JESUS WOULD LOVE THE SINNER BUT…

Jesus said to Nicodemus, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life… And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.”  (John 3:16,19 NRSV)

Over and over Jesus would do the same thing and tell the same story: He would love Nicodemus, so caught up in false religion, but would hate the false religion; He would love the woman caught in adultery but condemn the adultery; He would love Zacchaeus, so obsessed by his possessions, but hate his materialism.  He would love the sinner but hate the sin.

-- Max Lucado

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24-HOUR-A-DAY COMMITMENT

“Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews.  He came to Jesus by night and said to him, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.’”  (John 3:1-2 NRSV)

Jesus doesn't hold back with Nicodemus. Following Jesus would require a commitment that would cost Nicodemus a great deal....In fact, it's true throughout all of Scripture.... Following Jesus isn't something you can do at night where no one notices. It's a twenty-four-hour-a-day commitment that will interfere with your life. That's not the small-print --  that's a guarantee.

-- Kyle Idleman in Not a Fan: Becoming a Completely Committed Follower of Jesus

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