I don't know why, I don't know why we do it. Why were we watching youtube clips of Mark Driscoll last night? It's Aaron's fault. Ok, so not all of his stuff is bad, in fact, he's actually pretty good if you can block your mind (or in my case mouth) from screaming "hypocrite"! Hypocrite because in one segment he preaches grace and the gospel, in the next he's busy telling people what is allowed or not, even in the bedroom. Don't get me wrong, I very much appreciate his willingness to be real and talk about sex so openly, just don't necessarily agree with the reason why he's doing it. He's preaching from the wrong tree, and it's not his job or any other pastor's job to teach us from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Right?
Anyway, as angry as this man can make me (and you'll see what I mean in a minute) I still can't help hoping and praying he'll wake up one day and the veil that covers his face because of sitting under and perpetuating the false doctrine that we are as believers still under Law, will fall away and he will see Jesus clearly in all his New Covenant glory! And worse than angry, what follows makes me extremely sad.
If you still struggle with condemnation and especially in the area of sexual sin then I don't recommend you watch this at all. Aaron and I both felt the sickening evil spell of condemnation as we watched even though the 'rebuke' had nothing to do with either of us! One thing I truly appreciate about Mark is there is no subtlety, he is what he is. I much prefer this to the forked tongued flattery that often clouds the ministry of death and condemnation other preachers are peddling...
So here goes, (and Mark D., if you should ever happen to stumble across this post, I sincerely want you to know that my purpose is not to offend or insult you personally, but you (in this clip at least) have crossed the line when you speak to the Bride of Christ in such a terrible and accusatory manner. This is exactly the kind of teaching that puts people in bondage to sin. In fact, if what you say is true and there are many men in your church who have been there for years and are still entangled in such sin, then maybe you should examine the doctrines that are producing such bad fruit. MAYBE the message matters! MAYBE we should be careful what we preach! You can never never guilt, shame, scare people into becoming righteous, because righteousness is a gift from God by faith. Shame on YOU, for shaming those who don't live up to your self-righteous standards. Shame on YOU for misrepresenting our Father who has promised to never ever be angry or rebuke us again. If he is not angry, he is not rebuking us, what gives YOU the right? Please feel free to contact me with your answers in the unlikely event you ever read this.)
Ahem.
If anyone reading this sits or has sat under this kind of teaching then I am very sorry. I have been there, though Mark is an extreme version. These kinds of lies about who God is and how he sees you cut to your heart and fill you with despair. But there is good news! God is not angry with you, he's not counting your sins against you, there is freedom and joy in the Spirit when you believe in Jesus and his work on the cross! ALL your sin has been dealt with and whether you succumb to temptation in this world or not God will not put you to shame, there is no condemnation for you ever! So come and let Jesus give you rest, his burden is easy, his yoke is light.