It was meant to be a celebration of the human spirit-a testament to strength of will and to endurance. Yet this year the Boston Marathon made headlines for a different reason. A senseless act of violence that has claimed three lives and left many more injured.
As with every tragedy, our society is left searching for answers. The question, "why," is often asked, but with no hope of finding a satisfactory answer. Even if the individuals responsible are found and questioned, no answer they give will satisfy those hungry for an answer. There is no valid reason for such a blatant disregard for human life.
Even if the reasons behind the attacks were explained in a clear and cogent way, it wouldn't justify the action. I don't relish violence, but there are times when violence may be necessary. I believe in self-defense. I also believe that it is the moral obligation of the strong to protect the weak. I believe there are solid, moral grounds for nations to go to war. But what happened in Boston wasn't an act of war. It wasn't self-defense. It was an act of cowardice.
The Bible says there is an evil spirit at work in the children of disobedience (see Eph. 2). Children of disobedience refers to those who are rebellious to the will of God. I don't mean to imply that the bombers were demon possessed. I mean that there is a supernatural, evil force that blinds humanity to its own cruelty and savagery.
Have you ever wondered why we hate those who are different from us? If hate is too strong of a word for you, why do we mistrust those who are different than us? Why do we want them to be like us before we accept them? Have you ever wondered why we hurt the ones we love?
The biblical answer is that human beings, although created in God' image, rebelled against God. Now the image of God, in us, is distorted by our sinful natures. We prefer sin to the Creator of the universe. Sin impacts each individual differently, but all of us sin. Some become vain self-worshipers. Others become bombers.
We all have sinful hearts. It might be better to say, we all have dark places deep down in the core of our being. Who we are is tainted by sin. Sin is disobedience to God. That disobedience comes in a myriad of forms, but comes from the same root. It may display itself in the severest forms of cruelty and violence or it may display itself in a holier-than-thou self-righteousness.
Jesus said it best, "You must be born again." We need a change of heart that can only be brought about by the Spirit of God. We need change deep down inside. The only way to have that change of heart is to turn from sin to the living God through Jesus Christ. We are all sinners. We all need Christ to change us.
The devastation in Boston reminds us that all is not right in this world. There is a darkness that pervades this world seeking to bend the world to its will. But a Light has shone in the darkness, and his name is Jesus Christ. Not only does he help us make sense of this crazy world, he enables us to overcome it. Please pray for the families affected by this tragedy.
Showing posts with label sin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sin. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Friday, December 14, 2012
It Makes No Sense
Human beings are curious creatures by nature. We want to understand the logic and reasoning behind a thing. We want to know the why of a matter. However, motives are difficult to discern without some kind of self-revelation of the doer.
If we don't get an explanation from the doer of an action, then we have no way of truly answering the question. Eyewitnesses can fill us in on the nature of the action, but they can't explain why the action happens. Behavioral analysis may help us speculate on potential reasons why an event has happened, but it doesn't offer definitive answers.
Today 20 children were gunned down, and a county is reeling in shock. The question why is being thrown around, but answers aren't forthcoming. In a tragedy of this kind, there are no satisfactory answer. There is no making peace with a loss of this nature.
Life's have been shattered by this act of savagery. If we knew the reasons for such an attack, it wouldn't satisfy us. There is no making sense of it. The truth of the matter is that a sinful individual has acted out of his sin nature, and the results are devastating.
The human heart can be a savage place. It can be cold and cruel. For these reasons, we need new life on the inside. We can get that life in Christ Jesus our Lord. In Jesus, we can find peace in spite of the cruelties of others.
If we don't get an explanation from the doer of an action, then we have no way of truly answering the question. Eyewitnesses can fill us in on the nature of the action, but they can't explain why the action happens. Behavioral analysis may help us speculate on potential reasons why an event has happened, but it doesn't offer definitive answers.
Today 20 children were gunned down, and a county is reeling in shock. The question why is being thrown around, but answers aren't forthcoming. In a tragedy of this kind, there are no satisfactory answer. There is no making peace with a loss of this nature.
Life's have been shattered by this act of savagery. If we knew the reasons for such an attack, it wouldn't satisfy us. There is no making sense of it. The truth of the matter is that a sinful individual has acted out of his sin nature, and the results are devastating.
The human heart can be a savage place. It can be cold and cruel. For these reasons, we need new life on the inside. We can get that life in Christ Jesus our Lord. In Jesus, we can find peace in spite of the cruelties of others.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
The Sinners Scale
If I were to ask you to rate sinners on a scale from 1 to 10 with 1 being the absolute worst sinner imaginable and 10 the person who sins the least, who would you put at number 1? Who would you put at number 10? Think about it. Do you have your scale yet? For example, Let's say Adolf Hitler is at 1, and Billy Graham is at 10.
Where do you rate on your scale? Surely you imagine yourself somewhere between 1 and 10. I know humility prevents you from saying you're a 9 or a 10. Where do you see yourself on the scale?
