Jesus, Doctor of Sinners

(This is another repost from August 23, 2008, originally published under the title: Jesus Came to Save Sinners [go to the link to see previous comments])

As I read through Luke, a chapter a day, I pray to the Holy Spirit that He would teach me to understand it rightly. I have been noticing that there is a common theme throughout the gospel of Luke, there is a certain emphasis, it seems. Luke makes it clear that Jesus came to seek and to save sinners. The parable of the Lost Sheep, the parable of the Prodigal Son, the Good Samaritan, the Rich Young Ruler, all these stories and much more emphasize that people are sinners who are lost and need the right Shepherd to come and find them. Consider Zacchaeus from Luke 19:1-10 ESV:

"He [Jesus] entered Jericho and was passing through." [I remember another famous story about a sinner saved in Jericho, her name was Rahab the prostitute.] "And there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich." [Of course, being a tax collector in those days was as low as scum, but Zac was a chief tax collector and was rich.] "And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small of stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way." [It is interesting how lowly sinful people were drawn to Jesus in the gospels.] "And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today." [Zacchaeus only wanted to see Jesus pass by, but Jesus wants to see Zacchaeus face to face. The Lord said he must stay at Zac's house. Wonder why?] "So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, "He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner." [Zacchaeus received Jesus with joy. It makes me wonder that there are people who say they are Christians, but do not react with joy when receiving Jesus. Desperate sinners always find joy in the one and only Savior of sinners. On the other hand, the others could not equate themselves as low as this vile sinner, and so they had no lasting joy in the Lord.] "And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold." [Zacchaeus was not ashamed to stand before the Lord and call Him "Lord." He acknowledged Jesus as his Lord, Master, King, God, Judge. 'Lord' means Jesus rules over my life. I belong to Him and submit myself to His rule and judgment. He must be our Lord if he is to be our Savior. This shows that Zacchaeus repented. Jesus had taught in Luke 13 that unless we repent, we will perish (Luke 13:2-3). Zacchaeus showed his repentant heart by what he did. Money was no longer his treasure - Jesus was.] "And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham." [Salvation came to Zacchaeus, Zacchaeus did not come to salvation - it was Jesus who came to his house. Jesus called him a son of Abraham, which meant he belonged to Jesus, was an heir of the promise, a believer (see Galatians 3:29).] "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." [Jesus, the Son of Man (God became a man - John 1:14), came to seek and to save the lost. Abraham's children are lost sinners, and here we see a wonderful example of the Savior seeking those He came to Save. Jesus said in John 10:28, "I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand." Romans 5:8 says, "but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."]

As I read through Luke, it strikes me how much this theme is carried through. That Jesus saves sinners. What a hopeful message to wretches (such as myself)! It is the lost children of Abraham, who are lost sinners, whom Jesus came to save. We must repent when we receive Jesus with joy. Repentance is a positive two-fold action granted to us by the Holy Spirit. When we repent, we turn from treasuring sin to treasuring Christ (like Zacchaeus when he heartily gave away his riches, because he had a better inheritance in the Savior). Faith always sees more value in Christ than in the fleeting and damning pleasures of sin. As I walk with my Lord and Savior, my prayer is continually, "Lord, turn me from my sin, cause me to do what you command." I know that anything wrong I do is from my own evil heart, but anything good is a gift granted by my Lord, who came to save sinners - even the worst of them (1 Timothy 1:15). It always amazes me... Jesus came to seek and save the lost... and He never fails!

All I can say is, what grace! What a Savior! Can you relate?

They Speak Peace While Evil is in Their Hearts

I am reposting this meditation on Psalm 28 today, because I've been thinking about God's grace toward sinners like myself. Please read it and let me know what you think. Grace and peace - Penn.

"Do not drag me off with the wicked,

with the workers of evil,

who speak peace with their neghbors

while evil is in their hearts." (Psalm 28:3 ESV).

In this Psalm, David is pleading for mercy from the LORD so that he will not end up "like those who go down to the pit" (Ps. 28:1). I was once one of those people who was sinking down, and like David, I can remember taking long walks and praying for help, "Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy, when I cry for help, when I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary." (Ps. 28:2).

