[409 words]
What if the marquee on the church sign read, “Sinners are Welcome.” What type of response would that bring? There is no doubt that there would be some who would criticize such an invitation. The church that offered such a summons would undoubtedly come under scrutiny by those who think our church houses should be purged from all who live ungodly lives. Is it any wonder that our invitations to worship go untaken and unsaved people avoid the church like the plague? If we take on and practice this Pharisaical philosophy, we will for sure someday come under the judgment of the Righteous Judge.
As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are to follow in His footsteps and walk the way He walked (1 Pet. 2:21). Jesus went to the house of Levi the tax collector for a feast, sitting with a sinful and rowdy crowd. He was accused by the religious elite of associating with the ungodly lot and participating in their revelry. But He responded, “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” (Luke 5:31–32). In Matthew 11, Jesus responded to being rejected by His own people and being accused of gluttony, drunkenness, and being the friend of sinners. At the conclusion of the chapter He offered prayer and a wonderful invitation saying, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matt. 11:28–30).
If we are going to fulfill the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19-20; Mark 16:15-16) to go and make disciples of Jesus, then we must get our noses out of the air, get down off our religious high-horses and share the love of God that is only accessible through Jesus Christ. Folks have got to hear that we, like all people, have “sinned and fallen short of the glory of God but have been justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ” (Rom. 3:23-24). As the church of Jesus Christ, we must stop pushing the sinner away and open our arms with the invitation from the old hymn, “Come Sinner Come!”
Jay Launius
Maud church of Christ
Maud, TX