Jesus and We: Part 4 - "Anything Short of Sin" with Craig Groeschel - LifeChurch.tv

Anything Short of Sin

Scripture References

• Mark 2
• John 3:16

Overview

Jesus came for the sick, not the self-righteous. Because His mission is to seek and save sinners, His church must embrace a matching passion: “We will do anything short of sin to reach people who don’t know Christ.” Using Mark 2 and vivid personal stories, Pastor Craig urged every believer to carry people to Jesus, even when it is costly, messy, or unconventional.

Main Points

1. A Core Value: Reach People Far from God

• The Great Commission is not small; it demands global, intentional outreach.
• “If you think the church is too big, your love for people is too small.”
• Life.Church repeats the gospel every service, every campus, because someone’s eternity may hinge on that moment.
• Refrain voiced together: “We will do anything short of sin to reach people who don’t know Christ. To reach people no one is reaching, we will do things no one is doing.”

2. Jesus’ Heart for Sinners (Mark 2)

• Context: Jesus heals, calls Levi, then attends Levi’s party with “questionable characters.”
• Religious leaders object; Jesus replies, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick… I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
• His shocking declaration defines ministry focus: pursue those most aware of their need.

3. Bear Some Burdens

• Four friends carry a paralyzed man to Jesus (Mark 2:3).
• They do more than invite; they involve themselves in his struggle and literally shoulder the weight.
• Modern application: believers must enter people’s pain—listening, showing up at funerals, helping practically—before speaking about Christ.

• Illustration: Pastor’s college memories—inviting teammates and fraternity brothers, enduring “screwy Sundays,” yet refusing to quit because friends’ salvation mattered.
• Story: Realtor Amber gave a divorcing couple the marriage book “From This Day Forward,” risking three commissions ($112k). God restored their marriage; she lost the sales but later signed three more contracts.

4. Break Some Rules

• When crowds block the door, the four friends dig through a roof of mud, thatch, and manure to lower their friend (Mark 2:4).

  “Sometimes you have to dig through a little … to get somebody to Jesus.”

• Obstacles are not signals to quit; they call for holy creativity.
• To reach the unreached, the church must refuse stale methods and religious comfort.
  • Story: Brent hires work-release felons, pays them, then brings them to the 6:30 service; 15 of 18 have come to Christ—one was baptized wearing his ankle monitor.
  • Church Online launched despite criticism; now touches every country, with 9,500 recorded salvations last year.
  • Buying Google ads on “naked ladies” searches pointed curious people to Church Online—evidence that innovation can serve evangelism.

5. Personal Reflection & Rating

• Pastor asked each listener to rate their evangelistic passion (1–10).
  • High (6–9): regularly prays for lost people, brings friends, has led others to Jesus.
  • Low (1–4): seldom prays for or invites anyone; apathy is unacceptable for a follower of Christ.

Key Truths

• Jesus seeks sinners; therefore His church must center on reaching them.
• Loving people requires active burden-bearing, not drive-by witnessing.
• Creativity and rule-breaking (never sinfulness) are often necessary to open closed doors.
• Evangelistic passion can be measured by prayer, invitation, and personal involvement.
• Every believer is responsible for leading people to become fully devoted followers of Christ.

Response

• Pray daily for specific friends and family who are far from God.
• Step into someone’s pain this week—listen, serve, carry a burden.
• Invite (and if possible bring) one non-believer to church; plan the logistics for them.
• Identify one “roof” blocking access to Jesus and devise a creative, ethical way to tear it open.
• Refuse complacency: rate your current passion honestly and ask God to raise it.

Closing

Pastor Craig envisioned a church that stops judging and starts loving, a people willing to get messy so others can meet Jesus. He prayed for a deeper, breaking heart in every believer and invited those still far from God to surrender.

“When you know what you’ve been saved from, you don’t just want to bring people to Jesus—you have to.”

Prayer

The pastor prayed that God would ignite a greater love for the lost, renew faith for “impossible” salvations, and empower the newly surrendered to follow Jesus wholeheartedly.