Showing posts with label FREEDOM FROM SIN. Show all posts
Showing posts with label FREEDOM FROM SIN. Show all posts
Friday, October 30, 2015
Why Raymond refuses to go to church.
This is what Raymond is thinking as he sits outside of the church. "I want to be perfect, but I keep being told this is impossible by the church. I can't stand this. I can't stand that I must be sinful but that at the same time I can't commit adultery. I want to commit adultery, but I can't, yet I can't keep from committing adultery because I can't be sinless. I see how this is a contradiction and it makes me sick. Why are we so stupid in the church? Why can't we see that we have to be sinless or we are going to die or commit adultery or worse. Jesus was perfect but I can't be; at least that's what I'm told. So I might as well commit adultery. Why not? I'm going to heaven anyway and I can't be perfect. But if I commit adultery my wife will leave me and the church will back her up. Hypocrites. They want me to be a perfectly faithful husband, to not sin, to not commit adultery, but they tell me that this is impossible because we are gong to sin everyday in word and thought. Hypocrites. This is why I don't go to church."
Saturday, February 7, 2015
Why God Can't Sin (and how to be like Him) Part 1
Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.
James 1:13 ESV
Wouldn't it be nice if it were impossible for you and I to sin? Imagine that you literally couldn't sin, that is was so contradictory to your nature, to what you are really like, that it would be as impossible to sin as it would be to for you to become a horse. In this way, it's impossible for God to sin.
What makes sin impossible for God? To answer this question, we have to understand what sin is in it's truest form. James gives a good illustration of what sin is through the experience of temptation.
Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.
James 1:14-15 NLT
According to James, we sin when we yield to our desires instead of yielding to God. We want something or someone more than we want God or what God gives us. So we sin to get what we want. This is why we sin; but why can't God sin?
God is love, light, spirit, and life. In other words, God is fulfillment itself, fulfilled in and of and by Himself. What could you tempt God with? What can you offer God that is better than God; what's better than being God?
Already, it seems impossible for you and me to ever experience this. We clearly have needs and desires, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Even Jesus had needs when he was on earth. He was hungry, thirsty, and sleepy at times. Satan could tempt Jesus because He had needs like our own. But Jesus never sinned. Nor do we get the impression that He had sinful desires. Hunger, thirst, and fatigue aren't sinful in and of themselves. But they did give Satan an opportunity to tempt God the Son, yet Jesus never yielded to temptation.
How can we be like Jesus, who in His weakest moments didn't yield to temptation? (Click here for part 2.)
James 1:13 ESV
Wouldn't it be nice if it were impossible for you and I to sin? Imagine that you literally couldn't sin, that is was so contradictory to your nature, to what you are really like, that it would be as impossible to sin as it would be to for you to become a horse. In this way, it's impossible for God to sin.
What makes sin impossible for God? To answer this question, we have to understand what sin is in it's truest form. James gives a good illustration of what sin is through the experience of temptation.
Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.
James 1:14-15 NLT
According to James, we sin when we yield to our desires instead of yielding to God. We want something or someone more than we want God or what God gives us. So we sin to get what we want. This is why we sin; but why can't God sin?
God is love, light, spirit, and life. In other words, God is fulfillment itself, fulfilled in and of and by Himself. What could you tempt God with? What can you offer God that is better than God; what's better than being God?
God can't sin because God can't be tempted.
He has no unfulfilled desires.
God has no needs.
Already, it seems impossible for you and me to ever experience this. We clearly have needs and desires, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Even Jesus had needs when he was on earth. He was hungry, thirsty, and sleepy at times. Satan could tempt Jesus because He had needs like our own. But Jesus never sinned. Nor do we get the impression that He had sinful desires. Hunger, thirst, and fatigue aren't sinful in and of themselves. But they did give Satan an opportunity to tempt God the Son, yet Jesus never yielded to temptation.
How can we be like Jesus, who in His weakest moments didn't yield to temptation? (Click here for part 2.)
Monday, January 26, 2015
What is the essence of sin? (Part 1)
The mind is a place in itself, and inside it one can turn
Heaven into Hell or Hell into Heaven.
Satan, from Milton’s Paradise Lost.
The essence of sin is prideful imagination, and prideful imagination is the throne of Satan.
Consider this. Eve reasoned with independent imagination a rationalization
of first sin. She believed Satan. Adam knew Satan lied, but disobeyed nonetheless. Why would he do this? Did he imagine that he and the woman could
live forever in the solitude of rebellious love? Was her love better than the love of
God? Were her words more pure than
Purity Himself? For God said to the man,
“Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree I commanded you not to
eat from…” Adam listened to Eve, and Eve
listened to Satan. From Satan’s prideful
imagination the man and woman believed they could be more like God than they
already were. We dare believe the same
when we doubt Jesus’s name, the name above every name, the name above our
names. We claim for ourselves a place
that belongs only to God: the right to
define reality, to determine the true and untrue, the real and unreal based on
what we feel. Our pleasure becomes the
measure of life and death. With every
breath we defy our Maker and Creator when we imagine a world without Him. A heaven without God. A heaven of our own making. We say in our minds, “My kingdom come, my
will be done in my imagination as it is done in heaven…my heaven.”
Saturday, November 29, 2014
Why you have to stop sinning.
This is what the Lord God says,
"The soul that sins will die."
That's why.
This is why you and I must stop sinning.
We will destroy our relationship to God and those we love.
Yes, God forgives. So do our loved ones. But this doesn't change the death that comes from sinning.
Let's make sin real. Practical. Let's take it out of the theological hypothetical philosophical realm.
I'm married.
I've been married for 12 years.
I've never committed adultery, nor has my wife.
But what if I did? What if I broke the commandment, "You shall not commit adultery?"
What if my wife caught me, on our bed, with another woman, screaming in sexual pleasure.
Graphic you say? Yes, it is. Which is why my wife would most likely divorce me. How would she ever get that image out of her head? How would I if I caught her enraptured in another man's arms?
That sin would kill our marriage.
Sin kills.
Each sin kills.
Every sin kills.
Why don't we see this?
Why do we say things like, "We all sin every day, and we're going to keep sinning until Jesus comes back?"
Can I tell my wife that? Can I tell her that I'm going to keep committing adultery, or fantasizing about adultery, until Jesus comes back? Could I have told her that at the altar, where we were making our vows to each other, vows to forsake all others until death separates us? Because death separates us, and sin leads to death.
