THE TRUE PICTURE OF JESUS: BOTH MERCIFUL AND JUDGING
I have frequently heard it said that because Jesus is a loving Lord Who turns no
one away, the Church should reflect this posture, and without reference to
doctrines, actions or behavior, should reject no one who approaches its doors.
There is truth in this statement, in that the Church, which is supposed to be a
hospital for sinners, should turn away none who turn to it for healing. However,
to suggest that Jesus never rejected anyone, and therefore the Church should
have no standards which might result in rejection of anyone, is untrue to the
Apostolic witness to Christ. Let me explain.
The Lord Jesus WAS loving and open-armed to all who came to Him. Tax-collectors
[Lk. 19:1-10], the immoral [Jn. 8:1-11], sinners of the most notorious kind,
even those who dwelt on the outer fringes of first century Judean society, could
all find a place of acceptance with Him. This, however, is not to suggest that
He didn’t expect them to change their life-styles or cease their sinful
behaviors. Indeed, He constantly warned all who came to Him that His
expectations were high [Mt. 16:24-25], and there would be many who would be
rejected because their behavior didn’t measure up [Mt. 7:21-23].
For example, Jesus told His followers that they must be perfect as their
heavenly Father is perfect [ Mt. 5:48]. Nowhere does this account suggest that
He meant this only figuratively. Indeed, He elsewhere states that the
righteousness of His followers must exceed the holiness of the holy people of
his day, the scribes and Pharisees of Judaism [Mt. 5:20]. In addition, He told
several different persons to “go and sin no more.” [Jn 5:14, 8:11] He definitely
had a high expectation of those who came to Him and expected to be called by His
Name.
Not only this, He also warned that those high expectations would result in many
failing to obtain His salvation [Mt. 7:13-14, 21-23]. He suggested that God
would reject, outright, those who failed to meet His standard of behavior. How
many times do we hear Him speak of sending people to a place “where there is
weeping and gnashing of teeth?”
Furthermore, this is not just for the “bad guys;” many of those whom Jesus will
ultimately reject will be believers [Mt. 7:21-23], or those who are simply
guilty of being afraid, unprepared or careless [Mt. 22:1-14, 25:1-12, 25:1-30].
These, too, risk hearing the words spoken to them which Jesus Himself utters,
“Cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness; there men will weep and
gnash their teeth [Mt. 25:30].
I have only skimmed the surface here, but it is clear that in the Lord Jesus’
instruction, He welcomed all. However, when He did, He was welcoming sinners to
repentance, and He always warned them about the dangers of coming to Him in a
state of deliberate sin, spiritual neglect, or indifference.
The Church is here to present the image and Faith of Christ unaltered to each
generation. Hence, it must present the image of Christ as He presented Himself,
both merciful AND firm. Like Christ Himself, the Church will, at times, have to
turn away those who are not willing to conform to the theological and moral
principles which Christ taught. To do this is not a failure to be as loving,
compassionate or merciful as Jesus was; on the contrary, it is to present the
Gospel EXACTLY as Jesus presented it. Anything else is not only a false
representation of the image of the Lord Jesus Christ, but it is a denial of the
Truth of the Gospel.