Jeremy Jernigan – Executive Pastor of Creative Arts
This weekend, we explored another prophetically themed passage in Luke, one where Jesus demonstrates that part of his role as a prophet is changing the way we view people. In Luke 7:36-50, we saw that an uncomfortably intimate encounter between Jesus and a prostitute served as a lesson for a religious leader that a love for others comes from the realization of what God has done for you. As we wrestle through some of the same judgments and labels that Simon does in this story, we realize that we have a long way to go before we see people the way Jesus sees them.
Here are the quotes that were used:
“Overcome by emotion, she washed Jesus’ feet with her own tears and dried them with her own hair before anointing his feet with expensive perfume. Taking one’s hair down in public was about as socially acceptable in their society as a woman taking off her shirt and drying off someone’s feet with nothing but her bra on would be in ours.” Michael Burns
“When God cannot get religious leaders to appreciate Christ, He will get harlots to do so.” Dr. H.C. Woodring
“From childhood, humans are adept in sorting people according to purported disgust properties. The odd, lonely, and weak on the playground become the ‘smelly,’ the ‘creepy,’ and the ‘disgusting.’” Richard Beck, Unclean
“The longer an Internet discussion goes on, the probability of a Hitler or Nazi reference approaches 100%” – Godwin’s law
The danger for people who have known Jesus for a long time is that typically, the longer you’ve been a Christian, the harder it is to keep a perspective of what God has done for you. In order to remind us, however, God puts people in our lives that are difficult to love with the challenge that every person that you struggle to love is a reminder for you to examine what God has done for you. Ultimately, once we’ve embraced what God has done for us, it should cause us to look for ways to show love to those around us.
Also, for a fun extra, here is Nick Pitera (the guy singing in the video I showed) doing three parts from Phantom of the Opera. Enjoy!
Okay, I have a question about this weekend’s topic. I’m seriously confused by the viewpoints that are out there nowadays. I’ve heard both extremes. One view says that we should totally shun those who live immoral lifestyles. The other view says that we should love people with immoral lifestyles and that includes accepting what they do and supporting it. “Jesus loves everyone” becomes a blanket statement of acceptance of the sinner and the sin.
Isn’t it somewhere in the middle? Like, reject the sin itself but embrace the person as a real life living person? I have a lot of friends who aren’t Christian that live lifestyles I don’t agree with because they violate Scripture and God’s best for our lives. Others are from wildly different faiths and belief systems. I don’t openly condemn either group, but treat them as I would a Christian brother or sister, friending them and spending time with them, but also sharing what God has done in my life and not getting involved in the things that go against the grain of my faith.
Which of those 3 views is correct? It’s confusing because the first two seem to go against what Scripture says, but both seem to be very common nowadays and widely accepted in Christian circles. I feel kind of floating in between the two, somewhere in the middle as I explained above. I’d love some further explanation of this weekend’s message. Thanks!
Thanks for the question Alicia. I’m reminded of 1 Corinthians 5:9-13:
“I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people. What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.”
Basically, we are to show love to all people, but show discernment in the way that other believers live out their faith. We are not called to judge people who do not consider themselves believers, as Paul mentions in this passage.
“Hate the sin, love the sinner” sounds great, but it isn’t biblical. Like I talked about in the message, we are all sinners capable of good choices or poor choices. We must always strive to show love and grace the way that Jesus did.
Maybe I am misunderstanding what you’re trying to say with saying that hate the sin, love the sinner isn’t Biblical. I tend to disagree. If God didn’t hate sin, then there would be no need for a Savior. But God is holy and because of His holy nature, He hates sin { one example is in Isiah 61:8, another in Acts with Annais and Saphira }. But He’s also a loving God and sent Jesus to take our punishment { John 3:16 and a whole lot of other verses }. The cross is the one place where God’s wrath and God’s love were poured out at the same time.
My point is that there is no verse that says it that way to begin with. Second, how do we as humans, who do not have the perfect judgment of God, separate the sin from the sinner and know how to properly show both to a person? When we try and do this we often end up treating a person with a label, as was discussed in the message. I believe Christians need to spend more of our time hating our own sin and less time trying to point it out (and show hatred to it) in others.
