Unconvinced: Exploring Faith As A Skepticنموونە

Yesterday, we saw that the starting point for faith for the earliest Christians was believing that Jesus had been raised from the dead. So that’s where we should start too, right?

Well, there’s one detail to sort out first. We have to understand why Jesus ended up dead in the first place. Believe it or not, the reason has something to do with you. Specifically, something you’d rather not acknowledge about yourself, something you’d rather not admit . . . I’m a sinner.

Sin is an uncomfortable word. It’s so uncomfortable that we’ve pretty much abandoned it. Parents, bosses, judges . . . no one uses the term “sin” to talk about bad behavior. Instead, we say our less-than-perfect actions are just mistakes.

But here’s why it was important to Jesus that men and women faced and embraced their status as sinners and why our starting point for faith requires us to do the same: mistakers don’t ask for forgiveness. Mistakers don’t need forgiveness. Mistakers just need opportunities to do better next time. Sinners need forgiveness. 

Jesus taught that sin separates us from God, but that God’s willingness to forgive reconnects us. The list of things Jesus called sins was so all-inclusive, nobody was off the hook (including you). But then he turned right around and insisted that God was on an endless pursuit to restore his relationship with sinners. This apparent contradiction sums up Jesus’ message and ministry. He did not condone sin. He did not condemn sinners. 

Instead of insisting people get what the law said they had coming, Jesus extended the very thing sinning people deserved least: forgiveness. Tomorrow we’ll back up a couple thousand years in the story to see why this offer of forgiveness ultimately landed Jesus on a cross.