The Plumbline

The mystery is that people who have never heard of God and those who have heard of him all their lives (what I’ve been calling outsiders and insiders) stand on the same ground before God. They get the same offer, same help, same promises in Christ Jesus. The Message is accessible and welcoming to everyone, across the board. (Ephesians 3:5-6 MSG) On the same ground. Those words indicate what some refer to as a level playing field. In other words, there is no difference between human beings. No status, race, religion making any man better or worse than any other. In modern terms, the situation is similar for all people - we ALL are sinners, ALL are in need of a Savior, ALL are incapable of being made right with God on our own, ALL must confess our sins and be made right with God through Christ Jesus alone. No other path exists. Right-living begins and ends in Christ Jesus. The same offer, same help, same promises in Christ Jesus. This should give us a sense of hope and encouragement as ...

Later Jesus and his disciples were at home having supper with a collection of disreputable guests. Unlikely as it seems, more than a few of them had become followers. The religion scholars and Pharisees saw him keeping this kind of company and lit into his disciples: “What kind of example is this, acting cozy with the misfits?” Jesus, overhearing, shot back, “Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? I’m here inviting the sin-sick, not the spiritually-fit.” (Mark 2:15-17 MSG) Who needs to see the doctor among us? If we have an ailing big toe, sore beyond measure, we seek advice as to how to get that toe to stop hurting. We wouldn't go to the mechanic or ask the garbage man collecting our trash what caused it, how to treat it, or when it might stop hurting, would we? We'd see the doctor - the one with the specific knowledge as to how to treat our condition. So, when we are not spiritually healthy, facing doubt or fear, why do we insist on consulting any other 'advisor...