Is Empathy a Sin? Are Empathy and Compassion different?

 “So what is the problem with empathy today?” he asks. “We are, in fact, told to weep with those who weep, but that assumes those who weep have a reason for weeping that is in line with God’s revelation.” James White. Conservative US Pastor.

So are Christians only allowed to feel empathy for innocent victims of sin or sickness but not for people who are suffering because of their own sin? This sounds like phariseeism to me.
Jesus showed empathy for sinners.

Jesus showed mercy to the woman caught in the act of adultery in John Chapter 8. Was this merely a cold judicial decision? Hardly. Jesus was accused of being a friend of sinners. He did not embrace their sin but neither did he lack feelings of compassion.

John Piper is an enormously influential conservative US pastor. He and his followers go so far as to talk about the “sin of empathy” … So if a promiscuous homosexual or prostitute is dying of aids, should we judge or love? Jesus did not condone sin but he always demonstrated heartfelt empathy with suffering people.

Hard line conservative preachers play clever games with words by trying to distinguish between compassion and empathy.

They play similar word games by saying a man must love his wife but she must respect her husband. As if love respect were quite distinct things. If you love your wife and you do not respect her, your love is not real.

Many Christians latch on to the statement that empathy is a sin, and the theological word games get forgotten. They become coldly judgemental and compassion fades away.

The horrific results are plain to see in culture and politics. Aggressive bible believers enthusiastically support government policies that deny affordable essential health care to poor people in a very rich and powerful country.

An American pastor preached on the Sermon on the Mount.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Mt 5:3 NIV

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Mt 5:7 NIV

The conservative culture warriors in the congregation were not impressed, but the pastor reminded them that these were the words of Jesus.

The reply was shocking. “But this doesn't work any more.”

American conservative fundamentalism has become so corrupted by self righteous culture warfare that it is sometimes hard to tell if it is any better than extreme post Christian liberalism.

What did Jesus say?

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. Mt 5:13 NIV

Then many will fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another. 

And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.
And because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold. Mt 24:10–12 NRSV

Lawlessness certainly undermines natural as well as Christian love, but harsh self righeous legalism is no less destructive. We can see this illustrated in the way Jesus denounced the pharisees.

If you teach that empathy is a sin, you are teaching doctrines of demons. You are in danger of being condemned as a false prophet.

End Time Revival or Falling Away

 Falling away or revival? What is coming?

The end times have come. Israel is once again in Jewish hands, but besieged by enemies, just as in the prophetic writings.

In Europe, we have long seen the fall of Christian civilisation.

The French Revolution was not just a revolt against monarchy and aristocracy. It was a furious rebellion against the Catholic Church and against God himself.

The ideology of Voltaire and the anti-Christian philosophers in France also had a profound influence in other countries, including the Enlightenment in Germany and Switzerland.

Humanist philosophy and theology appeared in Germany. The Bible was no longer understood as the word of God. Everything was questioned.

Today, many Bible-believing Christians are indignant that their children are taught to reject traditional sexual morals and to believe all religions are equally valid.

Even among supposedly Bible-believing Christians, we find many who see sex before marriage as perfectly normal and don't want to wait for marriage themselves.

Many claim that this is the fulfilment of Jesus' prophecy, and they are right.

And because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold. Mt 24:12 NRSV

We see this fulfilled. This is the great falling away.

But then we hear a completely different message, that a great revival is coming and is already underway in many countries and regions of the world.

But that cannot be! The Word does not speak of revival, but of apostasy, and this is confirmed before our eyes every day.

But in China, Indonesia, South Korea, South America and all over Africa, tens of millions are turning to Jesus. We hear amazing stories of miraculous healings and even corpses being called back to life.

How can this be? Some see it all as a demonic counterfeit.

And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people. Mt 24:11 NLT

But the Bible also tells us that people from all nations, all tribes and all countries will come into God's kingdom.

And they sang a new song,  ... with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. Rev 5:9 NIV

How does this massive crowd of people from every nation come to Jesus?

Let's take an example.

But how do millions of Muslims all over the world come to Jesus in our time?

Millions of faithful Christians pray earnestly and fervently from the heart.
God answers these prayers and millions of Muslims experience visitations from Jesus in dreams and visions.

I met a Christian woman in Germany. She was a Muslim from Iran. Then she experienced a visitation from Jesus in a dream. Eight years later she converted to Jesus.

Countless Muslims see or experience miraculous healings. Not only Reinhard Bonnke, but many others have preached in Africa and released God's power for miraculous healings.

There are more Muslims in Indonesia than in Iran, Pakistan or Arab nations, but there are also millions of faithful Christians in Indonesia.

In Indonesia, Christian evangelists are allowed to preach, but they are not allowed to evangelise Muslims. Many sick people experience miraculous healings and Muslims come to be healed. As a result, many Muslims are converted to Christ, in Indonesia as well as in Africa.

Without evangelism with miraculous healings, countless Muslims would never be converted.

Faithful Christians love Muslims with kindness, prayer and practical help. I know this from personal experience.

Some Muslims are challenged to read the Bible for themselves and they are converted through God's Word.

God's kingdom does not only spread through method A, B, C or D.

It is about prayer, preaching, kindness, miraculous healings, practical help, reading the Bible, dreams and visions, evangelising through the internet and satellite TV, and, and, and, and ...

We must believe, love, pray, help, and not limit God.

Friendship with a Holy God

 There are Christians who worship Jesus, but they are motivated by religious duty, not spontaneous love.

Some pray with a prayer book. Others pray without a prayer book, but their prayer is a religious routine.

Some misunderstand the Lord's Prayer.

Jesus said we should know our heavenly Father as ABBA. ABBA means Papa or Daddy in Hebrew.

