Depending on your view of illegal immigration, you may or may not support the idea of Sanctuary Cities. What you may not know is, the idea of Sanctuary Cities dates back to the earliest days of the nation if Israel. While the concept has been twisted a bit, the idea is certainly not new.
Imagine you are out somewhere and you accidentally kill someone, whether it be by neglect, stupidity or just plain happenstance. Obviously, you would want a chance to clear your name and not be labeled a murderer. Imagine, also, the person you killed has a close relative who, legally, could hunt you down and kill you in retaliation and the only recourse you have is to flee to a City of Refuge where you will be protected until you can stand trial and clear your name.
This was a very real scenario in ancient Israel. God differentiated between pre-meditated murder and accidental death. If an Israelite killed another person without intent, he could flee to one of the Cities of Refuge and plead his case. If the Avenger of Blood, usually a family member of the deceased, caught the killer on the way, the AV could legally kill him. If the killer made it to the City of Refuge, he would stand trial, and if cleared of murder, could safely live in the City of Refuge, but could not leave as long as the current High Priest lived. If the man cleared of murder stepped out of the City of Refuge before the current High Priest died, he was fair game for the Avenger of Blood.
Like everything God did with Israel, there is a spiritual connection to our relationship with Jesus Christ. Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.
These Cities of Refuge served as a type of Christ, a place where one could receive absolution from an accuser. Today, we face an accuser, Satan, who, scripture tells us, accuses the saints before God's throne, day and night. Alas, we find refuge in Christ. Jesus serves as the advocate of our righteousness, a righteousness He purchased for us on the cross.
Right now, we are surrounded by a multitude of guilty people who have no one to advocate for them. Our role, now, becomes similar to a Sanctuary City in as much as we are to provide safe haven to sinners as we introduce them to the one who can bring them the same absolution given us. We do this by looking beyond the sin and seeing the need, as Jesus did.
When Jesus walked among man, He loved on people and then addressed their sin from the context of His compassion and power. Within the religious community, Jesus was very harsh with those who should have known better, pointing out hypocrisy and sin. The church seems to have this backwards today. We excuse all manner of sin within the congregation, yet we are quick to point out sin and pronounce gleeful condemnation on the lost.
Should we not, as Galatians 6 commands us, gently hold our brothers and sisters accountable for sin while seeking the lost in order to bring them to Jesus for forgiveness? We forget, the lost are not gong to hell because they sin, the lost sin because they are going to hell. John 3:18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
The role of the believer in this world is to serve as a City of Refuge, a Sanctuary City, where the lost and hurting can learn the truth and meet the One who can clear them of all guilt before they, one day, stand judgement. As in scripture, not all who fled to the City of Refuge found absolution. There will be many we invest in, love on and with whom we will share truth, who will, ultimately, reject the message of God's grace.
Scripture tells us there is a point where we no longer invest in someone who refuses to respond to the message. Matthew 10:14 And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. This is, however, a decision we come to after much prayer. Each situation is unique, there is no formula or set timetable. The key is, we want to give opportunity to the lost.
Our message is not popular and we should expect a degree of ostracisation from a world bent on serving the flesh. Looking at what the Apostle Paul suffered for the sake of the Gospel will inform us, we should expect no better. We must avoid the trap of thinking God owes us something for our obedience.
How do we serve as Sanctuary for unbelievers? Here are some practical steps we can begin taking today:
1. Be right with God - we cannot serve as a guide for others if we
are not moored to the Father, this means an active prayer life with daily time in the Word. Think of yourself as a lighthouse, fixed and strong.
2. Live a life worthy of your calling - Ephesians 4:1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love
3. Be nice to people - 2 Timothy 2:24 And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will. Rude angry evangelism drives people away. Remember when Jesus used to stand on the corner of His home town shouting, "Repent you Whoremongers!" Yeah, me neither. Our evangelism must be born out of love and concern for the lost, lest we drive them away from the Savior whom we have poorly represented.
4. Know what you claim to believe - 2 Timothy 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. Study your Bible. You will schedule what is important in life. When was the last time you missed dinner because you didn't have time to eat?
5. Be approachable - Galatians 6:3 For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. It does not matter what title you have, what degree you have or what position you hold, what matters is you love others. Jesus called scholars (Saul) and fishermen (Peter) to serve Him and all did so by being available to others.
The bottom line is, the church is not to try to convict the unbeliever for specific sins, instead, we shed the light of scripture on those sins and allow the Holy Spirit to convict the heart of the sinner. Remember, sin is the symptom of the disease of unbelief. We can treat the symptom and leave the patient dying or we can bring the dying soul to the Fountain of Life, Jesus Christ.
No sinner is beyond God's love and reach. People are messy and as we involve ourselves in the lives of messy people, we may get a little mess on ourselves as well. Jesus was willing to be covered in wounds, blood and spit for us.
Be open to God's direction and calling. Be a person the lost can come to and feel safe when life falls apart for them. Lead them to the Savior, be a Sanctuary, a safe haven in the time of storms.
Now, go live as Christ... and give the devil hell!
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