In my previous post, “Jesus, the ultimate yes!”, I talk about how people often think of God as a great big “no” to what they’d like to do, (especially if it’s fun!)….when the truth is, He’s actually a gigantic “yes” to everything that’s good about life and the way into all the treasure that God has for us!  Satan loves to promote the lie that God is the bad guy and an enemy to us having a good time.  It should come as no surprise then that another one of Satan’s biggest lies is to have us believe that God somehow hates us, and that we are too bad for Jesus to love.

The con basically goes like this: Satan does his best to lead us into temptations that he knows we’re especially vulnerable to.  (Each of us has our own unique points of temptation and he’s especially good at finding ways to make us fall.)  The bible says his plan is to “steal, kill, and destroy.”  In a nutshell, he wants to make a total mess of your life!  One of Satan’s great tricks is especially perverse; he will lead you into something, and then turn around and accuse you of the very thing he lured you into!  His goal is to lead you into sin, blame you for the very things he suggested, then make you feel like the scum of the earth!  One of his greatest weapons is accusation, and after he’s done with you, you will have no problem believing you are the greatest low life the world has ever known!  On top of this, he will tell you your situation is hopeless… your sin was too bad, it’s grip too great for you to ever be free.  “Oh, and by the way”, he will say, “God could never love a wretch like you!”

But is this true?  The bible calls Satan a liar and, “the father of lies”.  Obviously listening to him will lead to fear, condemnation, and bondage.  But Jesus said you could know the truth, “and the truth will set you free!”  John 8:32

The truth is, Jesus is a friend of sinners!    

Yes, God is for you, not against you.  He’s not holding out a finger to accuse you of everything you’ve ever done; his heart is reaching out to forgive.  Now even religious leaders sometimes get this wrong: There were religious teachers in Jesus’ day who hated the fact that Jesus was a friend of sinners.  “Obviously”, went their reasoning, “this man could not be from God, he hangs out with prostitutes and sinners!  He eats with them and even stays in their homes.  If he was really from God, He’d never do THAT!”

“Now the tax collectors and “sinners” were all gathering around to hear him.  But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”  Luke 15:1-2

Are you a Christian, but thinking liking a Pharisee?  Have you forgotten that Jesus is a friend of sinners?  Have you forgotten that He’s your friend?  Maybe you’ve been listening too much to the devil and not enough to God!  Even if you have messed up, and you are the scum of the earth, the best place to go is back to Jesus.  The religious world will often skewer you for your sins, but Jesus isn’t like that, Jesus is your friend!  The best day of my life was when I found out that Jesus was for me and not against me.  The second best day was knowing that after I became a Christian, and still messed up, that Jesus was still for me and not against me.  Christian, don’t believe the lie that God once loved you, but has changed his mind after getting to know you better!

“For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life!” -Romans 5:10

If you’ve been buying into the devil’s lies, now’s the time to wake up and realize Jesus is for you, not against you.  And whatever you do, if you’re a Christian… stop being a Pharisee!  If Jesus can love a sinner like you, show a little love!  Jesus is a friend of sinners.