Striking the Proper Balance

One of the things we most admire about Jesus was His ability to strike the proper balance between sin and sinners.

He loved sinners, but hated sin. He had come into the world to “seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). Yet, he never condoned sin. He always called sinners to repentance, saying, “unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3, 5). This kind of balance is often absent in today’s preaching and teaching.

The tendency is to emphasize the love and grace of Christ apart from his demands for repentance and change.

Yes, Jesus loved the woman at Jacob’s well (John 4:3-42). No one would dispute the fact that she was a person of questionable morals, yet Jesus reached out to her. Following his example, we also should reach out to those in sin. Ours is a message of hope and deliverance through Jesus Christ. He died for the alcoholic, the drug addict, the sexually impure, the divorced, and the derelict. His blood can wash away every sin (Ephesians 1:7). There is power in his blood!

It is a mistake, however, to suggest that one can cling to salvation while persisting in sin.

This is the message often implied by those who emphasize the grace of Christ while neglecting his demands. The appeal of such an emphasis is obvious. The implication that one can live a life of sinful indulgence while continuing to enjoy salvation in Christ is appealing. This is far more appealing than the truth that Christ’s blood is a sufficient remedy for sin, but the practice of sin must cease. Adulterers can be forgiven, but the adultery must end. Thieves can be saved, but they must stop stealing. Drunkards can be redeemed, but they must sever their bond with alcohol.

Christ not only has the power to deliver us from the condemnation of sin, but also its control.

No one who understands the role of Christ as redeemer and savior argues that Christians never sin, but a strong argument can and must be made for the idea that Christians are not under sin’s control. This is the balance Jesus struck in his preaching and teaching. This is the same balance we should bring to our efforts today.

The apostle Paul offered these words of warning to all:

“What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness” (Romans 6:15-18).