“I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
Luke 5:32 (NIV)
Sinners
Sadly, the city of Edmonton has a long history of outlaw motorcycle clubs. The city’s first motorcycle club was the Coffin Cheaters, a 1960s-era squad that eventually faded away. Former members of it and the Sinners motorcycle club that was formed shortly after the Coffin Cheaters created the Warlords in 1968. According to an Edmonton police officer in 1980, after a dozen years of rivalry with the Rebels motorcycle club, the Warlords, who were all a bit older, decided to close the club.
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In a world that is too fragmented and in conflict, we often look for things that unite us as human beings. Ironically, the reason for the interpersonal and international conflict is the sin that unites us – with the exception of Jesus, every human being ever born has been born with a sinful nature. Which is why we all need a Saviour. Jesus said, in Luke 5:32: “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” There were those in Jesus’ day, as there are in ours, who refuse to recognize their need for Jesus. They feel that by their good works, and a sunny disposition, they have no need for a redeemer – they will somehow earn God’s favour, if they believe in God at all. Those people reject Jesus, and He knows that. But He also knows that there are many who recognize and admit their sin, and realize that there is nothing they can do in themselves to remove the stain of sin and lift the guilt and shame. Those are the people Jesus invites to receive Him as Saviour and Lord. If you are looking for peace in your heart, reach out in faith to Jesus.
These have been words from the heart.
Bob Beasley