The Word in Focus with Dr Larry Taylor

Sadly, I’ve seen a number of people walk away from Christianity. Some did so because they we’re taught that evolution was a farce. Others were abused or knew of abuse in the church. Some felt rejected. Others saw elements of the church aligning with authoritarian white nationalism. Something in the way Christianity was being presented in white Evangelical, Pentecostal, and conservative Roman Catholic circles stumbled them.

Matthew builds his gospel around five major discourses. The fourth is in chapter 18 and involves kingdom relationships. There’s a passage there that struck terror in my heart for decades.

Jesus said:

⁶ “If any of you cause one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea. ⁷ Woe to the world because of things that cause sin! Such things are bound to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! 

It terrified me because of the word translated as “sin.” The word in Greek is skandalizō (σκανδαλίζω) from which we get the English word “scandalize.” It is variously translated “sin,” “scandalize,” “fall away,” “offend” or to place a “stumbling block” in front of someone.

I took it to mean “offend.” It terrified me because I’ve offended many people over the years. When I got divorced over 40 years ago, some people were scandalized. I was certain that I’d be better off drowned.

Then it gets more frightening. Jesus goes on to say:

⁸ “If your hand or your foot causes you to sin,cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life maimed or lame than to have two hands or two feet and to be thrown into the eternal fire. ⁹ And if your eye causes you to sin tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into the hellof fire.

I was taught that that passage referred to eternal conscious torment in a lake of fire. I deserved to die a horrible death by drowning, then be tortured forever.

Now that I know God better than I did then, I see that my interpretation of this passage was erroneous. My view of God was unbiblical. I was interpreting the passage in a way that was completely contrary to the nature of God.

God is like Jesus. There is nothing unchristlike in God. Jesus is forgiving, loving, welcoming, filled with radical grace.

So, I took another look at Matthew 18:6-9.

It says nothing about eternal conscious torment. Only the fire is eternal. The word translated “hell” is Gehenna, the Valley of Hinnom outside the old city of Jerusalem. It was there that Israeli kings sacrificed their children to pagan gods. Some believe it was later used as the city dump. Gehenna is a metaphor for separation from God. The phrase “thrown into the hell of fire” is understood by some as a reference to annihilation. Others see it as referring to a time of refinement. In any case, it is a figure of speech  indicating that if we do things that cause humble believers to lose their faith we’re in for some pain. Something deep within us has to change, and the change will not be pleasant.

In context, that Greek word skandalizō (σκανδαλίζω) means causing a “little one” to lose their faith. A “stumbling block” is doing anything that results in a Jesus-follower giving up on Christ.

There are many humble followers of Jesus who have thrown in the towel. They have been stumbled. 

Someone misrepresented Jesus as an ultra-right-wing xenophobe, flashed a sign about God hating LGBTQ+ folks, promoted violence, war, or genocide in the name of Jesus, or threw their support behind a fascist regime.

Someone misrepresented Jesus by denying science, refusing to take public health precautions in a pandemic, opposing advances in medicine, or spreading lies and conspiracy theories.

Someone misrepresented Jesus by refusing to engage with honest questions, judging and condemning others, promoting harsh legalism, dehumanizing people groups, promoting misogyny and patriarchy, or abusing their ecclesiastical power by sexually assaulting innocents.

The humble believers with child-like faith stumbled. They said in effect, “If this is Christianity, I don’t want it.” 

Ah, but where sin abounds, grace much more abounds.

For those who have been stumbled, those who have lost faith in Christ because people misrepresented Jesus, God says, “Come home. My love is everlasting. You are my beloved. That is your core. I could not possibly love you any more than I do because my love for you is infinite.”

For those who stumbled others, God says, “Stop doing that. Turn around, change your way of thinking. Reconsider your theology. Learn who I really am. See, experience, and share my radical love for you and everyone else. See others as who they are – precious beings created in my image and loved so much I died for them. And know that I love you too and long to forgive, deliver, and restore you.”

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Scriptures are from the New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.