Love and Truth (Pt 2)

The church I am currently serving has said that they desire to be a welcoming, passionate body that shows compassion and a non-judgmental spirit in the context of truth. That statement grows out of the idea that love and truth must be held together. But is it really right for a church to say that we want to show compassion and a non-judgmental spirit? Don’t we live in a sinful world? Aren’t we surrounded by evil? Shouldn’t we call sin what it is?

Certainly sin is sin. We never want to compromise truth. But in calling out sin we sometimes confuse sin with the sinner. John 3:16 says that God loved the world so much that he gave his only son. Notice that it doesn’t say that God loved the world so much that he pointed out all their sin. Coming to God is not a call to change your life or clean up your act. That is something only God can do. His call is a free invitation. “The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price” (Rev 22:17). That statement grows out of Isaiah 55:1,

Come, everyone who thirsts,

come to the waters;

and he who has no money,

 come, buy and eat!

Come, buy wine and milk

without money and without price.

The call to follow God is a free invitation without condemnation. In John 4 Jesus traveled through Samaria. That was a region all Jews avoided, but Jesus traveled through it. When he met a woman at a well in the town of Sychar he entered into conversation with her. He asked her for a drink of water. He knew what kind of woman she was. He knew that she had previously had five different husbands, and that she was now living with a man unmarried (Jn 4:18). He didn’t accuse her, or scold her. He didn’t tell her that she needed to get married or move out. What he did was offer her the free gift of living water. In John 8 Jesus said to the woman caught in the act of adultery, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more” (Jn 8:11). Jesus didn’t need to tell these people what they were doing wrong. They knew they were broken. They knew they were unclean. In a loving, non-judgmental voice he offered them real life.

In Luke 7, a woman described as a sinner anointed Jesus feet at a dinner party. The good, religious host thought to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner” (Lk 7:39). Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven. . . . Your faith has saved you” (Lk 7:48-50). It seems to me that God is often more ready to accept and forgive than we are. In Luke 19, Zacchaeus is described as chief among the tax collectors and rich, implying that he had taken advantage of his fellow Jews. Jesus said to Zacchaeus, “I must stay at your house today” (Lk 19:5). Jesus was surrounded by people who would love to put him up for the night. He was followed by “good” Jews, but he chose to stay with a sinner.

I think that we sometimes forget that Jesus said, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Mk 2:17). Too often our approach has been that we don’t talk to “sinners.” We avoid spending time with those who might be a bad influence. We don’t go into their houses. We don’t sit and eat with them. We don’t associate with “bad” people. And when they come to church we don’t get too close. After all, doesn’t the Bible say, “Bad company ruins good morals” (1 Cor 15:33)? Yes it does, but it also says that God loves the World and that Jesus came to save sinners. It is one thing to make those who are opposed to God into our closest friends. It is quite another thing to reject those who know they are sinners.

When people come into church our first approach must be to embrace them, not avoid them. It is the job of the Holy Spirit to bring conviction. It is our job to share the love and truth of Christ. When we take on the responsibility of the Holy Spirit we often do great damage. It is our job to simply offer the invitation. “Let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price” (Rev 22:17). May we learn to show compassion and a non-judgmental spirit in the context of truth.