And Jesus answered and said to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous to repentance, but sinners.”
~Luke 5:31-32
“I don’t go to church—it’s full of hypocrites.” You’ve likely heard this statement (or something similar) before. Maybe it was in response to a church invitation you made to a fellow gym member. Or perhaps it was a general condemnation of Christianity by a coworker during pre-meeting chit-chat when someone mentioned a church activity they’re involved in. And all too often, this type of assertion is uttered by people proclaiming to be followers of Jesus. Sadly, the source is easy to trace: a denominational leadership or churchgoer at some point in their past wounded them so deeply that the thought of “church” brings only distaste or even profound pain.
See, it’s way too prevalent for U.S. churches today to require those walking in the door to be perfectly buttoned up—at least on the outside. Prerequisites for acceptance include appropriate dress, talking the Christianese talk, and certainly making an almost pharisaical show of not drinking, cussing, or watching R-rated movies. Looking like a sinner, acting like a sinner, or even having the appearance of a pigsty-living past can result in quiet (or not-so-quiet) shunning or dismissal from “the family” of some churches. Hence, there are men or women who came to accept the saving grace of Jesus, and—being miraculously transformed from death to life—went running to the nearest church (as they should). But instead of a welcoming embrace, the door was proverbially slammed in their face.
This response, however, is completely antithetical to what Jesus taught during His earthly ministry. Throughout Luke’s gospel, for example, the Lord repeatedly admonishes the Pharisees (church people) about this very issue. In His hometown of Nazareth, Jesus proclaimed His purpose by reading from Isaiah, that He has come to release captives, give sight to the blind, and free the oppressed (Luke 4:16-22). But when the church people heard this, they “were filled with rage” and then tried to throw Jesus off a cliff. And when Jesus called Matthew—a tax collector—to follow Him, and went to dine with him and his friends, the Pharisees were aghast that Jesus would socialize with such people. But our gracious Lord responded, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous to repentance, but sinners” (Luke 5:29-32). Similarly, when Zaccheus (a chief tax collector), joyfully received Jesus, the church people again complained that Jesus chose to hang out with “a sinner”. But Jesus replied plainly: “the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:1-10). It’s in Luke 15, though, that Jesus gives the Pharisees a 1-2-3 punch in response to their griping about His pursuing sinners. In quick succession, He tells parables of a lost sheep, a lost coin, and a lost son. Jesus’ bottom line? “There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance” (v7).
Friend, the Church should be an ER for the soul. A place of triage for those wounded and bloodied from the battles of this broken world. See, if you had a deep gash on your head and rushed to the hospital for help, they wouldn’t say, “Go home until you stop bleeding. Then, when you’re all cleaned up, you can come back for our services.” No! They would rush you in and tend to your wound. By the way, that doesn’t mean when you walk out of the hospital doors you’ll never fall down or get banged up again—you will. And you’ll need those nurses and doctors again and again. But in the meantime (as this hospital-to-church analogy deepens), you’re on staff! You are the one with open arms, extending grace, mercy, and healing truth to those entering the doors.
We all were once lost, blind, and broken. But God, through the finished work of Jesus, made a way of gracious healing through faith. What about you? Are you an open-armed grace-giver? Or, now that you’ve been proverbially cleaned up, do you require that of others before welcoming them in?
Lord, may I not only rejoice when one who was lost is found, but also be generous in grace with all who follow You on the walk Home.
encouraged by grace 