How We Treat Sinners

Let’s start with sin.  Sin is wrong.  Sin is always wrong.   Sin is never right.  Sin needs to be uncovered.  Sin needs to be avoided.  Sin needs to be preached about.  Sin needs to be condemned . . . and forcefully . . . and not just by the preacher or elders . . . but by all of God’s people.  But this all relates to sin.  What about the person committing the sin?  What about the sin-ner?  How are we to treat sinners?

Let’s look at how Jesus treated sinners. 

Jesus and Sinners in General

In Matt. 9:10-13, Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house.  Matthew was a tax collector(hated by Jews as they collected taxes from the Jews and gave those taxes to the Roman government).  The Pharisees asked some of Jesus’ disciples why Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners.  Jesus’ response was that healthy people don’t need a doctor(i.e. healing), but sick people do need a doctor.  However, Jesus was not referring to physical sickness, but rather spiritual sickness.  Jesus was someone who sick people(sinners) needed.  He further told the Pharisees that He did not come to call(i.e. invite) the righteous(because they did not need a doctor), but rather He came to call sinners, since they were the ones who needed what He was bringing(i.e. salvation from sin).  The Pharisees didn’t think they needed salvation, so Jesus referred to them as “healthy people” who did not need a physician, even though they did need one.

How did Jesus treat sinners?  He treated them(i.e. people whose sin was clearly obvious) like people who needed salvation.  But in reality, we all need salvation from sin(more on that later).

Jesus and One Sinner

In Luke 15:7, Jesus tells a parable about a shepherd(Jesus) who has 100 sheep and one of them wanders off(into sin).  The shepherd goes to save that one sheep and brings it back.  Jesus further explains that there is rejoicing in heaven when (even just) one sinner repents.

How does Jesus treat sinners?  He goes out looking for them.

Jesus and the Sinful Woman

In Luke 9:36-50, Jesus had been invited to dinner in the home of a Pharisee.  While Jesus was there reclining at the table, a sinful woman stood behind Jesus.  She was crying and washed His feet with her tears; she used her hair to dry His feet, then poured perfume on His feet.  This led the Pharisee to question if Jesus really was a prophet, since a prophet would know that she was a “sinner,” and he further reasoned that no prophet would want or allow a sinner to touch Him, as this woman was touching Jesus.

The Pharisee had not given Jesus any water to wash His feet, he had not given Jesus a kiss(welcome/greeting) and he did not give Jesus any oil for His head.  By contrast, the sinner had washed His feet with her tears and dried them with her hair, she kissed His feet(instead of His cheek) and anointed His feet with perfume.  She did this because she loved Jesus(much).  And because she loved Jesus much, her many sins were forgiven.

How did Jesus treat sinners?  He forgave their sins when they loved Him and confessed their need for foregiveness(see John 14:15 for what loving Jesus looks like).

Summary – Part I

How does Jesus treat sinners?  He understands that they are like people who are sick, in need of a physician.  And He is the physician who can help them to get well.  He goes out looking for them.  He loves them and forgives their sins(those who love Him).  This illustrates how Jesus feels about sinners, but what about us(i.e. those people who have been forgiven by Him)?

How Do We Feel About Sinners?

As disciples/followers of Jesus, we should follow in Jesus’ footsteps to the extent we can.  What do we need to do?

We need to see sinners as sick people who need a physician, and we know the Great Physician!  We need to introduce them to Him. 

We need to see sinners as lost sheep who have wondered from the protection of the Great Shepherd.  When we see this, we need to go after them and help bring them to Jesus(through His word). 

When we see a sinner who loves Jesus, we need to show that person how to express their love for Him.  We cannot save the sinner, but Jesus can and will, if they want Him to.

How Do We Treat Sinners?

This is where things can get difficult.  How do we actually treat sinners?  For example, if someone enters a worship assembly, and the sermon is about sexual immorality, and how it is a sin, and how it leads to all kinds of issues, what happens if that person is living in that sin?  Clearly, they need to stop.  But what if the sermon is highlighting some of the side effects of sexual immorality, like children born out of wedlock, and the visitor is a woman with a child born out of wedlock?  Will she feel comfortable there?  Will she stay or even want to come back if all she heard sounded negative and judgmental?

Did Jesus die for the single mom with a child born out of wedlock?  Did Jesus die for the former drug addict, who still struggles with his sobriety?  Did Jesus die for ___________(fill in the blank)?  It doesn’t matter whether you fill in the blank with an outwardly obvious sin, or if you use one of those sins that is much more difficult to identify(e.g. pride, hate, envy, greed, materialism, idolatry(see Col. 3:5), lust and so many more).  He died for everyone, regardless of the sins they have committed.  But people do not come to Jesus after they have stopped sinning and cleaned themselves up.  They come looking for Jesus when they are still in sin.  And if ALL they hear is judgment and condemnation, isn’t that more likely to drive them away, than to draw them in?

Do Sinners Feel Welcome in Our Assembly?

Sinners should feel welcome among God’s people.  Not that God’s people should welcome sin, but they should be welcoming toward sinners.  Let’s not forget that we(i.e. saved Christians) are almost exactly like them.  The only difference is that we have accepted God’s grace/gift(Eph. 2:8).  Yes, I understand that we are supposed to be changed individuals after we are baptized into His death(Rom. 6:1-4), but that doesn’t mean we live perfect lives from that point onward(I John 1:8).  We still need Jesus; we still need the forgiveness He provides.

We should care about them enough to want them to join us in worshipping God.

If someone does not feel welcome in an assembly, we are probably doing something wrong.  The sinner should hear that sin is wrong, but the sinner should also hear that Jesus still loves them and wants to save them from their sin and from the consequences of their sin.  They should feel wanted and loved, not ostracized and judged.  And because we often have one chance, we need to do what we can to make them feel wanted and loved.  We may never get a second chance.

When Jesus dealt with sinners, He didn’t ignore their sins; He fully acknowledged them, but He emphasized the forgiveness that He was here to offer.  When Jesus was presented with a woman caught in adultery, instead of condemning her, He told her that He did not condemn her, but that she did need to leave her life of sin(indicating that she needed to stop sinning).  Is this how we treat sinners?  Instead of condemning the sinner, we need to show the sinner the following:  (1)  you have wondered away from God(through sin) and are lost; (2) God loves you and sent His Son to pay the price for your sins; and (3) if you love God, He will forgive your sins.

Summary – Part II

Things We Need To Remember

We do not forgive sins . . . God does.

The only difference between a faithful child of God and a sinner is that the child of God accepted God’s gift(grace).  Yes, it is true that we should be living distinctly different lives from a sinner(we die to sin – Rom. 6:1-4), but the different life we live is not what makes a child of God different from a sinner.  The difference is God’s grace/gift that the Christian accepted.  This should help us to understand that in and of ourselves we are no better than the sinner; we are just forgiven.

We Are No Better Than (Other) Sinners

This just doesn’t sound right, but it is.  A Christian and a sinner are similar in that both have sinned.  The difference is not that the Christian leads a better life than the sinner.  From a human perspective, a Christian leads a more godly life, or a less sinful life, depending on your perspective, than a sinner.  However, from God’s point of view, there are only two options:  holy and not holy.  To be holy, a person would have to always do what is right(godly).  It is true that through Jesus’ sacrifice, a person can have their sins washed away, and they will be perfected(holy/sinless).  However, future sins also need to be forgiven.  A saved Christian still needs the sacrifice of Jesus just as much as the unforgiven sinner.  The Christian and the sinner have the same needs, so one is no better than the other.  Don’t forget that; don’t act like it isn’t true.