I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Jesus spoke these words to explain why He ate with despised tax collectors and sinners when scribes and Pharisees condemned Him, presenting Himself as a Physician come for the spiritually sick. The righteous He did not come to call are not truly righteous, but those who count themselves whole and in no need of a Saviour, repentance or reproof. Sinners are those diseased with sin from head to foot who feel their guilt and need, and His call summons them to repentance and cleansing from sin, not to remain in their sins nor to set aside God's holy law. He seeks them where they are, mingling with the despised in sympathy and kindness, teaching plainly and healing body and soul to awaken hope and draw them to turn from evil. Only those who come as they are in penitence and faith will be received and forgiven, while the self-sufficient who trust their own merits are left unhelped, and His followers are therefore to seek the outcast and fallen with the same tender effort to lead them to repentance.
Setting and Wording
The saying was given as Christ's answer when scribes and Pharisees, priests and rulers reproached and condemned Him for eating with publicans and sinners, to explain His purpose in seeking and saving the lost. It belongs with the call of Levi, also called Matthew, a despised tax collector judged by others for his occupation whose heart was open to truth and who answered by following Jesus. It belongs also with Matthew's feast, where Jesus sat as guest with publicans and other guests, welcomed their company, accepted such invitations to gatherings, and by His presence and teaching gave them opportunity to meet Him, know Him, see how His life differed from the Pharisees', and follow Him to rescue the lost. The righteous He did not come to call are those who suppose they have a legal claim to God's favor, so His followers must not by jealousy, accusation and evil-surmising drive away and lose those He came to save, but ministers are not to hover over the churches or spend strength in work inside the church while labor is needed where the message is accomplishing good among those who know not the truth, proclaiming truth publicly and giving the trumpet a certain sound to arouse those who never heard it and give them opportunity to hear the reasons of faith.
The righteous are not truly righteous, but those who count themselves righteous and whole and feel no need of a physician, Saviour, help, repentance, counsel or reproof. They are those who trust their own righteousness and good works, yet that trust cannot save, for sinners must recognize sinfulness, seek Christ as the forgiver of sin, and depend on His righteousness rather than their own merits. They include the self-sufficient and self-exalted, like the scribes, Pharisees and unbelieving Jews, and even professed Christians and ministers with only a theory of truth. His mission is therefore not limited to people who feel no need of salvation or who have received great light, but is to seek and save the lost who recognize they are lost without His help, power and grace. His workers are to follow that example by helping distressed, misunderstood people who long for pardon and peace, rather than turning them away with cold, self-righteous attitudes or standing aloof from those who struggle or fail to meet ideals, but helping them with meekness, sympathy and earnest effort.
Sinners are those who are spiritually sick and need Christ as Physician and Saviour, sick with sin from head to foot and needing His healing, strengthening power rather than approaching God in self-righteousness and self-sufficiency as though having goodness to recommend oneself. He is the merciful Saviour and great Physician who heals the sin-sick soul, removes sin's stains and defects, blots out past mistakes and transgressions, and gives His righteousness to the sinner who comes as he is trusting Him rather than seeking worthiness in self. Those who recognize their guilt, lost condition and need of a Saviour are the ones who need and receive this call, and being a great sinner gives no reason to think God will have no pity or will not hear prayer, since being a sinner is the very reason a Saviour is needed. Like a physician going to those who are sick, His work was to bring help to those who needed it and were ready to receive it; the Pharisees claimed to be spiritually healthy and saw no need of help while regarding publicans and Gentiles as sick with sin, but their pride and self-sufficiency left them in a worse condition while the publicans were more open to truth, exposing the Pharisees' failure to understand the spirit of God's word and their need for mercy. That same call and saving work extends equally to Black and white people, so those neglected and wounded by others can be reached, converted, and helped to lead others from darkness into light.
His call is a call to repentance and to be saved from sin, not to affirm the righteous in their standing, and those who follow His example will put salvation of souls before their own ease or pleasure. It reassures those confronted with sin and those who fall under temptation to trust Him rather than despair, for He came not to save people in their sins or to destroy them, but to save them from sin and give victory over sin to those who recognize need of a Saviour and come in faith. As the great Physician of the soul He came to take away the sin of the world, calling the ignorant, degraded and corrupt to repentance and moral improvement. His calling of sinners does not destroy the pure and holy law of God as the standard of human character, but leaves that standard standing while sin is removed, and this healing mission gives the work for the fallen everywhere, in cities and byways of life, beginning with care for the body so that beclouded minds can be quickened for moral good.
