Follow Me — Shane Idleman

Love the Sinner and Hate the Sin

The message tonight is going to make some squirm in their seat, and some leap for joy. Others it's going to convict, and others it might challenge in a good way. But the message is, love the sinner and hate the sin.

Love the sinner, hate the sin. As I told the first congregation, first service, I'll tell you, if you've mastered this area, please come up and see me after the service. I would love to find out how you balance and master this area of hating sin, but loving the sinner.

And that's what we see Christ, He did this masterfully. So we're going to look to that briefly. But before I forget, some of you weren't here last week. And I just want to encourage you to go online, listen to last week's message on faith.

Faith being the anchor. Faith is the anchor of life. And we have to remember that the anchor doesn't prevent the storm. Does it? It only holds the vessel in place. And some of us need our faith encouraged.

We need our faith grounded. We need our faith to be that anchor, to find deep water and anchor into those rocks. So go back and if you weren't here, listen to last week's message. And where we left off is where we find ourself right now.

Jesus Calls Matthew to Follow Him

In Matthew chapter nine. So if you have your Bibles, you can turn to Matthew chapter nine, verse nine. And we're going to try to unpack this. There's actually two different sermons. But I'm going to try to make it all fit.

Matthew chapter nine, verse nine. As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And he said to him, follow me. So he rose and followed him. Now it happened as Jesus sat at the table in the house that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples.

And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to his disciples, why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners? When Jesus heard that, he said to them, those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.

But go and learn what this means. I desire mercy and not sacrifice. For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. And there's a lot there. I almost titled this follow me. But then there's a sermon just in following him.

But then also we see Jesus loving the sinner, but hating the sin. And look at these Pharisees. See, it still happens today. Why does your teacher, why do you associate with sinners? You know, that same question is brought to us today often.

I was talking with the pastor recently who planted a church in a not so desirable area of our town. And he said, there's been families leaving because of that. There's a prostitute sitting next to them.

Or there's somebody off the street in the back. Oh, we can't deal with this. What do you think the church is? We're all broken people. Christianity isn't a crutch. It's the entire hospital. It's everything.

A bunch of sinners coming for hope and restoration and repair. But how do we love the sinner, but hate the sin? It's a very difficult balance. And it's often brought up the question, I get people, mainly when they're mad at me, shouldn't only God hate sin?

That's what they say. Shouldn't only God hate sin? We don't need to be pointing out sin in people's lives. And I actually had a conversation with the pastor, associate pastor in this valley. Notice how I don't name names in churches and things like that.

But I wanna get the point across, is he was saying some very controversial things. So we went to lunch about four years ago now, I'd have to check. And he started to tell me that we can learn from other religions.

We can learn to pray and meditate from the Buddhists and the Hindu. And right then I knew this was gonna be an interesting conversation. But what he said after that, I was just sitting there in amazement.

He also said, we should not talk about the fear of the Lord. Really? How do you pastor and avoid these things? And then he said, we don't talk about sin either, Shane. People already know they're sinners.

We don't need to mention that. Well, to be honest with you, about 90 of our nation thinks that they're good people and that they don't need God. So we have to address this topic. But you can ask my wife.

For a week I went through this weird, Lord, how can this be? This guy's an associate pastor of a large church in our area. And how can we be so diametrically opposed in these areas? A Buddhist is gonna teach me how to pray and meditate?

And I'm not gonna mention sin? I'll resign tonight. I'll just resign. Because the Bible says something opposite to all of that. However, we need to be careful in this area. I'm gonna try to unpack this.

The Destructive Power of Sin and the Need for Holiness

We have to remember, though, that sin is serious. They don't wanna talk about the very thing that is destroying lives and destroying families. This is not a toothless lion that pesters us. This is a demonic king.

Satan is a demonic king that his goal is to kill, to steal, and to destroy. And without Christ at the center of your life, he will prevail. I don't know how I can say that any more strongly. It's not a little guy right here with a pitchfork.

