The doctor is in.

Mark 2:15-17 - While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the “sinners” and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?”

On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Who else loves it when Jesus does this?  The Pharisees were teachers of the Jewish Law (more or less the Old Testament commandments), and they were so caught up in hypocrisy that they continually get in trouble with Jesus for making comments about him hanging out with “sinners.”  Jesus flat out tells them to get over themselves and realize that the Gospel is meant for everyone.

Homosexuals, alcoholics, porn addicts, murderers, rapists, rich, poor.

Everyone.

Doesn’t surprise you does it?

It kills me to see this happening today.  Christians give Christ a bad name by acting this way.

We get caught up in the “do’s” and “don’t's” of religion and forget about the Cross.  Christ didn’t die for a religion.  Christ died for a way of life.  For meaning.  For purpose.  For something greater than rules and regulations.  It’s no wonder Jesus is always getting ticked off at the religious folks of his time, because they were practically slapping him in the face.

Anyone can follow a set of rules.  Anyone can make themselves a checklist of “good” and “bad” and succeed at doing everything “good” and get bored with God.  If that’s what we think and are taught Christ died for, then I really don’t blame a lot of Christians for being stagnant in their faith and just “going with the motions.”

Once you fill the “good” boxes all in, where do you go from there?

Let me answer for you: Nowhere.

You develop pride.  You start patting yourself on the back for meeting your quota and forget that there are people in your life who don’t know Christ.  People who look at you and see a Christian who thinks he is better than them.  You may not even realize you’re doing it, but it’s the exact reason why Christians are mocked everyday for being hypocrites and self righteous instead of being admired for their lifestyle of love, peace, patience, joy.

“It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.”

Christ wasn’t stuck up.  Christ ate at tax collectors’ houses; some of the most hated people of his day.  Christ spoke with a prostitute in a Jewish teacher’s house!  Not only that, but when the Pharisee said something to him about it, Christ basically did the old “talk to the hand” trick.

Evaluate yourself.  Dig deep.  Do you have a checklist?  Do you think that if you didn’t drink this week and went to church Sunday that you are a “super Christian”?  I have a feeling Jesus isn’t very happy about that.  He wants warriors.  He wants followers who fight against religion, self pride, and boredom.

Followers who will go to a party full of drunks and be the guy completely sober who says, “Let me give you a ride home.”

Followers who stop and give a homeless man a burger (because money may be spent the wrong way), and say, “Something better is coming for you, I can feel it.”

Followers who will hug their daughter who just lost her virginity and feels absolutely used and devastated and says, “I love you, sweetheart.  You’re forgiven.  By me, and by Christ.”

Christians in the Book of Acts, the early churches, would sell literally everything they owned to help a struggling person (Acts 4:32-36) and even prayed for the people who were killing them (Acts 7:54-60).

Acts 4:13 – When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.