The Divisive Christ and Being a Christian Bigot

Right now in our culture the worst words you can be called are a bigot and a racist.  For those kinds of no-good people the key attitude is that of superiority, and the key action is discrimination.  Most assuredly, there are countless ways to play the roles of bigot and racist which are straight out of hell.  But what the forces of hell are really good at is twisting the truth, applying the label “evil” not only to wicked things but to good things as well.  If the term “bigot” gets applied to the Klansman, then the Devil has to learn to take his lumps like everyone else.  But if he can spread that term out from the Klansman, spilling it out onto a faithful pastor, then his loss is overshadowed by a great gain.  

Superiority and discrimination are descriptive words that need context.  We need to know what is being talked about before we can know if it is evil or not.  Unfortunately, in our day, people can’t even conceive of something being superior without it being evil.  Everyone gets a trophy, right?  And people can’t conceive of discrimination as anything other than withholding the rights due someone.  Everyone is deserving of everything, right? But no, neither of these ideas is right.  Truth is superior to error all the time and in every way, from math to morality.  And we must discriminate every day if we are going to protect children and society from those who are willing to destroy it for their own purposes.  We are certainly discriminating people when it comes to our choice of babysitters! 

The highest reality of this issue is found in a truth that people have forgotten due to their domestication of Jesus.  That truth is this: Jesus came to divide, judge and oppose.  This division, judgment and opposition happens in some certain ways but not in other ways, so care is needed to see what Jesus says rightly.  

There are at least 5 different places where Jesus explicitly said these things and we should know them well.  In each of these areas we can learn how to follow Jesus to the point of being called a bigot by the world. 

John 9:39 And Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.” 

Jesus is the dividing line of truth and error.  If you don’t receive him as he is, then you are willfully surrendering yourself over to blindness, which as Romans 1 tells us will be judged by Christ and will result in even more blindness and degradation.  What kind of blindness are we talking about?  Everything from not seeing one’s need for a savior, all the way to not seeing that biological boys are boys and biological girls are girls.  If you point out these obvious things to the world you will be a bigot.  

John 3:18-19 “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. 

When there is unbelief, a judgment is already at play.  That judgment is that darkness is being loved more than light, and we all know what happens when people try to walk around in the dark; they get hurt and things get broken.  The “woke” crowd is burning businesses and dividing the races, but if you shine the light of our unity in fallen Adam and our redeemed unity in Christ you will be called a racist advancing an oppressive western system.

Matthew 10:34–35  “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 “For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; 

This prince of peace is a warrior against competing loves.  Jesus is bringing a sword to your family and relationships.  If you faithfully witness to the infinite worth of Christ and the fact that every person is to submit to his Lordship, you will be called divisive and unloving.

Matthew 12:30  “He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters. 

Jesus doesn’t play nice when it comes to defining who he is.  He is either Lord of all or he is not.  He is either King or he is not.  He is either to be worshiped or he is not.  There is no middle ground on these matters.  Jesus has divided all humanity into two camps and you are either on his side or you are not.  You either ascribe to his biblical worldview on sex, gender, marriage and family or you are an active enemy combatant against the God of the universe.  The world’s definition of tolerance is acceptance and celebration, which mean following Christ will get you labeled as intolerant.   So be it.  Jesus is patiently seeking them to come to repentance, but celebrate and respect their rebellion he will not.  

Luke 2:34–35 (NASB95) — 34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed— 35 and a sword will pierce even your own soul—to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.” 

Again Jesus is wielding a sword.  He is going to expose hearts, which is the very reason people will oppose him.  They want to be affirmed in their sin.  But this will not happen.  Even if they want to be left alone, they will find that God is sending people to them and bringing the truth to their doorstep.  This is the tenacity of Christian mission.  We cannot be silent.  We are sent out with a message that God has called us to proclaim.  We cannot love our neighbor and not speak this message.  Yet again, it will get us labeled as unloving, to the delight of the devil.  He has taken these labels and turned them upon those who are proclaiming the message which is the very undoing of sinful bigotry, discrimination, and opposition.  

There is a kind of Biblical bigotry that says truth is superior to error.  There is a kind of discrimination that sees the difference between light and darkness.  There is a kind of opposition that speaks against rebellion to the Lord.  This is what Jesus did when he walked the earth, and it is what we will do as we follow him now.