“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring glory to God.” (Romans 15:7)
One thing that stood out about Jesus was that He practiced radical acceptance. He accepted all who came to Him. There wasn’t anyone He wouldn’t break bread with. Which often got Him in trouble with the religious authorities.
One of the harshest criticisms leveled against Jesus by His enemies was that He was the “friend of sinners”.
In Luke 7:33-34 Jesus acknowledged what others were saying about Him:
“For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ {34} The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ ”
What Jesus’ enemies didn’t understand was that this was actually a high compliment! It was also the heart of His mission as Savior.
He said,
“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10)
When they accused Him of spending too much time hanging around “lost” people, Jesus would say:
“It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:17)
Paul would later remark to Timothy:
“This is a trustworthy saying, worthy of full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst.” (1 Timothy 1:15)
Wherever there were lost, hurting, or broken people, that’s where you would find Jesus. He never let the opinions of others prevent Him from dining with tax collectors or talking with a Samaritan woman at a well or hugging a leper. He welcomed all who came to Him no matter how messy their lives were.
This is not to say that Jesus overlooked their sin. Far from it!
When a woman who was caught in the act of adultery was brought to Him, Jesus responded to her with compassion and acceptance. He also commanded her to repent. He said, “Neither do I condemn you; go your way and sin no more” (John 8:11).
Somehow we have gotten it into our heads that we cannot be compassionate and holy. Somehow we have come to believe that standing up for Christian values means we must treat those who reject those values with contempt.
That is a false dichotomy.
Jesus loved sinners and was tough on sin.
I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that this world is full of people who are lost and hurting and broken. Their thinking is distorted. Their lives are messy. Their value system is upside down. Their hearts have been captured by the allure of sin.
It’s a mess.
But, like Jesus, we are going to have to wade into the mud and muck of their lives and embrace them if we are to offer any hope of rescue.
Acceptance is not the same as tolerance.
Acceptance doesn’t mean we change our thinking and our values to match theirs.
Rather, accepting people as Jesus accepted people means that we take them “as they are, where they are” and love them. Then we try and help them climb out of the muck.
Jesus was the friend of sinners. He ate with them, spent time with them, and loved them. Jesus loved sinners so much that He died for them.
If we — God’s people — are to make any difference in this world, we must become more like Him.
As someone once said: “The church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints.”