Oh, don't do this. And a little angel on this side. This is a demonic king, the king of the demonic realm. He comes as an angel of light transforming himself. He'll come as everything you always wanted to destroy you.

He comes in with the wiles and trickery and deceit. Well, how do I defeat this king? You worship the one true and living king. And you look to God's word. And you live your life according to scripture.

And you pray and you fast. And all these spiritual disciplines that nobody likes to do. We like to talk about it, but we don't want to do it because it hurts. But it's in the spiritual disciplines that we find victory.

So especially in this area of sin, I just pulled up a few verses. The Bible says to abhorred what is evil. And I tried to find, we don't really have a word in our English language, abhorred. It's to utterly debase, to cast down.

It's almost like spitting on something and stomping it, debasing. I abhorred this. The Bible says to abhorred what is evil and to cling to what is good. Jesus said that he hated the sinful deeds of the Nicolaitans.

And in the churches in Revelation, five of the seven churches, Jesus had severe rebukes for, I hate these certain things in your life. Jesus said, and if your eye causes you to sin, cut it out. He said, don't fear man, fear God who can kill both your soul and body in hell.

Jesus said these things. Jesus Christ, the nice little turn your cheek Jesus, that Jesus. So it's very important that we read our Bible all the way through and we can see the totality of scripture that sin has destroyed God's people from the beginning of time.

And sin will destroy God's people until the end of time. Not necessarily salvation, we're secured, we're sealed, I understand all that, but he's pulling us away from God. He's destroying lives. So this is a serious issue.

So God just, we don't need to worry about sin, shame. Why do you always talk about these things? Why? Because sin put Christ on the cross. Listen, that nice little thing up there is all glamorized and it's been sanded, it's been polyurethane and all this stuff.

We can't see it right here, there's a banner in the way. But the cross was messy, it was bloodstained. We talked about this on Easter. The creator dying for his creation, whipped beyond recognition, beaten, slapped, everything, because it doesn't matter.

As a matter of fact, the pulpits want to be politically correct and not offend anybody. That's why lives aren't being changed. If preachers would preach under the anointing and power of the Holy Spirit with the word of God, penetrating the heart, calling out sin, but building up and encouraging, but still calling out sin, lives would be radically changed.

How do you know? Because I see it all the time. Lives are radically changed when they are confronted by the awesomeness of God and by the unawesomeness of themselves. It's bad English, but it's true. There's not a word unawesomeness, I know.

Every time I mess up, my wife tells me when we get home. Not this, this, and this. Don't say junk in the trunk. Don't. So I gotta remember this. See, look at that. I was talking about the seriousness of sin and you guys just distracted me.

James 1 .15 warns that sin brings forth death. Psalms. I hate and abhor lying and sin, but I love your law. See, and that's biblical truth is we have to hate sin, but I love the sinner. The problem is sometimes we hate the sin and the sinner and we take it out on them.

Compassion Without Compromise

And A .W. Tozer, Tozer, interesting name, but wonderful quotes, said probably 50, 60 years ago, when we become so tolerant, think about this, when the Church of America, when the pulpits, when Christians, when we, when me, when you, when we become so tolerant of every lifestyle, of everybody, of everything, we don't say anything, when we become so tolerant that we lead people into mental fog and spiritual darkness, we are not acting like Christians, we are acting like cowards.

Chew on that for a minute. When we become so tolerant, and I hear this, Shane, we shouldn't talk about any, oh, don't mention abortion, don't mention gay marriage, don't mention all the hot button issues, don't mention any of that stuff, let's just go love the people.

Well, how do you just love the people if you can't warn of the destructive lifestyle? Every time I talk about this issue, people say, why do you have to talk about politics and the pulpit? I'm just talking about sin and the lives of people.

These things are destructive. Jesus, and I looked at a lot of scriptures, so if I missed one, email me, but Jesus was not tolerant of sin anywhere. I tried, no, no, no, sure, no, I just, I couldn't find anywhere where Jesus was tolerant of sin.

