It seems like our country used to be predominantly Christian but is slowly following the pattern of many European countries in becoming a secular post-Christian society. The great challenge in this North American mission field God has placed us in is to communicate the gospel message in a way that secular people will understand it. Perhaps the even greater challenge—that we discussed last week—is that many people don’t want to hear anything about Jesus and Christianity from Christians. We find ourselves surrounded by people who usually don’t want to hear about the Christian faith and even when they do hear it they don’t know what we are talking about.
What should we do?
The nones
Well, one thing to make note of is how each region of the country must be treated differently since it’s not all the same. For example, Providence, Rhode Island is very different from Knoxville, Tennessee; Portland, Oregon is very different from Springfield, Missouri. Some regions have a high percentage of Christians and the vast majority are affiliated with a church. But in other areas, Christians are in the extreme minority. My wife and I live in Warwick, Rhode Island just outside of Providence. We sent our girls to a public school with over 1000 students and there was only a small handful of students who served Christ in a serious way.
Regardless of which region we live in we will all find a growing number of people around us who do not identify as Christian and would consider themselves not religious. Some call this group the “nones” because, when it comes to religion, they have none. Some of the nones are wonderfully open to learning about Jesus; others are pretty antagonistic.
Little in common
Here’s one thing I’ve noticed: the more serious we are about Christ, the less we have in common with people who are unchurched. That’s not necessarily a bad thing; it’s expected. Our purpose in life is different. Our motives are different. Our affections are different. We love different things. We spend our time in very different ways. Consider these verses from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians:
Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,
“I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.”
2 Corinthians 6:14-18
Parallel universe
The very word for church in the Greek language (that the New Testament was penned in) means “called out ones.” We are called by God and set apart to be holy. We march to the beat of a Different Drum. While it is true that the deeper we go in Christ we will fit in less and less, we must be so careful not to disassociate with unchurched people because they aren’t comfortable to be around.
Let’s face it, we like hanging out with people like ourselves, right? This is what cliques are all about. What so often happens to us as Christians is that we spend more and more time with Christians because we feel at home with Christians. Again, that’s not bad, we should feel most at home in the family of God, but as someone once put it, Christians tend to create their own “parallel universe.” They create Christian versions of everything—Christian camp, Christian bowling night, Christian coffeehouse, Christian colleges, Christian businesses, Christian amusements parks, Christian bookstores—Christian everything! It’s natural that Christians would have their own versions of some things, but it’s all gone way too far. It has created a strange relational separation that Jesus never intended. Jesus taught that we should be salt that is mixed into food to give it flavor. We are to be part of the fabric of the world or, as Jesus put it, we are to be “in the world but not of it.”
Jesus friend of sinners
Consider what the Bible says about Jesus who is our supreme example:
And as he (Jesus) reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. Mark 2:15
If we are going to have any influence upon people who are unchurched around us it will begin by being with them. When Jesus called his first disciples the Bible says he called them to “be with Him.” Jesus modeled for us the way to reach the world.
Imagine how uncomfortable Jesus felt hanging out with loud-mouthed sinners and seductive prostitutes. Imagine how awkward it was for Jesus when some of the tax collectors started sharing dirty jokes or when course sinners were spewing hate about people. Imagine how Jesus cringed inside when people took His Father’s name in vain. If we think we are uncomfortable by the sin of sinners—how much more Jesus who came from above and is without sin!
And yet, this is exactly what Jesus does. He stoops into our dirty sinful world and dwells amongst us. You’d think He would come and be in the Temple all the time or up on a high mountain. You’d think He would surround Himself by the most holy people. But He didn’t. He spent time with sinful, broken people. He ate and drank with those who were looked down upon the most because of their sinful practices.
Reclining with sinners
Eating and drinking with someone was a big deal in Jewish culture and the ancient world. It was not a 15 minute burger with a coworker in the food court. It was a time of leisure and relaxing. The verse above says that they were “reclining with Jesus.” Can you picture that? They were lying on their side eating from a low table or mat. An array of food and drink was spread out. Candles were lit. What was that conversation like? Don’t you want to know?
