Calling All Sinners!

Luke 5:32 - "I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance."

It is not those who think that they 'deserve' heaven that Christ calls, but those who know that they do not deserve heaven. This is plain to see in the glaring examples of the Pharisees on one hand, and the prostitutes and tax collectors on the other hand. Think of the meal that Jesus had at Simon's house, and how they treated Jesus compared to Mary Magdalene who washed His feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. The Lord loves a “broken and contrite heart”. "Contrite" means "crushed", and we see this truth throughout scripture. Isaiah needed to be crushed and burned before he could say, "Here I am, send me!" In the presence of God's holiness Isaiah realized that he was not righteous -that he, in fact, was a sinner; and God, after Isaiah confessed that he was a sinner, cleansed him and then called him to serve.

The 'righteous' in the text above are actually the 'self-righteous'. They think themselves to be righteous; while a 'called' sinner knows himself not to be righteous. A 'called' sinner has been awakened to the fact of his sin by the Holy Spirit. The 'self-righteous' have built their house on sand, because their faith is in themselves and not in the Lord. In the Lord's place they have created, in their minds, a god of their own choosing, a god who grades on a curve. While sinners like Mary Magdalene fall at the feet of Jesus, the true teacher, who grades righteously in His mercy and grace. And a repentant sinner receives an "A" grade. An "A" for Accepted. The reality is that we are all 'self-righteous' until the Holy Spirit blesses us with spiritual life - opening our eyes to see our sinfulness, and through that repentance, and forgiveness, and salvation, and sanctification, and then glorification. All to His glory! Amen