“Here’s a word you can take to heart and depend on:
Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.
I’m proof—Public Sinner Number One—
of someone who could never have made it apart from sheer mercy.
And now he shows me off—evidence of his endless patience—
to those who are right on the edge of trusting him forever.”
– 1 Timothy 1:15-16 MSG
Does God like me?
There is a tendency to think that – because I have sinned, therefore God does not like me, doesn’t want me, and, boy is He miffed at me! But that is not what the Bible teaches. That is not what Jesus practiced. So why are folks so condemning of people who fail!?
Presently God is not into the condemning thing at all. Regrettably, some Christians and churches are very judgemental – but Jesus is not. In fact, God loved us to the extreme extent that He determined, even before the creation of the world, to have Jesus come to earth to die for us. His love for us is shown by the fact that He actually died for us – while we were all still sinners! (Romans 5:8)
At this time in God’s plan of the ages for us, God is not condemning sinners. THAT will come later! Currently God is trying to get our attention to get us to accept Him before it is too late! Right now the Holy Spirit is working to convict sinners of their need to be forgiven — even while thick-in-sin.
The well-known story of the prostitute brought to Jesus (John 8:1-11) ought to dispel the “God is miffed at me” tendency. But it seems to be human nature to self-talk yourself down:
“When I am bad, then I am sad
– and everyone hates me.
Since God is holy
and I am not,
He will be looking for someone better than I.”
Ever feel like that yourself? But take a look at Jesus. Jesus did not condemn the prostitute. That is opposite to what we think.
After all her condemners had left…
Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they?
Did no one condemn you?”
11 She said, “No one, Lord.”
And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either.
Go. From now on sin no more.”
– John 8:verses 10-11
What we learn from Jesus when dealing with sinners:
1. Jesus rebuked those who shame sinners and those who condemn people when they are down. Shaming and condemning and putting-down and insulting, and hating-on someone — is not the way of Jesus. Sin is shameful, but how did Jesus react to shameful acts? He was full of compassion.
2. Jesus modeled how we should deal with sinners. If we are following Him – this is our model:
(a) Jesus mingled with sinners. He was very comfortable socializing with sinners. He was very accepting of the sinful person [Mark 2:verses 14-17; Luke 15].
(b) Jesus did not condemn and put-down common sinners [John 8:1-11].
(c) However, Jesus did rebuke and correct hypocrites and false teachers, those who say one thing – but do another, those who teach evil. Jesus said to false teachers, to their face even: “you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” (See complete passage: Matthew 23) Jesus warned us:
“…do not do
according to their deeds;
for they say things
and do not do them”
– Matthew 23:verse 3
3. Jesus explained what sinners should do [John 8:verses 10-11]. Sinners (you, me, anyone…) should:
(a) Get up and get-on with your life after you have sinned. Other passages on this:
Therefore, having these promises, beloved,
let us cleanse ourselves
from all defilement of flesh and spirit,
perfecting holiness
in the fear of God.
– 2 Corinthians 7:1
12 Not that I have already obtained it
or have already become perfect,
but I press on
so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.
13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet;
but one thing I do:
forgetting what lies behind
and reaching forward
to what lies ahead,
14 I press on
toward the goal
for the prize
of the upward call of God
in Christ Jesus.
– Philippians 3:12-14
(b) Now that that sinful act is past – “From now on, don’t sin“. Throughout His life, Jesus did not “give sinners a pass” on their sin. He acknowledged them lovingly (even when caught, fresh from their sin!) and He said (basically):
Hey – there is a better way.
Don’t settle for sinning!
Jesus’ teaching was:
My paraphrase…
I do not condemn you for having sinned.
Don’t wallow in your sin.
Get on with living
– and
don’t continue in that sin.