Let me just turn the other way, let me wink, I know that's one, you're one little vice, you can just hold on to that. He never tolerated it. Everybody likes to say, Shane, but the woman caught in the act of adultery said, woman, I don't condemn you.

Oh, no. But he didn't finish there, did he? But go and sin no more. The man, he healed. He found him, he said, listen, don't go, stop sinning, don't go and sin no more, or a worse thing is gonna come upon you.

He says, I didn't come to call sinners to repentance, or actually, I came to call sinners to repentance, I didn't come to call the righteous to repentance. Why not? Because sinners need a savior. See, I just, maybe, I know I repeat this a lot, maybe it's just me, but I find it so ironic that the very thing Christ came for, to die, to preach to sinners, because of sin, because the wages of sin is death, because sin separates us from God, because his shed had to be bled for us, but we don't wanna mention any of those things, Shane.

So what do we wanna be, just a popular church, a social club where we all come together, sing kumbaya and go home? I just, I cannot, I can turn on Christian TV, come on, just talk about sin, talk about the cross, talk about the road to redemption, not about healthy, wealthy, and wise, that's not gonna cut it, guys, come on.

Where's that, where's the voices? Where's the voice crying in the wilderness saying, prepare the way of the Lord? What were they preparing the way of the Lord? Repentance, repentance from what? From sin, everything's connected back to this point, but somehow we get into this, don't wanna talk about these things, and we have to be careful, because we're not called to be sin-sniffing, arrogant Pharisees, sin-sniffing, arrogant Pharisees.

I'm not gonna say it again. Listen to the video, if you miss any of this stuff, listen to the video. But we're not, God, I'm trying to preach a serious sermon here tonight, guys, but it's good. Sometimes when I tell my wife, God, it got funny, she goes, good, we need a little humor, because it was getting thick in there, you could cut it with a knife.

Well, here's the key. Although dealing with sin is critical because of its destructive nature, we also need to encourage, love, support, and seek to understand. When we forget about grace, we become self-righteous, rigid, and unloving.

So see how you balance it? And you'll see the article in the bulletin. Sometimes I write those in the Christian Post. You guys read, follow that news organization. Sometimes, I don't know why I post them in there, because you get, you know, they got 500 ,000 likes, so you get a lot of people upset at the articles.

I'm like, wow, what's a big, what's wrong with these people? This is a Christian Post, aren't we all Christians? Listen, why are you guys always coming out against gay marriage? I said, because the culture won't shut their mouth.

The culture's pushing everything on the church. Church, change your doctrine. Church, change your bylaws. Church, shut your mouth and don't talk about these things. So the culture's coming at me, so I gotta push back.

I gotta say, I draw a line here and no further. So it's not the church's fault, it's the culture's fault for bringing it out and making it an issue every single week. So I said, all that to say this. There are many times I talk with those struggling with same-sex attraction.

I remember my wife, I missed breakfast with her because I was in Palm Springs. This guy was jogging, he's just looking at me. I'm like, what's he looking at? So I thought, now I know, but I was. What he was like, do you have a problem?

And so I heard him talk, and I knew, oh, so for 45 minutes, I just, I like to understand and encourage, I understand that. But once you tell the person, he just brought, I mean, he was like real receptive.

Once I said, hey, I'm a sinner too. This isn't some sin way up here, I'm a sinner. Not on that side, I don't do those things, I do these things, I'm a sinner. We're all sinners, that's what the homosexual community needs to know.

We love you because we're all sinners. We're all sinners, the only difference is it said, Christ, I call out to you, I confess my sin. I repent of it, I need you, I need a redeemer. That's the only difference, so we're trying to get you to embrace that, to repent from that.

That's the only difference. And after the conversation, he left there, encouraged, it was a good conversation, but I had to sit and just listen for a while. I understand, you've been beat up when you're a little, your dad didn't, and I understand that, but these, so he goes, but I love this guy.

