Gently Saving Sinners (BTW...Newsflash...Big Boat...All Of Us On It!)

Hey, Y'all,

Heard back from several of you describing how the last post was useful and reassuring and discussion-generating. All I can say is, God is good (and I just work here). :-)

One of our readers wrote back to say that we must "be careful to how you choose to interpret that scripture. It does not mean becoming a thief to witness to a thief or a prostitute to witness to one. Under no circumstances should the law be broken and Christ's example not followed...Instead we should tell them their error and point them in the right direction."

I wholeheartedly agree (thanks Art M. for bringing up this point), but the thought that immediately came to mind is the fact that we're all likely much better at behaving like the legalists/religious leaders than we are at emulating Christ's example of gentle acceptance of the person in conjunction with steady guidance away from the destructive behavior/sin.

A passage that comes to mind is found in 1 Peter 3 where Peter is giving general counsel on relationships of all types--submitting to and being considerate of one another, and being sympathetic and compassionate and humble, but the punch line for me comes in verse 15 where he says, "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect..."

Reminded me of something else I read that contained a scriptural reference that teaches a healthy perspective--don't know the original source (though I suspect it was John Fischer from PurposeDrivenLife.com)...

“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst” 1 Timothy 1:15. When Paul says this, he puts himself in a position to get next to anyone. You can greet all of humanity with open arms from the perspective of knowing intimately and honestly your own sin and failure. “Over there are the sinners of the world for whom Christ died…and, hey, that's my group!”

A recovering alcoholic is still an alcoholic: he's just recovering from alcohol's influence over him in the company of others willing to do the same thing, so they can all be an encouragement to each other and be accountable for their actions. THAT's what church ought to be about, and if it's not then we need to reevaluate our behavior and our raison d'etre (we've all heard the one about church being less of a museum for shiny saints and more of a hospital for sick sinners--how true is this in reality?).

That's the thing that's appealing (and successful) about support and recovery groups: they are fundamentally about honesty and openness and acceptance, and I'd wager that we are all in dire need of more of those characteristics in our churches. Alcoholics in AA are simply people admitting that they have ruined their lives (to one extent or another) and are ruining the lives of their loved ones as well, and there they find themselves among others who understand everything about that and call them "friend."

Shouldn't my church be at least that? Shouldn't yours?

You've been prayed for today...