In most of the Jesus movies they make Christ so dominant that the sinners are all just sort of at His feet in awe listening to Him. These wretched sinners are all so well-behaved and never say anything offensive. But I don’t think it was quite like that. I believe Jesus put up with a lot just to be with them. He overlooked their bad language or other unsavory behavior. When He was with them He just loved them and accepted them.
Be with sinners
Back to us and our desire to share the gospel with people around us, we need to follow this pattern of Jesus by being with sinners. Now, I don’t recommend calling people “sinners,” but you know what I mean. There are people we work with, neighbors, family members, old friends, and so on, who are very much not Christian and some are honestly pretty difficult to be around.
We need wisdom, of course. If you struggled, and still struggle, with alcohol abuse, it’s not a good idea to hang at a bar to mingle with sinners like Jesus. Because, well, you’re not Jesus. Jesus ministered to prostitutes. That might not be a good ministry for certain Christian men because they wouldn’t be able to handle the temptation.
So I’m not saying we should immerse ourselves into sinful culture carelessly. We must be led by the Spirit. We also must be rooted in the church and strong spiritually in order to be light in darkness. If we aren’t full of light we will end up being corrupted by the darkness instead of dispelling it. We would be wise to have mentors in our life to let us know if we are strong enough to spend time with certain people.
My point though is that we are the light of the world and we are called to go into dark places and shine. How else will people in darkness see the light unless we bring it to them? I understand that associating with sinful people can affect us negatively and be uncomfortable. But the answer isn’t to withdraw and hide in a Christian bubble. The answer is to be filled with the power of God so you can go wherever He wants you to go.
Nice sinners
Another problem is when we only associate with what I like to call the “nice sinners.” You know what I mean. They are unchurched but good citizens. They are pretty moral people. Their lives are put together, and they have good jobs. They seem safe to be around. But what about folks recently out of prison? What about the mentally unstable? What about those with serious problems of drug or alcohol abuse? How about a person who has a history of violence? What about sex offenders? What about the homeless man who smells like alcohol? What about the whole cast of characters who have been written off by society? Didn’t Jesus make a special point that He came for people like these?
And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” [17] And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” Mark 2:16-17
Who will go?
Who is going to reach sin-sick sinners? Who is going to spend time with them? Jesus was the friend of sinners, tax collectors and prostitutes. Who is going to be like Jesus and spend time with sinful people? Yes, they may be dangerous to be around. It may be uncomfortable. We may get robbed. They may lose their temper. But what’s the alternative? Should we just let them go to hell? Should we just tell God that if He wants to save them then He should do it without us? Should we just put a sign on the church that says, “ALL ARE WELCOME”—is that enough? The reality is that many church people only hang out with church people, some hang out with “nice sinners,” but very few spend time with those Jesus came to rescue from the dregs of sin.
And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” Isaiah 6:8
They are like us
I’ve noticed something that happens when I spend time with people way outside my comfort bubble. I realize they aren’t so different from me. As we exchange stories we find common ground. And you know what? I find myself genuinely enjoying their company.
Underneath the rubble of sin, and behind the rough faces, we find that all people are made in God’s image. Those who are in particularly bad condition morally are almost always in that place for a reason. Many were fatherless or abused as children. Some were severely bullied in grade school. Some have experienced tragedy and suffer PTSD. Others have had a history of mental illness.
I’m not excusing anyone’s sin but just making the point that we should have compassion. It’s easy to judge and think, “I would never do the things they do—even before I became a Christian.” But none of us know what depths of sin we would have fallen into if we were in their shoes. We might be worse!
Draw near
We can’t reach the world from our couch or from behind our computer. We can’t influence people from a distance. We must draw near. We must come into people’s world and just be with them. Many unchurched people have very distorted ideas of Christianity because they’ve never seen a genuine Christian up close. When we allow people to come close we let them see the inside workings of Jesus in us. Trust is developed over time, and they eventually will talk about God. Well, maybe. Maybe not. But whether they do open up or not, something beautiful happens: they see that following Jesus is good. Maybe they won’t open up to God until they are older. That’s okay. It’s a seed planted.
Take stock of your relationships. Who do you spend time with? Are there people in your life who are unchurched? Do you mingle only with the nice sinners or do you associate with people with complicated sinful issues? What steps can you take this summer to be around unchurched people more?
-Pastor Scott