I said, but, so when you leave him next month, and you love somebody else, so it's always okay if you love them? Well, no, I guess not, and here's what God's word says. All of us have fallen short of the glory of God.

Here's what his word says. Jesus used the word pornea, it's where we get our word pornography from. Any type of illicit sex outside of God-ordained marriage between a man and woman. Well, Jesus didn't say anything about homosexuality.

Well, he didn't say anything about bestiality, or pedophilia, or necrophilia either, did he? Well, let's connect the dots. Anything outside of that. So see, that's why the church has to bring it up a lot, is because they're being challenged on a weekly basis.

I have to meet with attorneys to get our bylaws changed to underscore what marriage actually is. And we're gonna be sued, lawsuits, if I don't marry a certain couple. And then there's gonna be shut your mouth laws probably by 2020, where somebody could turn me into the police for saying this.

So you don't tell me the church needs to shut up, the culture needs to experience the power of God, by pulpits being flames of righteousness, saying we love you, but this is not right. We care for you, but we're concerned.

That's how people change. So that's what Tozer meant. We can become so tolerant that we lead people into a mental fog and spiritual darkness, and we are not acting like Christians, we are acting like cowards.

Because it's much easier to say nothing, isn't it? Oh, if God called me to say nothing, I would be so happy right now. If he called me to just shut my mouth and be a real estate agent, don't write articles, don't write books, don't upset people, don't probably get death threats in the future, don't do, I would love it.

I would love it, bring it on. But why can't I? Because his word is in my heart like a burning fire, it's shut up in my bones, I'm weary of holding it back, and I cannot, if I stop to do, when I don't want to write articles like the ones in your thing, when I don't want to, I feel pressure, I feel, Shane, get this out in love and be that voice in the wilderness crying, drawing people back to me, because if it's done in love, it's powerful.

When the truth is done in love, it's powerful, that's where lives are changed. So that's finding the balance, we love the sinners. Why, because we are one. Well, actually the Bible now calls us saints.

Justification, Propitiation, and Expiation

Once that price has been paid on the cross, we repent of our sin, then we're referred to as saints, because that old sin nature has been crucified with Christ. It's been eradicated, it's been dealt with.

Remember those big theological words we talked about last year, propitiation? Propitiation, say that three times. That means that the wrath of God had to be satisfied. It had to. There's no way that a holy, righteous God can dwell with sinful man.

So Christ took on, propitiation took on the wrath of God. And then expiation, it's linked with the scapegoat in the Old Testament. Now our guilt and our shame has been released. So not only has sin been dealt with, we shouldn't carry the guilt and the shame either.

So to me, this is a wonderful message for those who struggle with same-sex attraction. That's why I bring it up a lot, because it's a wonderful truth. Listen, you don't have to deal with the shame and the guilt and these things.

Christ paid that penalty. And that's why it just fits in here with this issue. The ability to relate to people on their level, show genuine concern, and love them regardless of their lifestyle, is a mark of true Christianity.

And let me go on the record here, we're saying that, John, I think left for the second service, Matt, I know well enough, as the elders, as the leadership team here is here, we love you regardless of your lifestyle.

I can say that and honestly mean it. No matter what you do, no matter what your lifestyle is, Shane, I just got drunk, I just got high, I just got this, I just got porn, we love you. It's love, it's the love of Christ compels us.

Somebody who truly feels the Spirit of God loves you. But I hate the sin that's taking you down, and I will preach against it, and I will warn you, and I will encourage you to turn from that. So that's how you balance loving the sinner and not the sin, is you relate to them.

You show genuine concern and you love them regardless of their lifestyle. What it is, three words, compassion without compromise. Without is one word, right? As I'm saying that, I'm thinking, man, it's four words.

Compassion without compromise. So try to memorize that. That's how you balance, Shane, how do I love the sinner and hate sin? Compassion without compromise. We don't compromise. It's the last time on that, Shane, because I know people are getting, you know, why do you, but on this issue of what they're trying to ordain gay clergy and gay marriage and this whole issue, I would love to just give a whole sermon about this.