Christ's Saving Mission
Christ came to seek and save the lost, calling sinners to repentance rather than affirming those who feel no need of salvation. He did not come to destroy or punish, nor to limit His work to the faultless and lovely or to those who have received great light. His mission is carried out in mercy as merciful Saviour, in tender forgiving love, and in sympathy for tempted souls in the depths of human woe. The righteous He did not come to call are those who suppose they have a legal claim to God's favor, and His followers must therefore not by jealousy, accusation, evil-surmising, or standing aloof drive away and lose those He came to save, but help with meekness, sympathy, and earnest effort those who struggle or fail to meet ideals, putting the salvation of souls before ease or pleasure.
In that mission He is the great Physician for the soul sick with sin, offering healing, forgiveness, righteousness, and release from bondage to Satan. He removes sin's stains and defects, blots out past mistakes and transgressions, presents the remedy for sin to souls spiritually diseased and needing restoration, and receives every contrite soul who comes, freeing only with that person's consent. As burden-bearer and sin-pardoner He has carried griefs and sympathized with sorrows, has borne many burdens and would gladly bear more if sinners would bring them to Him and let Him carry them. He will take away every sin from the soul if allowed, burying sins in the depths of the sea, and the fullness of that burden-bearing will never be known until face to face with God when seeing as seen and knowing as known.
The mission reaches the whole human family with no narrower field, Jew and Gentile alike, without distinction of person, class, or condition. He died not for those who count themselves righteous but for sinners, not only for the few who accept Him but for every son and daughter of Adam, and His blood is of unlimited value to save fully all who come through faith unto eternal life. That call extends equally to Black and white people, for He died for the colored people as truly as for white people, and those neglected and wounded by others can be reached, converted, and helped to lead others from darkness into light. It embraces rich and honorable as well as poor, sick, ignorant, and bound, breaking down Jewish exclusiveness so that religion is not hidden behind walls to escape contamination but mingles freely to enlighten, relieve, and benefit humanity upon all classes.
Help goes to those who need light and are ready to receive it, while the self-sufficient who claim spiritual health and see no need of help are left in a worse condition. Like a physician going to the sick, He went among those most in need of forgiveness and mercy to heal the wounds of sin, and the publicans and sinners despised as sick with sin and rejected by scribes and Pharisees proved more open to truth, ready to repent and receive teaching, and nearer the kingdom of heaven than the proud. Zacchaeus receiving Christ joyfully as personal Saviour, with salvation coming to his house, showed by faith and character that he was a son of Abraham, while those who condemned him and claimed to be righteous were in greater need of repentance; so sinners who receive Christ may enter the kingdom while the self-righteous may be cast out, and the outcast, ignorant, and flawed in character are those to be sought with hope of transformed character.
How Christ Calls Sinners
He seeks souls where they are, going into busy thoroughfares of travel, public streets, private houses, boats, synagogues, lakeshores, marriage feasts, and mountains of prayer to find the sorrowful and afflicted in their suffering and need. His attending the marriage feast began breaking down Jewish exclusiveness and opening the way for freer mingling with all people, against the seclusion, egotism, intolerance, prejudice and self-righteousness of Pharisees and elders that narrowed their influence. He spent much time in the mountains in earnest prayer to come forth braced and strengthened, then labored in real life enlightening and relieving the poor, the sick, the ignorant and those bound by Satan as well as teaching the rich and honorable, reaching to the very depths of human woe and misery. Religion is therefore not to be hidden behind walls to escape contamination but must embrace every opportunity to enlighten and benefit humanity, and His course in finding souls and speaking words and parables that portray their true condition is a lesson for all churches to do the same.
He mingles socially with the despised and unreligious, accepting invitations and sitting as guest at the table of publicans, so that they could meet Him and have opportunity to follow Him. He set aside Pharisaic prejudice and custom to accept Samaritan hospitality, sleeping under their roofs, eating food prepared and served by their hands, and teaching in their streets. At meals with people who were not religious He used friendly company as opportunity to teach lessons suited to their needs and to show how to conduct oneself among both religious and nonreligious people, and His presence and teaching let truth shine through godly character and showed how His life differed from the Pharisees'. Yet those meals were not occasions for luxuries, amusements, feasting or wrongdoing, but gatherings where He spoke to rescue the lost.
He meets sinners with sympathy, kindness, courtesy and welcome, ministering to the sin-sick soul with tender, courteous grace that brings healing and strength. By sympathy and social kindness He recognizes the dignity of humanity in outcasts of society, so that men long to become worthy of His confidence, new impulses are awakened, hope and desire for a new life are stirred, and His words fall on thirsty souls with blessed, life-giving power. That welcome gives power to leave sin behind and follow Him, and opens to outcasts such as publicans the possibility of a new life. His presence among them does not excuse wrongdoing or worldly excess, but brings moral and spiritual uplift.