This is why you and I have to stop sinning.
"The soul that sins will die."
That's why.
This is why you and I must stop sinning.
We will destroy our relationship to God and those we love.
Yes, God forgives. So do our loved ones. But this doesn't change the death that comes from sinning.
Let's make sin real. Practical. Let's take it out of the theological hypothetical philosophical realm.
I'm married.
I've been married for 12 years.
I've never committed adultery, nor has my wife.
But what if I did? What if I broke the commandment, "You shall not commit adultery?"
What if my wife caught me, on our bed, with another woman, screaming in sexual pleasure.
Graphic you say? Yes, it is. Which is why my wife would most likely divorce me. How would she ever get that image out of her head? How would I if I caught her enraptured in another man's arms?
That sin would kill our marriage.
Sin kills.
Each sin kills.
Every sin kills.
Why don't we see this?
Why do we say things like, "We all sin every day, and we're going to keep sinning until Jesus comes back?"
Can I tell my wife that? Can I tell her that I'm going to keep committing adultery, or fantasizing about adultery, until Jesus comes back? Could I have told her that at the altar, where we were making our vows to each other, vows to forsake all others until death separates us? Because death separates us, and sin leads to death.
This is why you and I have to stop sinning.
Friday, March 14, 2014
The Essence and Power of Sin (Part 1)
We have to always start at the beginning. All answers to all questions concerning humans start with the first man and woman. This is the essential question to the foremost problem of the human condition:
All of our problems began and begin with sin.
All human sin began with the first man and first woman.
So we always have to start at the beginning.
God is the beginning.
This is what He said man and woman were to be:
So man and woman were to be the creatures on earth who look like God and act like God, ruling earth as God ruled heaven. Dominion. Being like God, the first dominion they were to take was dominion over themselves. Self-control. Self-government. Choice. Freewill. They were as free in making decisions as God Himself is free. Free to choose and refuse. Free to choose the tree of life, which God didn't forbid, and free to refuse the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which God did forbid. Both knew this. Both knew their freedom to choose and refuse, to obey or disobey. Both knew what God said, what God commanded.
Now we will see the essence of sin: disbelief.
We know that God considers faith, or belief, or believing Him, or trusting Him, righteousness. We know, according to scripture, that "faith comes from hearing, and hearing from the word of God." We know that Adam and Eve had both heard the word of God:
"From the trees in garden you may FREELY eat, but from the tree of knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for the day you eat of it you will surely die."
These were the words of the LORD to them.
Eve listened to the serpent.
Adam listened to Eve.
Eve's "faith" came from hearing AND BELIEVING the serpent's lie.
Adams' "faith" came from listening to his wife, though he was not deceived like Eve.
Neither listened to God. They listened to a creature rather than the Creator.
This is the essence of sin, revealing the power of sin.
(Click here for part 2)
What is the essence and power of sin?
All of our problems began and begin with sin.
All human sin began with the first man and first woman.
So we always have to start at the beginning.
God is the beginning.
This is what He said man and woman were to be:
- "Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the cattle, over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that moves on the earth."
- "In the image of God He created him; male and female He created them."
So man and woman were to be the creatures on earth who look like God and act like God, ruling earth as God ruled heaven. Dominion. Being like God, the first dominion they were to take was dominion over themselves. Self-control. Self-government. Choice. Freewill. They were as free in making decisions as God Himself is free. Free to choose and refuse. Free to choose the tree of life, which God didn't forbid, and free to refuse the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which God did forbid. Both knew this. Both knew their freedom to choose and refuse, to obey or disobey. Both knew what God said, what God commanded.
Now we will see the essence of sin: disbelief.
We know that God considers faith, or belief, or believing Him, or trusting Him, righteousness. We know, according to scripture, that "faith comes from hearing, and hearing from the word of God." We know that Adam and Eve had both heard the word of God:
"From the trees in garden you may FREELY eat, but from the tree of knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for the day you eat of it you will surely die."
These were the words of the LORD to them.
Eve listened to the serpent.
Adam listened to Eve.
Eve's "faith" came from hearing AND BELIEVING the serpent's lie.
Adams' "faith" came from listening to his wife, though he was not deceived like Eve.
Neither listened to God. They listened to a creature rather than the Creator.
This is the essence of sin, revealing the power of sin.
(Click here for part 2)
Monday, February 17, 2014
The Truth About Unintentional Sin
If the whole Israelite community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the LORD'S commands, even though the community is unaware of the matter, they are guilty. When they become aware of the sin they committed, the assembly must bring a young bull as a sin offering and present it before the Tent of Meeting. Leviticus 4:13-14
This is the truth about unintentional sin is that unawareness is the sin. It is a sin to be in a state of unawareness, or a state of idle carelessness. We all know this and have seen this when we drive.
Texting while driving is against the law because the person texting is putting himself in a dangerously unaware state. This unaware state is against the law. If she unintentionally hits someone with her car, the law considers her guilty and will punish her. We agree. We know that she put herself in a careless unaware state, knowing before entering car the possible dangers that lie ahead on the road, for which she needs her full attention, intention, and awareness.
In the same way, the Israelites knew that the Holy God of their fathers quite literally dwelled in their midst. The Heavenly Danger was there. They knew this. They saw His pillar of cloud by day and His pillar of fire by night. They had seen countless miraculous wonders, seas parting, food from heaven, judgments and powers. They knew what God required of them. To be unaware of God is to sin. Perhaps it is the beginning of every sin.
This unawareness makes us guilty of what we do "unintentionally," which means that being unintentional is also sin. To speak or act with out awareness of God, or the specific intent to please Him, is sin.
So from this moment on, we need to be aware of The Holy God who is in us as believers in Christ Jesus. We must intentionally honor His presence, because our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit who is Holy, God Almighty.
Please read the prayer at the bottom of this page.
If agree with the prayer, and you need to or want to pray it, please pray with me:
"Father, forgive us in Jesus name for being unaware of the presence of Your Spirit. Forgive our carelessness. We repent. We intentionally honor your Presence. Amen."
This is the truth about unintentional sin is that unawareness is the sin. It is a sin to be in a state of unawareness, or a state of idle carelessness. We all know this and have seen this when we drive.
