09 Nov Jesus and the Love/Hate Relationship

In a recent Instagram video, Zach Windahl, the author of “The Bible, Simplified,” made a point that many modern believers might find jarring. He said:

“I hate it when people say, ‘Jesus loves you just as you are,’ because He doesn’t. If that were the case, everybody would be saved and there would be no need for Jesus’ death on the cross. If you haven’t repented, he actually hates the way that you are. But we don’t talk about that because we want people to feel accepted. But Jesus didn’t walk around saying, ‘I accept you as you are.’ He said ‘repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven has come near.’ You and I are sinners who need to make a practice out of repentance.”

Windahl goes on to argue that repentance is not about feeling shameful but about freedom; like going to the doctor and getting a diagnosis. I agree with Windahl in principle, but I think it’s important to put a fine point on something he mentions later in the video: Jesus does love you, despite all your brokenness. He accepts you as you are; you needn’t get good enough to come to Jesus. Windahl is right, however, to make clear that Jesus doesn’t want you to stay where you are. Windahl is right, but he buries the lede. Jesus does love us as He finds us. He just doesn’t want us to stay that way. Windahl’s approach has led to a lot of church judgmentalism.

As the Apostle Paul wrote, “If anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). When you truly accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you will change. While I agree with Windahl that too many churches ignore the need for repentance, many also are misguided in how they preach and teach it.

As mentioned above, you don’t have to get good enough to come to Jesus. Yet, (too) many churches do set a bar of acceptability and a timeline on how quickly new attendees should meet it. Worse, church leaders can anoint themselves as “junior holy spirits,” deciding exactly what change a person should experience and how fast. If the standards aren’t met, the person might be asked to stop attending.

Another Instagram preacher, Brian Trent, recently shared the story of another pastor who told him that two people, an alcoholic and a drug addict, would no longer be welcome at the church because of the way they look, behave, and smell. Trent told him to send the two to his church, because there is “always room for people like that at our church.” Samaritan’s Heart Mission Church has the same philosophy. As a commenter to Windahl’s video put it: “He ACCEPTS us just as we are. But his love transforms us into who he wants us to be!” She was right to put “accepts” in all caps. Acceptance is a critical point.

Come as you are and we make this promise. We will love you, we will accept you and we will ask Jesus to use us as a matchmaker between Him and you. If that connection happens, we will continue to love and accept you as Jesus transforms you into the person that He wants you to be. That kind of work is way above my pay grade. Jesus may hate how you are. But he is fully capable of loving you as you are, as you become who you have been predestined to be. We must never forget that we are called to show the same patience with new believers as Jesus does. It’s probably the same patience others once showed to us.

Pastor Jerry Bader