Certainly, this encounter with Jesus, and Luke’s inspired writing of the event, can be viewed from different perspectives. It raises some thought provoking questions and life applications like the one Alicia raises. For example, desperate times call for desperate measures. The woman wasn’t on the VIP list to Pharisee Simon’s party, but she bolted into the gathering anyway…yes, the woman who had sinned the most, brought the most, and showed the most hospitality, not to mention her love toward Jesus. In addition to what Simon failed to do for Jesus that was culturally correct, Jesus saw what Simon couldn’t–her heart, and therefore said very powerfully, “Your sins are forgiven”–not on the basis of her actions, but because of her faith in Christ. Jeremy, I was intrigued by your reference to Gandhi’s letter to Hitler in 1939, and one source indicates his appeal “to the one person in the world who can prevent a war which may reduce humanity to a savage state” never reached Hitler. If this is a fact, how similar to the many who have never heard of God’s appeal through the gospel…it’s never reached them. Finally, it’s ironic that the phrase, “Hate the sin; love the sinner” is attributed to Gandhi!
That’s interesting, thanks Joe!
Jeremy, I totally dug the message this week. The thing which totally gets me is the thought that Christ’s ministry began with the marginalized of society (the rural Jews) and ended up with the extremely marginalized people of society (in Matthew, followers of Christ are sent to bring the good news to all nations (Gentiles ewwww)). Christ interacted and loved the people whom he miinistered to and they were some of the most broken people in the society. We, as followers of Christ (the key word is follower), are inhibited in following Christ when we affix to predetermined societal generated labels which are placed upon a people group. Christ did not let this hinder Him so, while it is difficult, we should strive to be like Christ and not let it hinder us. Thanks for the message.
Thanks Mike!
I *think* I get what you’re saying, Jeremy, but it’s taking a little bit of time to digest and full understand. I think that I may be receiving what you’re saying differently than what you’re intending and I’m trying to decipher and understand it.
I think that what I’m trying to say too, is maybe not coming through as clearly as it’s intended. If I truly love someone, how can I not hate what destroys their life and puts a barrier between them and God? It’s not a personal hate of them personally, as a person, but rather sin’s affect and what it can do to a person’s life.
I think in metaphors a lot. If I were to put this into one, for me, to not hate sin itself { not the person, but the sin that holds the person captive } is like saying, “I don’t care that you have cancer. I love you and not your cancer, so let’s just say that it’s not there.”
Putting labels { the wrong thing to do } would be like saying, “You have cancer. I can’t be friends with you. You’re unclean. Stay away from me.”
I think that love says, “I love you so much and know what cancer’s affect can be and I hate that it’s hurting you. But there is a Great Physician that has a cure and gives it freely to all. He won’t force you to take the cure, but He lovingly gives it to anyone who is willing to accept it.”
In my mind {?}, someone with a cure would say, “I hate that so much because it’s ravaging your life and I’m grieved by it’s affects in your life, but there is a cure and because your life is so valuable to God and to me, let me share it with you.”
Thoughts?
PS: And being the one with the cure, would be like saying, “I once had the same cancer you had. It was leaving me for dead, but I took it and now I’m alive and healed. Do I sometimes slip back into remission? Yes. But it doesn’t consume my life like it once did. There’s no longer a death sentence hanging over my life and I won’t ever die from it again because I have the cure.”
At least that’s the way my overly imaginative mind sees it. ; )
Alicia – I appreciate your pursuit on this one! Let me give another analogy in hopes of better articulating my thoughts. It would be like saying “hate the toppings, but love the pizza.” Obviously that’s a more humorous way of looking at it, but the point is that we don’t have the ability to distinguish the two (like you’d need to pick out a cancer in your analogy). If I take away the toppings, how does that change the pizza?
How do you tell a gay person that you love him but hate that he is gay when he views being gay as his identity? It’s an artificial distinction that isn’t possible without perfect discernment and judgment, which none of us has.
I think it is healthy to hate sin in general, but to try and apply that to a person is where Christians bring hurt and damage to others.
K, now THAT I get! ; )
Haha, I’m a photographer. I think in pictures. I’m so grateful Jesus used parables! ; )