Jesus Eats with Sinners
In my many travels (read this article) I came across an image with some text that seemed to be saying that Jesus would endorse/support sin because he ate with sinners. I may have gotten the message a bit mixed up (I doubt it though), but I do think and know that there are people who believe that because Jesus ate with sinners, that it must mean that he accepted their sinful ways as okay to live in and would encourage these sins to continue. I beg to differ and scripture would disagree with that too (that is what is most important). Jesus does not endorse sin. Many look at Jesus and forget why he came to earth and what his purpose was while he was here. I hope I can remind people today that Jesus would not encourage or endorse sinful behavior.
In Mark 2:13-17, Jesus had called Levi to follow him. Levi was a tax collector and they were known to take more taxes and save some for themselves. While eating with Levi and other tax collectors, the Pharisees got upset with Jesus for eating with tax collectors and sinners. Jesus told them that it is not the well, but the sick that needed doctors just as the sinners (the sick) are the ones who needed Jesus. Why would a sinner need Jesus? So that they can follow him. If you love Jesus and what he stood for then understand he was not just a good person, but a servant of God doing the Lord's will while loving the unloving and the sinners.
And remember that Jesus did not want you to sin. Remember the adulteress woman who the Pharisees brought to him to have her stoned according to the law (John 8:1-11)? After he made some markings in the sand, Jesus told the Pharisees whomever had not sinned could cast the first stone. The Pharisees one by one dropped their stones and walked away and could no longer condemn her. When there was no one left to condemn her, Jesus said he didn't condemn her either and that she should "go and sin no more." Jesus wants us to be united with God in Heaven and if we are accepting of God's grace and accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior then we get who Jesus is. For those that think that Jesus just accepted everyone and was okay with everything, they still have some reading to do.
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Released from the Law
Since we have committed ourselves to following Christ and have accepted him as our Lord and Savior, we are no longer bound to the expected rigid perfection of the law. The Law is not about grace or love, it is about complete or incomplete. It is about did you or did you not. While we are free of the law, we are not free to sin as we did prior to following Christ.
The example Paul uses to describe this idea is marriage and widows and being an adulteress. The old way of living has to die to us in other words we have to become widows so to speak to our old way of living. And we cannot be linked to the old way while trying to be with the brand new similarly to a woman who is married cannot be with another man until her husband is deceased or she would be an adulteress. It is one or the other, not both. One leads to death and the other redemption with God (Romans 7:1-6).
Paul also recognizes that he wants to do the right thing in his mind, but his body want to do the wrong thing. Paul knows that the flesh wants to do the wrong thing and it is the Holy Spirit that leads us to do what is right in regards to loving God. For all those who think they can just be good people and that is all it is, then why can't good people be good all the time? If they themselves possess that ability then they should never get it wrong and no one should ever be upset with them because they are always doing the right thing. Since I (Kingman) am not a good person I know that I need the Holy Spirit to guide me to do what is godly as apart from the Holy Spirit my flesh also wants to say thing and do things that I know are not of God (Romans 7:7-25).
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Throwing Stones
Isn't interesting that when we see someone doing wrong we want to jump down their throats and tell them how wrong they are for what they did? Why do people get so angry about the sin of others? Do they get that mad at your their own sin?
In this John 8:1-11, we see a woman brought before Jesus. She was caught in the act of adultery. They were asking what should they do with her as the law of Moses said that she should be stoned. Jesus knelt down and wrote in the dirt and told them that whoever was without sin should be the first one to throw a stone at her. We don't know what Jesus was writing. He could have been writing the sins of the men who brought her to Jesus or he may have been writing the names of the men she had been with that could have included the accusing men's names as well. We don't know. But we do know that Jesus did not want us to throw stones (physical or verbal) at people. After each man left, Jesus asked her where the accusers were and then he told her "Go and sin no more." He did not say "let and let live" or "to each his own." He said go and sin no more. Gentle. Direct. Compassionate.
We can learn from Jesus in this example as well. When people sin by lifestyle or by slip up, condemning them is not the way to get them to turn their life around. The don't need to be reminded of their sin. They need a scriptural response to their sin and compassion. If they mess up, that is not your job to fix them. It is your command from God to love them the same way Jesus loved us by dying for us selflessly. Think about that the next time You get outraged at a sin. Maybe that person just need a Christ like hug and God given direction. Try it. Condemnation turns people away from God.
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We Do Not Have to Fall to Temptation
Life is full of temptations. We are tempted to do many things from act out on our aggression, lie on our taxes, cheat on spouses, look at adult oriented imagery, have too much alcohol to drink or over eat. Some of these temptations are so a part of our culture that we have accepted them as part of our life and acceptable. But, it isn't about what is culturally acceptable. Culture changes every so often, but God's Word stays the same. That is the measuring stick by which we live life, not what people think we should do or what we think we should do.
In James 1:13-15 we have to recognize that temptation is not coming from God. God doesn't tempt us He directs us. Satan tempts us by what our desires are. I do not have the temptation to get drunk, but someone else does. Others don't have the temptation to over eat or eat the wrong things, but I do. When we give into temptation is when it turns into sin and when sin is full grown it becomes death. Not physical death, but a spiritual one in that area that can spread to other areas of our lives.
How do you fight against the temptation to go against God's will? Well, after recognizing that you are being tempted you can immediately go to God. Ask God to cover and protect you as you face this temptation (Luke 22:40). You don't have to go at it alone. Not only can you talk to God, but you can also tell another believer. Do you have an older person to confide or a friend that also follows Christ? Tell them what you are struggling with. I would hate to struggle in an area and not be able to open up to another believer (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12). Two people + God = a three fold chord that is not easily broken.
Remember too, that whatever you deal with, is something that someone else has already gone through. Someone else has had the same temptations you have already had (1 Corinthians 10:13). God provides a way out and will not let you be tempted past what you can deal with. Follow His path.
Facing Temptation- Open Bible verses
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