(My paraphrase of John 8:verses 10-11)
Sin is horrible
Heinous. No matter what “grade” or degradation level we try to label it:
Degrees of Sin1 See footnote at end of article
1I can deal with that/ 2not really all that bad/ 3not so good/ 4unacceptable/ 5bad/ 6really really bad/ 7evil/ 8Really BAD/ 9horrible/ 10heinous/
__________
Look at what sin does to you! Look at what it leaves behind in your wake! But Jesus has compassion on us sinners, no matter what sin level we think we are at. And so should we be – compassionate – with other fellow sinners. It is not our job – to condemn anyone. That is God’s job! And that is the government’s job.
The example of Jesus
We must be reminded, however, that God has promised that That Day of accounting will come. The Great White Throne Judgement will happen soon enough! (But not here on earth.) Following the example of Jesus, we should:
- Stop dragging sinners into the spotlight; stop hating on them; stop shaming them for having failed.
- Be loving and compassionate towards sinners.
- When we have an appropriate moment with someone in sin:
(1) Show compassion;
(2) In an accepting manner, express that Jesus wants us to be more and more like Him. Share the Gospel. - My favorite passage, full of compassion, to share with someone in sin:
Draw near to God
and He will draw near to you.
– James 4:8a
Personal stories of real sinners
It is good to look at the personal stories of real people in the Bible, and perhaps at some born again Christians around you. Scripture actually teaches:
If I come to Jesus in repentance — He accepts me just as I am, and wants me to actively, personally pursue Him, and serve Him. If I do not accept Him, He will continue to work in me nonetheless, however — eventually He will leave me to my willful ways.
Willful Sinners Who Turned to God: These sinned greatly, but then repented and God blessed them.
King David, Jonah, Rahab, Peter, Thief on the Cross, Liz Curtis Higgs…
What they did… murder by contract/lured to have killed, lust, voyeurism, adultery, fornication; refusing God’s request, hating a people group; prostitution; though a chosen disciple of Christ – three times he denied he knew Jesus; declared guilty of crimes and hung on a Roman cross; lived a promiscuous lifestyle.
Willful Sinners Who Failed to Turn to God: These went away from God – without repenting, and remained under condemnation.
Cain – son of Adam and Eve, killed his brother; Judas – traitorous disciple, did not repent; Pilate the governor – who condemned Jesus to die; King Agrippa who said to Paul, “Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.“; Rich Young Ruler – was sad but kept his god, riches – and left Jesus…
God still loves you
No matter your sin. No matter the gravity of it. No matter how many years. No matter if you are born again or actively atheist…. God loves you, is calling you to Himself, and He wants you to repent and accept Him as your Lord and Savior. He wants you to follow Him.
Commentary: Penalty vs. Effect. *copy is online here
Don’t confuse the “penalty” of sin (if you stand before God or the government) – with the “effect” of sin (the pain and anguish inflicted). Yes, in God’s Heavenly Court any degree of sin is worthy of condemnation, so in that sense, it’s all bad. However, any specific sin is surely measurable by it’s varying degree of affliction caused upon all involved.
Degrees of Sin:
1I can deal with that/ 2not really all that bad/ 3not so good/ 4unacceptable/ 5bad/ 6really really bad/ 7evil/ 8Really BAD/ 9horrible/ 10heinous/
Would you say it is all the same degree of bad, or some sins are worse than others? To illustrate, let’s play “Would You Prefer”.
Would You Prefer…
(1) Would you prefer (A) the hate-filled person hate you, or is it all the same if he/she (B) would murder you?
(2) Would you prefer (A) the jealous person feels jealous of you, or (B) the jealous person takes what you have out of your garage?
(3) Would you prefer (A) Jack and Jane gossip about your sins throughout your church year after year, or (B) they take-out a full page ad in the county-wide newspaper denouncing you as a rotten sinner?
(4) Would you prefer (A) your employee embezzle $1,000 of your money, or (B) your employee embezzles $50,000 of your money?
(5) Would you prefer (A) your husband lust, or (B) your husband starts an affair with a neighbor?
(6) Would you prefer (A) you impatiently grumble inside your head, or (B) you snipe or speak harshly to your spouse?
