Jesus Came to Call Sinners to Repentance

Luke 5:27-32 ESV

“After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And leaving everything, he rose and followed him.

“And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them. And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, ‘Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?’ And Jesus answered them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.’”

“The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds” (Matthew 11:19).

There is a modern idea floating around today that Jesus Christ was someone who hung out with the ungodly, that he was buddies with them, and that they were his friends and close companions. And they use this as an excuse to give themselves permission to blend in with the world and to immerse themselves in their culture and to be companions of those who live ungodly and unholy lives. For they are being encouraged to be more like the world in order to connect with the people of the world, but for what purpose?

For why did Jesus eat with sinners, i.e. with the ungodly? It was to call them to repentance, to turn them from their lives of living in sin and for self to now follow Jesus Christ in obedience to his ways. It was to share with them the message of the gospel of our salvation, but prior to his death and resurrection. But the message was still the same, that God is calling out to those who are walking in sin and he is calling them to leave their lives of sin behind them and to follow him in living holy and godly lives, to his glory.

So, Jesus didn’t immerse himself in the culture of his day. He didn’t just hang out with the ungodly to make buddies with them. And he didn’t become more like them so they would think he was a “cool guy,” or so that they would see him as though he was one of them. And he didn’t try to connect with them on their level so that they would be comfortable with him. He was very purposeful in what he did. And he wasn’t a friend (buddy, close companion) with sinners. He was accused of such, though. 

Sadly, we live in a day and age where in the gatherings of much of what is called “church” here in America, worldliness is being encouraged and godliness is being discouraged and even mocked and looked down upon. Blending in with the culture and making buddies of the ungodly is being encouraged while living holy lives separate (unlike, different) from the world is being looked down upon. So, if we live differently from the ungodly we are frequently now regarded as self-righteous and unloving.

But should we have relationships with the ungodly of this world? Yes! For “separate” does not mean we avoid everyone who is ungodly in the eyes of the Lord. For we are to love the people of the world like Jesus did, and we are to share the gospel with them, and we are to show them the love of Christ by how we treat them, but because we do really care about them, not as some kind of religious exercise or obligation. But we are not to be in fellowship with professing Christians who are still living in sin.

For we are not to be in fellowship with the ungodly, and the ungodly include professing Christians who are still walking in sin. We are not to be partners with them. And we are not to blend in with them and with the culture so that they will feel comfortable with us. We are to be different. We are to be unlike the world. For if the world loves us, and they consider us their own, then what does that say about us? For the world is not supposed to love us or include us as part of them. They should reject us because we are different.

Now, according to the Scriptures, who are the ungodly? They are all those who are living in sin, who make sin their practice, and for whom godliness, holiness, righteousness and obedience to our Lord are not their practice. And the godly are all those who are walking in fellowship with the Lord, who are obeying the Lord in practice, and for whom sin is not their practice. But that doesn’t make them perfect. For it all comes down to what is our practice. Are we living for the Lord or for self, in practice?

So, we are to love all people, including those who are still walking in sin and not in obedience to the Lord. But loving them does not involve becoming like them or joining in with them in their ungodly behaviors. Loving them means caring enough about them to speak the truth in love to them for their salvation from sin, even if it means being hated and rejected by them in return. But this doesn’t mean being snooty or acting as though we have never done wrong. It means being humble and honest, too.

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer 

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897

Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,

This is my constant longing and prayer;

Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,

Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,

Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,

Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,

Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,

Holy and harmless, patient and brave;

Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,

Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,

Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;

Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,

Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,

Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg 

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