Church and Sinners

Part I

When you read this title, one may say, but of course, the Church is full of sinners. This would be a healthy response. In today’s spiritual climate, one cannot take this reaction for granted. I’ve had conversations with many who claim the faith that indicates they do not understand how God views their own sin per the Bible. Understanding one’s depravity is tantamount to the understanding of God’s grace.

It is always befuddling when people criticize Paul for complicating the Gospel and making Christianity more difficult than Jesus did. Do people even read the Bible before making these claims? Paul quotes various Old Testament scriptures to back the claim that both Jews and Gentiles are all sinners in Romans 3. Jesus is more concise and brutal. Someone asked Jesus permission to bury his father before joining. Jesus told him to “let the dead bury the dead,”¹ indicating he believed the men putting his father into the ground were as dead as the one in the coffin.

My experiences with those who reject the sinful corruption of humans are quick to point out the sins of others. It appears that their rejection of this foundational Christian doctrine is based on a belief that they are sinless, but the ones around them are not. There is a name for those who hold this belief, and Jesus did not treat them well. Jesus is a physician who has come to heal those who know they are sick². What is lost on many is we are all in need.

Now I know some who say they are of the faith and claim that humans are not corrupt. While their ability to deny the reality of the world around them is admirable, it has no place in Christianity. I do believe that Pantheists and Buddhists are still taking converts. I wish you no ill will, but you may find yourself much more comfortable in those camps.

Humans are corrupted by their sin. To whom is the Church to let in? The sinners, of course. All of those who are earnestly seeking the truth of whom Jesus is. There can be no exceptions to this rule. If there is, then you should be excluded likewise. Jesus went to every place that the modern Church seems loath to visit. If Jesus physically walked the earth today, he would be found in the ghettos, slums, and red districts of the world. If we are truly his body, then we should be found in the same places.

This includes the LGBTQ community. Minus their horribly complicated acronym, they present no sin that is worse than yours. If a transgender man comes to your Church to see what this Jesus character is all about, and they are denied access because of their sin, your Church is the one who may wish they had a millstone tied around their neck and tossed into the ocean on judgment day. One cannot impede others from the path that led you to your own salvation. It’s either the height of hypocrisy, or one may not be on the narrow path after all.

At the start, I said a healthy response is an acknowledgment that the Church is full of sinners. However, there is an unhealthy vein that I have witnessed. Some will argue that some sins are so repugnant to God that one should not be allowed into Church until one repents. Does the Bible indicate which sins are unacceptable in the Kingdom of God? Yes, it does.

Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people — none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. 1 Corinthians 6:9–12 (NLT)

And:

When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19–21 (NLT)

Should we then prohibit anyone who has demonstrated any of these sins from entering our Churches? If so, the buildings would be empty. It is our job not to clean the fish. We are to simply bait the hook and bring them to Jesus. Jesus will clean and sort them. If you are a Disciple of Jesus, the two lists above should have made one blush. As for myself, I am aghast not just for the sins that I use to practice but the ones I am still struggling to allow the Holy Spirit to eradicate. We must show seekers and new believers the same mercy we expect Jesus to show to us.

Now I know that some of you will protest. So it's just to be anything goes? Of course not. We will discuss this in Part II.