It’s Not OK to Stay That Way

May 8, 2019

It’s Not OK to Stay That Way

“Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality, but teach the way of God in accordance with truth.

Mark 12:14a (NRSV)

Jesus seemed to be more comfortable with notorious public sinners than with the religious elite of his times. Perhaps it was because the sinners were unpretentious and had no hidden agenda. Even so, the elite still acknowledged Jesus’ integrity as the passage quoted above illustrates. Still today there are those who do not claim to be disciples of Jesus who like to point out Jesus’ acceptance of all people. They seem to think that Jesus’ breaking bread with such sinners as Zacchaeus should serve as an example for us today to accept all people, just as they are. Such assertions are only partially correct.

Yes, Jesus is most certainly the model for all integrity. His teaching and his doing were in perfect harmony, just as is his humanity and divinity. When Jesus reached out to the poor and dispossessed, to those who were being excluded from Temple worship by the religious elite, and when he embraced the notorious public sinners like Zacchaeus, he never diminished in his passion to “teach the way of God in accordance with truth.” His message was clear: It is OK to not be OK, but it is not OK to stay that way! Or to quote Jesus directly, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near” (Matthew 4:17).

My Takeaway: Many people today think of God’s grace as blessing their behavior. These folks seem to have missed the Apostle Paul addressing this issue in Romans 6. Centuries ago, the church developed a list of the Seven Deadly Sins; sins from which all other sins flow. Their point was simple. Grace is only saving grace for me when I realize and own the eternal danger of my sin.

Sē’lah

Alex

<><  <><  <><  <><

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.