We of course prefer none of the above! It’s all bad. And the Bible’s big thing about sin in our life is, “Don’t let sin reign…”
12 Therefore do not let
sin reign
in your mortal body
so that you obey its lusts,
13 and do not go on presenting the members of your body
to sin
as instruments of unrighteousness;
but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead,
and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
14 For sin shall not be master over you,
for you are not under law but under grace.
– Romans 6:verses 12-14
But, degrees of sin are obvious. Some sins are not as pain-inducing as others. But that’s not to excuse any sin – whatever the degree. All sin is wrong.
Some “lower degree” sins lead naturally to “higher degree” sins. They are a natural warm-up phase for worse things to come. An example is pointed-out by Jesus about the Pharisees’ recruits becoming twice as bad as they themselves are:
It’s all bad
God hates all sin. And we should also. Actually, we should especially hate and work against the “lesser degree sins” because they so often entangle us into something worse.
Some folk excuse their sins, saying, “I would never do THAT! How vile.” And go on to think they are better than “them“, because they don’t do THAT (“higher degree sin”). The Bible teaches:
What matters to God
What matters is that we accept Jesus, repent and follow Him. Then Jesus accepts us just as we are – and empowers us to grow into living His way. He will make you brand new!
With almost all peoples He met (with some notable exceptions), Jesus was accepting and friendly, eating and drinking with them at their homes. He did not shame or condemn. But sin is what keeps us separated from God.
Jesus called everyone to repent and turn to God’s Way. Jesus was accepting towards the prostitute caught in the act (in John 8), but her response to what Jesus said is not recorded. The Bible does not record if she turned from her sin and followed Jesus. I wonder….
What about you?
What has your response been? Have you responded to the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Jesus forgives sinners. Jesus Saved Me. Here is the saving good news:
that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes
in Him
shall not perish, but have eternal life.
– John 3:16
[as your personal Savior and entrust yourself to Him]
and you will be saved…”
– Acts 16:31 AMP
to them He gave the right to become
children of God,
even to those who believe in His name
– John 1:12
“God demonstrates his own love for us in this:
While we were still sinners,
Christ died for us”
– Romans 5:8
“In him
we have redemption
through his blood,
the forgiveness of sins,
in accordance with the riches of God’s grace
that he lavished on us”
– Ephesians 1:7-8
“Your sins
have been forgiven
on account of
his name”
– 1 John 2:12
[by accepting Him as Lord and Savior]
has the life [that is eternal];
he who does not have the Son of God
[by personal faith]
does not have the life.
– 1 John 5:12
These things I have written
to you who believe in the name of the Son of God
[which represents all that Jesus Christ is and does],
so that you will know
[with settled and absolute knowledge]
that you [already] have eternal life.
– 1 John 5:13
22 it is He
who has also put His seal on us
[that is, He has appropriated us and certified us as His]
and has given us the [Holy] Spirit
in our hearts as a pledge
[like a security deposit to guarantee the fulfillment of His promise of eternal life].
– 2 Corinthians 1:22 AMP
FOR MORE:
There is a tendency to think that – because I have sinned, therefore God does not like me, doesn’t want me, and, boy is He miffed at me! But that is not what the Bible teaches. That is not what Jesus practiced. So why are folks so condemning of people who fail!? At this time in God’s plan of the ages for us, God is not condemning sinners. THAT will come later! Currently God is trying to get our attention to get us to accept Him before it is too late!
______________
The Roman Road …key verses explaining salvation – in the book of Romans
I run to win! Christ did. Do you?
Practicing Sin, Not Following Christ
If I were to let sin reign in my body
The reality of incompleteness on earth
Make Self Talk… God Talk. It goes on and on and on
Growing into our natural new life in Christ
Imagine You The Perfect Person
God eventually gives you a free rein
Why God is against me IF I claim my words are God’s own
Will you be turned away by Jesus?
They in fact have seen nothing
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