Texting while driving is against the law because the person texting is putting himself in a dangerously unaware state. This unaware state is against the law. If she unintentionally hits someone with her car, the law considers her guilty and will punish her. We agree. We know that she put herself in a careless unaware state, knowing before entering car the possible dangers that lie ahead on the road, for which she needs her full attention, intention, and awareness.
In the same way, the Israelites knew that the Holy God of their fathers quite literally dwelled in their midst. The Heavenly Danger was there. They knew this. They saw His pillar of cloud by day and His pillar of fire by night. They had seen countless miraculous wonders, seas parting, food from heaven, judgments and powers. They knew what God required of them. To be unaware of God is to sin. Perhaps it is the beginning of every sin.
This unawareness makes us guilty of what we do "unintentionally," which means that being unintentional is also sin. To speak or act with out awareness of God, or the specific intent to please Him, is sin.
So from this moment on, we need to be aware of The Holy God who is in us as believers in Christ Jesus. We must intentionally honor His presence, because our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit who is Holy, God Almighty.
Please read the prayer at the bottom of this page.
If agree with the prayer, and you need to or want to pray it, please pray with me:
"Father, forgive us in Jesus name for being unaware of the presence of Your Spirit. Forgive our carelessness. We repent. We intentionally honor your Presence. Amen."
Saturday, February 15, 2014
Is It Possible To Perfectly Obey God's Commands? (Part 2)
Moses did everything just as the LORD commanded him. Exodus 40:16
In verses 19, 20, 22, 24, 27, 29, and 30 of chapter 40 in Exodus, these words are repeated:
"As the LORD commanded him."
God gave Moses specific commands, then Moses did everything just as the Lord commanded him.
What makes Moses different from us? Didn't he resist the call of God on his life at the burning bush, so that God's anger burned against Moses? Didn't God forbid Moses to enter the promise land because Moses misrepresented God in anger?
Moses was a human being just like you and me, yet at this point in his life, in Exodus 40, "Moses did everything just as the LORD commanded him."
How?
By faith.
The commands of the LORD are not too difficult. They are not beyond your reach. They are not burdensome. And by commands I don't mean the 10 Commandments, or the "630 laws." I mean the commands given by the Spirit of Christ to you today, and even right now. We are to follow the leading of the Spirit, and to do everything just as He commands. This is ultimately what our lives are about, everyday and every moment, as we will see...click here for part 3.
In verses 19, 20, 22, 24, 27, 29, and 30 of chapter 40 in Exodus, these words are repeated:
"As the LORD commanded him."
God gave Moses specific commands, then Moses did everything just as the Lord commanded him.
What makes Moses different from us? Didn't he resist the call of God on his life at the burning bush, so that God's anger burned against Moses? Didn't God forbid Moses to enter the promise land because Moses misrepresented God in anger?
Moses was a human being just like you and me, yet at this point in his life, in Exodus 40, "Moses did everything just as the LORD commanded him."
How?
By faith.
The commands of the LORD are not too difficult. They are not beyond your reach. They are not burdensome. And by commands I don't mean the 10 Commandments, or the "630 laws." I mean the commands given by the Spirit of Christ to you today, and even right now. We are to follow the leading of the Spirit, and to do everything just as He commands. This is ultimately what our lives are about, everyday and every moment, as we will see...click here for part 3.
Is It Possible To Perfectly Obey God's Commands? (Part 3)
In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out; but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out--until the day it lifted. So the cloud of the LORD was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel during all their travels. Exodus 40:36-38
The Israelites had done all the work just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
Moses did everything just as the LORD commanded him.
Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
We see two things from the word of God:
1. When we perfectly obey God by faith, God will manifest His presence with us. Jesus affirmed this to the 12 apostles:
"Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them." John 14:21
2. God's manifest and leading presence will be not only normal, but objectively visible. For us the church, this is the case. We walk in the Spirit. We are led by the Spirit. This is the normal state of our lives, and should be as tangible as the pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night with Israel.
The Israelites did not travel or make a move until the cloud of the LORD led them. This was normal for Israel. It should be normal for the church to follow the Spirit in the same way, everyday, in all of our travels.
But we don't experience this as normal because we don't obey God. We don't do everything just as the Spirit commands us.
We stumble over the word "perfect." We dismiss and dishonor this word, as though the word itself is a burden of sin. This is a deception.
When you go to a restaurant and place an order, you expect the order to be "perfect." You expect to get what you pay for. You ask for steak, salad, and potatoes. You expect to get these three items, cooked to your specifications. You expect the cook to do everything just as you commanded. And that's what happens. The waiter says, "How is everything?" If you're eating what you ordered, everything is fine. But if not, you tell the waiter what is missing, or imperfect.
So it is with following the Spirit. The Spirit is leading me to write this blog. I'm writing it. I'm writing everything He's giving me, just as He's leading me to write it. It isn't burdensome, too difficult, or beyond my reach to use the gift He's giving me. In fact, I enjoy it. To follow the Spirit is the joy of my life.
When we follow the Spirit by faith, we can do everything just as He commands us. And we will experience His manifest presence with us. This is normal. May we accept it as our reality.
The Israelites had done all the work just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
Moses did everything just as the LORD commanded him.
Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
We see two things from the word of God:
1. When we perfectly obey God by faith, God will manifest His presence with us. Jesus affirmed this to the 12 apostles:
"Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them." John 14:21
2. God's manifest and leading presence will be not only normal, but objectively visible. For us the church, this is the case. We walk in the Spirit. We are led by the Spirit. This is the normal state of our lives, and should be as tangible as the pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night with Israel.
The Israelites did not travel or make a move until the cloud of the LORD led them. This was normal for Israel. It should be normal for the church to follow the Spirit in the same way, everyday, in all of our travels.
But we don't experience this as normal because we don't obey God. We don't do everything just as the Spirit commands us.
We stumble over the word "perfect." We dismiss and dishonor this word, as though the word itself is a burden of sin. This is a deception.
When you go to a restaurant and place an order, you expect the order to be "perfect." You expect to get what you pay for. You ask for steak, salad, and potatoes. You expect to get these three items, cooked to your specifications. You expect the cook to do everything just as you commanded. And that's what happens. The waiter says, "How is everything?" If you're eating what you ordered, everything is fine. But if not, you tell the waiter what is missing, or imperfect.