He teaches simply, speaking of heavenly things and bringing eternity within view in ordinary language they cannot fail to understand, bringing treasures from the storehouse of wisdom by methods peculiarly His own. His words are always spoken with wisdom and exalt the truth, presenting principles that search the recesses of hearts, reach the diseased imagination, draw the mind out after eternal realities, satisfy the inmost longings of the soul, and help sore-troubled ones who need guidance and encouragement with words the priests and rulers were unwilling to speak. His eating with publicans and sinners was deliberate ministry to erring men, and His example shows that speaking with unconverted people should recommend Him to them through lessons and through personal Bible reading and prayer rather than relying only on preaching. Truth thus sown in willing hearts could remain and later bear fruit, so that after His resurrection and ascension five thousand were converted through the apostles' teaching.
He works as the great Medical Missionary and Great Physician for spiritual and physical need, healing both physical maladies and the poor sin-sick soul and revealing to needy souls the principles of righteousness. Practical medical help and spoken sympathy for afflicted sinners is the first step in leading them to come to Him for repentance and healing, and those who serve as spiritual physicians are to help people turn from sin as well as care for bodily illness. In ministry to the sick this means presenting Him as healer of sin-sick souls and pointing people to Him for healing of both soul and body, a message the Christian physician should share while caring for bodies. That work of heart and hand in friendship prepares the way for truth to make an impression on the heart, softening opposition to the Word of God that a storm of denunciation of guilty transgressors can never remove.
Receiving His Call
Only those who know they are sinners and feel their need of a Physician can be called, for the call is to those who recognize their guilt, lost condition, and need of a Saviour and not to those who count themselves righteous, whole, and in no need of help. Being a great sinner is itself the reason a Saviour is needed and gives no reason to think God will have no pity or will not hear prayer, and those who hunger for righteousness and confess they are lost without His help, power, and grace are invited to trust that He came to seek the lost, died on the cross, and rose again for justification. Trust in one's own righteousness and good works feels no need of Him and cannot save, for sinners must recognize their sinfulness, seek Christ as the forgiver of sin, and depend on His righteousness rather than their own merits. That self-sufficient, self-exalted feeling of no need, like that of the Pharisees of old, leaves a person uncalled, and it is found even among many professed Christians and ministers who have only a theory of truth without true conversion, true sorrow for sin, and conviction of depravity.
Awareness of sin is a reason to come, not a reason to despair or stay away, and sinners should come as they are, place their sins upon Him, and trust His gracious promises rather than seeking worthiness in themselves. He alone can bear sins and cleanse from moral and spiritual defilement, healing the sin-sick soul, removing sin's stains and defects, blotting out past mistakes and transgressions, and giving His righteousness as He does His saving work. Approach must not be in self-righteousness and self-sufficiency as though having goodness to recommend oneself, while still remembering weakness and sinfulness and believing He will impart healing, strengthening power. A person who acknowledges being a sinner may claim Christ as personal Saviour and Redeemer who pardons sin, trusting Him rather than despairing when confronted with sin.
His love draws sinners to sorrow for sin and desire to turn from evil, and as they seek God's help He gives repentance and strength to resist sin, follow His will, and gain victory. Salvation comes only in God's appointed way, by falling helpless on Christ the Rock, by repentance toward God and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ, and by trusting His blood as the one only remedy and cleansing power for sin. His grace and righteousness are for those who recognize their sin and need of divine help and not for those who feel whole or are satisfied with their own goodness, so sinners who humble themselves and turn from sin can receive His cleansing and be brought near to Him. He came not to save people in their sins but to save them from sin, and He is the only hope for sinners, inviting them to follow Him, love Him, and become like Him by studying and beholding Him until changed into His image.
Every contrite soul who comes to Him in faith, penitence, and humility will be received and not turned away, trusting His promise, for His mission is to offer forgiveness, righteousness, and release from bondage to Satan. He can free a person only with that person's consent, yet a person can acknowledge being a sinner and still recognize Christ as Saviour. Those who reach up their hands for help must not be turned away but helped most of all, for they cost His lifeblood and are the tempted, deluded souls whom Satan seeks to overcome and whom He as Redeemer cares to restore. His blood is of unlimited value and can save fully all who are persuaded to come, and the call extends to every person, bidding all to come and be saved.
Those who trust in their own righteousness feel no need to seek or receive God's blessing and are not called, and those who consider themselves worthy may undervalue His offer of pardon. His blood will not avail for the self-sufficient who feel no need, and while sinners who receive Christ like Zacchaeus, who received Him joyfully as personal Saviour, show themselves sons of Abraham with salvation come to their house, the self-righteous who condemn them and claim to be righteous are in greater need of repentance and may be cast out while receiving sinners enter the kingdom.
