Look at John 3:17: "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."
God didn't send Jesus into the world to condemn it, and neither did Jesus send us into the world to condemn it. He had great compassion for the world and, as a result, great multitudes were drawn to Him. If you are born again, that same love and compassion is in you, and it will draw great multitudes to Jesus.
Because I used to be an alcoholic, I was adamant about not being around it. I knew first hand how alcohol could destroy your life. I preached against it and was very condemning toward anyone who drank.
My family was all too aware of my stand against alcohol. My heart's desire was to be righteous before the Lord, but I wasn't aware that I was coming off as self-righteous.
One day my wife Jane and I were driving in the car when the Lord spoke to me. I told Jane, "The Lord just told me He wants me to find my uncle today and talk with him." Jane said, "Where do you think he is?" I told her, "Most likely he's in a bar somewhere."
I made some calls and found out which bar he was at. We drove over and when I walked in the door, his eyes got big as saucers. He was shocked that I would come into a bar to talk with him. I sat down and right away he asked me, "Nick, can I order you a 7-up?"
I told him, "No thanks, I just wanted to come visit with you and let you know how much I love you." We visited for a while and then Jane and I left.
A few months later, I learned how important it is to obey the leading of the Lord. I got a call from a family member telling me my uncle was in the hospital dying. I called up a friend Pete, and he and I went to the hospital to minister him.
I'm grateful to report that he received Jesus as his Lord and Savior. A short time later he passed away.
There is no doubt in my mind that my uncle was open to the message of salvation because of my obedience to seek him out a few months earlier. If I hadn't done that, I'm confident he wouldn't have received from me, thinking that I condemned him for his lifestyle.
But I'm confident my visit to the bar eliminated those feelings. Love opened the door. The message of love is able to stop people in their tracks - literally.
I remember one experience my wife Jane and I had on a busy downtown street in Minneapolis. A UPS truck pulled up in front of a store and the driver got out of the truck with several packages in his arms.
Jane and I walked up to him and I asked him, "Can I give you some good news?" He said, "No, I don't have time." As he walked away, I said to him, "Jesus loves you." He stopped instantly in his tracks, turned around, and came up to us and said, "Tell me about it."
He prayed to receive Jesus, all the while holding his packages. Afterward, he thanked us and then went on his business. I always tell people that he got delivered and then he delivered his packages.
A girl named Diana from my ministry shared with me something she and her team witnessed one night during our regular Monday night evangelism. They saw a middle-aged man in a heated discussion with a small group of Christians (who were not with our group).
He broke off from them, angrily shouting, "You're all just a bunch of fake Christians." He headed straight for Diana and her team and they engaged him in conversation. It turns out these Christians refused to pray for his girlfriend because they were "living together."
It took a while to get the facts of the story straight, but his girlfriend was really just his friend. She was a 70-year old woman who showed compassion on him when he was homeless and took him into her home.
He said something was wrong with her mind and he just wanted someone to pray for her. This group of Christians thought they were living in sin and refused to pray with him. That's what caused this man to blow up in anger.
Love will never discriminate...
...against a person for his or her status in life. When you're on the streets doing the work of an evangelist, you'll see people living in obvious sin. It's tempting to look down your nose and pass judgment on an alcoholic, homeless person.
But when you feel disgust rise in your heart, know this: while God hates their sin, He loves them as much as He loves you. Romans 5:8 says, "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
The only real difference between you and the drunk in the street is Jesus.
In a way, you can compare the lost to little children at play in the street, unaware they are in danger. Would anyone criticize or condemn those children for being in the street? Of course not.
You would rush up to the children, scoop them up in your arms, and rescue them out of harm's way. That's how we need to approach the lost.
People are searching for the love of God and they aren't even aware of it. They have a big empty hole in their heart and they try to fill it up with sex, drugs, alcohol, gangs, and the like. Of course, God can only fill that hole.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, "He [God] has put eternity in their hearts...." They're looking for the love of God in all the wrong places, but when they come in contact with the real thing, they instantly respond to it.
When I approach the lost, I always tell them that God loves them. The lost need to hear that God loves them. People have been told God is mad at them and He will make them pay for their sin with eternal hell.
Think about that for a moment. If you were lost, would that cause you to draw near to God? Have you ever seen a child willingly run to an angry parent they know is going to scold him? Of course not. Why then do we think the lost will run to an angry God who is only going to throw them in hell?
Many people I talk to know the sin in their lives is wrong, and they already feel condemned about it. They want to be reconciled to God, but they think they have to clean up their lives before they can come to God.
Or they think their lives are too messed up for God to love them. It's good news to them to learn God loves them just like they are and that He wants to free them from bondage. They just need someone to show them The Way.
We must portray a true picture of our heavenly Father - arms wide open, longing for the lost to receive His embrace of love through Jesus' salvation.