By: A.B. Timothy
“For by grace are ye saved, though faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.” -Saint Paul, Epistle to the Ephesian Church
As Christians, we are called to a higher standard by our saviour, Jesus Christ. We are called to keep his commandments if we love him. We are called to go to him for forgiveness when we fall short because, as Paul in Romans and John in 1 John tell us, we will and do fall short of God’s glorious standard. But we have an advocate with the Father.
Why do I bring this up? Well, recently, there has been a string of women converting to Christianity out of a lifestyle of debauchery, selfishness, and greed. The latest example of these is this:
This meme was posted to make fun of a woman who has recently announced her conversion to Christianity. This woman, Ashleigh Thao, joins a cohort of women who have been making an exodus from a lucrative lifestyle as an infamous internet adult material creator.
The meme expresses the feelings of a lot of jaded young (and many older) men who see these women as having taken the easy road to wealth and well-to-do-ness before “turning away” and keeping all their illicit gains and living a life of ease on the backs of men they led into lust and adultery.
This is an easy thing to feel. I myself feel jealous sometimes. Where is the “quick and easy” way to riches and fame for men? This is the thought on the mind of many young men who are struggling to make an honest living and keep their heads above water. This misses the point, however, I think. This was not a “quick and easy” thing for these women. This choice scars their reputation for the rest of their lives. It hangs like a dark cloud over their families for the rest of time. Does this mean their lives are worthless and unusable by God? Absolutely not. Praise God for that.
“He started with an old, dirty canvas;
My sin left me tatered, bent, and marred.
Then this artist turned his light upon my sadness,
And began to wash away the blackest part.”
-The Booth Brothers, “Masterpiece of Mercy”
God is a worker of wonders, the God of Second Chances, and the Blessed Redeemer. If you find yourself getting upset with these women, do me a favor and go read the Gospel of John chapter 8 again. Look at the woman caught in adultery and ask yourself, who are you? Are you the woman thrown down into the dust before the Master? Or are you a Pharisee in the crowd demanding of the Master what is to be done with her?
What do you think Jesus stooped down and wrote in the sand? Why do you think he wrote it in sand? We know the finger of God has power to carve his words in stone, but Christ chose to write these words in sand, which will be blown away or walked through within the hour and be lost. Why do you think those words were not written in the pages of Scripture?
What if the words were:
“Lust,
Anger,
Murder,
Greed,
Blasphemy,
Lies,
Treachery,
Betrayal.”
What if the words were the sins in the very heart of the Pharisees who stood accusing the woman caught in adultery? Can you imagine your deepest, most private sin being torn from the hidden dungeons of your heart and cast before all your friends? Then imagine Christ rises from the dirt and looks you in the eye and says, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.”
When the Pharisees all dropped their stones and ran away, I can relate to that. We must remember, brothers and sisters, that we are sinners too. I have been guilty of Lust, I have been guilty of Greed, and I have been guilty of Envy. I could go on for another thousand or more words about my own personal sin, but here is the amazing thing:
“Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.”
-The Gospel according to Saint John the Beloved
Jesus, God, Creator of the Universe, for and by Whom were all things made that were made, bent down into the dirt that men wash off their feet; and asked the woman, “…where are those, thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?”
She said, “No man.” Jesus said unto her, “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.”
If the God of Creation, the Uncaused Causer, the Unmoved Mover, the Word Spoken at the Beginning, the EGO EIMI (I AM) did not condemn this woman caught in adultery, how can we, those whose most righteous acts, according to the Prophet, are but filthy rags, condemn her, or any of these modern women who have turned from their wicked ways.
“But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”
-The Prophet Isaiah’s Book, Chapter 64 verse 6
While I do not believe sinlessness is a requisite for salvation, as John says, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not within us.” We are called to be holy as God is holy. But if we sin, we have an advocate with the Father, and if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.
But what if the woman falls away and gets back into that sinful lifestyle? We pray, that’s what. We pray that God would convict their soul and give them no rest and no peace until they repent and turn away. That is on the assumption that they were ever saved to begin with.
John says: “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.”
Someone’s conversion is between them and God. If you confess with the mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, you are saved; that’s what the Bible says. So, if someone confesses Christ to you, we ought to treat them like a brother or sister in Christ. When they do or say something that contradicts that conversion testimony, we should reprove them, which literally means, to “prove again,” by asking them to repent of the sin and confess to Christ again.
At the end of the day, we, as Christians, are called to judge with righteous judgment, but also to live peaceably with all men. If you try to peaceably reprove someone and they tell you off, wipe the dust off your cloak and move on. Do not waste your time arguing with them if they refuse correction.
Only time will tell whether or not the conversion of these women is legitimate or a grift for clout. In the meantime, join me in praying for these women, that God would preserve them on their walk with Him and bless them with the gift of increased faith and that He might multiply their grace.
“But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say, Even the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you: notwithstanding be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city.”
-The Gospel According to Saint Luke Chapter 10 verses 10-12
God bless you, dear reader. Thank you for reading. Follow me if you wish to keep up with what I’m writing.
Keep the Word,
Keep the Faith,
Keep it Up.
In Nomine Patris, et Filiie, et Spiritus Sancti.
Amen.