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When God Was Touched By A Sinner
Brian Mashburn
February 8, 2015
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When God Was Touched By A Sinner
There is a stream of thought among some Christians that God is so holy that he cannot be around sin, and therefore God's people should not be around sinners. This view comes from a few scriptures that speak of God's intolerance for sin, the most commonly quoted from Habakkuk 1:13, where the prophet is appealing to God's justice against his enemies, and argues, "Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong."
This view is not unlike the one popular among the Jewish leaders in the days of Jesus. In Luke 7 (section 59 in your Harmony), Jesus is sitting at dinner with a Pharisee when a contrite prostitute entered and with tears honored Jesus by washing his feet. What did the Pharisee think of this? "If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him - that she is a sinner." (Luke 7:39)
We will look today at how Jesus masterfully rebuked the man with a clever story to rebuke his theology and redirect his application of scripture.
When God was a man, he not only allowed sinners to be around him, he ran to sinners, for sinners. He touched sinners and sinners touched him. He didn't just tolerate sinners, he invited sinners, forgave sinners, and freed sinners to believe that they need not sin anymore.
If God can't look at sin, then he can't look at anyone.
Another stream of thought among Christians is much more in line with the truth that Jesus exhibited (and that you should, too): God hates the sin, but loves the sinner.
What else could explain this: "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:21)
Greatest. News. Ever.