It's hard to love sinners when you are trying so hard not to be one.

I'd be willing to go to the grave known as nothing more than the guy who came up with that sentence. So here it is again…

It's hard to love sinners when you are trying so hard not to be one.

This statement captures so well the struggle between good and evil in us all. But it is also the struggle between the Old Covenant (the law) and the New (grace). The Old Covenant is all about not sinning. "Thou shalt not…" And if any one of us could actually pull off the Old Covenant, then we would have the right to say anything we want against sinners. We would have the right to only respect those who earn it. We could even despise those who don't, because our righteousness would vindicate us every time, and condemn them. But alas, the law has condemned us all, so that no one can pass judgment, and no one can earn anything.

The law was given, not so that we could follow it, but so that we would break it, and find out who we really are. We are those who can lock arms and sing along with Kris Kristofferson and Johnny Cash and anybody else who might want to join in: "Lord help me, Jesus, I've wasted it so; help me, Jesus, I know what I am." The Old Covenant—the law—teaches you that. It teaches you what you are really made of. And those who spend their life refusing to believe that, and trying to follow it instead, are going to have a hard time loving sinners. And they will have a hard time loving themselves as well.

And all those Christians who supposedly got saved by the New Covenant and then go back to living like the Old one were possible (if, indeed, you can do that), well, they're going to have a hard time showing respect to anyone, because… well… it's hard to love sinners when you are trying so hard not to be one.

"But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe." (Galatians 3:22 NASB)

The Catch, © 2/19/2010 by John Fischer