Martin Luther freed the people from the requirement to

3 min readDec 2, 2020

In fact if you really want to live like the Biblical Jesus, then it might look something more like the following list — a list that comes with a warning. If you actually do these things, you could end up being crucified at the hands of very pious and religious people, determined to protect their systems of power and control.
In fact, the Pharisees were so concerned with keeping the laws in the Bible that they even created laws to help people keep the laws. By the time Jesus rocked up in human history, the Pharisees had developed a list of over 600 different laws and laws about laws. As a result, they were living out this kind of heartless, cold and arrogant brand of self-righteousness — the kind that looks down on others and judges others, while simultaneously congratulating oneself on having it all together. More than that, it placed an impossible burden on the people, many of whom, were genuine in their pursuit of God.
In fact, I was glad to wear the title, “soft on sin” as a badge of honor. Why? Because Jesus was accused of the same. Anyone who knows anything about the gospels — and even those who don’t — knows that Jesus was called a friend of sinners. He often drew the ire of the scribes and Pharisees for hanging out with sinners, eating with sinners and making-merry with sinners.

Martin Luther was a reformer who held the Catholic Church to account for the corrupt practice of ‘selling salvation’ for the financial gain of the church. At that time, the Catholic Church was teaching people that by purchasing an ‘indulgence,’ an individual could reduce the length and severity of punishment that heaven would require as payment for their sins. This, of course, flies in the face of the concept of salvation as the unmerited favor of God, given freely to all. Pure heresy!

In the same way, the religion of Jesus day was in need of reformation. The religious leaders at that time were renowned for knowing and keeping all of the laws in the Old Testament down to the nth degree, and trying their darnedest to impose those laws on others.

Because, if I’m going to be accused of anything, I’d rather be accused of being soft on sin, than hard on sinners — as if I weren’t included in the group called ‘sinners’ in any case.

Religion has a habit of beginning as a life-giving force for good and then, over time, degenerating into something much less, usually at the hands of people who try to use it for personal profit, or to wield and maintain power and control. That is why we need prophets and reformers to call people back to the true heart of the faith.

In fact, the more I look at the biographies of Jesus, the more that I am convinced that being a Christian is not about religiously attending church, reading your Bible, praying every day, stamping out a bunch of undesirable behaviors — commonly referred to as sin — being a generally nice person, or voting for the Republican party, not that there is anything inherently wrong with any of these things.

After writing an article where I expressed support for the LGBTIQ community, I was accused by a religious zealot of the ‘Christian’ kind, of being ‘soft on sin.’ It was meant as a kind of spiritual insult — usually bestowed on those who err on the side of tolerance, rather than retreating into self-righteous indignation every time one comes across someone who thinks and lives differently to oneself.

Jesus wasn’t hard on sinners. Jesus was hard on the self-congratulatory, self-important, self-righteous types who believed that they were in a position to judge others because of their apparently superior moralistic behavior.

Martin Luther freed the people from the requirement to

Written by japaniss