How do we love sinners yet hate sin?

Jesus came to call sinners to repentance, not those who think God is impressed with them. Jesus hung out with sinners, even endured being called an alcoholic and glutton, for the sake of the gospel.

How do we also befriend, hang-out with, and engage sinners who sin, without compromising our own godliness? What do we do when we find out the couple we are trying to build a friendship with are swingers? Or the friend from the pilates class, who I invited for a chicken salad, snorts coke? Or the guys from the office circulate who porn?

Jesus’ example in John 8 helps us.

1. Treat sinners with dignity and respect
The woman is caught in adultery. Adultery is grievous to God, even punishable by stoning according to Old Testament law. She deserved to die. Yet Jesus treat her with honour and respect, even calling her “woman”, the same word he called him mother in John 2. Big lesson: Sinners (even bad sinners) are humans, created in the image of God and should be treated as such.

2. Call sin sin
Jesus however did not compromise on the reality of sin. Jesus did not excuse her sin or avoid talking about it. He said to her, “leave your life of sin”, implying that it was a sinful life! We should not be too embarrassed or intimidated to call sin sin. We can be open and honest when asked our opinion or when called to give advise.

3. Remain godly at all times
Jesus was a heterosexual male in his earl 30’s. This woman, presumably half-dressed, caught having sex is put on display in front of him. Yet, Jesus remains godly, full of integrity and self-control. We are called to the same. We need to be discerning as to what were we can participate and when we have to back off and possibly even leave the situation or decline the invite. Compromise our godliness would be selling out, not reaching out.

4. Point sinners to Jesus
The religious leaders actually did quite a good thing for the sinful woman: they bought her to Jesus, the only one who can deal with her sin. Unfortunately, when the leaders’ sin was exposed, they slunk away from the source of forgiveness. Our over-arching aim in being friends with non-Christians is to point and introduce them to Jesus.


5. Call for repentance
Once this woman was introduced to Jesus and forgiven, Jesus commanded her to leave her life of sin. We should expect the same from our friends who came to know Jesus. No longer excuses or justifications for an ongoing lifestyle of habitual sin, but rather a renewed passion for holiness and obedience to the bible.

Outstanding issue
The Old Testament law demanded that the woman be punished by death. How could Jesus simply forgive her and thus break a law of God? Actually, the law was upheld! The woman’s sin was punished by death - Jesus’ death. Jesus died for her sins. Jesus died for your adultery and pride and greed too.

Why re-weddings are good

This weekend a couple in our church who’ve been married forty-one years renewed their marriage vows. The reason was two-fold: forty-one years ago they were married in court and on top of that they were both not Christians. Today she has been converted for many years and has prayed faithfully for her husband. A few months ago he too entered Jesus’ Kingdom.

So they renewed their vows in front of the church and we were all very encouraged. In fact, I think this was the first wedding ceremony that I’ve officiated that I can say that the couple knew exactly what they were doing! The wedding couple have a disabled son and have been through their fair share of hard times. For them to promise to love and care for each other “in prosperity and distress” and “in sickness and in health” was especially meaningful.

We were reminded that the Bible says that marriage is a present, a promise and a picture.

A present: Marriage is a present from God for our joy and good. Marriage is not a human idea created by a theological symposium or brainstorming workshop. Therefore we cannot change or alter it, but must respect and treasure it.

A promise: In our version of the marriage ceremony the couples say “I will”, not “I do” because they are making promises for the future, not simply stating what may be true at the preset.

A picture: Ultimately marriage is a picture of Jesus relationship with his people. Jesus is the best bridegroom who sacrifices all for his bride, the church. The reunion in the future in the new heavens and new earth between Jesus and his people is often referred to as a wedding banquet in the bible.

Eat, drink, and be a missionary

The two typical ways that Christians relate to society is either assimilation or refection.

Assimilation: We blend into our culture so much that no-one can tell that we are Christians! We do not take sin or the bible seriously. Young people having sex, living together and then getting married is the norm and there is no substantial difference between the ruthless, ambitious, workaholic Christian businessman and his non-Christian counterpart. Assimilation is easy, any wimp can do it.

Rejection: We withdraw from non-Christian society and culture with the excuse that we are seeking to be holy. We spend our time fellowship with Christians and Christian braai’s and neglect our non-Christian friends and colleagues. Church becomes a force field against an evil, “what is the world coming to” society. We constantly pray for Jesus to come and rescue us, while smiting the rest of humanity. Rejection too is easy.

God’s way of relating to society is more difficult. God commands us to engage with society (no rejection!), while being the distinctive people of God he has called us to be (no assimilation!). Or like Jesus prayed, we are to be in the world not of the world. Peter wrote, “live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.”

Jeremiah too had this perspective in Jeremiah 29:1-14. He told God’s people in exile in a pagan society to build houses, to get married and take out car insurance. He told them to engage their society, without selling out.

We are all called to this: Engaging our society for Jesus, while being the distinctive people of God. This is why Peter called the Christians he was writing to “exiles/ aliens” (1 Peter 2:11). God has called you to a mission for Jesus. God wants you to connect with your society for Jesus.