I'll play it safe and say that I'm a 5. I'm no Billy Graham, but then again, I'm not Adolf Hitler. But how does God view our scales? Are our scales like his? Somehow I doubt that it is. In fact, I'm convinced that it certainly isn't.
If ever in the history of the church there was a 10, it would be the apostle Paul. However, Paul doesn't seem to see himself as a 10. It doesn't appear he thought he was even a 5. He explains to Timothy, "Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst" (1Tim. 1:15, NIV). Paul says that he is a 1.
It appears that the closer one draws to Christ, the more they understand of their own sinfulness. They see the multitude of ways in which they offend a holy God everyday. The Spirit refuses to allow them to settle into believing that their actions make them right. Two rights don't cancel out a wrong. Sin must be confessed and repented of before it can be forgiven and cleansed.
A temptation for us as believers in Christ is to assume that our sins don't matter because they have been washed in the blood of Christ. That is to say, we sometimes (wrongly) think that sin is permissible because Jesus has already atoned for it. Such thinking is blasphemous. It denigrates the sacrifice of Christ. Sin is always an offense to a holy God.
Another temptations for believers is to assume that what we do makes us right with God. We often think that if we do something wrong, we just need to do something good to override it. But this approach will never work. Just like flowers won't erase a bruise, so to good actions cannot cancel out bad ones.
In the end, the only solution is the gospel. The gospel teaches us that we have sinned against God. It also teaches us that God loves us and wants to rescue us through the finished work of Christ. We owed a debt (because of sin), and Christ paid (by dying in our place). The gospel strips us of all self-reliance because we cannot save ourselves. Jesus must always stand in our place.
How is it that Paul could see himself as a 1, and yet experience such joy and peace? Simple, he knew it was Jesus who made him right with God from start to finish, and he rested in the knowledge. Do you see the sin in your own heart? Where do you see yourself on that scale now? Are you moved to cling more closely to Christ? If you're trusting in Christ, don't fear. Jesus has you covered.
Where do you rate on your scale? Surely you imagine yourself somewhere between 1 and 10. I know humility prevents you from saying you're a 9 or a 10. Where do you see yourself on the scale?
I'll play it safe and say that I'm a 5. I'm no Billy Graham, but then again, I'm not Adolf Hitler. But how does God view our scales? Are our scales like his? Somehow I doubt that it is. In fact, I'm convinced that it certainly isn't.
If ever in the history of the church there was a 10, it would be the apostle Paul. However, Paul doesn't seem to see himself as a 10. It doesn't appear he thought he was even a 5. He explains to Timothy, "Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst" (1Tim. 1:15, NIV). Paul says that he is a 1.
It appears that the closer one draws to Christ, the more they understand of their own sinfulness. They see the multitude of ways in which they offend a holy God everyday. The Spirit refuses to allow them to settle into believing that their actions make them right. Two rights don't cancel out a wrong. Sin must be confessed and repented of before it can be forgiven and cleansed.
A temptation for us as believers in Christ is to assume that our sins don't matter because they have been washed in the blood of Christ. That is to say, we sometimes (wrongly) think that sin is permissible because Jesus has already atoned for it. Such thinking is blasphemous. It denigrates the sacrifice of Christ. Sin is always an offense to a holy God.
Another temptations for believers is to assume that what we do makes us right with God. We often think that if we do something wrong, we just need to do something good to override it. But this approach will never work. Just like flowers won't erase a bruise, so to good actions cannot cancel out bad ones.
In the end, the only solution is the gospel. The gospel teaches us that we have sinned against God. It also teaches us that God loves us and wants to rescue us through the finished work of Christ. We owed a debt (because of sin), and Christ paid (by dying in our place). The gospel strips us of all self-reliance because we cannot save ourselves. Jesus must always stand in our place.
How is it that Paul could see himself as a 1, and yet experience such joy and peace? Simple, he knew it was Jesus who made him right with God from start to finish, and he rested in the knowledge. Do you see the sin in your own heart? Where do you see yourself on that scale now? Are you moved to cling more closely to Christ? If you're trusting in Christ, don't fear. Jesus has you covered.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
It's a Love/Hate Relationship
There is a scene in the Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings where Frodo discovers that Gollum has followed the fellowship into the mines of Moria. When he reports his discovery to Gandalf, Frodo learns that the ring has drawn Gollum to them. Gollum, we are told, has a love/hate relationship with the ring, and with himself. Because he can never be free from his need of the ring, Gollum can never be free of self-loathing. Believers seem to struggle with a love/hate relationship, as well.
Much like the ring, sin pollutes the heart and enslaves those who tinker with it (which is all of us). The ring enslaved and transformed the creature Smeagol, into the wretched beast Gollum, just as sin enslaves and transforms humanity into wretched rebels. We are born into this world bent toward sin. Thus, we develop a taste for sin very early. When God, in his grace, sees fit to reveal his Son to us through the preaching of gospel and the witness of the Spirit, he calls us out of the darkness, and into his marvelous light. By exposing our sin for what it was, God creates a holy hatred for sin within our hearts. Our past experience with sin and the introduction of a new heart within us creates tension within us. Paul describes this tension well:
I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I don not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do--this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but the sin living in me that does it. . . What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me form this body of death? Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Rom. 7:15-20, 24-25, NIV).When the Holy Spirit gives us a new heart through regeneration, he changes the desires of our heart so that we desire to do the will of God (see John 3:1-21; Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:24-27). Even with this new heart, we still wrestle with the desires of the flesh. We are torn in two directions.
