WHAT ABOUT BEING FRIENDS WITH SINNERS
Matthew 9:10 -11 "And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?"
The Pharisees were a religious sect with strict moral codes based on the laws of Moses; they thought it improper for a renowned prophet or priest from God to eat with members of the public or sinners to avoid being corrupted.
Jesus' approach to this was quite the opposite, He was a people's person and discouraged any form of segregation among His followers :He loves sinners and came to save and not condemn them . He was the embodiment of love which does not segregate, therefore, His reply to His critics was succinct and revealed His purpose for having dinner with sinners, Matthew 9:12-13 says "But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." He stated clearly that the world has a sin disease and He is the cure. He employed a friendly approach towards solving this problem. Jesus hates sin but loves sinners.
There are two extremes that exists in the church with respect to our relationship with non christian. These extremes are counter productive in bringing souls into having a relationship with Jesus. The first, is that taught by the so-called' holiness ' movement , this teaching says the sinner should be avoided as much as possible but to be contacted only for the purpose of seeking for church membership. Therefore, a Christian should not be seen eating, living with, a person who isn't part of the 'holiness' group for the fear of losing their righteousness . This may seem wise at first glance but is unbiblical , grossly hypocritical and cannot make a person more or less holy (Col.2:19-23). Members of these sects have jobs in companies owned by non Christians, attend schools taught by non-Christians or sinners, eat foods grown by non -Christians .
The only way to avoid interactions from non-Christians is by relocating to another planet . The scriptures says in 1cor 5:9-10 "I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world." .it is impossible to separate oneself from sinners .
The second extreme to be avoided is that of being emotionally involved with a non-believer in Christ with the hope that by so doing, they will make a commitment to serve the lord.In the first place there is no sincerity in such a relationship and any relationship built on falsehood can't withstand the temptations and trials that accompanies the Christian faith.Persons engaged in this practice often carry around emotional baggage and struggle with sin. They are opportunistic and selfish, Isa 26:10.GNT says "Even though you are kind to the wicked,they never learn to do what is right.Even here in a land of righteous peoplethey still do wrong;" .
. We cannot achieve a righteous goal through unrighteousness. Playing with a person's emotion only leads to bitterness and a sense of betrayal. We lose friends by this method of soul winning. A lot of Christians have found themselves indulging in shameful acts with dare consequences through this mode of preaching the gospel . The scriptures says in 1cor 10:12 "Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." This is also an abuse of the liberty we have in Christ, we are warned in 1cor 8:9 "But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumbling-block to them that are weak." Such emotional entanglement are a distraction to the new believer in the pursuit of a wholesome relationship in Christ. This is not to say that a healthy relationship cannot be derived from a person one led to Christ. Our purpose has to be right.
We are to have a peaceful relationship with all men as long as they are willing to dwell in peace with us, Christians and non-Christians can peacefully coexist ( Rom 12:18). We are instructed to pray for the peace of the community or nation we find ourselves in (Jer 29:7) regardless of who is at the helm of affairs, we owe our leaders prayers on a daily bases ( 1Tim2:1-2). You can't be praying for a leader and at the same time cursing him or her .However ,whatever relationship we find ourselves in requires divine wisdom to avoid people taking undue advantage of us (Col. 4:5) .
It is important that we identify with the sinner's weaknesses while seeking to bring home the gospel which is our primary focus. We shouldn’t belittle them in anyway remembering we were once like them. This may require celebrating their culture while seeking for common grounds from were the bases for teaching the gospel could be established (1cor 9:19-22). This shouldn't be seen as an attempt to be a man -pleaser ( Gal.1:10 ) but seeking for an opportunity to witness the gospel without compromising , the scriptures says in Luke 6: 26" Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! " it is the desire to be socially correct that has led to many becoming false teachers. We should never be ashamed to speak the truth of the gospel (Romans 1:16) and shouldn't be afraid of being rejected by non - Christians ; some will hate you for your stand for the truth ( 1Pe 4:4) but in the end you'll emerge victorious.
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