Sunday I preached on Anyone Means Anyone. You can read about that here. I emphasized the importance of understanding that Jesus’ acceptance of the “woman of the city” in Luke 7: 37 was monumental, especially to Simon, the Pharisee. His story of the moneylender who had two debtors-one owed him much and one owed him little- was classic Jesus. But what sticks out to me is Jesus’ words to the woman: “Your sins are forgiven…go in peace.” Elsewhere He uses the words “Go, and sin no more.” Expectant in the acceptance was also a lifestyle change.
I think we often lose sight of that in our efforts to be “inclusive.” Yes, Jesus accepts the alcoholic, the homosexual, the porn addict, the divorced, the liar, the ex-con, the person with a sexual past, the religious know-it-all, and so on. But inherent with that is a challenge to change. “Go, and sin no more.” “Stop doing what you were doing and make a change.” Sadly, we forget that. In all honesty, I wish it was just “Come to Jesus and all will be right with your world.” Man, that would make it so easy to convince people to come to Jesus. But, in reality, that would make me no better than the late-night TV hustlers who promise the audience something for nothing. Or the religious TV hucksters who promise something for nothing.
I mentioned Craig Gross and X3Church in my last post. He wrote a book called “Jesus Loves You…this I know.” In it he talks about their outreach and also about his debates with his friend, Ron Jeremy, who is one of the most popular porn stars. One incident stands out in my mind. They were traveling on a bus together and arrived at the destination to protests against Ron. He looked at Craig and said, “Isn’t it sad that my people are more willing to accept you, than your people are willing to accept me?” He was not talking about lifestyle because he knew Craig didn’t agree. He was talking about him as a person. That is an indictment against the church.
Sunday I used the testimony of a lady named Lisa, a former lesbian, who testified to the goodness and grace of God. Lisa is not perfect, but she wants to honor God with a ministry to reaching those she used be like. I preceded my message and her testimony with this song. Please take a moment to soak in the words.
I know I seem to be hammering this theme lately, but this current series and my/our approach of No Perfect People Allowed has focused more attention on it than normal. What are your thoughts? How far should the church go in acceptance?
We all sin. All sin is equally deplorable to God. Why do folks campaign against one specific sin as something blacker than others?
That is my point exactly Daniel. No “paygrade” on sin.
Hi Bill,
I looked up Matt 11:19 and Luke 7:34. Jesus did not declare himself a friend of sinners. He declares in these scripture verses that ‘they’ say he is “a friend of publicans and sinners”. This ‘friend of publicans and sinners’ is what Jesus’ opposition was trying to charge him with to convince others that Jesus could not be from God.
James 4:4 says that ‘friendship of the world is emnity with God’. Jesus died to save sinners, not to accept them ongoingly as sinners. We know that Jesus is going to judge sinners who have not repented of their sin and accepted Jesus’ substitutional sacrifice for their sin.
We must scrutinize the teachings we hear in our days. We need to verify that the concepts and context of scriptures used are confirmed in the Bible. In this case, ‘friend of sinners’ is not. Jesus died for sinners to free them from sin, not to let them keep sinning.
The Bible scriptures have to be our beliefs and doctrines and practices as Christians. There is so much teaching out there that sounds good, but is it scriptural?
We have to be reading and studying our Bibles or we are going to be deceived in these last days. There are many who are claiming that they have found the answer to the problems of Christianity in our day.
It may be true that the others used it to try convincing others Jesus was not from God, but I disagree with you on the application. The religious leaders, the people of the “church” were the ones who were trying to discredit Jesus. There was no judgment or condemnation in Jesus’ words except “Go and sin no more.” To follow Him meant repentance and radical obedience to Him. The goal of the church is not to be for the church but for reaching lost people for Jesus.
Few of us really want to stand in that place where we really accept the person, but don’t accept the sin. It’s difficult to be there, but that’s where Jesus was, so we should strive to be like Him.
it is a difficult place to stand Larry, but like you said, that is where Jesus was.
Love the song.
I hear this, Bill. I have a friend who is a lesbian. I love her dearly – she is a deeply wounded sparrow – and my heart aches for her. She loves Jesus. She lives celibate. But, she is still wounded, and she believes that God made her that way.
