5 Things to Say to Someone Who Has Been Wounded by the Church

When church members or leaders have hurt people, it’s easy for them to associate those failures with God himself. They may think: “If these people claim to follow Jesus and act this way, then maybe God is like this too.” That’s a painful and understandable reaction. But the truth is Jesus is not the same as the church. 

Although Jesus wants the church to reflect his love and truth, it is made up of flawed human beings, so it sometimes falls short in devastating ways. During his life on earth, Jesus spoke out against hypocrisy from religious leaders. Matthew chapter 23 describes Jesus confronting the Pharisees, calling them out for their legalism and abuse of power. Jesus says in verse 27: “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.” 

Jesus wasn’t afraid to expose corruption within religious leadership. He didn’t excuse their behavior, and he doesn’t excuse the harm done in his name today. If wounded people you know have been judged unfairly, manipulated, excluded, or betrayed by the church, they should know that Jesus remains pure and loving despite the church’s failures. Jesus is for people, not against them. 

Hebrews 13:8 declares: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” 

While human leaders may fail, Jesus never does. Remembering that a church’s failures don’t change God’s goodness is essential. Numbers 23:19 points out: “God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?” Even when people break trust, God remains faithful. Jesus’ love is perfect, even when his followers are not. If people you know have felt rejected, judged, or abandoned by the church, let them know that Romans 8:38-39 promises: “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 

Remind them that their identity isn’t defined by how others have treated them but by what God says about them. God calls them his beloved children (1 John 3:1). God’s love remains constant, no matter how people in the church have behaved.

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