This is why true Bible-believing churches can't back down. They can't just, oh, okay, we'll give you that one, you give us this one. We have to contend for the truth. And when God calls something sin, we have to say, we love you enough to tell you the truth.

Well, that's why the article in there is, what does God's word say, not jars of clay? Because that lead singer for jars of clay, I think he's retracting some of his words now. But he came out and said, well, the Bible isn't really clear on this issue of morality, and I want to say, what Bible are you reading?

The problem is, these people aren't in the word of God. I'll just shoot you straight. They don't know what it says. They're looking to liberal theologians or liberal teachers to tell them what it says.

Because I can take you to Genesis, where men and women were created in the likeness of God. God created them. You can go to Leviticus, you can go to stories in the Old Testament, you can go to 1 Corinthians, you can go to Timothy, you can go to Romans, suppressing the truth and ungodliness.

God gave them over to a depraved and corrupted mind. So when sin begins to take control of our lives, it's because we suppress the truth. We suppress the truth, and as a result, by default, we go in certain directions.

Some into the lat lifestyle, some into the party lifestyle, some into this. Anytime you suppress the truth and ungodliness, then that will rule and reign in your life. So that's vitally important. And I heard this the other day, I want to share it with you guys.

Living as the Gospel Others Read

It's called the gospel according to you. Oh, you can already tell where this is going. Men, men read and admire the gospel of Christ with its love so unfailing and true, but what do they say and what do they think of the gospel according to you?

You are writing each day a letter to men. Take care that the writing is true. The only gospel that some will read is the gospel according to you. And this really struck me because when I heard this, I was sitting there thinking, you know what?

Most people aren't gonna read this. Hollywood's not gonna take the time and go Genesis through Revelation. Let's see if this guy's right. Or people we talk to, they're not gonna see it. So when we name the name of Christ, they see in us what they perceive is the gospel, the gospel according to me.

How I treat them is gonna speak volumes as to the sincerity of my commitment to Christ. Remember last Father's Day, and I'll probably remind you of it this Father's Day too, but there's a poem that goes something like, dad, the lessons you give me may be very wise and true, but I'd rather get the lesson by observing what you do.

For I may misunderstand you and the high advice you give, but dad, there's no misunderstanding how you act and how you live. We need a two by four to the head tonight. Man, all the parents and their little kids are watching.

We're representing the love of Christ in our life. I preach Christ crucified, and the kids see it at home. Is there a disconnect? Remember that I love to quote Josh McDowell. He said the reason young adults don't follow Christ is they say, how can we follow the Christ when we don't want the Christ that our parents have?

Did you catch that, or is it just me? Because that right there is enough to stop the sermon, just worship. How can millions of young adults, how can we follow Christ when we don't want the Christ that our parents have?

That's the number one question he gets, and that should force all of us on our knees before Almighty God to pray that God break our heart, because that's why it's happening. It's not coming because their parents are too loving, gentle, kind, and merciful.

They're ruling their house with a rod of iron, but they know nothing about the compassion of Christ. Listen, I don't say all this to go, oh, yeah, that makes sense. I say all this so the heart breaks and the change can take place during worship.

That's why we give difficult messages. That's why God sends his messengers to deliver messages to his people, to warn them and to convict them, but do they listen? No, they scoffed at his prophet, they mocked his word, and they despised his messengers, and the anger of the Lord arose against his own people until there was no remedy, and that's my concern.

See, as much as I don't want to say it, when we confuse God's patience with his approval, and we just continue and allow certain things when God is calling us back to a place of holiness and repentance, that's not a good spot to live.

Truth Must Be Joined With Love

This is why a humble, gracious heart is so important. Truth that is not underscored with love becomes obnoxious and misrepresents the gospel. When we have this without love, we become obnoxious. I'll give you an example, I gave the first service, and I'm glad there's a first service because sometimes I learn from my mistakes, but just being transparent, I think my wife will remember this too, about six months ago, I actually apologized to the guy since then, I've seen him since.