So it is with following the Spirit. The Spirit is leading me to write this blog. I'm writing it. I'm writing everything He's giving me, just as He's leading me to write it. It isn't burdensome, too difficult, or beyond my reach to use the gift He's giving me. In fact, I enjoy it. To follow the Spirit is the joy of my life.
When we follow the Spirit by faith, we can do everything just as He commands us. And we will experience His manifest presence with us. This is normal. May we accept it as our reality.
Is It Possible To Perfectly Obey God's Commands?
The Israelites had done all the work just as the LORD had commanded Moses. Moses inspected the work and saw that they had done it just as the LORD commanded. So Moses blessed them.
Exodus 39:42
You can skillfully and perfectly obey God's most specific commands to you. This is possible. The Israelites did it. A group of "stiff necked," stubborn complainers, like you and me, could complete the extremely specific commands that God gave them for the Tabernacle. They did it. Moses inspected it.
Why do we feel we can't perfectly obey God's commands? I know I've been taught this from the time I was baptized. I literally heard these words:
"When you go down into that water, you will come up a different person. Oh, you're still going to fall into sin, but you'll get up again."
Now how am I different person if I'm going to be falling into and out of sin, just like before I went into the water of baptism? I'll be forgiven? I'll have guarantee of heaven because of Jesus? But I had that before I went into the water of baptism, where the old me is shown to be dead, and the new me is shown to the world alive.
Listen to Moses speak to Israel at the end of his life:
The Lord will again delight in you and make you prosperous, just as he delighted in your ancestors, if you obey the Lord your God and keep his commands and decrees that are written in this Book of the Law and turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. Deuteronomy 30:9b-11 (emphasis mine)
Not too difficult
Not beyond your reach
What was not too difficult or beyond the reach of the Israelites?
Nor is it too difficult for us.
What makes the difference? Faith. As it is written,
"Without faith, it is impossible to please the LORD."
Faith is what makes perfect obedience of God's commands possible.
It's not the number of commands that is the issue, as some say. They make it seem like the "630"
laws of Israel were impossible to fully obey.
"Every act of sin is an act of distrust in God. Trusting God deprives sin and temptation of all their power. He who trusts God will do right though the heavens fall."
It is possible to perfectly obey God's commands when we do so by faith in Jesus.
Exodus 39:42
The Lord will again delight in you and make you prosperous, just as he delighted in your ancestors, if you obey the Lord your God and keep his commands and decrees that are written in this Book of the Law and turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. Deuteronomy 30:9b-11 (emphasis mine)
Not beyond your reach
- Obeying the Lord their God
- Keeping His commands and decrees written in the Book of the Law
- Turning the LORD with all their hearts and souls
Nor is it too difficult for us.
laws of Israel were impossible to fully obey.
- First of all, God never commanded them to obey 630 laws a day. The laws were contextual and relational. Some involved farmers, some soldiers, some priests, some marriages.
- Second, they obeyed very numerous, specific, and detailed commands from God perfectly, like in building the Tabernacle.
- Third, Adam and Eve, without a "sinful nature," had only one command to obey, and they disobeyed it. An easy command at that. So the number of commands, and the difficulty of commands is not the issue at all. It's faith in God, the only way to please God and perfectly obey him.
"Every act of sin is an act of distrust in God. Trusting God deprives sin and temptation of all their power. He who trusts God will do right though the heavens fall."
How to Always Overcome Evil
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:21
Evil overcomes you because you allow it to. Evil is inherently overcome by the simple presence of good just as light overcomes darkness by simply being light. You can always overcome evil in two ways: Refuse to be overcome by evil. Choose to overcome evil with good (and with nothing else.)
REFUSE TO BE OVERCOME BY EVIL
This means you accept the truth about good and evil, light and darkness, wisdom and foolishness. This is the truth: Good overcomes evil by simply being itself. If we don't believe that God alone is good, as I said in this blog, then we don't believe in the power of inherent goodness to overcome evil by simply being itself.
CHOOSE TO OVERCOME EVIL WITH GOOD (AND WITH NOTHING ELSE.)
Exchange the words in Romans 1:21. Exchange the words "good and evil" with "patience and impatience," for example.
"Do not be overcome by impatience, but overcome impatience with patience." Imagine a patient store manager talking to an impatient customer at a grocery store. She's in a hurry and disregarding everyone's life except her own. She's on a schedule and she expects everyone one in the grocery store to be on her schedule as well.
The patient manager overcomes the impatient woman by simply being patient. Not by sarcasm. Not by impatience. Not my domination. This is true whether the woman stops being impatient or not. In other words, the power of patience exposes the powerlessness of impatience. Not by saying, "Hey everyone, look at how patient I am, and how impatient she is! Aren't I powerful, and isn't she powerless?" No. The patient manager isn't trying to embarrass the impatient customer. He's simply being patient. And when we see patience and impatience together, we see one naturally overcoming the other.
This is true of all the virtues and vices:
The way to always overcome evil is to believe the truth about good. If you believe that good, in and of itself, inherently overcomes evil, then you will refuse to think evil can ever overcome good. And you will overcome evil by simply doing good, whether the evil is removed or not.
This means you accept the truth about good and evil, light and darkness, wisdom and foolishness. This is the truth: Good overcomes evil by simply being itself. If we don't believe that God alone is good, as I said in this blog, then we don't believe in the power of inherent goodness to overcome evil by simply being itself.
Exchange the words in Romans 1:21. Exchange the words "good and evil" with "patience and impatience," for example.
This is true of all the virtues and vices:
- Honor overcomes dishonor.
- Truth overcomes lies.
- Gentleness overcomes harshness.
- Respect overcomes disrespect.
Monday, February 10, 2014
Why We Don't HAVE To Sin (Part 3)
God is light, and in Him there is no darkness. No. No darkness. At all.
Many think we have to keep sinning, or that we're going to keep sinning, because of these verses:
We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete. 1 John 1:3-4
These verses give a good summary of verses 1-2, and tell the purpose of the letter: That those who read will share in the very real fellowship with the very real and physical Jesus that John himself had seen with his eyes, touched with his hands, and heard with his ears. And in this enjoyed fellowship, their would be complete joy. Now for John's argument.
1. God is light and in Him there is no darkness. (Verse 5)
2. Therefore light and darkness have no fellowship or relationship whatsoever. Now remember, John is writing so that the reader may join in his very real fellowship with Christ.
