Mark 2: 17 “…Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 17 When Jesus heard this, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.” New Revised Standard Version

What is the difference between sin and sinners? Simple question, right? Merriam Webster online dictionary has several definitions for ‘sin’, including these two; “an offense against religious or moral law”, or “a transgression against God’s law.” On the other hand, a sinner is “one that sins.” So, it seems clear that sin has to do with an act, while a sinner is someone who engages in a sinful act.

By that definition, we are all clearly sinners. Who can honestly say that they have never sinned? Never told a lie, never done something in secret that we would be ashamed of in public, never treated people disrespectfully, or reacted in anger, etc.? Still, God has not left us at the mercy of online dictionaries, so He spelled it out clearly:

“For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 3: 23. King James Version

“Therefore, as sin came into the world through one man, and death as the result of sin, so death spread to all men, [no one being able to stop it or to escape its power] because all men sinned.” Amplified Bible

If we are all sinners in need of grace, why then are we so quick to judge? Last week, a teacher at a Christian school was fired because she got pregnant out of wedlock. The school leadership felt that she did not live up to the moral standards required to teach at that particular school, so her employment was terminated.

When Jesus came, they called him a glutton and a drunkard because he hung out with the ‘unsavory elements’ – the corrupt tax collectors, hard-drinking alcoholics, prostitutes, ‘sinners’. When questioned, He answered “Those who are well have no need of a physician…”

How we as a church have forgotten this! How we cater to the ‘righteous’ and shun those we consider sinners. We claim to love the sinners and hate the sin, but do our actions show this? How would Jesus have reacted if He was the head of that school and a teacher turned up pregnant?

Jesus died for sinners – in other words, all of us. Let’s not negate the validity of His death with our self-righteous judgment of others. Ours is to show His love to a fallen world – let’s leave the judgment to the only One who can see the hearts of men.

​You can see the speck in your friend’s eye, but you don’t notice the log in your own eye. How can you say, “My friend, let me take the speck out of your eye,” when you don’t see the log in your own eye? You’re nothing but show-offs! First, take the log out of your own eye. Then you can see how to take the speck out of your friend’s eye. Matthew 7:3 -5 {Contemporary English Version}

Onyih Odunze

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