The Mind of the Sinner

My father preaches my favorite sermon. It is the story of the Prodigal Son (with his own slant, of course). He's always quick to point out Luke 15:17. This verse comes right after we hear that the Prodigal was so hungry that he wanted to eat the slop he was feeding the pigs. In that moment of clarity, newer versions of the bible say he "came to his senses." I, however, like the wording of the King James Version which says, "and when he came to himself he said, 'How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.'" (verses 17-19)

My father was always quick to label this "the greatest compliment ever paid to a sinner", because it says that we aren't ourselves when we are away from God. Plainly stated: you aren't in your right mind while in sin. Just think about the son. The words he said to himself did not suddenly become true, they were always the case, he just didn't realize it until he reached rock bottom-desiring to eat the food of an animal that his people called unclean. His father always had enough, but his sin-tattered mind couldn't comprehend it.

If we as leaders could really grip those three words, "came to himself", it would revolutionize how we reach out.

How?

When I hear discussions about how to address sinners, we generally come down on one of two sides: the "full of grace" Christian response or the "full of law" Christian response. Here's the problem: we are thinking like Christians. If we want to help sinners, we have to think like sinners. That's why I see major blunders on both sides of the coin. Whether you favor law or grace doesn't matter, because what is a rational response to you won't be interpreted the same to the irrational mind of the sinner away from God.

The "grace camp" thinks the best response is to show unwavering support for those in sin. To the "gracers" they are "loving the sinner and hating the sin", but to the unwashed mind, there is no distinction in their support. Yes, they see how you love them, but they also think that you have no problem with what they are doing. I see it over and over via social media posts.

The "law camp" thinks the best answer is to draw a line with the Word and tell the sinner to pick a side, they are either "with us" or "against us". The "lawites" think they have held up their mandate to present the truth and are only doing what God requires. But to the sinner, they are being judged and mistreated by the church. Many of whom will leave never to return.

So what's the solution? We must realize that because the sinner doesn't think like us, we can't rely on our reasoning skills, we must rely on the leading of the Holy Spirit. Only He can truly draw sinners, because He is the only one who can make a sinner "come to himself." Our God is fully grace AND fully truth, so we must rely on the Holy Spirit to strike the balance and not our feeble minded attempts.