Meeting Jesus - Receiving What We Give
In High School I had long hair, bad acne, and mostly did what I wanted to. 😊 I rarely studied for tests. I did my homework if I felt like it. With no effort, I was a straight B student. I was suspended from school for 15 days for going to school drunk on moonshine. Another time I was suspended for fighting.
One month after I graduated HS, I gave my life to Jesus. I began growing in my faith, reading my bible daily, and living for Him. After roughly FOUR years, I had a desire to go to College – but I didn’t know where to start. Even though I had been out of High School for four years, I scheduled an appointment with my HS Guidance Counselor.
I explained to her that I had given my life to Jesus right after I graduated…I was a Sunday School teacher, a youth volunteer, and I had served for one year as a church planter in Ohio…AND NOW…I needed some help and guidance from the only person I knew who could help me. My Guidance counselor looked at me and made a judgement based on my past life. She did not see the new life I had begun living. She only saw the Sophomore that came to school drunk on moonshine and threw up everywhere. She did not see the SS teacher. She saw the boy that got suspended from school for fighting.
She only saw my past and politely said to me, “Joe. Some people aren’t meant to go to college…”. In that moment – I realized that some people will never let you move on from your past. But my guidance counselor is not the only person guilty of judging other people – I have been guilty of Judging others as well. And I bet you have too.
Luke 6:37-42
“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.” 39 Then Jesus gave the following illustration: “Can one blind person lead another? Won’t they both fall into a ditch? 40 Students are not greater than their teacher. But the student who is fully trained will become like the teacher. 41 “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? 42 How can you think of saying, ‘Friend, let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.
First, I want to make sure we understand what JUDGING is.
JUDGING IS NIT-PICKING THINGS THAT DO NOT MATTER.
Nit picking can kind of look like how my youngest daughter eats her food. She will not eat her food if it touches something else on her plate. All the food on her plate is going to get squished about by her teeth, smashed with her tongue, and digested by her stomach…but she won’t eat her toast if it touches her scrambled eggs.
That is nit-picking! Most of the time when we make initial judgements about other people, we judge them based on things that do not matter:
We focus on their hair style.
Whether they have too many tattoos.
Whether they do not have enough tattoos.
Their clothes.
Their educational level.
Their occupation.
Their former occupation.
Their family.
Their marriages.
Their past lives.
Whether they drink.
Whether they smoke…
That is nit-picking.
None of these things matter.
As followers of Jesus, it is our purpose to LOVE GOD and LOVE OTHERS…and it is impossible to LOVE people if we nit-pick them to death. But this passage has so much more that we need to apply to our lives than judging others…
We can also learn…
WE REAP WHAT WE SOW, SO SOW LOVE GENEROUSLY.
Luke 6:37
“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven.
Have you ever wondered why people criticize you?
Have you ever wondered why other people give you the elevator eyes?
Have you ever wondered why people gossip about you, spread rumors about you, and speak negatively about your character?
I have.
And – the hard truth in this passage is “we reap what we sow”. If I judge others, I get judged by others. If I condemn others, I get condemned. If I nit-pick other people – other people are going to nit-pick me.
BUT – If I sow LOVE to others, I will receive love from others. If I sow grace and forgiveness, I will receive grace and forgiveness.
I have been told to wear certain types of clothes when I preach. I have been told to wear a tie. A suit. I have been told to wear Jeans, get a different haircut, shave my beard, grow a beard…
Nit picking others stinks – so sow love generously!
It is a very simple practical step of faith. If we claim to be a follower of Jesus. If we have asked Jesus to forgive us for our own arrogance, our own pride, our own selfish sinful behavior, then as recipients of HIS GRACE we ought to treat all others with GRACE and KINDNESS. It only makes sense. We have been forgiven – we ought to give REAL forgiveness to others. We have been shown MERCY – we ought to show REAL mercy to others. So – we still have this little Judge living inside of us…so what do we do with our judgmental behavior?
In verse 41 Jesus asked…
Luke 6:41
“And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own?
