Matthew 9:9-13: As Jesus passed by from there, He saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax collection office. He said to him, “Follow me.” He got up and followed Him. As He sat in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Jesus and His disciples. When the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” When Jesus heard it, He said to them, “Those who are healthy have no need for a physician, but those who are sick do. But you go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ for I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
When Jesus was on earth, He spent time with people viewed as “extra-sinful” in the eyes of the religious leaders of His day. Such demonstrates a principal seen throughout Scripture: Christ desires even the “chiefest” of sinners to be led to salvation.
The apostle Paul’s life provides a good example of this. After zealously opposing Christ, Paul turned his life around and was forgiven by God. Consider his words to Timothy in 1 Timothy 1:15: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
All who have reached the “age of accountability” have sinned against God (Rom. 3:23). Yet, God desires all to be forgiven and saved by submitting to Him (1 Tim. 2:3-4).
We should thus not think we can never be “good enough” to be a part of Christ’s kingdom.
As long as one is on earth, he or she can choose to obey God and be forgiven by Him. The apostle Paul is one among many who have done this and gone on to do great things for God.
The potential to be saved hinges on the potential each of us has to change as God requires. Many people do not change as God desires, but some do, and everyone can.
God hates sin, but loves sinners, and desires all people to come to repentance (2 Pet. 3:9).
For those lost in sin, obeying Jesus is the answer. For those who are saved, may we share sin’s cure with those who are not.
May we not excuse ourselves from serving God out of fear we could never be “good enough,” but simply submit to His commandments and accept the salvation He offers.
– Michael Hickox