scum

Luke 5

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." 

If we claim to be followers of Jesus, then we need to hang with "scum", too.

amazing

I saw this lived out last Sunday at Discover Church, Franklin, NC...

Romans 6

1 Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? 

2 Of course not! 

Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? 

3 Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? 

4 For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. 

And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.

5 Since we have been united with him in his death, 

we will also be raised to life as he was. 

6 We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. 

We are no longer slaves to sin. 

7 For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. 

8 And since we died with Christ, 

we know we will also live with him. 

9 We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, 

and he will never die again. 

Death no longer has any power over him. 

10 When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. 

But now that he lives, 

he lives for the glory of God. 

11 So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.

12 Do not let sin control the way you live; 

do not give in to sinful desires. 

13 Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. 

Instead, give yourselves completely to God, 

for you were dead, 

but now you have new life. 

So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.

14 Sin is no longer your master, 

for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. 

Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.

15 Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? 

Of course not! 

16 Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? 

You can be a slave to sin, 

which leads to death, 

or you can choose to obey God, 

which leads to righteous living. 

17 Thank God! 

Once you were slaves of sin, 

but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. 

18 Now you are free from your slavery to sin, 

and you have become slaves to righteous living.

19 Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. 

Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, 

which led ever deeper into sin. 

Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy.

20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right.

21 And what was the result? 

You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, 

things that end in eternal doom. 

22 But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. 

Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. 

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

huge statement

Romans 5

1 Therefore, 

since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, 

we have peace with God 

because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.

2 Because of our faith, 

Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, 

and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.

3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, 

for we know that they help us develop endurance. 

4 And endurance develops strength of character, 

and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 

5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. 

For we know how dearly God loves us, 

because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

6 When we were utterly helpless, 

Christ came at just the right time 

and died for us sinners. 

7 Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, 

though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. 

8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. 

9 And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, 

he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. 

10 For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, 

we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. 

11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God 

because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us 

friends of God.

for those who need it

So take a new grip with your tired hands

& stand firm on your shakey legs.

Mark out a straight path for your feet

so that those who are weak & lame will not fall

but become strong.

Hebrews 12:12-13 (NLT, 1st ed.)

Pauline whamo-bamo

Romans 3

21 But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, 

as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. 

22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. 

And this is true for everyone who believes, 

no matter who we are or what we've done.

23 For everyone has sinned; 

we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 

24 Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. 

He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. 

25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. 

People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. 

This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, 

26 for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. 

God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, 

for he himself is fair and just, 

and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.

27 Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? 

No, 

because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. 

It is based on faith. 

28 So we are made right with God through faith 

and not by obeying the law.

29 After all, is God the God of the Jews only? 

Isn’t he also the God of the Gentiles? 

Of course he is. 

30 There is only one God, 

and he makes people right with himself only by faith, 

whether they are Jews or Gentiles. 

31 Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? 

Of course not! 

In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law.

us too

Don't be afraid

or discouraged,

for the Lord is the One who goes before you.

He will be with you.

He will neither fail you

or forsake you.

Deuteronomy 31:8 (NLT, 1st ed.)


This is Moses speaking to the children of Israel right before they went into Canaan, the Promised Land, to take it for themselves.

Its truth not only applies to them, but to us, too.

central

The righteous will live by faith.

Romans 1:17



I went to BibleGateway.com & checked each of the 50 odd translations they have there of Romans 1:17

They all said the same thing.

We who follow Jesus live by faith.

That thought was what Martin Luther believed & said that brought the Reformation crashing through the world.

He believed that our connection to God comes in simple faith believing.

And that everything else was, & is, just window dressing.


Somebody needs to absorb this today.

We don't earn our way into God's graces.

We come into connection with Him by faith, by believing that His Son, Jesus, provided the way for us to God.

It's all about faith.

It's all about simply believing it.

And the world will call it & us crazy.

They have for 2000+ years - I figure they'll keep at it until Jesus comes back.


The righteous will live by faith.

There you have it.

word

Anyone besides me really need to read these 2 verses today?



Don't throw away this confident trust in the Lord,

no matter what happens.

Remember the great reward it brings you.

Patient endurance is what you need now,

as you will continue to do God's will.

Then you will receive all that He has promised.

Hebrews 10:35-36 (NLT, 1st ed.)

shortage

2 John 1

5 I am writing to remind you, dear friends, 

that we should love one another. 

This is not a new commandment, 

but one we have had from the beginning. 

6 Love means doing what God has commanded us, 

and he has commanded us to love one another, 

just as you heard from the beginning.



We seem to have a shortage of love these days.

LGLO

Mark 12

28 One of the teachers of religious law was standing there listening to the debate. 

He realized that Jesus had answered well, so he asked, 

“Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

29 Jesus replied, 

“The most important commandment is this: 

‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. 

30 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, 

all your soul, 

all your mind, 

and all your strength.’ 

31 The second is equally important: 

‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 

No other commandment is greater than these.”

There you have it...

Jesus boiled it all down into 2 commandments that cover it all.

And we can boil down what He said to 4 words:

Love God, love others.

LGLO

Go & be & do likewise...

love 1 another

1 John 4

7 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, 

for love comes from God. 

Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 

8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world 

so that we might have eternal life through him. 

10 This is real love—not that we loved God, 

but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

11 Dear friends, since God loved us that much, 

we surely ought to love each other.

12 No one has ever seen God. 

But if we love each other, 

God lives in us, 

and his love is brought to full expression in us.

13 And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us.

14 Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 

15 All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. 

16 We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.

God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. 

17 And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. 

So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, 

but we can face him with confidence 

because we live like Jesus here in this world.

18 Such love has no fear, 

because perfect love expels all fear. 

If we are afraid, 

it is for fear of punishment, 

and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. 

19 We love each other 

because he loved us first.

20 If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; 

for if we don’t love people we can see, 

how can we love God, whom we cannot see? 

21 And he has given us this command: 

Those who love God must also love their fellow believers.