pentecostal” from within the first year or so of my faith in Christ. I am happy that my acquaintance with Christ was not loaded down with a bunch of doctrinal baggage that explained away what are commonly called the “gifts of the Spirit.” From early on, in a Bible study I attended with a dozen or more people who found Christ together in the mid 70s, we simply read the Bible together and accepted what it said as if it were meant for us as well.

It never dawned on me until a few years later that there were actually denomination who believed in, practiced and highlighted what I felt we had “discovered” in those early Bible studies. Imagine my surprise to learn that whole churches had been practicing and accepting the gifts of the Holy Spirit long before we stumbled upon them as fledgling followers. Almost immediately I searched out a church in one of those denominations and began attending.

I have great joy that I learned to expect the Holy Spirit to empower believers to do God’s work. Early on, along with many others, we experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit, many speaking in tongues as a result, and found ourselves wanting to lead others to the same faith in Christ we enjoyed. We experienced great encouragement when someone gave an uplifting “word of prophecy” or another spoke out a message in tongues with the interpretation given by someone else.

We have seen people healed, been part of miraculous works of God and even had men and women of God speak directly to something in our lives which we had been praying about. Never was anything done in an unseemly manner or with an attempt to manipulate. The vast majority of times these manifestations of God’s Spirit were uplifting, pointed us to Jesus, and drew us close to God.

I hesitate to refer to my Pentecostal “heritage” because I’m the first generation in my family to be called “Pentecostal”. But my denomination certainly has a heritage that goes back over 100 years in modern history, and straight back to the Bible (which every denomination claims, of course). That heritage is dear to me. But, it is not without its faults.

I have published a monthly newsletter at each church I have pastored. Some years ago my article was entitled, “Our Christian Heritage”. In it I laid claim to the same love for the Pentecostal gifts as I have done here. But, I went on to state that, no matter how dear our Pentecostal experience, there is a “mark”, a kind evidence that far exceeded someone’s experience with speaking in tongues.

Jesus expresses that “mark” in this passage when he says that if we only do good to those who are good to us, what benefit is that? The average sinner does just as much. Paul makes the point more sharply when he says, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” (1 Corinthians 13:1) Neither Paul nor Jesus are talking about that pat on the back we church-goers give to each other during the “greet each other” moment after the opening song in a Sunday service.

Though our love for one another is huge; without it we are simply make-believe ghosts trying to pass ourselves off as full-bodied believers. The measure of true obedience, and in my opinion, the real evidence of a Spirit-filled group, has less to do with laying on of hands, the number of prophecies in a given service, or how many healing were recorded in the month.

If Jesus was asked to measure the level of the Spirit’s role, His findings might surprise us. I would hope that every gift was allowed and practiced. But what if, after all is said and done, people left a meeting like that still angry at the person that voted differently than them, calling the current president a twister or Scriptures and let gossip fly about the newest high school teacher. How Spirit-filled would that congregation truly be?

If Jesus says that even “sinners” can be good to people who are “like” them, we better start to sit up straight and listen carefully. With a little bit of humility we must admit that the modern evangelical church (and I’ll add “Pentecostal” as well) is not known for being enemy-lovers. Mostly, as I listen, especially to young people, we are seen as small-minded, unkind, unwilling to listen, judgmental and more interested in “issues” than people.

Sure, their observations may be skewed, and maybe downright wrong. But we need to ask ourselves, if we are commanded to love our enemies, why doesn’t the world notice? We might say that our stance against abortion is all about love, and I would agree. It is compassion for those who have no voice. But, we argue it in a way that makes everyone who disagrees come off as evil devils straight on their way to hell. And, if someone actually votes for a candidate who opposes the “Christian” view on abortion, he or she is likely to be ostracized, even though they could give good, Biblical reasons for their vote.

But that is not the point, is it? Because Jesus didn’t say to love them if they can prove that their vote was “Biblical”. Come on, people, even the sinners love that way. No, Jesus is saying, “So what if your brother voted ‘wrong’. What does that have to do with how you are treating them? And, while we’re on the subject, how about the sister who thinks gays should be able to marry? Are you going to make her feel your wrath and anger as well? Really? Didn’t I just finish saying that you should love your enemies? She doesn’t have to agree with you for you to obey this command!”

What if, as a rule, no matter if we agreed with people or not, they walked away from every encounter with a Christian thinking, “Oh my goodness, that is a kind, understanding and loving person. I get that they don’t agree with me, but that didn’t keep them from caring.” Read Jesus’ words carefully and you will see how much He demands we go against the tide of angry, red-faced accusations against those we think are sinners. I’m pretty sure Jesus’ reasons have a lot to do with the fact that no one is attracted to a “cause” who feels ostracized by its members!

If you don’t like what I wrote today, you can start obeying Jesus and just love me anyway. I’ll practice on you too. It is not “one or the other”; either stand for truth or love people. That is a blatant false dichotomy. It is completely possible, indeed, according to Jesus, it is necessary, to love those the most who we agree with the least.