That means…
WE ALL HAVE A BLINDSPOT.
Within the last week I have seen three fender benders in about the same spot at 501 and Forestbrook. Shifting lanes and merging with traffic is hard. Our minivan has a blindspot monitoring system. If I begin to shift lanes and a vehicle is in my blind-spot, lights on my dash blink and a noise alerts me. While shifting lanes, I have to continually stretch my neck around to make sure that another driver isn’t in my blind spot. My little cars f=do not have that feature. I almost ran one driver off the road and cut off another driver who waved at me with one finger as he passed.
We all have BLIND SPOTS of sin in our lives. Sin that other people can see from afar, but it is so close to us personally it is harder to see.
It could be bitterness.
Resentment.
Unforgiveness.
An ambivalent attitude toward sin.
An unloving spirit.
A gruff and harsh tone with other people…
An addiction.
A lack of self-control…
Are you aware of your blind-spot? Are you aware of that speck that “log” in your own eye?
Listen to what Jesus said:
Luke 6:41-42
“And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? 42 How can you think of saying, ‘Friend, let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.
We ought to be our own harshest critic.
Instead of JUDGING others, we ought to JUDGE ourselves.
We ought to examine our own heart. Our own motives. Our own actions. Our own lives.
We should never ignore SIN when it begins to take root in our lives. We ought to turn our nit-picking onto ourselves. On a regular basis, we ought to sit down with a copy of God’s word that we can read and understand and allow it to speak to us and change us.
We should not fear being transparent and honest before God. Jesus has already paid the penalty for your sin. For my sin. God is not going to punish you for your sin – we couldn’t bear it if he did. Rather, as a follower of Jesus God desires to continue to bring CHANGE to you. Regardless of your age. Regardless of your past.
See – If I am a liar and I sit down with God on a regular basis – God is going to change me from a liar to an honest person. His character is going to RUB OFF onto me.
If I am a drunk and sit down with God’s word on a regular basis – God is going to rescue me and sober me up. His character is going to sharpen me.
If I am a thief and sit down with God’s word – he is going to change and transform me. His Character is going to gradually make me more like HIM.
As God reveals those BLINDSPOTS in my life and I confess and remove them – THEN I can help other people who have been where I have been.
So can you! I believe God wants you to…
INSPIRE OTHERS BY CELEBRATING YOUR WINS.
I love the story of the OVERCOMER. Maybe you are the overcomer.
I love the story of an individual who has been beaten down by sin and by life yet somehow God has given them victory. Those stories are inspirational and motivational. If God can work in restoring “their” life, then maybe it is not too much of a stretch that HE is able to work in my life.
You are the inspirational story that another follower of Jesus needs to read! That marriage that God redeemed and rescued – somebody needs to hear how you and your spouse overcame.
That addiction that God rescued you from. There is an addict sitting in our church that needs to hear your story of breaking free!
That cancer diagnosis? That depression? That anxiety? Somebody needs to hear about your win!
Be willing to share your win!
When you share your win, you share HOPE! You help those who are struggling understand that they are not alone and that they too can overcome through the love of Jesus.
Consider getting involved with Celebrate Recovery. They lean on one another in a non-judgmental way. They celebrate wins together and they stick with one another through losses and failures.
Whether we share it in a sermon or on Social Media, countless people can be impacted through hearing your story of how God removed the log from your eyes.
Will you communicate how God has given you that second, third and fourth chance, open your mouth and begin to speak about His Grace in your lives to help others?
Meeting Jesus - Loving Our Enemies
I have four daughters, and my youngest Jessica is 9 years old. And she is just as sweet as my other girls were when they were 9 years old…Jessie is like Tigger. She is full of energy, joy, and is always bouncing around. She smiles. She laughs. She brings a lot of levity to our home.
Jessie said something one night while we were eating that surprised us all. As we were enjoying our family night dinner, one of the girls mentioned that a classmate had “told-on” one of the other students for doing something wrong. Without hesitating, my sweet, innocent, Jessie Lee said,
“Snitches get stitches.”
