“And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto His disciples, How is it that He eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners?  When Jesus heard it, He saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Mark 2:16-17.

Just in case I haven’t yet stepped on the toes of the bar room ministers whose favorite scripture is Mark 2:16-17.   You know who you are, the ones who talk about Jesus hung out with sinners while you are bellied up to the bar having a cocktail “with the sinners”.  Let us now examine the end of Mark 2:17, “…: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”  Jesus was there to heal the sick and call the sinners to repentance.  Unless you are there ministering the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to them, calling them to repentance, you are not a witness of Jesus Christ but of the devil.  Jesus was and is the physician of sinners, not their companion.

Furthermore, just in case anyone wants to jump on the “wine” wagon, please note that wine in the Hebrew is “yayin” or “oinos” which includes grape juice at any stage, from jelly to liquor.  Besides, if you have to search that hard to get away with your sin of choice, there is a possibility you may need to get saved.

“Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”  James 4:4.  If I have indeed stepped on your toes…well, good.  I hope I have jumped up and down on them enough that you realize that fence your straddling is on the devil’s property.  I pray you do repent.  I’m not trying to be mean but I want you to know.  I want you to know that the devil is trying to drag you, your children and your family to the pits of hell with him and as you sit on the bar stool “ministering”, proclaiming to be a Christian, you are playing the devil’s pawn and dragging other’s with you.

No matter how angry you get with me or how vehemently you disagree with me, it doesn’t matter…it won’t change what the scripture says.  “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord,…” 2 Corinthians 6:17.

Jesus Christ and Him Crucified provided the Way for us to overcome our sin nature.  It is through our faith in what Jesus did on the Cross that the Holy Spirit is given latitude in our lives (Romans 8:2) and we are dead to sin…our sin nature is not dead but we are dead to it.  “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” Romans 6:6.  Through our faith in Jesus and His finished work on the Cross, the Holy Spirit empowers us to live the holy and resurrected life we are called to live as a testimony to Jesus….but we must choose.  We must choose this day who we will serve…the fence is on the devil’s property.  – Donna Warren