Did Jesus Confront People With Their Sin? Part 1

Introduction

     This is the first of a three part series addressing the topic of sin and repentance in the message of Jesus.  Part one explains how the Gospel must be communicated in both a practical (relational) and a propositional way, part two examins four instances in which Jesus interacted with sinners, and part three ties it all together; invoking a cumulative argument for the centrality of man’s sin and his need for repentance in the Gospel.      

Practical and Propositional

     Recently, during my interaction with the emergent church, I was told that Jesus never confronted the lost with their sin or called for men to repent; he simply extended a helping hand to people in need; showing love through practical means.  Christians, I was told, should emulate this style of evangelism; avoiding archaic strategies which emphasize calling men to repentance.  It is not our place to confront the lost with their sin because that would be judgmental.  We should primarily communicate Christ’s message through social activism and good deeds.

 

     Now don’t get me wrong, the message of Christ does demand action.  James made this crystal clear.

 

“What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works?  Can that faith save him?  If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?”  – James 2:14-16

True faith requires action; true love is not stagnant.  Obviously, Jesus spent a vast amount of his ministry reaching out to people in practical ways:  healing the sick, casting out demons, spending time with the poor and the needy.  Yet, this was not the only side of Jesus’ ministry.  Jesus spent the majority of his time teaching the people about the kingdom of God; communicating propositional truth that was crucial to their lives.       

 

     It is the content of the gospel, in conjunction with the Holy Spirit, which brings the lost to repentance and heals the trenchant scars of sin.  Paul says in Romans 10:17, “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”  The question I have for the Emergent Church is this:  how can people hear the content of the gospel without someone sharing it?  The gospel message is not fully communicated by living a noble and just lifestyle.  For, no amount of good deeds will teach the lost the propositional truth of God’s word.  As Paul says,

 

“Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”  How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed?  How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard?  And how will they hear without a preacher?”  – Romans 10:13-14

     As wonderful as they are, acts of kindness and good deeds, by themselves, do not fully communicate Christ’s message; only a preacher, someone willing to audibly or visually pass on the information, will suffice.  Anyone can show kindness or help the needy:  Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Atheists, are all capable of doing “good works.”   It is the propositional truth of the gospel that separates us from false religion and counterfeit faith.  It is the message of Jesus that contains the power to transform lives and bring healing to the world.   

Conclusion

     So we see that there is both a practical and propositional side to the Gospel, and both are needed to effectively share the message of Christ.  Flippant practicality without propositional truth is ineffective; likewise, cold and sterile proposition without genuine acts of love is dead.  So, the question remains:  What was the content of Jesus’ message to sinners and how did he present it?  Was sin and repentance a major theme in Christ’s teaching?  Part two will address this important issue by examining four examples from the Gospels in which Jesus interacted with the lost.