How Did Jesus Confront Sinful People?
How does He confront you today?
"From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." -Matt 4:17 (KJV)
Many of us go to church and sit in a pew or chair and some of us will even participate in the service – singing, praying and listening. But what do we come away with after the service … after we leave the doors of the church …. when we get home and thereafter? Do we think about what was said later in the day or the next day or for that matter into the next week? What impact did going to church have on me personally this past Sunday or Wednesday or whenever we/you attend services? Thoughtful question and one that should grab our attention like a speeding freight train coming right at us!
Seriously, most of our churches nowadays postulate the Gospel in one of two venues. One being a theological approach and the other a contemporary easy-to-digest and easy-to-hear form. But how many pastors, elders, priests, and bishops actually roll their sleeves up and get down to the business of preaching and teaching just exactly what the Bible teaches? You know, what Jesus taught. Ditch the hyper-grace false teaching, toss the theological intellectual stuff out the window, kick the 'cotton-candy' preaching out of the church, stop the rock 'worship' music, remove the drama skits. Instead reach for the Bible and preach all His words. All the words in Red; all of what Jesus taught in the New Testament and all of what God did and said in the Old Testament. It's highly applicable for us today.
When Jesus approached people He didn't wink at their sin, He didn't' give them a pass for being almost good or for doing 7 days of good works in the past week. He instead confronted them with their sin – directly and not beating around the bush. Take for an example how God dealt with David's sin with Bathsheba in the OT and his sending her husband to the front lines to be killed. David's prophet at that time was named Nathan; he was in effect his 'pastor'. Nathan didn't' mince words, he told an arrogant and indignant David [at that time] a story and afterwards David became upset at one of the story's characters. Nathan related that David was the king in the story and this was to show him his gross sin with Bathsheba and her husband. David was devastated and realized his sin before a Holy and Righteous God (2 Sam 12:1-14). My point is that his sin was pointed out to him by his 'pastor'. Today we have weak, timid, unoffending and ineffective pastors in the majority of our Christian pulpits and they are leading many to destruction because they do not tell their flocks about sin and what their sin means to a Holy and Righteous God (Matt 23:13). Such as: abortion, homosexuality, alcoholism, pornography, witchcraft, corrupt entertainment, condoning of watching and hearing filthy shows on TV, movies, lying, cheating, greed, lust and on and on it goes. These sins are blinding the minds of many – 2 Cor 4:4; 1 John 2:16 since these things are of the world, flesh and the Devil. Teaching about these sins is absent from modern day pulpits, from many of our churches across the land and this in itself is a tragedy.
What did Jesus say to the adulterous women when she was caught in the act and the scribes and the Pharisees were ready to stone her?(John 8:1-11) Jesus didn't' tell her to have a nice day and come back next week or come to our recovery meeting the following Tuesday. No, He instead stooped down and began writing something in the sand. Many theories have been suggested as to what He was writing but I think what mattered more was what He said to her after He confronted her 'religious' persecutors with their sin. "Go and sin no more", was His reply to her sin. How many of us even hear the word sin in our services these days? What it means in our lives and how unconfessed and unrepentant sin can keep us out of heaven? Yes, keep us out – Luke 13:1-5; 1 John 1:6-9.
"If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." -1 John 1:6-9 (KJV)
Finally consider how Jesus spoke to the woman at the well – John 4:1-42. Jesus initial contact with her was about what it took for her to have everlasting life and that He possessed the water that one could receive and never thirst again but instead be assured of eternal life. His next request was to have her get her husband come as well. Her reply was that she had none. She was right but yet also ‘hiding’ her sin for He told her of all her husbands she had and that even the one she was living with now was not her husband. She was therefore adulterous and living in sin and He told her about it then and there. Friends, we must realize that we live in a sinful world and we sin every day. Our [self-]righteous is as filthy rags – Isa 64:6. It is imperative that we are aware of our sin and ask forgiveness and then repent as often as necessary – 1 John 1:9.
Once we are born again we are no longer slaves to sin (Rom 6:6) but nevertheless we still sin because we are in the flesh (1 John 1:6-10). We just don't make it a habit. If you attend a church were sin and repentance are not addressed ask your leaders why not. Press them on this! Additionally, if you're life is not impacted by attending church, in other words, if you don't know what God's word says about sin and thereby feel the sorrow of your sin and if you don't know about repentance and practice this then you are in a dead church and are not being taught the truth. Confront your leaders and ask them why they fail to confront sin like Jesus did. Demand they preach this in relation to a personal relationship with Christ and how this impacts a believer's eternal destination with Christ in His home – heaven.
"The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly. " -John 4:17-18 (KJV)
-BPWatcher, Internet Preacher and Bible Prophecy Watchman
GIVE ALMIGHTY GOD ALL THE GLORY AND HONOR FOR HE IS KING and HE IS LORD!