Those who vindicate themselves as always right, who never admit they are wrong and keep excuses to justify themselves, are in deception and delusion, becoming hopelessly wrong because they will not be convinced and deny need for reproof or counsel, and so keep their souls away from light and the grace of Christ. Pride and self-righteousness can conceal need without changing the heart, while measuring life by God's law reveals the sin-sick condition and the need of Christ to lift from sin. Those flattered, petted, and idolized as perfect become deceived about themselves and blind to their need, feeling no need of the Physician, and such a state leaves them unspiritual and unable to come to the light, wanting diversion and amusement when solemn and precious time should prepare the heart to meet the Saviour, a deception that will prove fatal if kept up. Those who do not recognize their spiritual need are like sick people unaware of their condition and need faithful care, to be helped with earnest prayer and encouraging words that strengthen weak faith, and helping them also brings victories to those who help.
Following His Example
Those who notice faults in others are not to abandon them, shun them, stand aloof, or repel them with cold, self-righteous attitudes, but are to help and strengthen with meekness, sympathy, and earnest effort those who struggle, fail to meet ideals, are distressed and misunderstood, and long for pardon and peace. Those who reach up hands for help must not be turned away but helped most of all, with earnest prayer and encouraging words that strengthen weak faith, for helping them also brings victories to those who help. This means taking the tempted, deluded soul by the hand, surrounding such a one with favorable influence, giving another trial to the one who feels regret and remorse, and not leaving the soul to be consumed and ruined or to unwise sympathies while the Holy Spirit molds character after the divine likeness into a refined and holy life. Jealousy, accusation, and evil-surmising must not drive away and lose those who are called to repentance, for the call is for those who need it and not for those who feel no need, and the work is not to be limited to the faultless, the lovely, or those who have received great light.
The call seeks the outcast, ignorant, flawed in character, neglected, and wounded, to bring them to repentance, conversion, and transformed character, and then to lead others from darkness into light. It extends to every person without distinction, to Black and white alike, because divine love reveals the value placed on humanity and the blood shed is of unlimited value to save fully all who are persuaded to come. Every soul has great value from the price of redemption, so children and youth with inherited unfavorable traits and in imminent peril through manifold temptations are purchased property, guarded by angels with tenderest sympathy, to be lifted with wisdom and sanctified tender regard by living human agencies cooperating to save souls ready to perish. Those for whom life was given, even when counted as sinners, are to be loved, accepted, and worked with as helpers and laborers together rather than controlled or shut out from service, with faith proved every day by love and by bringing the soul into close relation to the Saviour.
Calling sinners to repentance is gospel work to be done by precept and example with God-given abilities, carrying the glad tidings of salvation and healing hope to those who need it. The message is for the world and must be proclaimed wherever it has not yet been heard, as it was carried through the cities and villages of Palestine, so labor must go to cities, new ground, the wilderness of sin and wicked places, and to unbelievers and those who know not the truth, rather than hovering over churches or giving disproportionate attention to those who already have light. Those who understand the reasons for the faith must not excuse themselves but do their utmost as producers and not only consumers, lest they lose spirituality in doing nothing, cooperating with the Master Worker and heavenly beings to save perishing souls from ruin. The call is to be given as a trumpet call with a certain sound to arouse those who never heard, with some giving the heaven-sent message to large assemblies and others going from house to house opening the Scriptures, while the great Shepherd teaches how to work, the Holy Spirit gives efficiency, and angels give ears to hear and hearts to understand.
Medical missionary work reflects the healing purpose with self-denial and humility, presenting the one who calls sinners as healer of sin-sick souls for both soul and body. Physicians are to be physicians of the soul as well as the body, sharing power to heal the soul's sin-sickness while caring for bodily illness, and sanitariums are places where healing is ministered to sin-sick souls where patients hear the word of life. Practical medical help and spoken sympathy for afflicted sinners is the first step in leading them to repentance and healing, revealing principles of righteousness, and this work of heart and hand in friendship prepares the way for truth, softening opposition in a way denunciation of guilty transgressors never can. Instruction includes Christian temperance and healthful living as part of pointing the sick to healing of soul and body.
Those who take up this work need thorough conversion themselves so that work can be done through them to bring others out of error and establish them in truth, putting salvation of souls before ease or pleasure. Like a physician caring for the physically ill, the worker among the spiritually sick must understand the people served and determine how best to guide them toward what is right, coming close in sympathy and humility with personal Bible reading, prayer, and simple instruction rather than relying only on preaching. Faith must be a lifelong looking, not a now-and-then look, proved daily by love. The spirit of the mission is mercy rather than punishment or destruction or pleasure in grieving, as shown when Daniel pleaded for the lives of Babylon's wise men even though they later plotted against him.
