Contained in the angel’s first
message about the birth of Christ to Joseph was Christ’s identity - Son of God,
and HIS purpose - to save people from their sins. If God, in Christ, came to
save people from their sins, how did Christ respond to sin?
In HIS first encounter with the
devil, the source of sin, Christ quoted three verses from Deuteronomy 8:3,
6:16, 6:13 while overcoming the devil. The three verses cited by Christ ascribe
preeminence to God over devil and sin.
In HIS first encounter with
people, the doers of sins, Christ’s first message was for them to repent of
their sins (Matthew 4: 17; Mark 1: 15). We should repent to God, for only God
can forgive sins. Once again Christ ascribes preeminence to God – that God
alone can forgive sins.
If we recollect Matthew 1, we remember
that Christ is Immanuel – ‘God with us’ (Matthew 1: 23). Christ is God!
True to HIS Immanuelness, the
gospels narrate instances of Christ claiming to be God. Christ’s claim to
divinity offended the unbelieving Jews, who accused HIM of blasphemy. However, Christ
continued to assert HIS divinity.
Therefore as an initial response
to sin, Christ affirms the Scriptures, ascribes preeminence to God, stakes
claim to HIS divinity and urges people to repent of their sins.
Christ did not desire for people to
continue in sin. Instead, HE desired that people be righteous. While describing
sins, Christ taught that anger is as sinful as murder, and lust is as sinful as
physical adultery (Matthew 5: 29 - 30). Christ thus revealed a new dimension to
sin.
While urging people to not sin,
Christ travels to the metaphorical extreme of urging people to pluck out or
tear off that part of our body that leads to sin (Matthew 5: 29-30). Such an
opposition to sin was expected of Christ, since HE is God and in God is no sin.
Sin is an assault on God.
While urging people to be
righteous, why did Christ NOT say that our righteousness should exceed that of
a murderer or an adulterer? If murder, adultery and the likes are sins,
shouldn’t righteousness be classified as not committing these sins?
Interestingly, Christ taught that our righteousness should exceed that of the
Scribes and Pharisees (Matthew 5: 20). Have you wondered why? Surely, Christ
was not promoting or endorsing sins!
How did the Scribes and Pharisees
respond to sinners? The answer to this question could answer the question as to
why Christ used Scribes and Pharisees as an example for sin over a common
sinner such as a murderer or an adulterer.
Luke 18: 9 states that the
Pharisees were so confident of their own righteousness that they looked down on
others, the sinners, with contempt (“God,
I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or
even like this tax collector.” Luke 18: 11, NASB). These so-called holy men
(scribes, teachers of the law and pharisees) separated themselves from the
sinners to the extent of condemning them. Little did they understand that
holiness is separation from sins and not sinners.
Christ came to save people from
their sins and not condemn them (John 3: 17). If this were to be accomplished,
then HE most surely had to be friendly with the sinners. And HE was more than
friendly with the sinners, so much so that Christ was notoriously branded as a
‘friend of sinners’ (Matthew 11: 19 & Luke 7: 34).
The radical Christ was thoroughly
unlike the so-called holy men (scribes, teachers of the law and pharisees).
While these so-called holy men hated sinners, Christ loved sinners. The radical
Christ did not promote sin, instead HE taught people not to sin. But please remember
that Christ loved sinners.
Do we love sinners? We most surely
love ourselves, and we most surely are sinners. If we are to be as radical as
Christ, then we are to love our fellow sinners as we love ourselves. If we so love
our sinful selves, what makes it difficult for us to love our fellow sinners? Our self-righteousness is the most
significant barrier that prevents us from loving our fellow sinners.
Often some Christians move away
from the sinner. If he moves away in fear of falling into the same sin, then
the disconnecting Christian could be justified (cf. 1 Corinthians 15: 33; 1
Thessalonians 5: 22). But if the disconnect happens because the Christian does
not deem it fit to socialize with the sinner, then he surely is wrong.
The error of the Scribes,
teachers of the law and Pharisees was further revealed by their perverted
encouragement or ignorance of businessmen at the temple (John 2: 13-16). The
Scribes, teachers of the law and Pharisees remained ignorant of the businessmen
at the temple, whereas in utter contrast Christ eliminated these very
businessmen from the temple precincts.
While the so-called holy men deplored
the sinners because of their own righteousness, they allowed a sin of a greater
kind at the temple. Shouldn’t these holy men have known what they were doing?
Shouldn’t they have known if their actions were pleasing to God or not? They distorted
or damaged worship to God at the temple by making the temple a marketplace.
This certainly did not please God!
The temple was not to be a
marketplace. It was to have been a place of worship. Thus the scribes, teachers
of the law and pharisees were greater sinners than a thief, murderer or adulterer
(cf. “And he said to his disciples,
“Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they
come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and
he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to
sin”” - Luke 17: 1-2, ESV).
This seems to be the problem
plaguing Christianity today! The greater sinners feign holiness and ridicule
the average sinner. The holy men are so intent in removing the speck from their
neighbor’s eye that they ignore the log in their own eye. Therefore, we do not
see an average sinner walking into the church of Jesus Christ and being loved
graciously (without supporting the sin).
If the sinless Lord socialized
actively with the sinners, why aren’t we socializing with a fellow sinner?
Please allow your imaginations to wander. If a person honestly announces his
sin in your church, how would your church respond? Importantly, how would you
respond?
We don’t need to support his
sins, but would he be welcome and loved by our church? If we say no, then our
self-righteousness is at fault. So we are the greater sinners (cf. Luke 18:
14). When our self-righteousness prevents a sinner from worshipping the living
God, then not only are we NOT radical but we are NOT Christlike. We are the
greater sinners.
We are called to save sinners (cf.
1 Corinthians 9: 22-23; James 5: 19-20). We are not called to encourage sin.
Satan encourages sin. The Savior saves people from their sins. If we claim to
be Christlike, we are called to save people from their sins and not encourage them
to sin.
We cannot save people if we do
not love them. Christ loved and still loves sinners. If we do not love our
fellow sinners, then we are not being Christlike.
Love is the antecedent to
salvation. Christ came to save sinners. A perfect God desires and loves all sinners
to save them. Since Christians are the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12: 27), we
should love all sinners so to be an instrument of their salvation.
Some will believe in Christ to
accept HIS free gift of salvation, and some will reject Christ and HIS free
gift of salvation. But if we claim to love God, we should love our neighbors,
who are as sinful as we are, if not lesser (Leviticus 19: 18; Matthew 22:
36-40).
If Christians do not love their fellow
sinners, they cannot be Christlike, let alone be radical. Failure to love
fellow sinners is a violation of all God’s commands (cf. Matthew 22: 40).
Since our self-righteousness is
the greatest enemy to love sinners, we ought to plead fervently with Christ to enable
us to be humble in our innermost being. We need to intentionally be humble in
our thoughts, words and deeds. May the good Lord bless those who fervently pray
for Christlike humility in their lives. A humble Christian is a Christlike
radical. Amen.
Postscript: My
next blog will be on 1 Corinthians 5: 11, which could be used by some
Christians to detach from sinners. Is this a univocal teaching? How do we
understand and practice this verse? May the good Lord guide and bless our
thoughts as we strive to understand HIS will for our lives.
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