After writing his pleas for mercy from God, David then says such revealing things about sinful people:

"Do not drag me off with the wicked, with the workers of evil, who speak peace with their neighbors while evil is in their hearts. Give to them according to the work of their hands; render them their due reward. Because they do not regard the works of the LORD or the work of his hands, he will tear them down and build them no more." (Ps. 28:3-5).

That is a scary passage! "Because they do not regard the works of the LORD... he will tear them down..." And yet, David himself is pleading not to go down with them, which means that David himself knew he had sinned. Nevertheless, the fate of all who trust in their own works to save them and do not seek mercy by the grace of God, is perfectly described in this Psalm. He says they "speak peace with their neighbors while evil is in their hearts." They say a lot of good words, but they really hate the people they are talking to (or at least despise them in many ways). I think it is also like they talk as if nothing bad will happen to them, even though their hearts are full of sin. They think God will not punish them, or that somehow they will not get what perhaps others deserve, so they imagine peace for themselves and those around them. How many times and in how many ways have we done this? How have we spoken "peace" to someone when in our hearts we did not mean it?

Then David prays this, "Give to them according to their work and according to the evil of their deeds; give to them according to the work of their hands; render them their due reward." (Ps. 28:4). That is what the wages of sin is all about... getting what we deserve (Romans 6:23). If we think that our works can do us any good, when our hearts are so far from loving God fully in them all, then the end result is debt. And in this case the debt being paid to them is one of justice and punishment for their manipulative and scheming works while they pretended peace.

Grace is not in the picture for these folks, since grace is God's work, and it says "they do not regard the works of the LORD" (Ps. 28:5). They trusted in their plans, in their ways, in their manipulation of the people around them, but they did not regard God's works. God is a God of truth, as well as mercy and grace. God the Father sent God the Son, Jesus Christ, into the world full of grace and truth, so that all who humble themselves in repentance and trust in Him who died and rose will be forgiven completely (John 1:14; Acts 10:39-43; 11:18; Hebrews 7:25). I used to be a young man, like so many others, who acknowledged what Jesus had done for me, and even claimed I trusted Him as my personal Savior, but I did not have regard for the works of the LORD. I regarded myself, my ways, my wants, my... my... my whatever.

Then God brought me to the end. And like David, I can now say, "Blessed be the LORD! for he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy. The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him." (Ps. 28:6-7). Notice that David speaks of "the LORD" as the one who is "blessed" and "the LORD is my strength", and how He has heard... He helps those who trust... my heart exults and sings thanks to Him. When works are at the center of religion, it is all about us, but when it is grace that reigns, we see it is all about Him who alone can save with mercy. Then we also say, "Blessed be the LORD!"

Of course, no Psalm ends without a message about the Messiah. All the Bible is Christ centered, and here we find a wonderful reference to the "anointed" (Christ in Greek), and to the fact that the LORD is the "Shepherd" of his people, which means that Jesus is God in the flesh (John 10:11). These Old Testament references to Christ always amaze me!

"The LORD is the strength of his people;

he is the saving refuge of his anointed.

Oh, save your people and bless your heritage!

Be their shepherd and carry them forever." (Psalm 28:8-9).

Hell and Grace

One of the essential truths that must be understood by all grace believers, is hell. Hell is the place of punishment for all who suffer the righteous judgment of God without forgiveness of their sins. Grace is God's free and undeserved favor toward some, sparing them from His wrath in hell by setting forward Jesus Christ as a propitiation instead. Without hell, grace would not be amazing, it would not even be necessary. But grace is necessary, because hell is real.

"And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matthew 10:28 ESV).

"For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority." (2 Peter 2:4-10 ESV).

Understanding hell is important, because it has to do with the righteous judgment of God, which is what makes salvation necessary. So it had significant meaning when Paul wrote: "among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved..." (Ephesians 2:3-5). Grace is amazing, because the justice of God is terrible. For all who have truly repented and have cast themselves completely on the mercy of God in Christ Jesus, the judgment and wrath they deserved has already been poured out upon the Lord on the cross.

"But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him." (Hebrews 9:26-28 ESV).

May our praise of God be a combination of both healthy fear and joy with thankfulness. And let all saints who fear Him continually praise the Lord for His steadfast love and grace!