Csi Jerusalem - The Motive Series

Jesus much preferred to spend His time with someone else.

He preferred to spend his time with sinners.

He preferred the company of tax collectors

And prostitutes

And other “undesirables” in society.

These were people way below the line of acceptability. These were people who shouldn’t have been acceptable to God. And yet Jesus had the audacity to tell the Chief Priests and Elders of the people: “I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.” Matthew 21:31

Jesus said this to them because, as He later explained: “…the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” Luke 19:10

The motive for Christ’s death was precisely that. As Paul declared: “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners— of whom I am the worst.” 1 Timothy 1:15

Now what that means is this: If you’re not a sinner, then Jesus can’t save you.

If you’re filled with your own “self-righteousness” and you think you can make it on your own without God’s intervention: then you will go to hell… because you’re not likely to let Jesus help you. ILLUS: Years ago I was talking to a young man about becoming a Christian. He expressed the fact that he truly desired to belong to Jesus and so I asked him a couple of the basic questions I ask all converts:

1) “Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God?” And he said “Yes.”

2) Then I asked “Do you believe that you are a sinner?” To which he replied “Well, I’m not really all that bad a person.”

“Well then,” I replied “you can’t be saved. Because Jesus only saves sinners.”

1 John 1:10 tells us “If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.” In other words, if we claim we have never sinned in our lives then we are calling Jesus a liar, because He said He came to die for sinners – including you and I. But if we say we’ve not sinned, we’re saying Jesus didn’t die for us.

But if you are a sinner and you know that you’re a sinner. If you have done terrible things in your life that you never could believe God would ever forgive. If you’re below the line of morality that even you think God would reject… Then you know that nothing short of the grace of God will ever make any difference.

ILLUS: There’s a true story about a gathering of various religious leaders in Chicago many years ago, practically every known religion was represented, and learned men from Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Christianity gave great speeches.

During one session, Dr. Joseph Cook of Boston rose unannounced and said:

"Gentlemen, I beg to introduce to you a woman with great sorrow. Bloodstains are on her hands, and nothing will remove them. The blood is that of murder, and nothing will take away the stain. She has been driven to desperation in her distress.

Is there anything in your religion that will remove her sin and give her peace?"

A hush fell upon the gathering as the speaker turned from one to another for an answer. Not one of those in the audience replied. And with good reason: everyone there realized that, in their respective religions, there was a line of morality below which no one could be saved… and this woman was waaaay below that line.