Taking the morality that God has given to Christians and treating it like a good lesson for non-believers has become a major issue in the United States today. Some pastors of churches are putting moral articles in famous magazines and appearing on news with moral lessons. It is a very big error in Christianity to do this; one that I didn't notice until it was explained to me.
What's the problem with showing the world how to live in a moral way? Well, the issue comes down to at least three things:
- It confuses the message of the Gospel
- It is actually suggesting an impossiblity
- It is not our place to tell non-believers how to live
It confuses the message of the Gospel
This is probably the most important issue. God has one and only one message for non-believers. That message is to believe in Jesus Christ (John 6:29). The non-believer must first believe. Without believing the morality doesn't matter anyway. According to the Bible, it is quite possible to be a very good hell-bound person (Matthew 7:21-23, 2 Cor 11:14), but what good are we doing?
The Gospel is a narrow road. You go in only through one door. Wouldn't it be better to allow natural jealousy rather than to act as if we don't care? Everyone is invited, but they must come in through the door.
It's actually suggesting an impossibility
Asking a non-believer to act like a believer is to expect too much. God has called believers to live a miraculous life here on earth. This is a life in which we will be persecuted and come up against humanly impossible odds. God has given us the Holy Spirit to make it possible to overcome the odds. Our three main enemies are:
- The World (1 John 2:15-16)
- Our Flesh (Galatians 5:19-21)
- Satan (1 Peter 5:8)
With these kinds of enemies, who can win? The answer is, "No one." Only God can win this battle and the only way we can win is if it is God working in us. To overcome we must have divine help and a be a new creature.
It is not our place to tell non-believers how to live
God did not give us the job of becoming moral teachers. He did say for us to make disciples; however (Matthew 28:19). When we start becoming preachers of morality, not only do we confuse the Gospel and suggest an impossibility, we step out-of-line with what God says we are to be doing. Let's stay on track and edify the brothers by making disciples and preach the Gospel to the unsaved while there's still a chance to help them.