I could just imagine Jessie being part of the 3rd Grade Mafia on the playground at the private Christian school she attended…pounding her fist in her hand…and warning the other kids: “Snitches Get Stitches.”
But – “snitches get stitches” actually reflects how many people feel today. Maybe we get our feelings hurt, maybe somebody does something to us to intentionally cause harm and we think:
Since you hurt me, I am going to hurt you back... OR
Maybe, If you hurt me, I will ignore you.
Maybe, If you hurt me, I will look the other way when I see you coming.
Maybe, If you hurt me, I will smile and nod – but things will never be like they once were.
Or maybe, if you hurt me, I will humiliate you and gossip about you and tear you down behind your back.
We know quite well the Old Testament passage: “An eye for an eye and tooth for a ______”
Think about a toddler. When a toddler gets hit by another toddler, most of the time, they choose to hit back. Ask the toddler why they hit somebody, and they will typically say, “Because they hit me first…”
The toddler is not thinking about self-preservation or self-defense. They want to hurt the other kid because they got hurt.
And, parents, grandparents, and everybody who has a pulse, we struggle with “paybacks” as well. We struggle with paying people back when they hurt us…
So, how do followers of Jesus respond when we get hurt?
In Luke 6, Jesus was teaching and he said:
Luke 6:27–36 (ESV)
“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29 To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. 30 Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. 31 And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. 32 “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. 35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. 36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
What is Jesus teaching us here? Is Jesus teaching us that we are simply supposed to stand still and take it when we are hurt? Are we supposed to allow “evil doers” to get away with the harm they have caused us? As a follower of Jesus, the first thing we need to understand about this passage of scripture is:
RADICAL LOVE OVERCOMES HATE, HURTS, AND HUMILIATION.
As always, it is important that we understand the context so that we understand the application. In the Gospel of Matthew, Matthew brought more clarity to this passage.
Matthew 5:39 (ESV)
But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.
Slapping somebody communicates they are insignificant, and you are not worried about their retaliation. A punch is designed to inflict more physical damage, but a back-handed slap is designed to cause deep personal hurt, shame and embarrassment. So…here is the message that Jesus wants you to hear. Whenever you are deeply and personally hurt…when you are devastated, embarrassed and feel so ashamed somebody chose to hurt you…
When you are wronged - don’t pay other person back! Do not seek revenge…
Don’t grumble about them.
Don’t take their private sin against you, and make it public.
Then, Jesus talked about TUNICs and CLOAKs…
The tunic was a very thin garment worn under the clothes and closest to the skin. Most Jewish people had two tunics.
The cloak was an outer garment worn during the day, and used as a blanket during the night. The Jewish people only had ONE of these. Anything more was considered excessive.
Now it gets interesting.
If a person had been sued for their shirt and their coat…the law allowed that the coat and shirt could be taken, but the law also demanded that the coat be returned to the individual before night so that they had something to keep them warm. It was within the rights of every person to retain their coats. The law insisted that coats were always returned to individuals…
See, as followers of Jesus, you and I should be willing to lay down our rights and expectations so that others are blessed. Live with the mindset that everything you are entitled to, is in reality, entitled to others because God owns it all. That is Radical Love that loves our neighbor as ourselves. And Radical love overcomes hate, hurt and humiliation.
Then, Jesus goes on to explain why you and I as followers of Jesus are supposed to treat others with forgiveness and radical love.
The reason why followers of Jesus are supposed to demonstrate RADICAL LOVE to others is because:
GOD LOVES THE UNTHANKFUL AND WICKED – THAT’S ME.
The reason why we are supposed to be kind to those who hurt us, humiliate us, and hate us is because GOD LOVES the wicked and the unthankful. Look at verse 35:
Luke 6:35 (NLT)
“Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked.
I know that might surprise you if you are visiting today. You might expect the Pastor to stand up and say, “God loves the righteous. God loves the Holy people. God loves Christians.”