But in front of Vons, we got into this discussion, he believes in baptismal regeneration. I don't know if you know what that is, kind of big word. Basically means you're not saved until you get baptized.

So you can profess Christ as Lord, you can repent, you can, the Lord's changed your life, there's a fruit of the Spirit, but no, hold on, don't get excited yet. You're not going, you gotta go get baptized, then you'll be saved, you're not yet.

So as I was getting more passionate, outside of Vons, I said, that's a works-based oriented religion, that's heretical, and just kept throwing things at him. Like you baptize unbelievers, you're gonna go baptize an unbeliever, the Bible says to baptize believers.

You're walking very dangerous ground, what'd the thief on the cross do? Was he not with Jesus in paradise? What's a man do, does he die, he has a heart attack on his way to baptismal? Is he eternally lost, come on guys, wake up.

I hurt his feelings. I don't know how that happened, because I can't talk to you, and he just left. I'm like, you bet you can't talk to me. Round two, let's go. And so of course, right there, I'm like, oh yeah, really, that's real gracious and loving, and probably could've explained it a lot better had I just listened.

So I actually saw him a week later and apologized, and I just get passionate about it, I just, you know, that's a good excuse too, right? I'm just passionate, I'm just passionate. No, he just said, I'm sorry, I was a jerk.

So, anyway, that was my recent one of being, of not being gracious and blowing somebody out of the water, is basically, you know, what I did. But I am amazed, I'm actually amazed often at how many defenders of the truth, how many people, defenders of the truth, ignored the clear-cut teaching of Scripture on grace, and forgiveness, and mercy, and love, and gentleness, and long-suffering.

And every time I challenge them on it, you know what they say? Yeah, but, yeah, but, they're doing this. No, no, no, no, no, hold on, we'll come back to what they're doing, but first, what are you not doing?

See, we can be defenders of the truth, but how do we ignore the plethora of examples of Scripture talking about genuine love, and grace, and mercy, and long-suffering? God forbid, no wonder we're not making lives in the difference of people.

We're throwing the Bible at them, instead of living it out. And I just see this all the time, they're defenders of truth. Okay, but you sure wouldn't know it by your attitude. Well, I don't care about that, I'm passionate.

Somebody's gotta contend for the truth. Yeah, like Jesus, not like Hitler. If you're upset, get upset at God, not me. This is just straight Biblical preaching, what the Bible says. Boy, that was a long introduction.

The Cost of True Discipleship

Now I'm getting to the message. What do we got, we got a couple hours left. I'm just kidding, I'm just kidding. Well, no, I'm serious, I've got a long time, but I'll try to hurry. Jesus still says, follow me.

Jesus still, well, let's remember back in Matthew, I said, Jesus said, Matthew, follow me. You know he still says that today, right? Follow me. He's telling you, back row, follow me. Front row, follow me.

Follow me, follow me. He says the same thing to us today, to follow him. But you know what happens in American Christianity? I call American Christianity, because you know, American Christianity, do you realize that we're actually laughed at in China and Afghanistan and Pakistan and Uganda?

You realize that? The American church is made fun of because of what they see on TV. Oh, I didn't get a parking spot out in front, and they're walking 10 miles in barefoot to sit on dirt with scorpions.

God help us. Just yesterday, I paid the guy that mows our lawn, I'm saying, I pay that guy more than they make in a month to take this much off my grass. Could you go and just take it right there, nice and like a hair, I want my lawn to look like it has a haircut.

And he makes more from me than some of these families do in a month. They laugh at the American church. There's no power in your preaching. It's all about health, wealth, and wisdom. Nobody's getting healed.

Nobody's getting delivered. Nobody's getting set free. You go complain about an hour and a half worship service, try four hours of seeking God, they laugh at us. Why, because they know follow him, we don't.

