Sometimes there is fine line between being a good witness for Christ and being a jerk.
When a non-believing world believes the main message of the Church is "Thou Shalt Not..." we have lost our divine influence. Instead of being "salt and light" (bringing flavor and truth to the world as Jesus taught us), we lower ourselves to just another religious group with just another list of rules to keep when we constantly focus on judging the sin in others.
What did Jesus talk about in his brief ministry as a traveling teacher? Was His preaching all fire and brimstone? Did He lead a protest against corrupt laws and the moral decline of the Roman government? No, His message was refreshing and positive... and so should ours be. A common phrase in the New Testament describes Jesus as "proclaiming the gospel of the Kingdom." Although American culture has popularized the word "gospel" to mean a genre of music, it is literally the Greek word for "good news", and in the context of Christianity, it specifically means the good news of our access to God's Kingdom through Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection.
The Church is the sole messenger of The Ultimate Good News for all mankind!
Of course, Sin is an essential part of that message - it the very thing that Jesus came to save us from! We can't ignore the ugliness and damage that our sin causes. But here's the thing - we are all sinners and Jesus loved us anyway. In fact, He was so concerned that sin would destroy us that He came to take the punishment for all sin upon Himself.
Did Jesus ever have a harsh word to say? As a matter of fact He did. But not so much to those with the reputation as "sinners." It seems He had almost no patience with religious hypocrites. Once He called a group of them "vipers, hypocrites, whitewashed tombs - pretty on the outside, but full of dead bones and rotting flesh on the inside!" Not surprisingly, that group had a hard time with Jesus. In fact, it was a group of these Jewish religious leaders who orchestrated His arrest based on false accusations, conducted a rushed trial in the middle of the night to guarantee a quick conviction, then pulled political strings with the Roman government to elevate Jesus' sentence to capitol punishment by crucifixion.
Ironically, one of the early accusations they leveled against Jesus was that He was "a friend of sinners."
Jesus never denied the accusation.
Maybe we should be less concerned with pointing fingers of judgement at sinners, and more concerned that no has ever accused us of being "a friend to sinners."
When a non-believing world believes the main message of the Church is "Thou Shalt Not..." we have lost our divine influence. Instead of being "salt and light" (bringing flavor and truth to the world as Jesus taught us), we lower ourselves to just another religious group with just another list of rules to keep when we constantly focus on judging the sin in others.
What did Jesus talk about in his brief ministry as a traveling teacher? Was His preaching all fire and brimstone? Did He lead a protest against corrupt laws and the moral decline of the Roman government? No, His message was refreshing and positive... and so should ours be. A common phrase in the New Testament describes Jesus as "proclaiming the gospel of the Kingdom." Although American culture has popularized the word "gospel" to mean a genre of music, it is literally the Greek word for "good news", and in the context of Christianity, it specifically means the good news of our access to God's Kingdom through Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection.
The Church is the sole messenger of The Ultimate Good News for all mankind!
Of course, Sin is an essential part of that message - it the very thing that Jesus came to save us from! We can't ignore the ugliness and damage that our sin causes. But here's the thing - we are all sinners and Jesus loved us anyway. In fact, He was so concerned that sin would destroy us that He came to take the punishment for all sin upon Himself.
Did Jesus ever have a harsh word to say? As a matter of fact He did. But not so much to those with the reputation as "sinners." It seems He had almost no patience with religious hypocrites. Once He called a group of them "vipers, hypocrites, whitewashed tombs - pretty on the outside, but full of dead bones and rotting flesh on the inside!" Not surprisingly, that group had a hard time with Jesus. In fact, it was a group of these Jewish religious leaders who orchestrated His arrest based on false accusations, conducted a rushed trial in the middle of the night to guarantee a quick conviction, then pulled political strings with the Roman government to elevate Jesus' sentence to capitol punishment by crucifixion.
Ironically, one of the early accusations they leveled against Jesus was that He was "a friend of sinners."
Jesus never denied the accusation.
