Category: Ethics

Grace. Full stop.

Ed Cyzewski posted a powerful blog post the other day, titled, “The Supreme Court Just Gave American Evangelicals a Gift.” One of the comments to it said, “We are all sinners saved by grace, but…” And then the commenter went on to say lots of unkind things, condemning a wide range of people. There’s no but to that statement. We are all sinners saved by grace. Full stop. Followers of Jesus are not authorized to condemn others for their sins. But we are authorized to forgive sins. 

“If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” — Jesus (‭John‬ ‭20‬:‭23‬ NIV)

So if someone or a whole group of people are doing things that you’re sure are sinful, the best thing to do is make good friends with them and diligently forgive them. The worst thing you can do is cast generalized judgment on them across social media. There’s just no way that is in keeping with what Jesus told us to do.

can the church be better than prison?

Recidivism is very high in the U.S. because ex-convicts are treated so poorly by society. They have a very hard time finding legitimate work, renting an apartment, opening a bank account, or getting a driver’s license. Many of the basic things we take for granted are denied or made hard for them. A church serious about prison ministry will need to take practical steps to help parolees find a job, a place to live, transportation, etc. They need full communal support to get on their feet. Lacking that, they often wind up back in jail. Sometimes jail becomes the one organized, safe place. They know they will have food and a bed. If we can’t do better for parolees than choosing to go back to jail, we need to rethink things.