Here's our version of follow him. Jesus, bless my agenda. Jesus, bless my plans. Jesus, bless my life. Basically, Jesus, here's what I'm doing, would you come and follow me? I'm gonna go to school, I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna make six figures, I wanna live up on the hill, I want this for my, I want this.

Come on, bless my plans. Come on. That's not biblical historical Christianity. That's called me-centered Christianity. Follow me is the opposite. Jesus, whatever you call me to do, I will do. I will follow you when the storms rage, when the floods come, I will not be overtaken because you hold me with your right hand, with you, you, you guide me, you lead me.

Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Why, because I'm following him. He's not following me. So that's American, we need to rethink how we look at follow him. He's not a genie in a bottle and he's not a butler.

You've heard me say that often, right? This is why. Okay, Lord, here's what I want. I wanted this, I want that, and I want this. Or a butler, get me this, get me this, get me this. He's the Lord Jesus Christ.

Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Christ is Lord. We sit under his authority, we sit under his dominion, we sit under his sovereignty. He rules us. As Daniel says, the very God, O King, God holds your breath in his hands and he owns all your ways.

God, that's the God we serve. It's a privilege to follow him. So when Jesus says follow him, and I have a whole sermon right on this, but what happens a lot of time is any time we, like what I do sometimes, rebuke the American Christianity, the lukewarm church, right?

You know what people say, but Shane, we are winning them. We're winning them to Christ. Really? Are we really winning them to Christ? Because let's see what A .W. Tozer says. Are we winning them to true discipleship?

Are we winning them to cross-carrying, to self-denial, to separation from the world, to the crucifixion of the flesh, to holy living, to nobility of character, to despising the world's treasures, to hard self-discipline, to a love for God, to a total commitment to Christ?

No, we're not. So don't say we're winning them because we're winning them to everything but those things. We talk about the self-denial. They say, I don't want that. Pull yourself away from the world.

I don't want that. Carry your cross. I don't want to carry that cross. Jesus Christ, you stay up on the cross while I sit on the throne. The Bible says you get off your throne and you get yourself on that cross.

You crucify yourself. You carry your cross and you follow me. It's that serious. Hey, listen, just as many fingers, I could sit in that seat right there and be hearing the same sermon. Oh, God, you're right.

Because we like to make God out to what we want, right? And here's one of the things I've noticed. The more spoiled we get, the harder it becomes. I've got video of the underground church in China. They're weeping when their shipment of Bibles comes in.

And they're crying, they're worshiping God because they get their Bible. They have to go underground? They're arrested, they're beaten? That happened in many of our churches. We'd say, oh, oh, oh, I'm not that serious, guys.

Come on, I'm not that serious. We know nothing about that fully surrendered life. So Shane, what's your point? My point is this. Conviction is a good thing. Allow that conviction of the Holy Spirit to say, God, I need to surrender my life more to you.

That's why one of the themes of this church is the fully surrendered life that I will preach on till the day I die. You might say, when are you gonna stop preaching on it? When you do it. When I do it.

The fully surrendered life. The Bible knows no other life. And sometimes I read the Bible and I just kind of laugh because we know nothing of New Testament Christianity and they knew nothing of our kind of Christianity.

Now granted, I've got a lot of grace in there and love and understand it's challenging and this and that and our big culture. And I know, it is challenging. That's why it's called self-denial. Pick up your cross and follow me.

And there's many points in that, but I think you get the thrust of that. And the next part he says here is, why does your teacher eat with sinners? Why does your teacher eat with sinners? And this right here just reveals the heart of these people.

Does it not? The Pharisees? Why would you even eat with sinners? Why? And John MacArthur said this, I love this quote. There is no suggestion in scripture that Jesus purposely assumed the look and the lifestyle of a sinner in order to gain acceptance.

See, and here's what I've noticed in the church. There's two extremes. The one extreme is, don't deal with the sinner. Stay really distant. We're gonna build a big church compound. We're not gonna deal with sinners at all.