Sometimes, though, there isn’t another answer. Sometimes things are Yes or No, True or False.
Matthew 9:15-17
The religious elite ask Jesus why His disciples don’t fast. Should we fast or not? Jesus said, “They will.” Fasting? Yes.
Matthew 12:30
Jesus said you are either for Him or against Him. There is no, “Other.” There are no sidelines. Yes or No.
Mark 12:13-17
“Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s.” Pay your taxes. Yes.
Jesus draws an Other line where it can be filled with Love or Mercy. When it involves your response to someone else’s sin.
And when He does, He never actually excuses sin. Sin is still sin. To the woman caught in adultery, He forgave and told to, “go and sin no more.” He didn’t deny that her affair was wrong, but He saw her repentant heart and forgave her because He is faithful and just to do so.
Where holiness and righteousness are involved – your own holiness and righteousness – Jesus doesn’t make excuses or provide Other lines. Are you seeking Him? Are you for Him? Is your life a righteous light on the earth? Yes or No?
Where other people’s mistakes, misunderstandings, and short-comings are concerned, Jesus draws a line so you can write in “Mercy.”
Because it’s not my job to execute judgment, even if I call it “justice” instead. It’s not my job to determine whether or not someone is truly repentant, or whether or not someone has potential in Christ. I will strive for holiness and righteousness in myself because that is the narrow road I’ve chosen, and I will be merciful to others.
(Mercy, by way of disclaimer, isn’t necessarily trust or fellowship. Forgiving someone who has sinned against you, for example, doesn’t make you BFFs by default.)
Those are my notes/scribbled thoughts on this Third Way idea. *shrug* What do you think?
i think what God is trying to establish in your Spirit is a cry of old, a cry to come back to Him for the answers, to come to Him to gain His perspective, a heavenly one, a sober one, a right one, a True one…
I hope so.
It’s funny you mention it ’cause I have a couple other personal Bible studies I’ve been working on for months. Things that started as questions and became questions I’m searching through the gospels for answers to. And pages and pages of notes.
I’m gonna try to get those out soon, but I’m trying to be a little more careful/thorough with those ’cause they have perhaps more potential to upset … people/ideas.