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Jesus, friend of sinners and tax-collectors?

By Jeremy Myers
25 Comments

Jesus, friend of sinners and tax-collectors?

A reader recently used my “Contact Me” form on the about page to submit a Bible and Theology Question. Here is what he wrote:

Hi Jeremy.

Thank you for being available. It can be hard to find someone to go to for some spiritual questions via the internet.

Lately I have been struggling with some new information I came upon regarding Jesus and some people’s views. To start with, I am a public school high school boy with an unbelieving family, so I am around the non-religious a lot.

To my surprise, I learned based off of Luke 7:34 and John 15:14 that Jesus was not actually a friend of sinners. In Luke 7:34, the pharisees are trying to discredit Jesus by giving him titles such as a glutton, drunkard, and friend of sinners. But Jesus never claimed these titles.

With this information, some people say that Jesus was only with unbelievers to minister to them and not to fellowship or become friends with them.

Do you think this is right? Does our knowledge of Jesus public ministry give us all we need to know about his interaction/relationships with unbelievers.

Thank you very much.

I am posting my answer here, because I think others might have similar questions.

It is true that the Pharisees and other religious leaders were trying to discredit Jesus by calling Him a glutton, drunkard, and friend of sinners.

It is also true that Jesus never referred to Himself by such titles.

However, none of this means that Jesus was not actually a friend to sinners. Quite to the contrary, there are numerous lines of evidence which prove that Jesus did, in fact, hang out with and befriend those whom the religious world at that time considered “sinners.”

Jesus the friend of sinners

1. Nobody Ever Tried to Discredit a Pharisee by Calling them “the friend of sinners”

The reason the Pharisees were able to pin the accusation of being a glutton, drunkard, and friend of sinners upon Jesus is because Jesus ate a lot, drank a lot, and hung out with “sinners” a lot. If the accusation wasn’t at least partly true, the accusation never would have been voiced, and never would have stuck.

The Pharisees are the perfect example. You will never find any place in Scripture or in any other literature of the time which accuses the Pharisees of being the friend of sinners. Why not? Because they did everything within their power to live separately from sinners.

Jesus, however, was often found in the company of sinners, and so the Pharisees tried to discredit Him and His ministry by saying that He was their friend. This is the classic attack known as “guilt by association.”

But of course, this was fine with Jesus, for this was exactly why He came – to bear our guilt by associating with us.

2. Jesus never denied that he was the friend of sinners

Though Jesus didn’t refer to Himself as a friend of sinners, He did confirm that this was who He came to live among. In Luke 5:32, Jesus says that He did not come to call the righteous to repentance, but the unrighteous. So if Jesus was going to call the unrighteous to repentance, He needed to hang out with the unrighteous.

Similarly, in Matthew 9:12, Jesus says that it is not the healthy who need a physician, but the sick. Again, to heal the sick, Jesus had to be with the sick.

Which raises the interesting third point:

3. If Jesus Wasn’t the Friend of Sinners, He Couldn’t be Friends with Any of Us!

I think one truth that is often overlooked in this discussion is that ALL of us are sinners. The only reason some people like to say that Jesus wasn’t actually a friend to sinners is because they somehow think that they themselves are not sinners. Or at least, they are not “as bad” as those other sinners.

You know what this is? This is called pride, which is the worst of all possible sins.

The only people who would claim that Jesus wasn’t really the friend to sinners are those people who don’t think they themselves are sinners. 

I believe that when Jesus makes His statements about not coming for the righteous in Luke 5:32 and not coming for the healthy in Matthew 9:12, He was implying that none of us are righteous, none of us healthy. We are all sinners in need of repentance. We are all sick in need of a physician.

If Jesus was only going to hang out with the righteous, He would have stayed in heaven.

4. Jesus Didn’t Come to Save us From Our Sin, but to Save us From Religion

When it comes to discussing who Jesus hung out with, the choice is not between the righteous people and the unrighteous people (for all are unrighteous), but rather between the religious and the non-religious.

I believe that–even more so than our sin–Jesus came to free people from religion. And one way Jesus showed this was by hanging out with the people whom religion rejects as “unworthy” of God’s attention or forgiveness.

Jesus didn’t hang out with sinners to show that God loves them more than God loves religious people. No, Jesus hung out with sinners to show both them and the religious people that God accepts and loves all people. That is one of the central truths of the Gospel message. You don’t have to become religious in order for God to love and forgive you. In fact, religion may actually get in the way of understanding that God loves and forgives you!

