Hanging out with “sinners” is tricky business. On the one hand, we want to be known as “a friend of sinners” as Jesus was. But on the other hand, we want to remain free from sin. The Pharisees in the days of Jesus (and most church-going Christians today) decided that the safest route was just to separate themselves completely. In fact, that’s what “Pharisee” means: separate.
And I will admit, it is difficult to be friends with someone when you don’t share the same interests or get involved in the same sins. How can you hang out with people who spend their weekends getting drunk and sleeping around while not getting dragged into such activities yourself?
Jesus, the Friend of Sinners
It’s a fine line for sure, but one that must be walked. Jesus, somehow, was a master at this. In Luke 5:27-32, he attends the dinner with a bunch of reprobate tax collectors. There was certainly lots of drinking and eating, and possibly some after-dinner activities as well. At the bare minimum, most of those in attendance probably got drunk (Keener, Bible Background Commentary, 203). And yet we know that though Jesus was there, he did not do anything sinful. How do we know this? The Pharisees, when they challenge Jesus and His disciples, the only thing they can complain about is that they have shared a meal with tax collectors and other sinners. They have no other accusation.
We as Christians need to get off our padded pews, and start climbing up onto barstools. We must attend the fairs and festivals where there’s loud music and dancing, and where some – dare I say it? – are scantily dressed. And we shouldn’t be there to cross our arms and scowl at all the “sinners.” We need to laugh, dance, and tell jokes. This is what Jesus did. He was the life of the party.
Not “Church Approved”
If we really following Jesus, we will be following Him to some places that are definitely not “church sponsored” or “church approved.” You will not read about them in your bulletin.
And let’s be honest. Many of us may actually fall to the temptations that are present in such places. While that is not desirable, which is worse: to occasionally fall into sin ourselves, knowing that such sin is covered by the grace of the cross, OR telling the whole world that although we’ve been rescued from sin and death and the devil, they can just go to hell because all we care about is our own eternal life?
This isn’t a license to sin, but nor is following Jesus a license to sit. And by sitting, many of us are committing the even worse sin of failing to act when we should be helping others. Also, I think that as we follow Jesus into these places, we find the temptations not as bad as we feared. If Jesus leads us there, He also provides the strength to resist.
So where is Jesus most at work: At the gates of hell, or the doors of a church building? I think He is storming the gates of hell. It is always better to enter dark and dangerous places with Jesus, than to sit in safe and secure places without Him.
You will be happy to know that in our new facility we in fact have “Bar Stools”. LOL.
Just one more way we are staying relevant. Ha Ha.
Miss you dude!
Stephen,
That is awesome! I miss you guys so much too and think about you all the time.
A few days ago, someone asked me if I have ever seen a church that looks and acts like what I am looking for and hope for. The only church that came to mind is Mosaic Arlington. I’m sure there are more out there, but thanks for being a part of my life at such a critical time. Who knows, maybe someday we’ll get back down to Dallas.
I would venture a suggestion in saying that it’s very very important to be happy with who you are. What I mean is that all this talk about sitting on a barstool need not apply to those that don’t enjoy hanging out in a bar. I thoroughly enjoy hanging out with friends at the local pub sipping Guinness and shooting the breeze. I am much more comfortable there than I am walking within a block of a “church”. Yet I’m not about to invite some of my other friends, be they Christian or not, to the bar with us when it’s obvious they don’t enjoy being there.
What’s wrong with saying that it’s Okay to be who you are? If you’re comfortable with a pew then I think that’s where you should sit. If you’re comfortable with a barstool then pull one up. If your preference shifts from day to day then shift and enjoy. Why challenge anyone to go somewhere and be something and attempt to morph into anything they’re uncomfortable with?
What I think you’re suggesting here is that “christians” should learn to be a part of what their “sinner” friends are doing in a well-intentioned effort to affect change in the lives of their “sinner” friends. There are so many things wrong with that statement that it’d take 100 pages to break it down. Suffice it to say that the entire concept smacks of being disingenuous to say the least.
What separates us is not the fashion of our seating. What separates us is not that one is a “sinner” and the other is not. What hinders our intermingling is not our levels of comfort in varying environments. What segregates us is the belief that the “christian” is trying to live a “higher calling” than the wayward “christian” or the non-christian. It’s all about the definitions and labels that we all bring to the table. Forget the labels. Just accept the barstool as equal with the pew and vice versa. Accept the sanctuary as equal with the local tavern. Accept the bartender as equal to the pastor. Until you can do these things it doesn’t matter where you sit or why.
