The Friend of Sinners (Luke 5:27–39) from South Woods Baptist Church on Vimeo.

Amidst all of the discussions surrounding Christianity, the most central truth may be overlooked. We can dialogue about denominations, forms of church government, modes of baptism, high church/low church, confessions of faith or no confessions of faith, Reformed or Arminian theology, single pastor or elder plurality, contemporary or traditional worship, small church or mega-church, types of activities, variety of ministries, politically involved or non-involved, mission focused or social focused, church planting or church revitalization, etc.

All of these prove to be interesting points of discussion. Yet with them, we can miss the most central truth of Christianity.

I grew up in a very traditional SBC church. We sang the doxology every Sunday, skipped the third verse of every hymn, observed the Lord’s Supper quarterly, read Sunday School quarterlies, endured the boredom of Training Union, gave priority to graded choirs, awarded Bibles for perfect Sunday School attendance, and dismissed sharply at noon. But we had no focus on the most central truth of Christianity. Until the Spirit of God began to sweep across the country with an awakening, we functioned quite well without the most central truth of Christianity. We ignored it.

We can have all sorts of activities, appear very religious and spiritual, speak in pious terms, act quite moral, champion critical moral issues, give liberally, meet regularly, and practice Christian liturgy, yet still miss the most central truth of Christianity. We can even call ourselves Christians while blissfully ignorant of what it means to be Christian.

Jesus put the most central truth of Christianity into one sentence in the narrative of Zaccheus. “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). Or more simply, Jesus Christ came to save sinners. That’s most central to everything of which the Bible speaks and of which the church should be concerned. We can continue discussions and graciously disagree on peripheral issues but we mustn’t miss that which is most central: Jesus Christ came to save sinners.

What does it mean for Jesus Christ, the Son of God to come into the world to save sinners? Our passage helps us to see that central truth.

The Saving Call of Jesus

We realize that the use of this kind of language, that Jesus came to save sinners, might offend the sensibilities of some, including many religious people. The thought that someone needed to be saved due to sinfulness may seem out of fashion for the sophistication of our day. But think about it. We’re sinful people. All of us! “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Paul writes (Rom 3:23). We’re sinners that live among sinners. That sinful disposition and practice separates us from God. We’re broken and cannot repair ourselves. Sure, someone can improve his moral practice a bit to cut out some of the nastier aspects of his life, but he still continues in sin. Rebellion against God and His law lives in his heart. He wants his own way without facing the consequences of sin. He’s a fallen person living in a fallen world. He needs to be delivered from the penalty and power of sin. He cannot deliver himself. Only Jesus can.

Luke narrates a story that helps us to see Jesus saving sinners. Jesus intentionally pursues the hopeless. That particular day, “He went out and noticed [better, ‘fixed his gaze on, looked intently at’] a tax collector named Levi sitting in the tax booth, and He said to him, ‘Follow Me.’” This was not a quirk of circumstances but rather Jesus pursued Levi the tax collector in order to save him from his sin and make him a follower.

Tax collectors had bad reputations in the first century. Levi, also better known as Matthew the Apostle (Matt 9:9; Mark 2:14), worked at one of the most despicable jobs in the region of Capernaum. His tax booth was situated on the main road between the Sea of Gali[...]