MATTHEW'S FEAST. DISCOURSE ON FASTING
(Capernaum)
MATT. 9:10-17
MARK 2:15-22
LUKE 5:29-39
Jesus eats at Levi's (Matthew
"I didn't come to invite good people to turn to God. I came to invite sinners." Luke 5:32 CEV
A clear statement that he was not basing his ministry on people's abilities to do good or be sinless but on the movement of God. Paul himself was an example of God's "endless patience":
"I used to say terrible and insulting things about him, and I was cruel. But he had mercy on me because I didn't know what I was doing, and I had not yet put my faith in him. Christ Jesus our Lord was very kind to me. He has greatly blessed my life with faith and love just like his own. "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." This saying is true, and it can be trusted. I was the worst sinner of all! But since I was worse than anyone else, God had mercy on me and let me be an example of the endless patience of Christ Jesus. He did this so that others would put their faith in Christ and have eternal life." 1 Timothy 1:13-16
Futhermore, if we are to distance ourselves from "sinners," Paul teaches that we should distance ourselves and judge those who are sinning within the Church, not the larger world:
"In my other letter I told you not to have anything to do with immoral people. But I wasn't talking about the people of this world. You would have to leave this world to get away from everyone who is immoral or greedy or who cheats or worships idols. I was talking about your own people who are immoral or greedy or worship idols or curse others or get drunk or cheat. Don't even eat with them! Why should I judge outsiders? Aren't we supposed to judge only church members? God judges everyone else." 1 Corinthians 5:9-13
In our weird "post church" culture, Christians band together against our hostile culture, affirming and justifying ourselves. We are to support each other, but if the Church is to reflect Christ, their should also be an honest feedback loop with regard to those who claim to be Christian yet live in such a way that they deny Christ.
Instead, the Church would rather focus on judging outsiders--this keeps our inner lives more comfortable, as we don't have to confront friends and Christian community. The unspoken agreement is: I turn a blind eye to your sin and you turn a blind eye toward mine. However, the higher standard is to be held up to the Church, not the World.
Even then, Paul calls the Church to reflect His love and be unified:
"God loves you and has chosen you as his own special people. So be gentle, kind, humble, meek, and patient. Put up with each other, and forgive anyone who does you wrong, just as Christ has forgiven you. Love is more important than anything else. It is what ties everything completely together. Each one of you is part of the body of Christ, and you were chosen to live together in peace. So let the peace that comes from Christ control your thoughts. And be grateful." Col 3:12-15
"New wine must be put only into new wineskins. No one wants new wine after drinking old wine. They say, "The old wine is better." Luke 5:38-39
A distinction between the first movement of God's work in the OT and the second movement in the New...
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