Bible Reading: Judges 19, 20, 21, Luke 7:26-50.
“Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it , he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner” – Luke 7:39 (KJVS)
Social distancing is a common phrase now courtesy of COVID 19. It is generally explained as a set of non-pharmaceutical interventions or measures taken to prevent the spread of a contagious disease by maintaining a physical distance between people and reducing the number of times people come into close contact with each other. We have been told that we need to maintain social distance as a way of reducing the spread of COVID 19.
Similarly, we can explain Sinners distancing as a way of maintaining physical distance from sinners in order to avoid being infected by their sins and thus becoming a sinner.
This is apparently the practice of the Pharisees in the time of the earthly ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ. This explains the thought of the Pharisee in Luke 7:39 (KJVS), “Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it , he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.”
The Pharisees believed then that you needed to distance yourself from the sinners so as not to be contaminated. This is interesting because when I gave my life to Christ from a Muslim background, I also felt the same way. I tried as much to distance myself from those I considered to be sinners and this affected me negatively so much. Firstly, it made it difficult for me to evangelise the so called “sinners” as I had distanced myself from them. Secondly, I could not build the relationship that I ought to build and use for the benefit of the kingdom as I maintained huge distance from the sinners under the wrong notion that relating with them is being unequally yoked with unbelievers! But let’s look at the strategy of our Lord Jesus. He mixed with all of them but did not copy them rather his life style brought a number of them to the kingdom. It is interesting to note that the man who made the observation that Jesus was not distancing himself from sinners was himself a sinner as Pharisees did not believe in Jesus but Jesus accepted to eat with him.
Also Apostle Paul stated in 1 Corinthians 9:19 (KJVS), “For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more.” Thus he associated with the Jews, those under the law, those that are without the law and the weak. He did all these for the sake of the gospel as he stated in 1 Corinthians 9:23 (KJVS), “And this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you”. However he did this successfully by controlling his flesh knowing that every born again child of God should be dead to his flesh. He concluded with the statement… “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” – 1 Corinthians 9:27 (KJVS).
Prayer: Father, in the name of Jesus, give me the grace to preach the gospel to everyone without compromising on my faith.
Bro. Biodun Oyapero