3. Verses 6-10 are variations on the same truth, speaking about the same kind of person: Someone who claims to have the fellowship with the God who is light, while at the same time living in the darkness of sin. And what is the darkness of sin? This is where context comes in. Go to the Gospel of John chapter 3 with me:
This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.
John 3:19-21
Who is the Light that has come into the world? None other than Jesus Christ. But Jesus, the light of the world, was rejected by those who love to do evil things, things they do not want to be exposed. Yet there were those in John's day that claimed to have fellowship with God, even deep knowledge from God, yet rejected Jesus Christ, The Light of the World. They walked in darkness, in rejection of Jesus Christ, yet claimed intimate fellowship with God.
These are the ones John is referring to in First John Chapter 1. He is not describing an inability to live without sin, or to even say that you have no sin at any point in your Christian life. How do I know?
First, the issue is fellowship from the beginning of the letter, and the conditions of fellowship: Walking in the light, having confessed all sin, letting all sin be exposed and cleansed by the blood of Jesus. Once sin is confessed, and Jesus is accepted as the Light, then the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. All sin. What does that mean?
The moment I confess my sins, and the moment they are forgiven, if someone came to me and asked, "Do you have any sin in your life at all?" I could boldly say, according to the scripture, "I have no sin." But wouldn't that be a contradiction to what John said? If I haven't confessed my sin, of course it would. But after my sins are forgiven, I have no sin. At the moment after the confession, I could even say, "I have not sinned," at least as of that moment. At the moment of confession and faith in Christ, we are indeed sinless. God has been faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us of all unrighteousness. So John can't mean that a believer can never say in his or her life, "I have no sin."
Then John goes on to say these verses, after showing us the way of fellowship with the God who is light:
My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not commit adultery. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 1 John 2:1-2
No one who lives in him keeps on committing adultery. No one who continues to commit adultery has either seen him or known him. 1 John 3:6
No one who is born of God will continue to commit adultery, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on committing adultery, because they have been born of God. 1 John 3:9
Or substitute any other "big sin" for the word "sin," and see how it works. Like murder. Or rape. In other words, sins that clearly need to STOP. An occasional murder is unacceptable. A rapist may not be a "habitual rapist," but does that really matter?
Sin leads to death.
How many forbidden fruit did Adam and Eve have to eat to plunge all of humanity into death? How many bites did they have to take before their eyes were opened to sin? They ate a piece of fruit. They didn't do any of "the big sins." Their one act of direct disobedience to God caused them, and us, to die. They didn't occasionally or habitually eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They ate from it one time, and that was enough.
We need to stop taking sin so lightly, because it destroys our relationship to God and each other. Jesus died and bled to forgive us and free us. And we are free indeed. We are free from the penalty and power of sinning.
How do I know?
God says so.
If God believed Cain could master the sin that desired him, surely He believes the same about us, especially after giving us His Son and His Spirit to live inside of us. Cain had neither a new nature, nor the Spirit of God in him. Yet God said that Cain MUST master the sin that desired him. So must we people of God. By the Spirit of Christ in us, so must we.
Many think we have to keep sinning, or that we're going to keep sinning, because of these verses:
- If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
- If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us. 1Jn:1:8,10
We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete. 1 John 1:3-4
These verses give a good summary of verses 1-2, and tell the purpose of the letter: That those who read will share in the very real fellowship with the very real and physical Jesus that John himself had seen with his eyes, touched with his hands, and heard with his ears. And in this enjoyed fellowship, their would be complete joy. Now for John's argument.
1. God is light and in Him there is no darkness. (Verse 5)
2. Therefore light and darkness have no fellowship or relationship whatsoever. Now remember, John is writing so that the reader may join in his very real fellowship with Christ.
3. Verses 6-10 are variations on the same truth, speaking about the same kind of person: Someone who claims to have the fellowship with the God who is light, while at the same time living in the darkness of sin. And what is the darkness of sin? This is where context comes in. Go to the Gospel of John chapter 3 with me:
This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.
John 3:19-21
Who is the Light that has come into the world? None other than Jesus Christ. But Jesus, the light of the world, was rejected by those who love to do evil things, things they do not want to be exposed. Yet there were those in John's day that claimed to have fellowship with God, even deep knowledge from God, yet rejected Jesus Christ, The Light of the World. They walked in darkness, in rejection of Jesus Christ, yet claimed intimate fellowship with God.
These are the ones John is referring to in First John Chapter 1. He is not describing an inability to live without sin, or to even say that you have no sin at any point in your Christian life. How do I know?
First, the issue is fellowship from the beginning of the letter, and the conditions of fellowship: Walking in the light, having confessed all sin, letting all sin be exposed and cleansed by the blood of Jesus. Once sin is confessed, and Jesus is accepted as the Light, then the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. All sin. What does that mean?
The moment I confess my sins, and the moment they are forgiven, if someone came to me and asked, "Do you have any sin in your life at all?" I could boldly say, according to the scripture, "I have no sin." But wouldn't that be a contradiction to what John said? If I haven't confessed my sin, of course it would. But after my sins are forgiven, I have no sin. At the moment after the confession, I could even say, "I have not sinned," at least as of that moment. At the moment of confession and faith in Christ, we are indeed sinless. God has been faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us of all unrighteousness. So John can't mean that a believer can never say in his or her life, "I have no sin."
Then John goes on to say these verses, after showing us the way of fellowship with the God who is light:
- My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 1 John 2:1-2
- No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. 1 John 3:6
- No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. 1 John 3:9
Or substitute any other "big sin" for the word "sin," and see how it works. Like murder. Or rape. In other words, sins that clearly need to STOP. An occasional murder is unacceptable. A rapist may not be a "habitual rapist," but does that really matter?
Sin leads to death.
How many forbidden fruit did Adam and Eve have to eat to plunge all of humanity into death? How many bites did they have to take before their eyes were opened to sin? They ate a piece of fruit. They didn't do any of "the big sins." Their one act of direct disobedience to God caused them, and us, to die. They didn't occasionally or habitually eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They ate from it one time, and that was enough.
We need to stop taking sin so lightly, because it destroys our relationship to God and each other. Jesus died and bled to forgive us and free us. And we are free indeed. We are free from the penalty and power of sinning.
How do I know?
God says so.
