Vain Jangling
We are called to love.

At face value, this is a worthy sentiment. We should genuinely love people; for we are all made in the image of God. [Genesis 1:27]

We have the golden rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” More specifically, we are told (via Scripture) to “love thy neighbour” [Matthew 5:44] and even to “love thy enemy” [Matthew 22:39]. In fact, one is not merely to love in thought or word, but in deed, such as blessing, doing good, and praying for others.

The vain jangling seems to appear when it is expressed that loving someone is somehow synonymous with not judging, disapproving, or correcting a person. That love is not only supposed to acknowledge a person for who they are or claim to be, but must also accept and even approve of their thoughts, words, and deeds—even if they are contrary to scripture, science, or logic.

Scripture declares God’s love for man in confronting the sin of man, to draw man to repentance, faith, and a restoration of fellowship. This is clearly shown from Adam and Eve through all of scripture. We learn that God chastens—those in disobedience—because of his love for us. [Hebrews 12:3-17; Revelation 3:19]

In the Word of God, one finds that we are to love fellow believers—if they are found in a fault, in a sin—by seeking to encourage them to repent and return to obedience to God. [Matthew 18:15] We are to love our neighbors, even our enemies—to warn them of sin and the wrath to come—by compelling them turn from their wicked ways, to repent and put faith in Jesus Christ. [Ezekiel 33:8-9; Matthew 28:19-20; John 3:16]

It has been said, “Love the sinner, hate the sin.” However, to truly love the sinner—or anyone, and everyone, for we are all sinners—must include encouraging them to reject, repent, turn away from sin, and to live by (godly, moral) truth and to live in (biblical, spiritual) Truth (i.e. Christ). Today, tomorrow, and all eternity.

We are not called to accept, encourage, support sinful, unbiblical, immoral, irrational, illogical, or otherwise untrue, harmful thoughts, words, deeds, ideology of persons to show we care about them. That is not love. That is vain jangling that will have eternal consequences; whereby, we and they will wish we truly had loved them.

Vain Jangling
I surrender all.

There is a hymn Christians sing, entitled, “I Surrender All.”
It starts with, “All to Jesus I surrender. All to him I freely give.”

We promise to love and trust him, in his presence daily.
We promise to forsake all worldly pleasure.

We ask him to make us wholly his, and to fill us with the Spirit.
That we may know his power, as we surrender all to him.

The vain jangling comes in when the voices sing hollow words, and walk out having surrendered nothing but maybe an hour of their week.

Vain Jangling
Make Jesus Lord of your life.

Sometimes we might hear or read such a statement without considering much of the meaning. Perhaps it is in reference to encouraging someone to “Ask Jesus into [their] heart” or to “Put faith in Jesus Christ”.

However, here is the issue with such a statement:
We (i.e. you and I) do not make Jesus Christ Lord of anything.

Jesus Christ is sovereign over our lives whether we accept or reject, serve or rebel his lordship over us. For this same Jesus is “Lord of lords, and King of kings.” (1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 17:14) He is God and “all things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” (John 1:1-3) For it is written: “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:10-11) Thus the should shall (will) come to pass. (Isaiah 45:23; Romans 14:11)