The Only Way You Have a Chance in the Kingdom of God

Jesus Christ was the friend and defender of sinners…If you are not part of the class called “sinner,” then you are out of favor with God…For only sinners have a chance in the kingdom of God…A Pharisee does not view himself as a sinner, though he is guilty of the greatest of all sins, the sin of pride, self-righteousness and judgmentalism…If you get in touch with your humanity, you will make an important discovery: You are just as fallen as everyone else and just as undeserving of God’s mercy as everyone else…Therefore, the next time you feel condemnation over your past, please remember this one thing: The first person to lay eyes upon the resurrected Lord was a former prostitute…You have a Lord who wishes to cherish you. Neither your fallen nature nor your sins are an obstacle for Him.

-Frank Viola (@frankviola), From Eternity to Here

For far too long, the gospel that has been preached has been sin-focused rather than love-focused. But, if you notice, Jesus didn’t really bring up sin very much when He was with “sinners,” meaning the people that already knew they were fallen.  The times that he talks about human actions is when He’s talking to those that think they are not sinners.  This is exactly what we see in the story of Mary of Magdela and Simon the Pharisee (Luke 7:36-50).  Jesus never rebukes Mary (the “sinner”), but He DOES rebuke Simon (the “nonsinner”).  Why?  In Simon’s mind and heart there were two classes of humans; and he was part of the better class. He was guilty of the sin of pride.  The truth is, there is only one class…sinner.  Until a human is self-aware enough to realize that, the kingdom is not available.

Jesus’ interaction with Mary was not sin-focused.  It’s a story about His love for her and her willingness to receive His love and return it back to Him.  Getting involved in that exchange is what led to her salvation and healing. The Lord knows that only his divine love and life sets us free, so He’s not looking to rebuke.  He’s looking for you to receive His available love.  It hurts Him way more when you reject it than when you sin because He knows He’s Living Water and He is the Bread of Life, what you need to be truly alive.

Her story is all of ours.  There is only one class of human.  No matter how sin manifests itself, we are all sinners.  Until  a human realizes that, they sense no need for the love of God.  They are desensitized and they will not get into a love affair with the Lord.

Your turn…what do you have to add?  Questions? Learn anything new?

*The first post for this book is here.  The next post is here.