If God believed Cain could master the sin that desired him, surely He believes the same about us, especially after giving us His Son and His Spirit to live inside of us. Cain had neither a new nature, nor the Spirit of God in him. Yet God said that Cain MUST master the sin that desired him. So must we people of God. By the Spirit of Christ in us, so must we.
Why You Don't HAVE TO SIN (Part 2)
For out of the heart come evil thoughts--murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. Matthew 15:19
Some read part 1 and thought, "We can't stop sinning because sin goes deeper than mere words and actions. Jesus Himself said sins come from the heart."
They would take me as an example. I've been married for 12 years and have not committed adultery. But they would say, "Well I'm sure in 12 years time you've lusted in your heart for other women. Jesus said 'whoever looks at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery in his heart.' So I'm sure you have committed adultery Olatunde. You can't keep from sinning in your heart."
There are two problems with these assumptions:
1. In Jesus' overall teaching about sins of the heart, He was making the point that sin indeed comes from the heart, and that the sin in the heart will eventually come out of the heart.
2. Therefore, there must be a correlation between one who has not committed the physical act of adultery and what is in the faithful husband's heart.
Of course the faithful husband has been tempted during his 12 years of faithfulness in marriage. Yet according to the heart principle of Jesus, if the physical act of adultery hasn't happened, then the act must not have been in the heart, because if it was, it would have indeed come out.
And as we saw in the story of Cain, the sin was crouching at his door. As Jesus also said, hatred in the heart leads to murder. But what was God telling Cain he had to master? The sin at his heart's door that desired to have him. Cain was to master the heart of murder that would lead to the act of murder.
Why don't we have to sin?
Because God says we don't.
He tells us what He told Cain.
The sin at the door of our hearts that desire us must be mastered by us.
We don't have to sin in our hearts, and thus in our words or actions.
click HERE for part 3
Some read part 1 and thought, "We can't stop sinning because sin goes deeper than mere words and actions. Jesus Himself said sins come from the heart."
They would take me as an example. I've been married for 12 years and have not committed adultery. But they would say, "Well I'm sure in 12 years time you've lusted in your heart for other women. Jesus said 'whoever looks at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery in his heart.' So I'm sure you have committed adultery Olatunde. You can't keep from sinning in your heart."
There are two problems with these assumptions:
1. In Jesus' overall teaching about sins of the heart, He was making the point that sin indeed comes from the heart, and that the sin in the heart will eventually come out of the heart.
2. Therefore, there must be a correlation between one who has not committed the physical act of adultery and what is in the faithful husband's heart.
Of course the faithful husband has been tempted during his 12 years of faithfulness in marriage. Yet according to the heart principle of Jesus, if the physical act of adultery hasn't happened, then the act must not have been in the heart, because if it was, it would have indeed come out.
And as we saw in the story of Cain, the sin was crouching at his door. As Jesus also said, hatred in the heart leads to murder. But what was God telling Cain he had to master? The sin at his heart's door that desired to have him. Cain was to master the heart of murder that would lead to the act of murder.
Why don't we have to sin?
Because God says we don't.
He tells us what He told Cain.
The sin at the door of our hearts that desire us must be mastered by us.
We don't have to sin in our hearts, and thus in our words or actions.
click HERE for part 3
Why You Don't HAVE TO SIN
"If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it." Genesis 4:7
These are the words of God to Cain, who was on the verge of murdering his brother Abel. Murder was the sin crouching at the door of Cain's heart, the sin that desired to have Cain. What was Cain to do? What could Cain do? God said Cain must rule over the murderous intent that desired to have him.
Cain didn't have a "new nature." Nor did Cain have the Holy Spirit. Yet God assumed Cain could do right and be accepted. God also assumed Cain did not have to murder his brother, but could rule over his murderous anger. We all know God's words are true because of course they must be. But we also know they are true practically. Our lives in the civilized world depend on it. But when we discuss things "theologically," we often lose sight of clear truth.
We all know this. This is why we call the police. We don't have a separate police force for believers and unbelievers, for those with "sinful natures" and those with "new natures," or for those with the Holy Spirit and those without the Holy Spirit.
We assume that everyone, believer and unbeliever, is responsible for their actions, and the consequences of their actions.
If they don't, we don't excuse their behavior based on a "sinful nature." Notice my list deals with "big sins," not the "little sins" of gossiping, bad attitudes, etc. When we in the church sit around and debate about sinning, and say things like, "We don't have to sin, but we're going to sin," or "I'm not sinless, I just sin less," we ignore those whose sins will lead to their own death, or the deaths of others. Like drug addicts, for example. One overdose, and they are dead. Or the murderer. Do we say things like, "Oh you're going to mess up every now and then Mr. Murderer. But it's a process. You didn't kill as many people this year as you did last year. You're growing!"
Do we say to the adulteress, "Well, you're going to be unfaithful to your husband. Just keep getting up and trying again. You had sex with fewer men this year than last year?"
The word of God is clear: The soul that sins shall die. The wages of sin is death.
Of course we have forgiveness by faith in Christ. But we are also set free from sinning by the same Christ. Free from actually committing murder, adultery, drug addiction, thefts, and all the other things we know as crimes in this world for which we would rightly go to jail, because we assume we don't have to do these things. We assume that we can choose what we do and don't do, to sin or not sin, to pull the trigger or not pull the trigger, to have sex with someone or not have sex with them.
God says that we can rule over the sin that crouches at the door of our hearts and desires to have us.
Evidently God knows more about us than we know about ourselves.
God didn't say to Cain,
"Sin is crouching at your door, it desires to have you, but you cannot rule over it because you have a sinful nature passed to you from your father Adam. So you're going to kill Abel. You can't help it. You're a sinner. But I'll honor Abel and put a mark on your head so people won't kill you."
God also didn't say that He had to master the sin for Cain. And He didn't say that Cain "should" master it, but that Cain MUST master it. Cain had an obligation to resist the temptation to kill Abel.
Apply this to your life, and make it as real as possible. Don't think of sin "theologically," like it's just a topic to debate. Think about real sins, like someone killing you after you read this blog, just as Cain was contemplating murdering Abel. Today, we call that premeditated murder, a 1st degree felony. In some states the punishment for 1st degree premeditated murder is the death penalty. And why is that? Because we assume that those who commit premeditated murder didn't have to do so, whether they believe in Jesus or not.