Maybe we should be less concerned with pointing fingers of judgement at sinners, and more concerned that no has ever accused us of being "a friend to sinners."
Take a minute to read the following lyrics by Casting Crowns,
then listen to their song the end of this post....
"Jesus, Friend Of Sinners"
by Casting Crowns
Jesus, friend of sinners, we have strayed so far away
We cut down people in your name but the sword was never ours to swing
Jesus, friend of sinners, the truth's become so hard to see
The world is on their way to You but they keep tripping over me
Always looking around but never looking up I'm so double minded
A plank-eyed saint with dirty hands and a heart divided
Oh Jesus, friend of sinners
Open our eyes to the world at the end of our pointing fingers
Let our hearts be led by mercy
Help us reach with open hearts and open doors
Oh Jesus, friend of sinners, break our hearts for what breaks yours
Jesus, friend of sinners, the one who's writing in the sand
Made the righteous turn away and the stones fall from their hands
Help us to remember we are all the least of these
Let the memory of Your mercy bring Your people to their knees
Nobody knows what we're for only what we're against when we judge the wounded
What if we put down our signs crossed over the lines and loved like You did
Oh Jesus, friend of sinners
Open our eyes to world at the end of our pointing fingers
Let our hearts be led by mercy
Help us reach with open hearts and open doors
Oh Jesus, friend of sinners, break our hearts for what breaks yours
You love every lost cause; you reach for the outcast
For the leper and the lame; they're the reason that You came
Lord I was that lost cause and I was the outcast
But you died for sinners just like me, a grateful leper at Your feet
'Cause You are good, You are good and Your love endures forever
You are good, You are good and Your love endures forever
You are good, You are good and Your love endures forever
You are good, You are good and Your love endures forever
Oh Jesus, friend of sinners
Open our eyes to world at the end of our pointing fingers
Let our hearts be led by mercy
Help us reach with open hearts and open doors
Oh Jesus, friend of sinners, break our hearts for what breaks Yours
And I was the lost cause and I was the outcast
You died for sinners just like me, a grateful leper at Your feet
then listen to their song the end of this post....
"Jesus, Friend Of Sinners"
by Casting Crowns
Jesus, friend of sinners, we have strayed so far away
We cut down people in your name but the sword was never ours to swing
Jesus, friend of sinners, the truth's become so hard to see
The world is on their way to You but they keep tripping over me
Always looking around but never looking up I'm so double minded
A plank-eyed saint with dirty hands and a heart divided
Oh Jesus, friend of sinners
Open our eyes to the world at the end of our pointing fingers
Let our hearts be led by mercy
Help us reach with open hearts and open doors
Oh Jesus, friend of sinners, break our hearts for what breaks yours
Jesus, friend of sinners, the one who's writing in the sand
Made the righteous turn away and the stones fall from their hands
Help us to remember we are all the least of these
Let the memory of Your mercy bring Your people to their knees
Nobody knows what we're for only what we're against when we judge the wounded
What if we put down our signs crossed over the lines and loved like You did
Oh Jesus, friend of sinners
Open our eyes to world at the end of our pointing fingers
Let our hearts be led by mercy
Help us reach with open hearts and open doors
Oh Jesus, friend of sinners, break our hearts for what breaks yours
You love every lost cause; you reach for the outcast
For the leper and the lame; they're the reason that You came
Lord I was that lost cause and I was the outcast
But you died for sinners just like me, a grateful leper at Your feet
'Cause You are good, You are good and Your love endures forever
You are good, You are good and Your love endures forever
You are good, You are good and Your love endures forever
You are good, You are good and Your love endures forever
Oh Jesus, friend of sinners
Open our eyes to world at the end of our pointing fingers
Let our hearts be led by mercy
Help us reach with open hearts and open doors
Oh Jesus, friend of sinners, break our hearts for what breaks Yours
And I was the lost cause and I was the outcast
You died for sinners just like me, a grateful leper at Your feet
Oh Jesus, friend of sinners, break our hearts for what breaks Yours
For His Glory,
Dave Swanson
Worship Leader