Matthew 21:31 “Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you. 32 “For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him.
Attending church while dressed well and appearing respectable may be a dangerous thing. Attending church with a solid creed and having the good people in town attending may be a dangerous thing as well. The Pharisees were very religious, had the educated clergy, and all the respectable people in town would meet with them. Jesus, however, would preach to the common people and in ways that they could understand. Jesus preached to sinners. The very religious Pharisees would look down their noses at people because the common people would gladly hear Him. The very people the Pharisees seemed to despise the most Jesus said were entering the kingdom of God before the Pharisees themselves. Do people take that seriously today? Really?
Jesus Christ did not come to save the righteous, but instead sinners and the worst of sinners. He saved and continues to save the worst of sinners and people who are not respectable in their own eyes and perhaps the eyes of others. However, we continue to try to have a respectable version of Christianity. As has been noted before, church starts seem to be aimed at the upper middle class, which is to say that it is aimed at those with a fair amount of money and respectability. Some in seeing that have tried to start churches in other places. The problem, however, is that Jesus the Christ came to save sinners and not just people of a particular economic group. Whether or not people are rich or poor or something in between, the real issue is whether they are broken sinners.
While our creed says that God saves by grace alone and it would appear that people intellectually believe that, it is also true that people seem much more comfortable attending “church” in a plush building with people who don’t have problems or at least don’t appear to do so. But again, despite what the creed says and despite the fact that we say that we agree with it, do we really believe that Christ saves really bad sinners and does so by grace alone? Do we think that sinners must become well-behaved and well-dressed before Christ will save them? Though we may not admit that in word, isn’t that what our actions declare?
Now all people who have studies the history of the Church know that church discipline is a sign of a true church. But has it devolved to where church discipline is really a means of doing other things? Could it be a means of getting rid of sinners rather than really dealing with them about their souls? Indeed our creeds inform our minds of what we should believe, but how deep that belief goes is another issue. It is easy enough to want to be one of the crowd and be respectable in believing that creed, but do we really understand that Jesus Christ came to save sinners? He came to save the most vile sinners and not necessarily those who wear expensive suits and give large amounts of money to the church. Does Jesus need large amounts of money?
Perhaps it has been made too much of to note that Jesus was impoverished in many ways and used a rock for a pillow. He was supported by others and was what we would call homeless in our day. Would Jesus be allowed in our churches today? He was, after all, rather outspoken. He had harsh words for the most religious and most scholarly people of His time on earth. Jesus welcomed sinners and did not live in a sanitized churchy atmosphere. He came to suffer and die for the worst sinners. Where are the worst sinners in our day? Would we hang out with Paul who thought of himself as the worst of sinners? Would we hand out with Paul who wanted to preach the Gospel to all kinds of people?
Once again, it is important to note that it is not the economic status of the people that is the real point. It has to do with the kind of people that Jesus came to save. He came to save the broken, the poor in spirit, which is to say people who are really bad sinners. Some seem to think that only those who are very poor should be preached to while others only want to hang around the rich. It is not whether a person is externally rich or poor, but whether that person is one who sees that s/he is a vile sinner or not. It is not whether a person is dressed in rags or expensive clothing, but whether that person is groaning under a burden of sin. Jesus Christ came to save sinners and He only does so by grace alone. Those who are saved by grace need to remember this.
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