That’s true…but
God loves and shows kindness to the people who do not believe in Him.
God loves terrorists, murderers, and abusers.
God shows kindness to people who are not kind to others.
One of my Core Values is Uncomfortable Grace. I believe that followers of Jesus SHOULD give the same limitless grace they have received from God. That means we demonstrate radical love. Not paying back evil for evil. Not seeking to hurt others who have hurt us.
We should go out of our way to demonstrate Grace that sometimes makes us and others a little uncomfortable…that means we love others and forgive our enemies in such a way, that we see them as God sees us, without one single fault.
Colossians 1:21-22
This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. 22 Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.
You were God’s enemy…but God showed kindness and forgave you and you now stand without one single fault because Jesus paid the price for your sin. According to Paul, you are already in God’s presence, and you stand before him without one single thing wrong with you. No faults. No sin. As a follower of Jesus, because of God’s Kindness, we want to forgive our enemy in such a way, that when they are in our presence, we see them without one single fault.
So…
ACT LIKE A CHILD & LOVE LIKE YOUR DADDY.
In verse 35, many translations read:
Luke 6:35 (NLT)
“…you will truly be acting as children of the Most High…”
Let’s take one more look at children and toddlers interaction with each other. One minute two kids can be playing together on the playground, the next second, they are fighting. then the next second, they are playing together again. Most children under 4-5 years old, do not hold grudges. They let go of their hurt quickly, forgive and move on…because they would rather play and laugh than fight and argue. That’s how we all need to be.
Luke 6:32–34 (NLT)
“If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them! 33 And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much! 34 And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return.
Jesus is teaching that even selfish, self-centered, people without Jesus can be kind, nice, and giving to those who are kind, nice and forgiving to them.
Only selfish people are nice to those who are nice to them.
Only selfish people love those who show to love them.
Only selfish people pray for those who pray for them.
Only selfish people give to those who give to them.
Only selfish people forgive those if they forgive them.
But the true mark of a follower of Jesus is love for all. The more we learn to love others and care for others, the less you are going to be offended by them.
1 Peter 4:8 (NLT)
Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.
So, let’s be like our heavenly father. Let’s act more like children. Let’s forgive quickly and love others deeply. Let’s be more like our Heavenly Daddy who created us. Let’s show uncomfortable grace to all those who have hurt, humiliated, or hate us…
When we do, great is our reward in Heaven.
Meeting Jesus - Jesus Parties With Sinners
Some people believe Jesus is a republican, a democrat, or an independent. Some people believe that Jesus is like a Genie in a bottle–if you rub the lamp through prayer, you get whatever you want. Still, some view Jesus like a Mascot the church rallies around once a week.Over this next year, we are going to seek to understand who Jesus really was,what he was really like, and how you and I can become more like Him.
Jesus, Partied.
That’s right.
Partied.
Just before Luke 5:27, Jesus had healed a paralyzed man whose friends had brought him to Jesus. They climbed the ladder, ripped off the roof, and lowered him down to Jesus.
Jesus said, pick up your mat and go home, and the man was healed. He left celebrating, praising God and the people were all amazed. And as Jesus headed out of town, he ran into Levi the Tax Collector.
Let’s read:
Luke 5:27-32
27 Later, as Jesus left the town, he saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. 28 So Levi got up, left everything, and followed him. 29 Later, Levi held a banquet in his home with Jesus as the guest of honor. Many of Levi’s fellow tax collectors and other guests also ate with them. 30 But the Pharisees and their teachers of religious law complained bitterly to Jesus’ disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with such scum?” 31 Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. 32 I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.”
After Levi decided to follow Jesus, he threw a Party with Jesus as the guest of Honor. According to the Pharisees, Jesus was surrounded by low lifes they considered scum of the earth. Sexually immoral people. Corrupt tax-collectors. And according to Jesus response, Jesus seemed to enjoy being there!
Maybe it makes you more comfortable attended the party only to lecture the people. You want Jesus to be the chaperone. You want Jesus to have a clipboard with a list of rules.