5. Yes, Jesus Hung Out with Religious People Too

Yes, yes. I do not deny it. Some of His own disciples were “religious.” And we must never forget that Nicodemus visited with Jesus (John 3), or that Jesus ate dinner with Simon the Pharisee (Luke 7:36-49). He also calls His followers His friends (John 15:14).

But again, the question is not whether or not Jesus hung out with religious people. Of course He did. The question is Why?

It was not because He approved of their beliefs and behavior. Not at all!

Just as Jesus didn’t hang out with sinners and tax-collectors as an endorsement of their beliefs and behavior, so also, the fact that Jesus hung out with religious people should not be seen as an endorsement of theirs.

Again, I believe that Jesus was more concerned about the barriers to God which are erected by religion than He was about the barriers to God which are caused by sin.

But even this is getting off track. It is not about which group is worse than the other.

It’s not about who is approved, accepted, or endorsed more than someone else.

The message of Jesus was this: “It’s not about your sin! It’s not about your religion! It’s all about God! And guess what? He loves you!”

So Should you Make Friends with Sinners?

Jesus, Friend of SinnersWell, I’ve got news for you. If you have friends, you are already friends with sinners.

Some of them are religious sinners and probably suffer from all sorts of spiritual blindness to their own sin, and how they mistreat others in the name of God.

Others might be non-religious sinners, who are simply trying to “have a good time” in life.

Which group should you seek to hang out with?

It’s easy to decide. Here’s the answer:

You should hang out with whomever God brings into your life to hang out with.

Look around you. The people in your life are most likely the people God wants you to live among. So live with them, as Jesus came and lived with us. Love them, as He has loved you. Forgive them, as He has forgiven you.

Final Note About Jesus the Friend of Sinners

After writing the post above, I did an internet search to see what others might have written on this topic. I found an article by Keven DeYoung called “Jesus, Friend of Sinners: But How?” which I strongly object to, and which the person who sent me the question above might have been referring to. I also found an article by Jonathan Merritt called “Setting the Record Straight on Jesus, ‘the friend of sinners’” which is in response to Kevin DeYoung’s article and is fantastic. Go and read Jonathan’s article. He concludes with these words:

A Jesus who loves us even if we don’t love back? A Savior who pursues us even as we run away? A Christ who offers fellowship to all indiscriminately without condition, no strings attached? That would be a Jesus who is better than we’ve imagined, and that would be good news.

God is Redeeming Theology Bible & Theology Topics: Bible and Theology Questions, Discipleship, friend of sinners, Jesus, John 15:14, Luke 7:34

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You can help others with their Bible Questions in the Forum!

By Jeremy Myers
7 Comments

You can help others with their Bible Questions in the Forum!

bible and theology forum

Help others with their Bible and Theology questions!

Over the past several months, I have received dozens of Bible and theology questions using the contact form on the right sidebar, and due to time constraints, I have not been able to answer most of them.

So I am going to post them in the forum and let you provide answers to these Bible and theology questions if you want…. go check them out!

Here are a few examples:

Why is God so violent in Numbers 15:32-36? (Go suggest an answer)

Why did Paul re-baptize twelve men in Acts 19? (Go suggest an answer)

Do all Christians speak in tongues? (Go suggest an answer)

Why are there so many different beliefs among churches? (Go suggest an answer)

Is masturbation a sin? (Go suggest an answer … if you dare!)

Notes from Others

There have also been a couple interesting posts from others. Here is something Justin Wiles wrote:

Ever since I have … been able to share my story and struggles with the community the Holy Spirit’s power to fight sin in my life has abounded. It’s still a rough battle but I hold faith that I’m growing more and more.

So feel free to share a daily victory or a struggle so that we can come together in the spirit of truth and love and encourage everyone to keep fighting the good fight!

Have you found this to be true in your own life? Has community (online and in person) been helpful as you learn to follow Jesus and defeat temptation? I have! If you want to weigh in on Justin’s thread, you can do so here.

There have also been several new introductions from new members on the forum. Go and read them here, and introduce yourself as well!

James Johnson III wrote this:

I have no Seminary experience, but I consider myself autodidactic and my thirst for knowledge has lead me all over the gamut of belief systems in Christianity (I ended up a staunch Calvinist until recently). I consider myself in a state of cognitive dissonance, so I’m hoping to learn a lot and I have a plethora of questions.

