The Standard May 16, 2026
One of the most difficult determinations for Christians is how to balance having a positive impact on those who are not sure about Jesus or who openly deny him, while being in the world but not of it. On one extreme, some Christ-followers end up almost building a wall between themselves and the people they see as bad. In separating from the things of the world, they almost live in the isolation of a holy huddle. They do not want any associations to be misconstrued as an endorsement of behavior that God calls sin. Of course, it is almost impossible to show one’s faith to those who don’t share it if there is no contact.
Jesus speaks of the final judgment in terms of separating the sheep from the goats, saying, “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’” Matthew 25:34-36
How can we visit someone in prison without coming within close proximity of people who have made bad decisions? Who of us have not made bad decisions? Jesus says we will be rewarded for actions like visiting prisoners. What good does it do to let our lights shine if everyone around us also is shining the same light? Most, if not all of us, need to shine in the darkness.
“While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: ‘Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ On hearing this, Jesus said to them, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.’” Mark 2:15-17
On the other extreme, there are believers whose lives look practically indistinguishable from the lives of their unbelieving friends. Perhaps in an effort to be non-judgmental, they might sink more and more into a practice of calling practically nothing sin. Jesus’ call to faithfulness and obedience is turned into little more than a vague message to love everyone by considering all desires equally good and by condemning only the absolute worst behavior. What is the worst is subjective.
As always, Jesus knew how to thread the needle perfectly. He seemed to enjoy hanging out with those considered “unrighteous,” but was not afraid to challenge their bad motives or actions.
In the interaction with the woman at the well Jesus said, “Let any of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.’” “At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ ‘No one, sir,” she said. ‘Then neither do I condemn you,’ Jesus declared. ‘Go now and leave your life of sin.’” John 8: 7b, 9-11
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