“…That night Levi invited Jesus and
his disciples to be his dinner guests, along with his fellow tax collectors and
many other notorious sinners. (There were many people of this kind among the
crowds that followed Jesus.)
But when some of the teachers of religious
law who were Pharisees saw him eating with people like that, they said to his
disciples, "Why does he eat with such scum?"
When
Jesus heard this, he told them, "Healthy people don't need a doctor—sick
people do. I have come to call sinners, not those who think they are already
good enough…" Mar 2:15-17 (NLT)
We
were not really told how notorious these sinners whom Jesus sat with and even
ate with were, but in our present day, they would have probably been well-known
criminals, prostitutes, and all categories of condemned and confirmed wicked
people; but they knew they needed help and knew Jesus could help them… If Jesus
never rejected and never rejects anyone, it would be a display of a non
Christ-like nature to reject anyone just because one thinks they are not holy
enough and not fit for God’s kingdom, no matter whom the people are or what
their physical appearances look like… These notorious sinners came to Jesus
just as they were but you can be sure Jesus didn’t let them return back the way
they were; except by their own will and choice…
Christ’s
gospel of love and peace can never be preached by condemnation and accusations…
The ministry of Jesus was never to the perfect, whole and self-righteous
people, but rather to the lost and help-seekers who acknowledged their need of
Him… Jesus’ teachings and His Apostles’ were never teachings of condemnation,
but rather of conviction through the word and love of God; He would often speak
of how loving His Father is, God’s plans for His children, how lovely heaven would
be, and what it takes to get there; but would hardly tell his followers some
horrifying tales of hell and how tormenting it would be if they refuse to
believe and obey Him; which would sound more like a threat than a teaching… Jesus
was not teaching them to love, trust and obey God because they are afraid of
going to hell, but because God is their loving Father whose nature is love and who
wants everyone to be like Him and to be with Him … He never introduced himself
as a taskmaster, but as a true friend…
And
you’d also find that many who condemn others the most, who are busy looking for
specks in the eyes of others, have salient, yet unidentified logs lurking in
their own eyes… Such people can hardly discover the areas of their own lives
where they are falling short of God’s glory, because they are rather busy
scrutinizing and analyzing the lives of others…
In
truth, there is no much difference between the one who is not righteous at all,
and the one who believes his righteousness is by his own self and by his own
works, and not by the free grace of Christ Jesus… Just as Jesus kept reminding
the Pharisees and teachers of the law in His days, who could not cast a stone
on the woman caught in adultery, because their self hypocritical righteousness
could not help in that case…
Jesus
would often say to the sinner, ‘Come to me all ye that labour…and I will give
you rest’; then He would say ‘Go and sin no more…’ Love was always the bedrock
of all His words, actions, and instructions; never condemnation nor judgments;
In His eyes, no one is a worse sinner than the other… The thief or adulterer is
as much a sinner as the unforgiving and resentful… All were sinners and all
needed to be forgiven and empowered to go and sin no more… Jesus extended
nothing else but a hand of fellowship and love to everyone who is willing to
follow Him, and even the worst sinner who came to Him, including His own very
betrayer, Judas Iscariot…
God
is love and Jesus came to teach and to show us how we can have that nature of
God and express it like He does, not only to the righteous but also to the
unrighteous; just as He causes the rain to fall for all, whether saint or
sinner…
Next
time you think of condemning anyone; first think about who you were before
Jesus saved you, and also ask yourself if you are really better than that
person you are about to condemn… Never forget, God does not see as men see,
neither does He judge as men judge… That physically and naturally speaking most
unrighteous person may not be far from who you really are too, and may just be
God’s vessel in-the-works, going through a remolding and re-shaping process in
God’s hands; just like Saul the renowned Church persecutor and terrorist, who
became Paul the Apostle, the renowned teacher and preacher of the gospel of
Jesus Christ whose Spirit-inspired writings cannot
be done without in any true Church of Christ… Same manner, the thief who was
crucified beside Jesus, who believed and obtained forgiveness at the point of
death, has a surer hope of making heaven than any of those self-righteous
teachers and keepers of the law who were rather full of doubts, resentments,
un-forgiveness, and always quick at judging and condemning others…
The
gospel of condemnation never really produces a lasting positive change in lives;
rather it produces a quest for self-righteousness, both a critical and a
hypocritical lifestyle, adherence to religious practices, legalism; or in some
cases self-condemnation and low self-esteem, which was never God’s idea of
saving a dying or lost soul, neither is it the purpose of redemption… The saving
gospel of Christ focuses more on preaching what Jesus has done, than on what
you have to do… Christianity is not a form of religion which keeps focusing on
what you have to do to save yourself, but rather declares more of what Jesus
has done to save you and why you should receive the free gifts and inheritances
which He has obtained for you from the Father as you aim towards perfection…
God
hardly takes away all natural weaknesses from a person once he has been saved;
therefore no one would claim being perfect, without any weakness, and then
having the right to condemn others… God often leaves traces of one’s weaknesses
as a reminder of where He took one from and what one would have been without
His help, and therefore to have the same patience with others rather than condemning
them…
Again,
the work of conviction and conversion is not accomplished physically or
naturally by anyone; it is only by the exclusive, supernatural and graceful
work of God’s Holy Spirit, a Spirit of love, which never works better or faster
in an atmosphere of condemnation or fear…
Never
underestimate God’s ability and power to transform any life in a rather strange
and supernatural way; never condemn or judge anyone, when even God Whom alone
has that right hardly does… There is a world of difference between correction
and condemnation; discipline and judgment…
However,
in all, ‘wisdom is profitable to direct’, God’s Word remains the sole standard
for every true believer’s life, and attainment of the lifestyle of Christ
remains the ultimate aim of every true Christian…
“…For
God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world
through him might be saved…” John 3:17
“…Judge
not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned:
forgive, and ye shall be forgiven…” Luk. 6:37
Condemnations,
accusations and rejections are never the ways of conversion or the way to salvation!
Nice
Day Friends!
#GodIsStillInCharge
#GodIsStillInCharge
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