Meaning that she believes God made her a lesbian.
I applaud your friendship with your lesbian friend. While I might disagree with whether God “made her that way” it is not yours or my responsibility to judge that. It is our responsibility to love. Well done susan.
You say you might disagree whether God “made her that way” I believe Jesus said some Eucuchs were born that way. While you may question what a eunuch is, since the word homosexual wasn’t even invented until the 14th or 15th century I think as a believer you might want to consider your personal bias as being opposed to what Jesus clearly indicated.
A eunuch and a homosexual are not the same thing. Being a eunuch was a physical thing while being a homosexual is not. The Scripture in reference (Mt.19;12) does say what you indicate, but it also includes two other references to them as well. There are some who are born with congenital deformities that involve underdeveloped sexual capacity. I think you are comparing apples and oranges.
Hi Bill,
I’m leaning to disagree on what the mandate of the ‘church’ is. It is to feed and shepherd the sheep. The disciples’ mandate is to ‘go and make disciples’.
The church is not feeding the sheep in our day. The church is not ministering to the sheep in our day. The church is all about ‘get more people in here’.
The church is all about ‘your job is to be here every Sunday’. My question is “What for?” To listen to repeated exhortations to bring others into a system that is not doing its job?
It is clear that the saints are not being ministered to in the church because they are mainly still babes even after being under tutorship for several years in the church. The Bible says we can judge by the fruit that we see. Something has gone askew in the church.
You and I may be talking semantics Linda but I see the church as being made up of disciples, hence my thoughts. I do think you need to clarify your thoughts with “many church are all about.” While I used to make it a big deal (and preach it legalistically) that a person had to be here on Sunday, I now put more emphasis on obedience to the Scriptures in service.
My thoughts on acceptance are essentially like this: I believe we should love people into the Kingdom. It’s not my job to change people, it’s God’s. And to be honest, I wouldn’t want His job. I’m also to present His truth’s with love.
your thoughts and mine are exactly the same Michael. It is not my job to change, but it is my “job” to love them. Well said. Good to hear from you my friend.
Well – I think Michael hit the nail on the head on this one! Excellent post my friend!
All I have to remember is that while I was still a sinner…Christ died for me. That, my friend, is something we ALL should remember. Everybody needs a savior…specially me.
i will stand with you on that Jay. No question about it.
I often fall into the trap of grading myself too hard. Allowing the devil to throw my past in my face and remind me of all the sins I’ve committed.
That is the slippery slope.
Church people may grade one sin as worse than another. Not right to do – it is the flesh rearing its ugly head. The “at least I’m not as bas as that person” mentality.
That is one attack of the devil. It causes division.
Another attack is grading our sins as too big for God’s grace.
So some may grade Ron Jeremy’s sin as terrible (which isn’t sin in his eyes because he isn’t a saved believer).
Others may grade their personal sin as deplorable.
What we need to accept is God’s grace. The fact that WE are covered in grace and Ron Jeremy can too if he chooses to accept it.
One of two things happens: we either excuse ourselves by comparing or we judge ourselves too hard. Either one is bad. I like the one you mention though: grading our sins as too big for God’s grace. Love your application Craig. Thanks.
From jughead1118 (an email reader who sent me a personal email);
Love this!
Thanks
In the alchemy of a man’s soul, almost all noble sounding virtues such as courage, honor, faith, hope, duty, loyalty etc. can manifest themselves into ruthlessness for others. Only compassion stands apart in our abilty to do good or evil. Compassion, unlike the other virtues, can only result in good. Compassion, not tolerance, is the measure of love.
I judge a man’s religion not by his professions of belief but in his brand of intolerance.
Interesting thought Jeff. Especially about compassion. Can someone show too much of it? What happens, if an attempt to show compassion, someone smothers another? Not being argumentative but wondering out loud.
Compassion doesn’t come in quarts or gallons, or inches or miles. You either have it or you don’t. It is not now and then. There is no way to have too much or too little. There is only whether you have it or not.