For many religious people today, it is easier to think of Jesus as the guy that shuts down the fun and laughter at the party with a devotional about sexual purity. While there is music, dancing, eating and drinking, Jesus is the guy running around separating dancers when they get too close. “Make sure there is room for the Holy Spirit.” or tapping people on the shoulder when they have had too much to drink. He has his arms crossed, shaking his head “no”
Maybe you think Jesus would attend a party and probably ruin it. He is the Debbie Downer. He is like the preacher attending a Superbowl party that preaches a sermon at halftime instead of watching the commercials. But in the Bible, it seems that Jesus became known for attending parties.
In John 2:1-2 Jesus attended a wedding and turned water into wine.
In John 12:2 A dinner was prepared in Jesus honor.
Jesus said in Luke 7:34 (NLT2) 34 The Son of Man, on the other hand, feasts and drinks, and you say, ‘He’s a glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of tax collectors and other sinners!’
In Luke 15:2 the religious leaders complained that he was always associating with sinful people and eating with them…
Jesus often attended parties, banquets, and celebrations. People invited him into their homes.
BECAUSE he was FUN!
It’s not because he was a Debbie Downer or because he was there to place limits on the fun.
So Jesus partied often. He is the creator of LIFE and he enjoyed LAUGHING and Celebrating with people.
He drank alcohol – but he wasn’t a drunk.
He stuffed his face with good food – but he wasn’t a glutton.
He never sinned – but he ate, drank, and enjoyed the company of sinners.
Jesus was the type of person that many people had a glass of wine with. Now – let’s talk about the guy that threw the party.
Levi would later become known as Matthew…
He would later write the Gospel of Matthew…
and historians tell us that Matthew would be stabbed to death in Ethiopia for telling people about Jesus.
Jesus changed Levi’s life.
BUT
He did not have leprosy.
He was not paralyzed.
He did not have a disease.
He was worse. 😊He was a TAX COLLECTOR. 😊
Tax collectors were viewed as the lowest of the low and the worst of the worst.
They were greedy people that betrayed their own people by working for the occupying Roman government. With the enforcement of the Roman Military, a tax collector could charge as much as he wanted, give the Romans what they wanted, and keep the profit for himself.
At the toll booth, as people passed by they could be taxed any amount the tax-collector desired. HE would observe the tiniest details about those that passed by…if they had a bag of money fastened to their belts…if they wore fancier clothes hidden under rags…they taxed per axel, per cattle, per wheel…
Because of the TAX COLLECTOR, the POOR were kept poor and the wealthy were PROVEN POWERLESS. That is why they were hated so much.
The Jewish people viewed them as traitors. The Romans did not respect them because they betrayed their own people. The Religious Leaders would not even allow Jewish tax collectors to worship! Levi was a wealthy, educated, and sharp businessman – but because he was a tax-collector he was never good enough for other people. Then, Jesus invited Levi to become one of his disciples!
So, if you view yourself as the worst of the worst, and the lowest of the low…you are just the type of person that God can use and the type that Jesus wants to hang out with! If you let him, Jesus can change your life! Because Jesus invited Levi to be one of his disciples, we find an important truth.
SAYING YES TO JESUS MEANS LIVING YES FOR JESUS.
28 So Levi got up, left everything, and followed him. 29 Later, Levi held a banquet in his home with Jesus as the guest of honor. Many of Levi’s fellow tax collectors and other guests also ate with them.
Saying YES to Jesus is not just a one-time decision. Levi said yes, then he stuck with his decision to follow Jesus.
All Levi had ever down in his life was TAKE TAKE TAKE.
Now, because he said yes to following Jesus, he would GIVE GIVE GIVE.
No longer would he be known as a greedy man – now he would be known for his generosity. The very first thing he did was to throw a party with Jesus as the guest of honor.
This party – this was the mother of all parties! Eating, drinking, dancing, celebrating…because he wanted to introduce his old-friends to his new friend, Jesus.
If you have recently become a follower of Jesus.
