I have been thinking about a survey in which young adult, non – Christians had the opportunity to share their views of Evangelicals. Not surprisingly they are not impressed. In fact they see us in a very negative light.

Specifically, they see us a being homo – phobic, pro – war, insensitive and extremely judgmental. When I read their comments about I could not help but think of what would happen if we were able to go back in time and do a similar research project on people’s views of Jesus.

What would the “sinners” in Jesus’ day say about him? I think that they would love Jesus after all they were always hanging around him (see Luke 15: 1 – 2). They would see him as being the opposite of how non – Christians view us Evangelicals today. They would see Jesus as sympathetic and forgiving (not homo – phobic), merciful (not pro – war), empathetic (not insensitive) and very gracious (not judgmental).

Then I thought about how these same “sinners”, who hung out with Jesus, would view the Pharisee’s of their day? What would they say? They would probably use the exact same words that non – Christian’s today use in describing us – insensitive and extremely judgmental!

So my question is this; “Who do we Evangelicals really emulate the most – Jesus or the Pharisees?”

Who do we represent when it comes to what we say and how we behave towards homosexuals – Pharisee’s or Jesus? Who do we most look like when we take a stand on issues like war, torture of suspected terrorists and tax cuts (that will negatively affect social programs to help the poor) – Pharisee’s or Jesus?

These are tough questions, questions that shine a spotlight right onto our hearts. It is our response to issues like these (and others) that the world watches and judges us on. Pharisee or Jesus?

Take your pick. I hope I choose Jesus.
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colin_wpRev. Colin McCartney, is founder of Connect Ministries International and author of Red Letter Revolution. You can follow his blog here.