But murder is a sin, a violation of one of the 10 commandments.
If we can keep from this one sin of murder, we can keep from the other 9 sins against God and humans.
How do I know?
God says so.
A sinful nature, or a sinless nature, is not the issue in sinning.
How do I know? This is how.
They acted contrary to their natures because they all had free will.
The same is true for sinners. We expect them to act contrary to their natures. And they can.
If not, why do we arrest them? Why do we hold any one accountable for their behavior?
For these two things, we must trust the One who did for us what we couldn't do for ourselves: Jesus Christ our Savior, the one who died for our sins, and to set us free from sinning.
And this is how He sets us free:
We renounce our old master, ourselves, and embrace Him as our new master.
We are free from sinning when we are slaves of Christ.
But it's a choice.
Just as it was with Cain.
Just as it is with you.
As God said to Cain, He says the same to you:
"If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it."
click HERE for part 2
These are the words of God to Cain, who was on the verge of murdering his brother Abel. Murder was the sin crouching at the door of Cain's heart, the sin that desired to have Cain. What was Cain to do? What could Cain do? God said Cain must rule over the murderous intent that desired to have him.
Cain didn't have a "new nature." Nor did Cain have the Holy Spirit. Yet God assumed Cain could do right and be accepted. God also assumed Cain did not have to murder his brother, but could rule over his murderous anger. We all know God's words are true because of course they must be. But we also know they are true practically. Our lives in the civilized world depend on it. But when we discuss things "theologically," we often lose sight of clear truth.
This is the clear truth:
You don't have to sin.
If you do, then so did Cain.
If Cain couldn't rule over his murderous desire,
then no murderer can.
And if we can't keep from one sin,
then we can't keep from any sin at all.
We all know this. This is why we call the police. We don't have a separate police force for believers and unbelievers, for those with "sinful natures" and those with "new natures," or for those with the Holy Spirit and those without the Holy Spirit.
We assume that everyone, believer and unbeliever, is responsible for their actions, and the consequences of their actions.
- We expect those with murderous anger to learn self-control, and to not commit murder.
- We expect the adulterer to stop committing adultery.
- We expect the thief to stop stealing.
If they don't, we don't excuse their behavior based on a "sinful nature." Notice my list deals with "big sins," not the "little sins" of gossiping, bad attitudes, etc. When we in the church sit around and debate about sinning, and say things like, "We don't have to sin, but we're going to sin," or "I'm not sinless, I just sin less," we ignore those whose sins will lead to their own death, or the deaths of others. Like drug addicts, for example. One overdose, and they are dead. Or the murderer. Do we say things like, "Oh you're going to mess up every now and then Mr. Murderer. But it's a process. You didn't kill as many people this year as you did last year. You're growing!"
Do we say to the adulteress, "Well, you're going to be unfaithful to your husband. Just keep getting up and trying again. You had sex with fewer men this year than last year?"
The word of God is clear: The soul that sins shall die. The wages of sin is death.
Of course we have forgiveness by faith in Christ. But we are also set free from sinning by the same Christ. Free from actually committing murder, adultery, drug addiction, thefts, and all the other things we know as crimes in this world for which we would rightly go to jail, because we assume we don't have to do these things. We assume that we can choose what we do and don't do, to sin or not sin, to pull the trigger or not pull the trigger, to have sex with someone or not have sex with them.
Believers don't have to sin.
Unbelievers don't have to sin.
Why don't you have to sin?
Because God says you don't have to sin.
He says that you must master the sin that desires you.
God says that we can rule over the sin that crouches at the door of our hearts and desires to have us.
Evidently God knows more about us than we know about ourselves.
God didn't say to Cain,
"Sin is crouching at your door, it desires to have you, but you cannot rule over it because you have a sinful nature passed to you from your father Adam. So you're going to kill Abel. You can't help it. You're a sinner. But I'll honor Abel and put a mark on your head so people won't kill you."
God also didn't say that He had to master the sin for Cain. And He didn't say that Cain "should" master it, but that Cain MUST master it. Cain had an obligation to resist the temptation to kill Abel.
Apply this to your life, and make it as real as possible. Don't think of sin "theologically," like it's just a topic to debate. Think about real sins, like someone killing you after you read this blog, just as Cain was contemplating murdering Abel. Today, we call that premeditated murder, a 1st degree felony. In some states the punishment for 1st degree premeditated murder is the death penalty. And why is that? Because we assume that those who commit premeditated murder didn't have to do so, whether they believe in Jesus or not.
But murder is a sin, a violation of one of the 10 commandments.
If we can keep from this one sin of murder, we can keep from the other 9 sins against God and humans.
How do I know?
God says so.
A sinful nature, or a sinless nature, is not the issue in sinning.
How do I know? This is how.
- Lucifer and the angels who rebelled against God did not have sinful natures, yet they sinned.
- Adam and Eve in the Garden did not have sinful natures, yet they too sinned.
They acted contrary to their natures because they all had free will.
The same is true for sinners. We expect them to act contrary to their natures. And they can.
If not, why do we arrest them? Why do we hold any one accountable for their behavior?
This is what we can't do for ourselves:
We can't die for our own sins.
We can't make ourselves born again.
For these two things, we must trust the One who did for us what we couldn't do for ourselves: Jesus Christ our Savior, the one who died for our sins, and to set us free from sinning.
And this is how He sets us free:
We renounce our old master, ourselves, and embrace Him as our new master.
We are free from sinning when we are slaves of Christ.
But it's a choice.
Just as it was with Cain.
Just as it is with you.
As God said to Cain, He says the same to you:
"If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it."
click HERE for part 2
Saturday, February 8, 2014
What Keeps You From Sinning?
Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.” Exodus 20:20
You and I sin when we don't fear God.
When we fear God, our fear of Him keeps us from sinning.
Fearing God.
"But what about Jesus dying for our sins? We don't have to be afraid of God sending us to hell anymore. God's not angry with anyone any more because Jesus died for all sin and every sin. He may be sad. But God doesn't and can't get angry any more, right?"
Some say or believe or argue this. But God said through the prophet Malachi,
"I, the LORD, do not change."
And the word of God also says, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday today and forever."
The blood of Jesus does not decrease God's holiness or His hatred of evil.
Because we honor the blood of Jesus, we even more so fear God. We love what He loves, and we hate what He hates. We focus on doing what honors Him, and we dare not dishonor Him. Not out of a fear of hell, but out of a supreme respect for who God is.