Meaning. You believe that God created you and loves you. But your sins separated you from God. You believe that Jesus paid the price for your sin. That he died on the cross and he rose from the dead and that one day he will return…and you surrendered your life to Jesus and said “YES.”
Keep living in the YES by introducing your friends to Jesus.
Don’t abandon them. Don’t dismiss them. Don’t go out and find a whole new friend group. Sometimes new followers of Jesus are told they need to stop running with the people they once ran with. Keep those friendships!
I was told to stop running with my old friend because evil company corrupts good habits – and I walked away from many friendships I had with people because I was making new friends who were followers of Jesus. I love those friends to this day – but I lost my influence with my old friends because I walked away from them.
Maybe that is what you experienced. People with good intentions wanted something more for your life and they were afraid that the crowd you once ran with you tear you down and cause you to lose your faith in Jesus. They had good intentions. They loved you. They wanted to see you grow in your faith…and were worried about you falling back into your old way of living.
But – Levi seemed to do just the opposite.
Jesus had shown Levi acceptance, grace, and mercy and Levi wanted his old friends to experience Jesus too.
So…my advice:
THROW A PARTY TO CELEBRATE FORGIVENESS.
What if you invited friends and family over to your home. The churched. The unchurched. People who understand the mission of Jesus and people who don’t.
What if you bought drinks, played music, smoked ribs, laughed and celebrated to the early hours of the morning…to celebrate FORGIVENESS! What if, while you were having a great time, you told them about how Jesus met you where you were, forgave your sins, and made you a different person? That would be AMAZING!
I want Beach Church to continue to reach people – so let’s have fun, celebrate, laugh and enjoy our relationship with God and with others – because life is too hard if we try to be live like the pharisees!
And while we celebrate forgiveness, we need to remember the lesson that Jesus tried to teach the Pharisees.
As followers of Jesus, we need to…
TREAT SINNERS LIKE SICK PEOPLE IN NEED OF HEALING,
NOT CRIMINALS THAT NEED TO BE CONDEMNED.
Like me, I am sure you have noticed that throughout the years, the church has hurt people “in the name of Jesus.”
Rather than treating sinners like sick people in need of healing, the church has treated sinners like criminals that need to be condemned. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus accused the Pharisees and religious leaders of being hypocritical, uncaring, and said they did more harm then good. My concern is that the way Jesus viewed the religious leaders then, is the way Christians are viewed today.
Do you know what unchurched Americans believe about Christians today? According to the book UNCHRISTIAN:
85% of Americans believe Christians are hypocritical.
87% of Americans believe Christians are too judgmental
91% of American believe Christians hate homosexuals
And 75% believe Christians are too political
The Pharisees LOVED to condemn the tax collectors, the sexually immoral, and the notorious sinners of their day. In many ways, the church today has become known for condemning and judging those caught up in sin.
But Jesus partied with them!
Jesus said:
Luke 5:31 (NLT2) “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.
Both Jesus and the Pharisees were in agreement that the people Jesus was with were sinners. But their approach to change their lives were radically different. The Pharisee approach was to condemn them, marginalize them, shun them, and to treat them as the worst of the worst. Jesus approach was to talk with them, celebrate with them, and to show them that GOD did love them and that God wants a relationship with them.
The approach that Jesus took would lead them to life.
The approach of the Pharisees would push them further into sin.
By sitting down with the tax collectors and sinners, Jesus proved that God was not out to condemn or hurt people. It was a sign that he ACCEPTED and LOVED them. He was not merely hanging out with them, but he was intentionally celebrating with them.
So even if you have made the wrong choice and pushed people further away from God in the past, change. Choose to love your neighbor as yourself. Treat others the way you want to be treated. Choose to lead the world to a life-changing relationship with Jesus through your LOVE, not through condemnation.
Keep pursuing a relationship with God. Keep walking in obedience to Him. Never compromise your faith – but choose to love those that disagree with you. Otherwise, we look more like the Religious leaders than true followers of Jesus.