Rich Wilkerson Jr. - Friend of Sinners Bible Study Guide: Why Jesus Cares More About Relationship Than Perfection

I love having friends. That sounds pretty basicI mean, who doesnt want friends? But think about it for a second. Friends are amazing. They support you. They laugh with you (or maybe at you; its hard to tell sometimes). They believe in you. They tell you when your haircut looks terrible. They hack your phone. They cheer you up when youre sad. They help you survive awkward parties. Friends are so important that most of us couldnt imagine life without them.

Have you ever stopped to wonder why we care so much about having friends? I think friends are important to us because friends are important to God. God wants friends. And even more than that, God is a friend. He invented the whole idea of friendship, after all. And since he is perfectly selfless and the personification of love, it goes without saying that he is the best friend imaginable.

In my experiencefirst as a Christian and second as a pastormany people dont see themselves as friends of Jesus. They look at Jesus as Savior, Lord, King, and God, but they dont dare to classify themselves as friends. That sounds too informal, too presumptuous. I know we sometimes sing that old song, What a Friend We Have in Jesus. But do we really see ourselves as his friends?

Let me take it a step further. Can we believe that Jesus is a friend of sinners? Because again, in my experience, our mistakes always seem to throw a monkey wrench in this whole friendship-with-God thing. Maybe we can believe we are Gods friends when we are living relatively holy lives: when we pray every day, go to church on Sundays, dont have any major addictions, and havent yelled at our kids in a few days. In those moments, we might dare believe God wants to hang out with us.

But what about when we mess up? What about when we fall back into a temptation or addiction weve promised God a thousand times we would leave behind? I know how I tend to react in those momentsI subconsciously assume I just blew any chance at friendship with Jesus. Hell continue to love me... because he has to. But he certainly wont want to be my friend.

But in the last couple of years, Ive come to see Jesus as more than Savior, King, and God. Ive come to see him as my friend, even when I dont deserve it (which is all the time!). Actually, Ive come to see him as a friend of sinners everywhere. We are all sinners, after all. Who can claim to be perfect? Nobody. Yet the Bible reveals a Jesus who actively, intentionally, and continually sought out sinners. He spent time with the people society reviled and rejected. He risked his reputation because he cared about people, not appearance.

Thats why I wrote the book Friend of Sinners. First, because we need to believe we are Gods friends, even though we are all sinners; and second, because we must realize Gods friendship extends to people who are far worse than we are. Better and worse are such superficial terms, of course. We are all sinners in need of grace; and in Jesus, we all find the grace and friendship we need.

During the next few weeks, I pray that friendship with Jesus becomes a reality to you. I believe God wants to show you how he sees you, and he wants to affirm his commitment and love for you. You can trust him and depend on him. You can enjoy his love. Jesus is your friend, a true friend, one who sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24).

I also pray that as you glimpse the incomprehensible greatness of Gods love for the world, you would discover a passion to befriend lost people as well. That is the natural result of friendship with Jesus. As you see the world through his eyes, youll see people differently. They arent good or bad, they arent sinner or saint; they are simply children of God.

I am so grateful for your willingness to follow Jesus. Thank you for taking the time over the next five weeks to open your heart and allow him to speak to you. He has great things in store for you! There is no more exciting, fulfilling life than knowing Jesus, the friend of sinners.

Rich Wilkerson, Jr.