The Uncommon Christian

“We’re not under the law anymore. Now, we’re under grace.”  I hear this a lot from practicing Christians. Even preachers have said similar things. Both while delivering sermons and while speaking with me one-on-one. We have songs dedicated to God’s grace and how we’re no longer bound by the law. I can’t say that this has always bothered me because I haven’t always known what I do now. However, having learned more about God, and Christ, that style of thinking makes less sense to me. To fully understand, I think that it’s important for Christians to know what grace is. We seem to think that grace is synonymous with love. Even online definitions of the term refer to grace as unmerited favor or the act of being favored by God. However, multiple times throughout the Bible grace is made synonymous with pity. Being favored indicates that you have approval. What is bestowed on you is a sign of support. Pity is a sign of compassion. Although our actions don’t merit God’s approval,...

Is war biblical? Perhaps. However, is it Christ like? According to a 2018 poll reported by ABC News, 83% of Americans believe in Christ and consider themselves to be Christian in some form or fashion. This number fluctuates from poll to poll because it’s based on calls to a fraction of all US homes. However, I think that it is safe to say that roughly 80% of US adults consider themselves Christians. According to Gallup polls, a total of 72% of US adults supported the Iraq war. This means that, even if all non-Christian adults supported the Iraq war you still have 52% of all US adults supporting a war while considering themselves to be Christian. So, it looks like almost all US adult Christians support war or can view it as justifiable in some cases. Although God could rightly be referred to as the god of war can we really say that Christians should support war or justify it? There are many instances in which God promoted war, but are we bound by Old Testament law? Are we not under ...

Why do so many people focus on unimportant things? There are over 7 billion people living on this planet. A  LOT of them are in desperate need of food, water, shelter, medical attention, and protection. As Christians, our top priority should be to help those in need. Yes, I am aware that we are called to worship God. However, the two commandments given by Jesus were to love God and love our neighbors. We’re told that we show our faith and worship through our actions . This would mean that by showing our neighbors love, we are showing God love and are worshiping Him by honoring His son. So, why do so many of us, Christian or otherwise, choose to not help those around us? We see a person sitting out in the cold or stranded on the side of the road and we can’t take two minutes to figure out if they need our help. Instead, we spend half a Sunday in church and call that worship so that we can feel less guilty about turning our head to the homeless man’s sign or driving by the ...

Why do so many Christians choose to justify their own sins while pointing out the sins of others? We are given detailed instructions on how to address those that sin against us. We are supposed to address them directly. If they do not repent, then we are to bring them before two or three witnesses. If they still refuse to repent, then we bring them before the entire congregation. After that, we are to remove them from the congregation. If we know that we are sinning against God, Christ, or other people, we are supposed to seek forgiveness and repent. In other words, we should acknowledge that what we are doing is wrong and change our behavior so that we are no longer sinning. In no way should we justify our sin. The mere attempt to justify our sin shows that we know what we are doing is wrong .  However, many care more about societal/worldly acceptance than God’s approval. That’s a clear indicator that you have not made God the top priority in your life and you may not b...

Why do most Christians think that it's their responsibility to convert every person to Christianity? Whether someone is Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, or even already Christian, many Christians will go out of their way to pressure others into converting. They do this by first pointing out how the other person's beliefs are flawed. Then they explain how their own beliefs are correct. After that, you're basically given an ultimatum. You must convert or forever be shunned by that person. Honestly, even as someone who has read the Bible through multiple sets of eyes, I have not been able to find any instruction from God, Christ, or the Apostles that suggests we should be attempting to convert everyone. What I mean by multiple sets of eyes is that I once read the Bible as an Atheist, then I read it as a newly practicing Christian, then again as an experienced, independently thinking believer in Christ. At no point in time did I find scripture suggesting we as Christians shoul...

Are we punished for the sins of our fathers? According to Numbers 14:18, Exodus 20:5, and Deuteronomy 5:9, our iniquities are carried to the fourth generation. This would mean that our children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great great grandchildren must pay for our iniquities. In case you don't know what "iniquity" means, it is immoral or unfair behavior. So, do our children and our children's children suffer as a result of our personal behavior? I ask this question because of recent events in my own life. My 1 year old son was taken to the emergency room for seizures and vomiting. After three trips to the emergency room he was admitted to the ICU due to inability to awaken after falling asleep. While in the ICU multiple specialists were called, including neurologists. The doctors believe that my son may have a GI issue, epilepsy, and, possibly, a brain tumor. We now have to give him medicine twice a day for his stomach and we have to keep a detailed log ...