Did Jesus Draw Lines or Circles?

Recently, a well-known pastor praised his church for what he called “drawing circles,” which he based on their willingness to embrace LGBTQ members as fellow believers, giving them opportunities to share their gay-affirming views with his full approval (source*).

This pastor said his church was following the example of Jesus and he condemned other churches for “drawing lines” by refusing to affirm gay church members. 

Great propaganda. Who doesn’t want to be told that they are like Jesus? 

Fact check: Jesus didn't draw circles because circles leave some people out. Jesus met with anyone. But He met with them to bring them to repentance, not affirm them in their sins. 

And Jesus drew lots of “lines”:

People hated Jesus because he told them their works were evil (John 7:7). 

Jesus rebuked crowds who followed him because they wanted food for their stomachs, not food for their souls (John 6:25-27).

Christ's “lines” were so narrow that at one point, most of his disciples quit following Him (John 6:43-71).

Christ condemned the Pharisees on numerous occasions (e.g., Matthew 23).

Christ rebuked his disciples for their lack of faith and condemned whole cities for their unbelief (Matthew 8:23-27; Matthew 11:20-24).

Jesus rebuked greedy businessmen (Matthew 21:12-13).

Jesus still “draws lines” because He loves us: 

“Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent” (Jesus, Revelation 3:19).

Christ didn't draw circles because His message was for the whole world, but He definitely drew lines regarding sin and salvation. 

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* This resource offers accurate Stanley quotes, but the author does not take a biblical stand against the errors in those quotes.

Note: For some reason, it's popular to use the story of the woman caught in adultery to claim that Jesus only rebuked the men seeking to stone the woman, not the woman herself. Please read the whole story and you'll see that Jesus indirectly called the men to repentance, refused to condemn the woman to death by stoning, but clearly commanded her to leave her life of sin (John 8:1-11). You can use this passage to say that Christ didn't affirm stoning adulterers to death, but you can't use it to claim He was soft on sin. For more on this, see The Fake Jesus Changes the Meaning of John 8:1-11.

If you wish to read more about this pastor who claimed his church draws circles see Have We Misjudged Andy Stanley?

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