Response to post

Anonymous said...

Tod, so what if the problem is fear of being pulled back into a life that you have struggled with before. How do you ensure you are doing the influencing and not being influenced?

Great question. I am assuming you are responding to the teaching on how Jesus was a friend of sinners. Here are a couple of thoughts:

First, if you are susceptible to a certain temptation then you should take every precaution to avoid it. I would think there are certain places or groups of people that I should avoid if I know that they are likely to lead me into sin. (Matthew 5:29-30)

However, if Jesus has transformed my heart and I am captured by a sense of mission to go back into the world that held me captive in order to announce the freedom and deliverance of Jesus, then I would go. I have known and known of some amazing missionaries who returned to the scenes of their former sin and witnessed about the power of Jesus to transform them.

I wouldn't do that without the prayerful, honest support of some close brothers. In that situation, I would go by two (Luke 10) and be very sensitive to the state of my heart. If I am drawn to renounce my allegiance to Jesus then I have to run away. I think the key is my motivation. If I am on a mission then I can to into enemy territory. If I am trying to fit in so that I don't appear to be a follower, then I must be very careful.

The main point of the teaching is that Jesus was a friend to sinful people. He loved and accepted and welcomed them into his life. The Pharisees shunned, looked down on and were disgusted by sinners. The question is which attitude most nearly resembles yours? It is the attitude toward the people around you not the activity you engage in that is at question.

Thanks for the note.