“But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.” – Luke 9:55-56
OUR LORD SPOKE SUCH WORDS in rebuke of the sincere, but foolish remarks of his disciples. For upon seeing Christ rejected by the Samaritans, they inquired, “wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?” They desired that, as Elijah brought fire upon the prophets of Baal, so would they bring destruction upon the villagers who caviled against Christ. They sought to destroy the enemies of the Lord for their hard-heartedness and aloof unbelief.
This vindictive attitude against the unsaved is as prevalent among professing Christians today as it was in Jesus’ time. A certain repulsive self-righteousness is directed toward those who do not believe the gospel, as though that renders them inferior to believers. A smug hypocrisy is accompanied by the inaccurate implication that merely believing on Christ makes one a better individual than those yet in their sins. I ask you who believe this just what about you is so special that you are authorized to look down upon fellow sinners in this manner? Do you earnestly believe that simply being endowed with the Holy Spirit entitles you to loathe those who refuse to accept Christ?
Your Savior – whom you doubtless profess to love and serve – rebukes this detestable philosophy in the text above. Truly, if you will despise, and even call for the destruction, of another group of human beings for whom Christ died simply because they have chosen to reject him, ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. Such a mindset does not mirror the spirit of Christ – the spirit of mercy, and forgiveness, and love which is frequently praised, but seldom exhibited by those who name the name of Christ. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, not to annihilate them. What right have you, but a sinner yourself saved only by God’s grace, to suggest otherwise?