“…How is it that [the Lord Jesus] eateth and drinketh with publican and sinners?”                                                                                                                                                 (Mark 2)

“And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.”  (Jude 23)

 

Years ago, I walked into the foyer of a porn shop and asked if I might speak of God and Salvation through Christ.  I said it loudly because I knew I would not receive permission and I wanted to be heard by the persons in the den of sin, lust, depravity, and wickedness.  I then asked if I could leave Scriptural literature on the check out desk for others to read. They did not think that would be a good idea and did not give me permission to leave tracts.

However, while we might see places like the above as dens of evil, swamps of sin, and places off limit, we must not forget that the local grocery store is also a place filled with the unsaved. A Pastor and faithful friend pointed that out to me. The unsaved shopper, the porn addict, and the homosexual in the gay bar all have one thing in common.

The common denominator in all sinners is they are without Christ. The judgmental Christ-ian and worldly minded persons would not see the aforementioned as being the same, the shopper is certainly better than the porn addict and the homosexual, they might think. However, sin is sin is sin period.

It is acceptable, right and proper for Christ-ians to go where the unsaved are. However the Christ-ian cannot and must not use their witness as an excuse to engage in licentious and lewd behaviour. Peter tells us not to use our liberty as a cloak or license to sin. The abuse of liberty is unacceptable before God. Intentions and motivations matter to God and we are all naked be fore HIm.

The Christ-ian will not fool God by spending time with sinners and pleasuring in sin in the Name of Christ. Christ certainly spent time with sinners, but He was not infected or defiled by the sin and sins of sinners. Christ’s garments were not stained with sin nor was He influenced by sins of the sinner.

We have spent time with an elderly person who had fecies all over themselves so we could speak of the salvation of God. We were not effected by the the fecies of the person. We cared not about the fecies at all, we concerned ourself with the spirit and soul of the person, this is the Christ-likeness we all want to strive for. The Christ-ian can eat and drink with sinners as long as the intention and motivations are right and good. The Christ-ian can go into darkness as long as the intentions and motivations are godly and they remain unspotted.

Much of this article was inspired by another preacher’s message we heard on the radio.

It is acceptable to be a witness in the places of ill repute, but we must not be defiled or influenced by the places of ill repute. None should use the excuse of being a witness in places that are ungodly so that one might take pleasure in sin. The Christ-ian may go to places of ill repute, but the Christ-ian must remain unspotted and un-influenced or defiled by the sins s/he finds. As always it is as simple as this, God knows the intent and motivations of His people.

Godspeed.