But there is another extreme. There are Christians who want to treat Jesus as their mate, and a very permissive mate at that, who supposedly doesn't take little faults like pornography addiction seriously.

I once heard of a young Christian who was enthusiastic about reading charismatic paperbacks and discussing revivals. His girlfriend was a prostitute and his life was far from chaste and holy.

I sometimes see supposedly devout Christians who consider sex before marriage normal. I am amazed that they do not suffer painful pangs of conscience. I could never live like that.

God is love. He longs to love people as friends.

 In the Old Testament, Abraham, Moses and David were friends of God.

The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent. Ex 33:11 NIV

But there is no true friendship without love and respect.

God is holy.

Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. Heb 12:14 NIV

Arthur Blessitt is an American missionary and evangelist. When he was a young preacher, he evangelised in a red light district. Like Jesus, he did not stay away from sinners and prostitutes, but like Jesus, he was also holy and faithful.

He asked permission to preach in a nightclub with naked dancers. He went backstage and spoke to the naked young women who were having a rest.

Many men would be overcome with sexual thoughts and feelings in this situation but God gave Arthur Blessitt the gift of grace to minister with God's holy love.

After listening to the loving sermon for a while, the women began to have chaste feelings and they covered their naked bodies with towels.

The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him, and he makes his covenant known to them. Ps 25:14 NRSV

The Leading of the Holy Spirit

 Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. 2 Cor 3:5 NIV

It is very dangerous to be led by impressions or feelings without having firm grounding in biblical truth. All kinds of deceptions can lead to shipwreck. So many sects and false religions have arisen because of this.

Our foundation is God and his truth. Without the Bible, we are groping around in the dark.

Jesus himself said:

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. Mk 13:31 NIV

We may be guided by our own thoughts, but we must submit to God's truth, and this truth is found in God's Word.

Paul wrote the above verse. He had a problem. He knew the Old Testament by heart. Contact with non-Jews was strictly forbidden in God's law. A Jew was not allowed to eat with non-Jews.

But Jesus had given the command:

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  

and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Mt 28:19–20 NRSV

How was Paul to fulfil this commandment? Jesus lived as a Jew and so did his disciples, but many of the newly converted Christians were not Jews. Many were slaves who always had to obey their unbelieving masters.

If their masters ordered them to work every day, they were not allowed to observe a holy day. A man was allowed to simply execute his slave for disobedience.

Paul had to be guided by the Holy Spirit. For Paul, God's law was still holy. In his letters we find commands against idolatry, theft, murder, adultery, etc. That is, the Ten Commandments, but if we research Paul's writings in detail, we find only nine commandments. The commandment to keep the Sabbath is missing.

We must hold fast to God's Word, but like Paul, let ourselves be guided by the Holy Spirit.

Is a Christian allowed to visit a pub or a brothel? If we look in the Bible for fixed laws, perhaps we can make a rule against it. But there are Christians who do mission work in pubs.

But there are Christians who do mission work in pubs or brothels and win people for Jesus. We need to be led by the Holy Spirit. For many Christians, such places are terribly dangerous, but there are some Christians who, like Jesus, have the grace to be a friend of sinners.

He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 2 Cor 3:6 NIV

We must never deviate from the truth in the Bible, but we must also, like Paul, be led by the Spirit of God.

We must read the Bible under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, we read with our own minds.

We can then become humanistic theologians or legalistic Pharisees.

If we understand the New Testament as an inflexible law book, without the guidance of God, we go wrong.

Love Growing Cold

Because lawlessness will multiply, the love of many will grow cold. Mt 24:12 CSB

Gang violence, terrorism, domestic violence, corruption in politics and business, brutal racism, gender confusion, chaotic sexual promiscuity, sadistic pornography, human trafficking, brutal dictatorships, aggressive military powers, wars and fear of war, live birth abortions.

Lawlessness is multiplying.

Mass media and the internet are making us more aware than ever of the horrors in the world.

It is so overwhelming, that we often shut off our emotions or seek escape in entertainment. 

On the other hand, we can get emotionally involved in this or that issue and we get tunnel vision. We cannot bare to face more than a narrow range of issues.

What is the result? Some people are enraged about abortion, but they don’t look at some of the problems that often lead to abortion.

Low wages, poverty, domestic violence, real estate speculation, unaffordable housing, homelessness and prostitution all produce unwanted pregnancies and women who can’t cope with more children.

When we are overwhelmed by the horrors in a world out of control, our emotions become numb or unbalanced and our love grows cold. If we care for unborn babies, but don’t care for the suffering of many pregnant women, it shows our love has grown cold.

If we are upset about corrupt trade unions, but ignore corruption in business boardrooms, it shows we have lost our ability to judge justly. When our love grows cold, our wisdom is corrupted. 

We may be aware of the Bible text about the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things. Ga 5:22–23 CSB

When we become emotionally involved in the culture wars raging around us, it can lead to a loss of tender feelings, the feelings that are the fruit of the Spirit.

Instead, we see the works of the flesh, manifestations of the sinful nature, even in zealous Christians.

Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity,
idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, … Ga 5:19–20 CSB

We are seeing Christian leaders involved in culture wars but being exposed for secret sexual sins. 

We see zealous Christians engaging in moral self-righteousness, hating cultural, political or theological opponents, Christian factions furiously denouncing each other.

Because lawlessness will multiply, the love of many will grow cold. Mt 24:12 CSB

Some American preachers are trying to redirect people to the Sermon on the Mount, to humility, empathy, love of enemies, but they are fighting a losing battle. So many Christians are absorbing culture wars every day on the internet.

When the pastor preaches humility and gentleness, he sometimes gets a hostile response from the culture warriors in his congregation.

Because lawlessness will multiply, the love of many will grow cold. Mt 24:12 CSB