Jesus spoke these words to explain why He ate with despised tax collectors and sinners when scribes and Pharisees condemned Him, presenting Himself as a Physician come for the spiritually sick. The righteous He did not come to call are not truly righteous, but those who count themselves whole and in no need of a Saviour, repentance or reproof. Sinners are those diseased with sin from head to foot who feel their guilt and need, and His call summons them to repentance and cleansing from sin, not to remain in their sins nor to set aside God's holy law. He seeks them where they are, mingling with the despised in sympathy and kindness, teaching plainly and healing body and soul to awaken hope and draw them to turn from evil. Only those who come as they are in penitence and faith will be received and forgiven, while the self-sufficient who trust their own merits are left unhelped, and His followers are therefore to seek the outcast and fallen with the same tender effort to lead them to repentance.
Setting and Wording
The saying was given as Christ's answer when scribes and Pharisees, priests and rulers reproached and condemned Him for eating with publicans and sinners, to explain His purpose in seeking and saving the lost. It belongs with the call of Levi, also called Matthew, a despised tax collector judged by others for his occupation whose heart was open to truth and who answered by following Jesus. It belongs also with Matthew's feast, where Jesus sat as guest with publicans and other guests, welcomed their company, accepted such invitations to gatherings, and by His presence and teaching gave them opportunity to meet Him, know Him, see how His life differed from the Pharisees', and follow Him to rescue the lost. The righteous He did not come to call are those who suppose they have a legal claim to God's favor, so His followers must not by jealousy, accusation and evil-surmising drive away and lose those He came to save, but ministers are not to hover over the churches or spend strength in work inside the church while labor is needed where the message is accomplishing good among those who know not the truth, proclaiming truth publicly and giving the trumpet a certain sound to arouse those who never heard it and give them opportunity to hear the reasons of faith.
The righteous are not truly righteous, but those who count themselves righteous and whole and feel no need of a physician, Saviour, help, repentance, counsel or reproof. They are those who trust their own righteousness and good works, yet that trust cannot save, for sinners must recognize sinfulness, seek Christ as the forgiver of sin, and depend on His righteousness rather than their own merits. They include the self-sufficient and self-exalted, like the scribes, Pharisees and unbelieving Jews, and even professed Christians and ministers with only a theory of truth. His mission is therefore not limited to people who feel no need of salvation or who have received great light, but is to seek and save the lost who recognize they are lost without His help, power and grace. His workers are to follow that example by helping distressed, misunderstood people who long for pardon and peace, rather than turning them away with cold, self-righteous attitudes or standing aloof from those who struggle or fail to meet ideals, but helping them with meekness, sympathy and earnest effort.
Sinners are those who are spiritually sick and need Christ as Physician and Saviour, sick with sin from head to foot and needing His healing, strengthening power rather than approaching God in self-righteousness and self-sufficiency as though having goodness to recommend oneself. He is the merciful Saviour and great Physician who heals the sin-sick soul, removes sin's stains and defects, blots out past mistakes and transgressions, and gives His righteousness to the sinner who comes as he is trusting Him rather than seeking worthiness in self. Those who recognize their guilt, lost condition and need of a Saviour are the ones who need and receive this call, and being a great sinner gives no reason to think God will have no pity or will not hear prayer, since being a sinner is the very reason a Saviour is needed. Like a physician going to those who are sick, His work was to bring help to those who needed it and were ready to receive it; the Pharisees claimed to be spiritually healthy and saw no need of help while regarding publicans and Gentiles as sick with sin, but their pride and self-sufficiency left them in a worse condition while the publicans were more open to truth, exposing the Pharisees' failure to understand the spirit of God's word and their need for mercy. That same call and saving work extends equally to Black and white people, so those neglected and wounded by others can be reached, converted, and helped to lead others from darkness into light.
His call is a call to repentance and to be saved from sin, not to affirm the righteous in their standing, and those who follow His example will put salvation of souls before their own ease or pleasure. It reassures those confronted with sin and those who fall under temptation to trust Him rather than despair, for He came not to save people in their sins or to destroy them, but to save them from sin and give victory over sin to those who recognize need of a Saviour and come in faith. As the great Physician of the soul He came to take away the sin of the world, calling the ignorant, degraded and corrupt to repentance and moral improvement. His calling of sinners does not destroy the pure and holy law of God as the standard of human character, but leaves that standard standing while sin is removed, and this healing mission gives the work for the fallen everywhere, in cities and byways of life, beginning with care for the body so that beclouded minds can be quickened for moral good.
