Today every person in the world goes to the foot of the cross, like it or not. Christianity is the largest faith in the world. The devoted look with awe at the cross, and those who reject and despise the cross who look with disgust. Yet here we are.

Whatever your belief about Jesus, there is one part of the story that lies so much at the core, people tend to accept it without really thinking about it. Jesus died for sin, as it says in 1 Peter 3:18 - "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God." 

It's an awe-inspiring truth considering who Jesus is. According to Scripture,

"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.  For by him 

• All things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things were created through him and for him.  
• And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 
• And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.  

For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross." - Col 1:15-20 (ESV)

Jesus is not only our Creator-God, but has become part of creation. The fullness of God was pleased to dwell in Jesus, and to reconcile all things to himself through him. The implication is that God himself became part of this fallen world in order to reconcile what was already his to himself. 

Basically, humanity fell so far, we became subject to eternal punishment. We came to the place where the Holy and Perfect God of the universe Judged us unworthy of bearing his image, and deserving of his eternal wrath in hell, 'where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.' - Mark 9:48 (ESV). We bristle at such punishment for all eternity, because we see it as so harsh for some people who don't seem to have done anything quite deserving of such awful punishment. 

But that's just it. It's not about the harshness of the punishment. It's about the heinous nature of our sin. It's a critique of humanity, and in fact, a critique of me. And you. God considers you to have gone so horribly wrong that you deserve such heinous punishment. In fact, In exacting such punishment, God maintains his holiness in this righteous judgment. 

It is a devastating critique of each one of us.

But God is not only Righteous and Just. He is also Loving and Merciful. So we see, in Colossians 1:20, that God was not only willing, but pleased to send his Son Jesus, and through him to reconcile us to himself, by making peace with us by the blood of his cross. 

Jesus took our punishment. That's the story of Good Friday. We deserved the harshest punishment anyone could imagine, and that punishment was absolutely right. But God loved us, and took the punishment in the person of Jesus in our place. 

The Good of Good Friday is God.

Jesus, the Friend of Sinners, also calls sinners to repent. He is not a friend of sin. Paul writes the following, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to the Corinthian Church, struggling as it was, as we do, with moral issues in an immoral culture. He writes:

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived:

• neither the sexually immoral,
• nor idolaters,
• nor adulterers,
• nor men who practice homosexuality,
• nor thieves,
• nor the greedy,
• nor drunkards,
• nor revilers,
• nor swindlers

…will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But:

• you were washed,
• you were sanctified,
• you were justified

…in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

• “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful.
• “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything.
• “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food”– and God will destroy both one and the other.

The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.  And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power.

(1Co 6:9-14)

Paul lists a number of sins. His topic is sexual immorality. He starts his message is 5:9, referring to his letter about a sexually immoral brother. He tells the Corinthians not even to eat with this man, because in that culture, eating with him would be to condone his behavior. But then Paul goes on to lump sexual immorality in with a number of other sins listed above. And, he is careful to distinguish between a sexually immoral person claiming to be a brother, and a sexually immoral person who is not a Christian. We are to eat with sexually immoral people who are not believers, because our mission is to them!

Paul ends his instruction by urging the members of the church to be sexually pure with their own husband or wife, or as unmarried believers dedicated to God. The bottom line: Glorify God with your body!

Why is Jesus a Friend of Sinners? Because in calling them to repent from sin, he also gives them the way to the truth and to life. The Corinthians werethese sinful people, but by the Spirit they were washed, sanctified and justified in the name of Jesus. And so, they became His.

The hope of the sinner is not to do better in one’s own strength. He or she can’t do better. There is no good news in condemnation. The hope of the sinner is in transformation, and that comes only in the work of the Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus. When you see your sin, then you are to confess and repent, and plead for the work of the Holy Spirit in you for transformation in the name of Jesus. You cannot do it yourself, but the same power that raised Jesus from the dead can raise you also.

Do you find yourself in the list of the unrighteous who will not inherit the kingdom? Me too. Neither of us have any hope, except in Jesus. Plead before His throne. Ask him to transform you. Confess the sin, and repent. He is the great healer. Be willing to let his resurrection power raise you from the dead.

Be saved!

And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples.  And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”  But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”                             Matthew 9:10-13 (ESV)

What a great comfort to know that Jesus came for me. While on earth, he invited people just like me and you to hang out with him, to eat with him, even to drink great wine with him. Jesus loves me. Yes, even me. And he loves you too!

The story of the gospel is one of sinners who could not and would not restore their broken relationship with God. So God came to us, to restore his relationship with us. Jesus’ birth as one of us was an amazing act of love as he came to live among us and be one of us. He lived the sinless life we should live. He died the death we should have died because of our sin. He rose from the dead just as we will rise if we are united with him. He ascended to heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father. He sent the Holy Spirit to comfort and direct us, and intervenes on our behalf. One day He will come again in power, and bring us to his place of perfection forever. 

Jesus is truly a friend of sinners. He molds us and changes us to be like him – to bear the image of God faithfully. He is our Savior. He is worthy of praise!

The Friend of Sinners project emphasizes they we are spiritually NEEDY, that we must be ENGAGED with the church, his body on earth, that we must continually be REPENTANT of our sin and shortcomings, and that we must be SANCTIFIED by his power, and change inside and out.