Frank wrote this:

My profession is evaluating community development programs facilitated by Christian agencies. In more than 25 years of doing evaluations in Africa and Asia I have discovered that strong Christians often do not see the conflicts that there are between science worldview and Christian worldview.

I always find it fascinating to learn more about the people who read this blog, and I love it when you interact with each other as you so often do in the comment sections on the forums. Thank you for making this blog a place where people can gather online and discuss life, Scripture, and theology.

Join the Forum!

If you want to introduce yourself, or ask a Bible or theology question for others to answer, head on over to the forum and get started! See you there!

God is Redeeming Life, Redeeming Scripture, Redeeming Theology Bible & Theology Topics: Bible and Theology Questions, Bible questions, Blogging, forum, Theology - General, worldview

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Join the Bible and Theology Forums!

By Jeremy Myers
16 Comments

Join the Bible and Theology Forums!

bible and theology forum

I used to have a forum. It no longer exists.

God is z Bible & Theology Topics: Bible and Theology Questions, community, forum

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Did God Perform the First Sacrifice in Genesis 3:21?

By Jeremy Myers
98 Comments

Did God Perform the First Sacrifice in Genesis 3:21?

first sacrifice Genesis 3 21

Many believe that the first sacrifice was carried out by God Himself in Genesis 3:21 which says that God made tunics of skin for Adam and Eve so that they could be clothed.

Did God Sacrifice an Animal in Genesis 3:21?

Although the text says nothing about a sacrifice, many believe that a sacrifice is implied.

It is often taught that after the first sin was committed, God wanted to show Adam and Eve that sin has consequences, and so He slew an animal in front of them, and made clothes for them from the hide of the dead animal.

Some have even speculated that the animal was a lamb, thereby presenting a prophetical picture of Jesus, the Lamb of God, slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 5:6; 13:8).

Furthermore, some have argued that in this death of the animal, God was teaching Adam and Eve the theological principle of substitutionary atonement. He had told Adam that if they ate of the fruit they would surely die, and so after they ate of the fruit, God should have killed them, but instead He killed an animal in their place.

But Did God Really Perform the First Sacrifice?

But is any of this really true? Did God really practice the first animal sacrifice? Was it truly a lamb? Did God intend for Adam and Eve to learn about substitutionary atonement?

sacrifice genesis 3 21Frankly, this seems to be an awful lot to read into one single verse which says nothing other than that “God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.”

The death of an animal is never mentioned.

A lamb is never mentioned.

Substitutionary atonement isn’t even inferred.

So where did God get the skin in which he clothed Adam and Eve?

The text simply doesn’t say.

Maybe he made it.

The word for “skin” that is used can refer to either human or animal skin.

There have been some streams of Judaism and Christianity which believed that prior to the event described in Genesis 3:21, humans did not have “skin” the way we see it today, but existed in some other form. They believed that we were “clothed in light” like God (Psalm 104:2) and that when Adam and Eve sinned, the light left them and they tried to replace the light with leaves (Genesis 3:7), which was an insufficient covering, and so God gave them skin instead.

This view is a little too mystical (or maybe even Gnostic) for most Christians, and yet it cannot be proven or disproven from the text any more than the traditional view that God killed an animal to make clothes for Adam and Eve.

Maybe it was snake skin.

snake skinIt is interesting to note, however, that one of the more common Jewish explanations of this text is that the skin which Adam and Eve were clothed with was snake skin. The Jewish Targum Pseudo-Jonathan says that the Lord made garments for Adam and Eve from the skin which the serpent in the garden had cast off. This seems pretty far-fetched if you have ever seen the papery skin shed by serpents.

A related view is that since God had said to the serpent, “he will crush your head and you will strike his heel” (Genesis 3:15 NIV), that Adam had taken it upon himself to kill the serpent by crushing its head with his heel, and from the skin of the dead serpent God made clothes for Adam and Eve.

This sounds far-fetched, but it is just as speculative as every other view.

We simply don’t know where the skin came from, or what kind of skin it was.

The simple fact of the matter is that the text simply doesn’t say how God made clothes for Adam and Eve. Therefore, we tread on dangerous ground if we claim that Genesis 3:21 contains the first sacrifice in Scripture, for it says nothing of the sort. All it says is that God gave them skin to wear.

We read substitutionary atonement and the sacrificial system into Genesis 3:21 at our own theological peril.