Christ's Saving Mission
Christ came to seek and save the lost, calling sinners to repentance rather than affirming those who feel no need of salvation. He did not come to destroy or punish, nor to limit His work to the faultless and lovely or to those who have received great light. His mission is carried out in mercy as merciful Saviour, in tender forgiving love, and in sympathy for tempted souls in the depths of human woe. The righteous He did not come to call are those who suppose they have a legal claim to God's favor, and His followers must therefore not by jealousy, accusation, evil-surmising, or standing aloof drive away and lose those He came to save, but help with meekness, sympathy, and earnest effort those who struggle or fail to meet ideals, putting the salvation of souls before ease or pleasure.
In that mission He is the great Physician for the soul sick with sin, offering healing, forgiveness, righteousness, and release from bondage to Satan. He removes sin's stains and defects, blots out past mistakes and transgressions, presents the remedy for sin to souls spiritually diseased and needing restoration, and receives every contrite soul who comes, freeing only with that person's consent. As burden-bearer and sin-pardoner He has carried griefs and sympathized with sorrows, has borne many burdens and would gladly bear more if sinners would bring them to Him and let Him carry them. He will take away every sin from the soul if allowed, burying sins in the depths of the sea, and the fullness of that burden-bearing will never be known until face to face with God when seeing as seen and knowing as known.
The mission reaches the whole human family with no narrower field, Jew and Gentile alike, without distinction of person, class, or condition. He died not for those who count themselves righteous but for sinners, not only for the few who accept Him but for every son and daughter of Adam, and His blood is of unlimited value to save fully all who come through faith unto eternal life. That call extends equally to Black and white people, for He died for the colored people as truly as for white people, and those neglected and wounded by others can be reached, converted, and helped to lead others from darkness into light. It embraces rich and honorable as well as poor, sick, ignorant, and bound, breaking down Jewish exclusiveness so that religion is not hidden behind walls to escape contamination but mingles freely to enlighten, relieve, and benefit humanity upon all classes.
Help goes to those who need light and are ready to receive it, while the self-sufficient who claim spiritual health and see no need of help are left in a worse condition. Like a physician going to the sick, He went among those most in need of forgiveness and mercy to heal the wounds of sin, and the publicans and sinners despised as sick with sin and rejected by scribes and Pharisees proved more open to truth, ready to repent and receive teaching, and nearer the kingdom of heaven than the proud. Zacchaeus receiving Christ joyfully as personal Saviour, with salvation coming to his house, showed by faith and character that he was a son of Abraham, while those who condemned him and claimed to be righteous were in greater need of repentance; so sinners who receive Christ may enter the kingdom while the self-righteous may be cast out, and the outcast, ignorant, and flawed in character are those to be sought with hope of transformed character.
How Christ Calls Sinners
He seeks souls where they are, going into busy thoroughfares of travel, public streets, private houses, boats, synagogues, lakeshores, marriage feasts, and mountains of prayer to find the sorrowful and afflicted in their suffering and need. His attending the marriage feast began breaking down Jewish exclusiveness and opening the way for freer mingling with all people, against the seclusion, egotism, intolerance, prejudice and self-righteousness of Pharisees and elders that narrowed their influence. He spent much time in the mountains in earnest prayer to come forth braced and strengthened, then labored in real life enlightening and relieving the poor, the sick, the ignorant and those bound by Satan as well as teaching the rich and honorable, reaching to the very depths of human woe and misery. Religion is therefore not to be hidden behind walls to escape contamination but must embrace every opportunity to enlighten and benefit humanity, and His course in finding souls and speaking words and parables that portray their true condition is a lesson for all churches to do the same.
He mingles socially with the despised and unreligious, accepting invitations and sitting as guest at the table of publicans, so that they could meet Him and have opportunity to follow Him. He set aside Pharisaic prejudice and custom to accept Samaritan hospitality, sleeping under their roofs, eating food prepared and served by their hands, and teaching in their streets. At meals with people who were not religious He used friendly company as opportunity to teach lessons suited to their needs and to show how to conduct oneself among both religious and nonreligious people, and His presence and teaching let truth shine through godly character and showed how His life differed from the Pharisees'. Yet those meals were not occasions for luxuries, amusements, feasting or wrongdoing, but gatherings where He spoke to rescue the lost.
He meets sinners with sympathy, kindness, courtesy and welcome, ministering to the sin-sick soul with tender, courteous grace that brings healing and strength. By sympathy and social kindness He recognizes the dignity of humanity in outcasts of society, so that men long to become worthy of His confidence, new impulses are awakened, hope and desire for a new life are stirred, and His words fall on thirsty souls with blessed, life-giving power. That welcome gives power to leave sin behind and follow Him, and opens to outcasts such as publicans the possibility of a new life. His presence among them does not excuse wrongdoing or worldly excess, but brings moral and spiritual uplift.