Until you can do these things you will always be in the mindset of “us vs. them”. And until we can get this straightened out I’ll be at the tavern spending time with my friends. Don’t be looking for me on Sunday…I won’t be squatting on a pew.
Bonar,
You are right. It should never be “us vs. them.” Part of this is everybody seeing themselves as a “sinner.” We’re all in this together.
Of course, Jesus does not call us to be comfortable where we are at, but often to follow him into some very uncomfortable places, whether it is a bar stool, or maybe a pew.
We are always hanging around sinners wherever we go.
We are sitting next to sinners if we attend a church service, and we are sitting next to sinners if we belly up to a bar… does not matter
Swanny
That’s absolutely right. And the sooner we recognize this, the better off we will be.
Good topic for discussion. I doubt I ever think of other people in terms of saint or sinner. Some people the church folk might call sinners are some of the nicest people I know, while on the other hand some church folk can be really nasty and mean. I don’t know who’s the saint and who’s the sinner. That’s between them and God.
If I know that going to a certain place or engaging in a certain activity would cause me to do something I would later regret, I try to find an alternative. Confession time here: although I don’t usually end up at places such as drunken parties, stripper bars and porn shops while hanging out with friends, since those activities and places hold little appeal for me, I know I need to stay away from certain “religious” people, those who seem to love only themselves and who seem hell-bent on being nasty to people they describe as “sinners”, supposedly in the name of truth-telling. These “sinners” include people who don’t interpret the Bible and understand Christianity as they do, especially with regard to political issues, the role of women, LGBTs, abortion, etc.
If my friend invited me to his or her birthday bash at a gay bar, I’d go if I didn’t have previous obligations. On the other hand, it took all of my courage to attend a resurrection mass for a very dear friend’s wife. Actually, it wasn’t bad at all. But to get me to ever go with another close friend to her church (Republican, women must obey their husbands, homophobic, they have the only correct interpretation of the Bible and Christianity), you’d have to kidnap my family and threaten to kill them.
I apologize for taking the discussion in a somewhat different direction than the intent of your post, and for the sub-par writing. I understand following Jesus as loving people. That may occasionally take us into some ugly situations and places if that’s where we find people. For me, I also find it necessary to avoid certain people whose message is antithetical to loving my neighbor because of who my neighbor may be.
Sam,
Never apologize for your writing. You express yourself well. I laughed at the idea of having to be dragged to a resurrection mass. I know a priest who feels the same way. Ha ha!
And you are right, sometimes the worst place we can be is with self-righteous people who hatefully bash others.
So where is Jesus most at work: At the gates of hell, or the doors of a church building? I think He is storming the gates of hell. It is always better to enter dark and dangerous places with Jesus, than to sit in safe and secure places without Him.
Many of the people at the gates of hell receive the message of Life so much more readily than those in the church building
So true! In the days of Jesus, synagogue people rarely accepted his message, while the tax collectors and prostitutes welcomed it.
I know I was stating the obvious.. just felt like I had to write it.
Or maybe it is not the obvious….
I know. I just feel compelled to respond to every comment on my blog.
It must be because I like to have the last word. Is that bad?
Loved the post..I definitely agree also that we are sometimes called to go places that aren’t quite comfortable to us (as you stated in your reply to B Crump). I think the main part of that uneasiness for Christians though is just thinking that we would be judged by our fellow Christians, not necessarily that it’s not our cup of tea to hang out in “sinful” places. I really think that many Christians would have no problems with going to a bar, for instance, to just hang out and build relationships. It’s the lashing they would receive from their fellow Christians, who would judge their evangelizing techniques as secret ways to mingle in their pet sins, that would deter them from this.
Jesse,
You are probably right. I remember when I was a pastor, and had lunch with a non church person at the local bar, I was told by many church people afterward to “be careful” about going to such a place.
How do we get past this? Any ideas?
Ya’ gotta be careful what kind of religious people you hang out with. I’ve heard lots of them are primarily concerned with keeping the letter of what they see as the “law”. No drinking parties, lepers, people whose religion or racial background is suspect and no healing on the Sabbath. Doing this stuff might you you killed or fired. Little has changed in two thousand years, has it? As a friend said “religion breeds contempt”.
Yep. Not much has changed. Religion is about control, authority, and power over others. And when other refuse to get in line, then the rocks and swords come out.
“So where is Jesus most at work: At the gates of hell, or the doors of a church building?”
Okay, I’m going to be a bit of a smart-ass…but serious, too:
Often aren’t they the same thing?
That was a smart-ass comment! But it made me laugh. 🙂