It's like a child who sheds tears at the mere look of a displeased father, or at the thought of his dishonor. It's her dad's character that the daughter respects so much that his shame for her sinful actions would devastate her. It's his dad's love and friendship that the son cherishes so deeply that to betray him would shatter the son.
Yet this daughter and son know their dad as a man of impeccable integrity, that their dad does not and will not tolerate crime or wrongdoing under his roof. They are not just respectful of his love, friendship, and character. They respect his fierce devotion to a righteous life. They respect his anger towards evil, and they dare not be the object of it.
This is how it is to fear God.
This is what keeps you from sinning.
You and I sin when we don't fear God.
When we fear God, our fear of Him keeps us from sinning.
Fearing God.
"But what about Jesus dying for our sins? We don't have to be afraid of God sending us to hell anymore. God's not angry with anyone any more because Jesus died for all sin and every sin. He may be sad. But God doesn't and can't get angry any more, right?"
Some say or believe or argue this. But God said through the prophet Malachi,
"I, the LORD, do not change."
And the word of God also says, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday today and forever."
The blood of Jesus does not decrease God's holiness or His hatred of evil.
Because we honor the blood of Jesus, we even more so fear God. We love what He loves, and we hate what He hates. We focus on doing what honors Him, and we dare not dishonor Him. Not out of a fear of hell, but out of a supreme respect for who God is.
It's like a child who sheds tears at the mere look of a displeased father, or at the thought of his dishonor. It's her dad's character that the daughter respects so much that his shame for her sinful actions would devastate her. It's his dad's love and friendship that the son cherishes so deeply that to betray him would shatter the son.
Yet this daughter and son know their dad as a man of impeccable integrity, that their dad does not and will not tolerate crime or wrongdoing under his roof. They are not just respectful of his love, friendship, and character. They respect his fierce devotion to a righteous life. They respect his anger towards evil, and they dare not be the object of it.
This is how it is to fear God.
This is what keeps you from sinning.
Friday, January 3, 2014
What you may not know about yourself that will kill you
What bothers you the most about bothersome people? Is it that you see so clearly what they are blind to: Their very worst trait?
Man, it’s aggravating to see how they think so highly of themselves. You can see it so clearly.
But what if they feel the same way…ABOUT YOU? OR ME?
Do we see in ourselves clearly the essence of our sin, and the thing that will kill us all if we don’t admit it?
What is it?
PRIDE.
It is the assumption behind our every assumption: that deep down inside, WE’RE OK. As a matter of fact, better than Ok! Down right awesome, if you really want to know! We think we’re the super stars in our own reality show. And if others don’t know, it‘s because they haven’t tuned in!
Insidious because we don’t know the poison in us. The only antidote to this poison is the truth:
Man, it’s aggravating to see how they think so highly of themselves. You can see it so clearly.
But what if they feel the same way…ABOUT YOU? OR ME?
Do we see in ourselves clearly the essence of our sin, and the thing that will kill us all if we don’t admit it?
What is it?
PRIDE.
It is the assumption behind our every assumption: that deep down inside, WE’RE OK. As a matter of fact, better than Ok! Down right awesome, if you really want to know! We think we’re the super stars in our own reality show. And if others don’t know, it‘s because they haven’t tuned in!
Our sin.
Our pride.
Will kill us.
Insidious because we don’t know the poison in us. The only antidote to this poison is the truth:
- We must admit that we are prideful.
- We must hate this about ourselves like we hate it in others.
- We must ask God’s forgiveness in humility, and humbly forgive others as God humbly forgave us.
Monday, December 2, 2013
How to NEVER SIN AGAIN!
“Every act of sin is an act of distrust in God. And trusting God deprives sin and temptation of all their power. He who trusts God will do right though the heavens fall.” R.A. Torrey
Why do you sin?
If we define sin as self centered conflict between you and the Creator, or you and creation, then you sin because you want something and you’re not getting it.
As it is written,
What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
James 4:1-3 NIV
What do you want?
Really?
Do you believe God can and will give you what you really want?
It is written,
“Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart.”
There it is.
IT.
What you want.
God.
And your heart’s desire.
Now if you have God, or if God is your heart’s desire, then how can you have any other desires?
Ask Adam.
Ask Eve.
God Himself looked at Adam and said, “It’s not good for the man to be alone.”
Now the man was alone with God! What could be better than that?
But Adam needed someone like him to share God with.
He needed Eve.
God will give you Himself, and someone to share Him with.
If you trust God to do this, you will never sin again.
Sunday, December 1, 2013
The Truth About SIN (Part 2)
Freedom from sin means slavery to God. You will have a master. But the choice of a master is yours. Our True Master is God, the Creator: The Owner, Definer, and Determiner. He gives us a reason to live and die. His ownership is what we actually want and need. To belong to someone who gives us a transcendent cause is what we strive for in all of our strivings. Think about it. When you go to work, or school, or out with friends, what do you want? To be a part of something bigger and better than you. Something that defines you in greatness. You want supreme ultimate pleasure and power. But who can give you supreme experience except the Supreme Ultimate Being? The Lord Jesus Christ received all authority in heaven and on earth. Supreme Authority. He is your one and only source of immortality. Isn’t that what you want? But you cannot find it in men and women and creation. To try is sin. This is the truth about sin.
The Truth About SIN (Part 1)
Sin enslaves and murders you. This is the truth about sin. But first, we must define the slave master and murderer. ANYTHING that causes you to love IT supremely instead of loving GOD supremely, is sin. If you love a man or a woman supremely, you will expect him or her to be everything to you and for you. But he won’t. She can’t. So you try to manipulate, dominate, or control. Still, he fails to be God. She fails to be Goddess. You drink. You smoke. You work. You try to find the eternal in the temporal. The infinite in the finite. This becomes addiction and obsession and insanity. Slavery. You determine that creation will be The Creator even if it kills you. And it does. Your addiction becomes your extinction…apart from salvation, your destination is damnation. But JESUS is The Liberator Savior. He is love and freedom and reality. He made you and me for intimacy. It is written, “In Your Presence there is fullness of joy; at Your right hand there are pleasures evermore.” No woman can offer any man perfect joy and eternal pleasure. No man can offer any woman perfect protection and affection.
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