God is z Bible & Theology Topics: Bible and Theology Questions, Bible Study, Genesis 3:21, sacrfiice, substitutionary atonement, When God Pled Guilty

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What I believe about Predestination

By Jeremy Myers
39 Comments

What I believe about Predestination

I have tried to avoid this question for a long time… But recently a reader wrote in asking what I believe about predestination, and since I have written about other difficult “-ation” questions (such as masturbation), I decided to answer this question about predestination as well.

predestination

Here is the straightforward question on predestination that the reader submitted:

Whats your stand on predestination?

Whew!

I am hesitant to tackle this topic. Here’s why:

My Previous Experience with Predestination

calvinist arminian predestinationI once preached a sermon on predestination and election, and there was a Calvinistic man in the church who, right in the middle of my sermon, stood up, and loudly said to his family, “Come on. We’re leaving!” He and his family filed out of their row, out the back of the church, and never returned. I later called him to find out why he left, and he accused me of being a heretic.

This seems to be a recurring theme in my life … and here … and here

Anyway, I sometimes hesitate to write about such controversial topics because I don’t want to chase away readers.

But know this: I hold my view on predestination lightly. I hold it with an open hand. If you want to disagree, that’s fine by me. I won’t hold it against you. Of course, if you want to hold my view against me, well, I think that says something about your view …

Know this also: I used to be a strong 5-point hyper Calvinist. But I did not abandon Calvinism lightly. I got dragged out of it kicking and screaming. So don’t think that the reason I am not a Calvinist is that I don’t know the arguments or “haven’t read the Bible.” Sigh. I am aware of the arguments (I used to teach them myself). I am aware of the Bible passages used to defend Calvinism (I just understand them differently now).

All this is to say, if you want to disagree, that’s fine. But please, be gracious. No name calling. No finger pointing. No heresy hunting. No long comments full of Bible quotations.

What I believe about Predestination

I’ll be as blunt and straightforward as I know how: I do not believe that God predestines some people to go to heaven.

I definitely do not believe in double predestination, where God predestines some people to go to heaven and predestines others to go to hell. I used to believe this (that’s part of the “hyper” in hyper Calvinism), but no longer.

While a complete study on the topic of predestination would also require a study of God’s sovereignty, human free will, sin, and all the passages on election in the Bible, this is a blog post, and I cannot get into all that now (though a book is in the works!) In this short post, I just want to briefly present my views on predestination itself.

predestinationI believe that predestination does not refer to God’s choice of which people get to go to heaven, but refers instead to God’s determination to bring into glory all those who receive eternal life by faith in Jesus. In other words, predestination teaches us about who gets glorified, not who gets justified. 

God’s predetermined (this is a synonym for predestination) plan was that He would bring into glory everyone who believed in Jesus for eternal life, that is, for justification. All who are justified will be glorified. As such, there is absolutely nothing in predestination about God’s choice of which people will get justified and which people will not. Predestination has nothing to do with that, and it is a categorical mistake to think it does.

To put it another way, predestination is about the destiny of believers (all will be glorified), not about the destiny of unbelievers (some will get justified and some will get damned).

Or to put it another way again, discussion about God’s predestination should not fall under the category of justification, but under the categories of sanctification and glorification. Predestination is a discipleship issue; not an evangelism issue.

Passages about Predestination

Two of the key passages about predestination are Romans 8:29-30 and Ephesians 1:4-11. In both cases, Paul is pretty clear that predestination is about God bringing people to be conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29), and that election and predestination are most properly understood in connection with being made holy and blameless before God (Ephesians 1:4-5).

God does not choose some to be in Christ while passing over the rest. No, God chooses, elects, predestines, predetermines, decides, foreordains, commits Himself to make sure that every person who believes in Jesus for eternal life, will finally and ultimately be glorified into the image and likeness of Jesus Christ.

Predestination of the saints is about God’s commitment to the preservation of the saints.

This is why no one can snatch us out of the Father’s hand (John 10:29), why nothing can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:38-39), and why God has given us the Holy Spirit as a promise and guarantee of our inheritance (Ephesians 1:13-14).

Predestination is a controversial topic, but it need not be. The Bible teaches that predestination is about our glorification and sanctification; not about justification. Therefore, if we fight about predestination, we are not living according to what we were predestined for, namely, to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ.

Now seriously, this isn’t too controversial, is it? Nothing to walk out over, right? Well, let me know in the comments below!

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: Bible and Theology Questions, election, Ephesians 1, predestination, Romans 8, Theology of Salvation

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