He teaches simply, speaking of heavenly things and bringing eternity within view in ordinary language they cannot fail to understand, bringing treasures from the storehouse of wisdom by methods peculiarly His own. His words are always spoken with wisdom and exalt the truth, presenting principles that search the recesses of hearts, reach the diseased imagination, draw the mind out after eternal realities, satisfy the inmost longings of the soul, and help sore-troubled ones who need guidance and encouragement with words the priests and rulers were unwilling to speak. His eating with publicans and sinners was deliberate ministry to erring men, and His example shows that speaking with unconverted people should recommend Him to them through lessons and through personal Bible reading and prayer rather than relying only on preaching. Truth thus sown in willing hearts could remain and later bear fruit, so that after His resurrection and ascension five thousand were converted through the apostles' teaching.
He works as the great Medical Missionary and Great Physician for spiritual and physical need, healing both physical maladies and the poor sin-sick soul and revealing to needy souls the principles of righteousness. Practical medical help and spoken sympathy for afflicted sinners is the first step in leading them to come to Him for repentance and healing, and those who serve as spiritual physicians are to help people turn from sin as well as care for bodily illness. In ministry to the sick this means presenting Him as healer of sin-sick souls and pointing people to Him for healing of both soul and body, a message the Christian physician should share while caring for bodies. That work of heart and hand in friendship prepares the way for truth to make an impression on the heart, softening opposition to the Word of God that a storm of denunciation of guilty transgressors can never remove.
Receiving His Call
Only those who know they are sinners and feel their need of a Physician can be called, for the call is to those who recognize their guilt, lost condition, and need of a Saviour and not to those who count themselves righteous, whole, and in no need of help. Being a great sinner is itself the reason a Saviour is needed and gives no reason to think God will have no pity or will not hear prayer, and those who hunger for righteousness and confess they are lost without His help, power, and grace are invited to trust that He came to seek the lost, died on the cross, and rose again for justification. Trust in one's own righteousness and good works feels no need of Him and cannot save, for sinners must recognize their sinfulness, seek Christ as the forgiver of sin, and depend on His righteousness rather than their own merits. That self-sufficient, self-exalted feeling of no need, like that of the Pharisees of old, leaves a person uncalled, and it is found even among many professed Christians and ministers who have only a theory of truth without true conversion, true sorrow for sin, and conviction of depravity.
Awareness of sin is a reason to come, not a reason to despair or stay away, and sinners should come as they are, place their sins upon Him, and trust His gracious promises rather than seeking worthiness in themselves. He alone can bear sins and cleanse from moral and spiritual defilement, healing the sin-sick soul, removing sin's stains and defects, blotting out past mistakes and transgressions, and giving His righteousness as He does His saving work. Approach must not be in self-righteousness and self-sufficiency as though having goodness to recommend oneself, while still remembering weakness and sinfulness and believing He will impart healing, strengthening power. A person who acknowledges being a sinner may claim Christ as personal Saviour and Redeemer who pardons sin, trusting Him rather than despairing when confronted with sin.
His love draws sinners to sorrow for sin and desire to turn from evil, and as they seek God's help He gives repentance and strength to resist sin, follow His will, and gain victory. Salvation comes only in God's appointed way, by falling helpless on Christ the Rock, by repentance toward God and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ, and by trusting His blood as the one only remedy and cleansing power for sin. His grace and righteousness are for those who recognize their sin and need of divine help and not for those who feel whole or are satisfied with their own goodness, so sinners who humble themselves and turn from sin can receive His cleansing and be brought near to Him. He came not to save people in their sins but to save them from sin, and He is the only hope for sinners, inviting them to follow Him, love Him, and become like Him by studying and beholding Him until changed into His image.
Every contrite soul who comes to Him in faith, penitence, and humility will be received and not turned away, trusting His promise, for His mission is to offer forgiveness, righteousness, and release from bondage to Satan. He can free a person only with that person's consent, yet a person can acknowledge being a sinner and still recognize Christ as Saviour. Those who reach up their hands for help must not be turned away but helped most of all, for they cost His lifeblood and are the tempted, deluded souls whom Satan seeks to overcome and whom He as Redeemer cares to restore. His blood is of unlimited value and can save fully all who are persuaded to come, and the call extends to every person, bidding all to come and be saved.
Those who trust in their own righteousness feel no need to seek or receive God's blessing and are not called, and those who consider themselves worthy may undervalue His offer of pardon. His blood will not avail for the self-sufficient who feel no need, and while sinners who receive Christ like Zacchaeus, who received Him joyfully as personal Saviour, show themselves sons of Abraham with salvation come to their house, the self-righteous who condemn them and claim to be righteous are in greater need of repentance and may be cast out while receiving sinners enter the kingdom.
