CrossLife Church- Pflugerville, TX

Unclean!

Jesus came to a lonely, smelly, disfigured man who suffered from a skin disease called leprosy. It’s highly contagious. It numbs nerve endings and destroys body tissue so that its victims lose limbs, eyes, lips or nose. Like gangrene times 10. 

In Jesus’ day lepers had to wear special clothes and keep their hair in disarray and cry “Unclean!” so everyone could keep their distance. Isolation. The church’s way of dealing with them? “Rabbis preached that lepers were being punished for committing 1 of 11 sins. So no one was allowed to greet them. If a leper stuck his head through a door, the whole building became unclean. He wasn’t allowed within 6 feet of another person. One rabbi boasted how he would even throw stones at the lepers to keep them away” (Matthew Doebler, God Loves Nobodies, p. 158). 

Jesus, on the other hand, came near lepers, and healed them, like with one leper Jesus “reached out his hand and touched the man …’Be clean’” (Mark 1:41)!

So here’s my idea for our church. What about putting up a huge banner by the road with just one word on it. In massive 5-foot letters the banner says, “Unclean!” Do you think that would make us successful? 

What if people drove by, saw the banner, and thought, “Eeeeeuuuwww, there’s a bunch of unclean sinners at that church?! I can’t go there!” 

People aren’t staying away from church because the church is filled with a bunch of unclean sinners. People are staying away from church because they fear they can’t measure up to the extra clean, proper (aka “the only right way”) and superior culture of church people. And they feel judged because they’re not that clean, could never become that clean, and honestly some don’t want to. 

So, how do we convince them otherwise? Let me suggest three approaches that Jesus teaches throughout his ministry and teaching.

#1 — Church people should honestly and humbly confess that our sins are as unclean as anyone else. Our own personal and corporate sins make us spiritual lepers, isolated from any worthiness. We should stop condemning other people with self-righteous superiority.

I recall one church I’d drive by regularly, with a huge sign above the entrance that said, “Sinners Welcome Here.”

#2 — Church people should purposely practice loving those outside the church or outside the faith. We should make time and space to listen and learn, to understand with less self-righteous pride, and to care with practical, Christ-honoring acts of love. Following Jesus is a journey, so compliance with God’s truth on the part of those curious about church needs our patience, gentleness and humble, honest self-awareness.

Jesus did not come for members only. We must be careful of giving that impression about our gospel ministry in his name.

#3 — Church people should grow deeper in our own faith and salvation. We should pursue intimacy with Jesus in such a way that others see and hear his grace and truth in us. They observe our behavior, they visit our church on Sunday, they see our personal posts on social media, and they say, “So that’s what Jesus is like. I’m interested.”

PRAYER: Jesus, how did you attract so many sinners with your dedicated love and uncompromising truth? In a culture that seeks its own truth and defines a different love, Christians are challenged to be like you. Lead me, Lord, and lead my church to imitate you. Amen.

THINK ABOUT THIS: The attitude of those outside the church or the faith. The attitude of church people. Which is the bigger reason why people aren’t coming to church? Which can you more capably control?