Compassion isn’t something you show, it is something you have. If your reactions are based on compassion it will be a good reaction. If it is based on honor, faith, hope, duty, loyalty, etc. it may be a wicked reaction.
A person that is suseptible to being smothered by another is a totally different matter.
To be compassionate is not to be gullible or naive. Sometimes it is to be tough and draw the line in the sand.
My main point is that tolerance means nothing without compassion. To tolerate is not a sign of love it is only a willingness to put up with something.
Intolerance can be a sign of hate however.
You draw a good picture of compassion Jeff. And I agree.
I think it shows how absolutely fallen we are in our flesh that we can use our strengths to stand in judgment of those whose weaknesses are different than ours. We all have weaknesses, some are just more acceptable to the church and society than others.
Good post, Bill. A good reminder that the foot of the cross is level…
You point out a good thought Floyd: how we use our strengths to stand in judgment of those whose weakness is different than ours. So glad the ground is level.
I think I’ve mentioned this before but my pastor says, “Don’t judge me because my sin is different than yours.”
We fall into a trap of wanting to justify our own sins while pointing out others.
We all sin.
We all need grace.
We all are called to love as Christ loved, that means loving the sinner. It also means encouraging them, praying for them and forgiving them. It does not mean we do the work of God and judge them.
However, we mustn’t confuse this with the tolerance the world pushes.
God is clear on Sin and the Body of Christ needs to be too.
Tough subject to preach on and post on. So much to cover.
The thoughts from your pastor sound a whole lot like Floyd’s. Maybe they plagiarized from each other?
Good thoughts TC. And you are right…way too much to cover in a post.
Visiting several tribes and watching missionary build a relationship with a group of people who believe they are decendants from different birds. Where incest is normal, where they will not say their name if you pass them in the jungle at night for fear the evil spirits will hear…I could go on and on but for the sake of space will not.
Those early months while the missionary is learning lanugage and culture relationships are bring built. The tribal people see the missionary not getting drunk, not beating his wife, not stealing from his neighbor, not afraid to walk the jungle at night, sharing the fish they catch, and this is all before the gospel is taught.
Right now our church has two couples in the worst part of LA building a church, not of wood, but of relationships. If we will lift up Jesus and walk up right others will notice in this sin filled would…we are a light in the darkness but we must go into the darkness to shed the light. That is exactly what Jesus did by coming from the glorious light of heaven to the darkness of earth. God help us to shed our light beyond our own little world, not to keep that light for ourselves. Good post brother
Forgive my disconnected thoughts…I think I am showing my age. Know you will get my heart in all I said though…
No problem with your thoughts Betty. I understood. What does that say about my thought process? LOL We are to lift up Jesus and be light in darkness.
Thank you, Bill for sharing about your sermons and your heart in this. I can’t add much to what everyone else has so thoughtfully said!
I did have an encounter with some people at a park . . .and found myself disturbed. And disturbed I was disturbed. Later as I prayed, God showed me it was a spirit that I was praying against, not the people. God bless you as you keep handling the tough stuff.
The old adage, although worn out and often misused and misunderstood, still comes into play: love the sin, hate the sin. You can despise the sin (the spirit you were praying against) but not the people. Thanks for coming by Deb.
Thank God Jesus accepted the woman in the city. Those are beautiful words, “go and sin no more.” “you are forgiven.” I have been the woman in the city & thank God He opened my eyes to the truth. As I become more involved in our church, I am starting to realize that we are all human, we all have things in our past/present that mess with us, we’re really all the same, trying to battle satan’s daily attacks & really believe that we are forgiven & loved. It is a joyous thing to experience a church accepts you as who you are & knows you are truly trying to live the life God has for you. We often look at people in our church or anywhere as “wow, they look put together & their life is probably great.” Not so. Looking on the outside does not always show the inside, I am proof of that for sure. Another great blog Bill! Love this series!
The more we get involved with people the more we realize how great God’s grace and acceptance is. Glad you enjoy it Jan.
I can’t even think about the last paragraph. For some reason, that X3 story got to me. I wonder how I would have handled that.
I have also wondered that Loren. What if I had been Craig?