Those who vindicate themselves as always right, who never admit they are wrong and keep excuses to justify themselves, are in deception and delusion, becoming hopelessly wrong because they will not be convinced and deny need for reproof or counsel, and so keep their souls away from light and the grace of Christ. Pride and self-righteousness can conceal need without changing the heart, while measuring life by God's law reveals the sin-sick condition and the need of Christ to lift from sin. Those flattered, petted, and idolized as perfect become deceived about themselves and blind to their need, feeling no need of the Physician, and such a state leaves them unspiritual and unable to come to the light, wanting diversion and amusement when solemn and precious time should prepare the heart to meet the Saviour, a deception that will prove fatal if kept up. Those who do not recognize their spiritual need are like sick people unaware of their condition and need faithful care, to be helped with earnest prayer and encouraging words that strengthen weak faith, and helping them also brings victories to those who help.
Following His Example
Those who notice faults in others are not to abandon them, shun them, stand aloof, or repel them with cold, self-righteous attitudes, but are to help and strengthen with meekness, sympathy, and earnest effort those who struggle, fail to meet ideals, are distressed and misunderstood, and long for pardon and peace. Those who reach up hands for help must not be turned away but helped most of all, with earnest prayer and encouraging words that strengthen weak faith, for helping them also brings victories to those who help. This means taking the tempted, deluded soul by the hand, surrounding such a one with favorable influence, giving another trial to the one who feels regret and remorse, and not leaving the soul to be consumed and ruined or to unwise sympathies while the Holy Spirit molds character after the divine likeness into a refined and holy life. Jealousy, accusation, and evil-surmising must not drive away and lose those who are called to repentance, for the call is for those who need it and not for those who feel no need, and the work is not to be limited to the faultless, the lovely, or those who have received great light.
The call seeks the outcast, ignorant, flawed in character, neglected, and wounded, to bring them to repentance, conversion, and transformed character, and then to lead others from darkness into light. It extends to every person without distinction, to Black and white alike, because divine love reveals the value placed on humanity and the blood shed is of unlimited value to save fully all who are persuaded to come. Every soul has great value from the price of redemption, so children and youth with inherited unfavorable traits and in imminent peril through manifold temptations are purchased property, guarded by angels with tenderest sympathy, to be lifted with wisdom and sanctified tender regard by living human agencies cooperating to save souls ready to perish. Those for whom life was given, even when counted as sinners, are to be loved, accepted, and worked with as helpers and laborers together rather than controlled or shut out from service, with faith proved every day by love and by bringing the soul into close relation to the Saviour.
Calling sinners to repentance is gospel work to be done by precept and example with God-given abilities, carrying the glad tidings of salvation and healing hope to those who need it. The message is for the world and must be proclaimed wherever it has not yet been heard, as it was carried through the cities and villages of Palestine, so labor must go to cities, new ground, the wilderness of sin and wicked places, and to unbelievers and those who know not the truth, rather than hovering over churches or giving disproportionate attention to those who already have light. Those who understand the reasons for the faith must not excuse themselves but do their utmost as producers and not only consumers, lest they lose spirituality in doing nothing, cooperating with the Master Worker and heavenly beings to save perishing souls from ruin. The call is to be given as a trumpet call with a certain sound to arouse those who never heard, with some giving the heaven-sent message to large assemblies and others going from house to house opening the Scriptures, while the great Shepherd teaches how to work, the Holy Spirit gives efficiency, and angels give ears to hear and hearts to understand.
Medical missionary work reflects the healing purpose with self-denial and humility, presenting the one who calls sinners as healer of sin-sick souls for both soul and body. Physicians are to be physicians of the soul as well as the body, sharing power to heal the soul's sin-sickness while caring for bodily illness, and sanitariums are places where healing is ministered to sin-sick souls where patients hear the word of life. Practical medical help and spoken sympathy for afflicted sinners is the first step in leading them to repentance and healing, revealing principles of righteousness, and this work of heart and hand in friendship prepares the way for truth, softening opposition in a way denunciation of guilty transgressors never can. Instruction includes Christian temperance and healthful living as part of pointing the sick to healing of soul and body.
Those who take up this work need thorough conversion themselves so that work can be done through them to bring others out of error and establish them in truth, putting salvation of souls before ease or pleasure. Like a physician caring for the physically ill, the worker among the spiritually sick must understand the people served and determine how best to guide them toward what is right, coming close in sympathy and humility with personal Bible reading, prayer, and simple instruction rather than relying only on preaching. Faith must be a lifelong looking, not a now-and-then look, proved daily by love. The spirit of the mission is mercy rather than punishment or destruction or pleasure in grieving, as shown when Daniel pleaded for the lives of Babylon's wise men even though they later plotted against him.