Released on the Pureflix streaming service, this is presumably, a Christian film. Given that, I would expect it to be theologically erroneous and bereft of any true representation fo Christianity. I rented this because I thought I'd give it the benefit of the doubt, but sadly, my expectations were met, shows why "Christian" films are a real problem.Lest you think me judgmental, Jesus tells us how to judge in Matthew 7, not to not judge, he tells us to not judge on appearances alone in John 7, and the Beareans were commended in acts 17 for not just taking Paul at face value, but weighing it against the scriptures(at that time it was the Old Testament only). Please, read my full review.
This film plays out like a Hallmark film made by Chistians who are afraid to offend anyone by referring to sin, Jesus, or the actual gospel. If you are going to make a light romcom just go without the Bible like your typical Hallmark romcom; it would have been better for both Christians and non-Christians because it would not be teaching a false idea of what makes a Christian. This film exemplifies everything wrong with so-called "Christian" films, and I am not referring to it being a subpar movie because it is Christian, but rather due to it's theology, as someone who has been studying the Bible most of their life, and knows that they are saved by grace alone through faith alone, "Home Sweet Home" really is a trainwreck of a so-called "Christian" movie.
This film plays out like a decently made for TV film, and that is not an insult, I have no problem with competent feel-good TV films. Sure, the acting is indeed absurd, but it is still enjoyable, it is just a silly movie at face value, and the acting is definitely part of what gives it an even sillier feel, even though it dances around some very serious issues; issues of honesty, adultery, divorce, broken homes, etc. The main character, Victoria, is obviously not a Christian, and due to that, her behavior is not a shock or anything, she is just doing what unsaved people do, lie and manipulate to get what they want(even Chrisians do that sometimes too sadly). Even after Victoria realises what she is doing wrong and stops trying to "fake" being a Christian, she still essentially uses the Bible as a self-help book to "be a better person", and by the end of the film that approach has not changed. This movie assumes most Christians are theologically stupid because you are somehow expected to believe she's not still just trying to "be good", and she is now a real Christian, again, the gospel is totally absent, we have no reason to believe Victoria has heard it. Just that Victoria is "trying to be Christian", well, you can't "be" a Christian, you either are or you are not. While sure, we should both agree, things like "Don't lie", "Don't commit adultery", "Don't gossip", should be things all people live by, doing those things and "being good", do not magically make you a Christian. So what does make you a Christian?
This: Believing the gospel, and having faith in what Jesus Christ did on the cross, knowing and admitting you are a sinner, and asking God's forgiveness of those sins and repenting(that is turning away) of those sins. The fact is Jesus is one of the person's of the trinity(those whom do not believe the trinity, are not Christian, it is a foundational doctrine), God is 3 persons that coexist eternally, but he is still only one God(there are several heresies related to the denial of the trinity such as modalism, TD Jakes is a Modalist, or sebalianism). Jesus came to earth to die for our sins because we inherited the sin of Adam, or original sin. We are ALL inherently sinful, not one us is good in our own nature, as we inherently have a sinful nature. We are all deserving of death and eternal damnation in the lake of fire for our sins, whatever those sins may be, big or small, it doesn't matter if you think you are "good", because the only standard that matters is God's, and his says that you are not good. But the Good News is, is that you don't have to die in your sins and burn in the lake of fire eternally. Jesus, who is both fully God and fully man, born of the Virgin Mary conceived of the Holy Spirit(the 3d person in the trinity), came, he lived the sinless life we never could, and he died on the cross, he bore our sins and we can have that forgiveness and the atonement of sins because of what Jesus did. If you confess your sins to God, have faith in what Christ did, and ask to be saved, he will save you. He is faithful and he will give you a new nature apart from your sin nature and you will receive the only true righteousness, God's.
This stands in stark contrast to the works nature of this film. True Christians do indeed do good, we are commanded to in scripture, but we don't do it to earn salvation, we do it because we are already saved and love the Lord for what he did for us. If you don't know the gospels, go read them, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and go read Romans.
Yes, I enjoyed this film, the leads Natasha Bure and Ben Elliot had very good chemistry together, and I was thoroughly entertained, but I was sad my expectations of the film presenting a false or no gospel at all, were met. By the end, it essentially equates Christianity with doing good and self-actualization, which is not at all Christian. It mentions faith several times through Jason and his reference to finding faith and that being the reason for his last failed relationship, but it never mentions what that faith should be in, and as a Christian that is THE MOST important thing.
Rather than having Victoria find calls to repent in the Bible(a missed opportunity for the gospel), Victoria goes through verses that are instructional to someone who is already a Christian, this is both when she is manipulating and also when she seems more interested in what an actual Christian is, but those versus are completely useless generally for someone who is not saved. Although again, I will never get mad at an unsaved person for not being completely depraved and at least being respectful and caring of others, as we all should, but those things cannot and will not save you, ever. Though we certainly see hints of repentance from Victoria, or at least the lead character is sorry for what she's done, again, she cannot be a Christian because she does not know the gospel, based on what we see in the film. At the end of the film, she is just trying to be a better person, though at least she is plugged into a church and going to a Bible study, so there is some hope she might hear the actual gospel, but that just isn't enough to end it there.
In the end, I felt like the Jason was being duped into starting a relationship with someone who isn't a Christian. It danced around this issue as well, and why as a Christian we should never even consider dating someone who is not a Christian(besides the fact dating isn't really a Christian idea, but a secular one). By the end of the film, the gospel should be front and center since repentance and sin is clearly a central theme here, but it doesn't explain it in terms of sin and repentance, and it does not explain the law and gospel at all when it is clear the lead character needs it. As already mentioned, it just gives very vague references to faith and outright refuses to mention the name of Jesus. In terms of "Christian" films,. "Fireproof" probably gives the best gospel presentation in a film I can think of, and "Courageous" does a pretty good job as well, but unfortunately, those films seem to be the exception.
Personally, I generally avoid "Christian" films because of the aforementioned issues with this one and hundreds of others, but this one looked cute, and it is, so I gave "Home Sweet Home" the benefit of the doubt. It is nothing more than a Hallmark-type movie shellacked with deism and a few Bible verses out of context.
God Bless ~Amy