The new heart wants to be obedient to God, but the sin present in our bodies wants to continue to rebel against the Lord. The good news for us is that nothing can separate us from God's love in Christ (see Rom. 8:31-39). Although we might relate to Gollum's dilemma, we cannot say that it is exactly our dilemma. While there is certainly a love/hate relationship with sin raging inside a believer, the Scripture is clear we are to live as if we are dead to sin.
Sin no longer has dominion over us. We have been set free, through faith in Christ, from sin and death. We have a continual cleansing presence in our lives, the Lord Jesus Christ (see 1 John 1:9). Our sin, and the debt it has incurred, has been nailed to the cross. If we did not have the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, we would have no way of overcoming our sin natures. But, in Christ, we do have the Spirit within us. Therefore, we can walk in the power of the Spirit, and overcome the desires of the flesh.
Gollum's story, although fictional, is a sad one, because he could never be free of his need of the ring. But our story is not, because Jesus has freed us from the penalty of sin (the lake of fire), and because he will, ultimately, rescue us fully and finally from the influence of sin when he comes in his glory.
Do you wrestle with a love/hate relationship to sin? Do you find yourself doing what you hate? How do you recover peace of mind? How do you overcome self-hatred? I would love to hear from you.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Everyone Is Free to Wear Sunscreen
This article was originally published here, on July 14, 2009.A good definition of stubbornness is nursing a wicked sunburn when an ample supply of sunscreen was within reach and a willing assistant was nearby. I hate sunburns, although apparently not as much as I hate sunscreen. After I get sunburned, I spend the evening fight the chills. So why do I hesitate when it comes to sunscreen? I wish I knew.
They say, "You live and you learn." I am not entirely sure I agree. Most live, a few learn. I fear that is why so many of us end up repeating our mistakes. We hate the consequences of our choices, but we rarely make the adjustments that would prevent those consequences. We choose the path of least resistance, not because it will make us happy, but because we are comfortable with the routine. There are times we do things we know will cost us, because we know the outcome. There is no guess work, and a known consequence is better than an unknown reward.
My back and shoulders are ablaze with regret. I have vowed to never forgo sunscreen again. Yet, if I were a wagering man, I would bet I'll be in this situation again. Maybe not tomorrow, or next week, but soon the burning will stop, the skin will peal away, and time will make the sunburn a distant memory. When the heat of the consequence dies down, the temptation to avoid sunscreen will come back.
Sin is dreadfully cunning that way. Once it is tripped you up, it points out the folly of your choice to increase your sense of guilt and shame. In this way, it hopes to dishearten you so that you will think you can no longer approach God. Sin wants you to think you can't choose another path. It wants you to think, even in your regret, that your destined to remain unchanged and unchangeable. Then after your conscience has been appeased and you no longer feel the burden of your guilt, sin returns to tell you that this time it will be different, this time the consequences won't be so bad, or this time it won't end in heartbreak. But it's a lie.
The only way to overcome an unpleasant consequence is to change your way of thinking and your way of doing. The only way to make those changes is by turning away from sin and trusting Christ to transform you through his grace. When we place our trust in Jesus, who died for our sin and rose again on the third day, he gives us a new nature. He has absorbed the consequences of our sin upon the cross, and extended to us his righteousness. We can stop listening to the lie, and be transformed by the Truth. For this reason, the Scriptures continually call us to put off stubbornness and heed the Word of the Lord. Whatever your struggle, turn to Christ in repentance and faith, and ask him to deliver you. You will find he is an able and willing Redeemer. And don't forget to wear sunscreen.
Editor's Note: I made it through the rest of summer without getting another bad sunburn. The picture is of a mule, which has the reputation of being stubborn. I couldn't find a picture of a sunburn or lobster, so I hope you enjoy the mule. Photo by: Einar Faanes
Thursday, August 27, 2009
More About Sin
We need to think carefully about sin. It is easy to begin thinking about sin as an impersonal force that attacks us against our will, especially when we are speaking about the believer's struggle with sin. However, sin is not just something outside of ourselves, but something comes from within. That is why James talks about our evil desires leading us astray.In one sense it is absolutely true to say we are new creatures, because that is what we are. However, that process of making us completely new is not yet finished. We are already new creatures, but do not yet experienced the fullness of that newness. We have already been freed from bondage to sin, but are not yet free from our bodies of death.
When we are born into this world, we are born as sinners in a sinful world. When we trust in Christ, we are reborn into a world that Christ is reconciling to himself through the gospel. Sin no longer defines us. As unconverted sinners, sinning is what we do, because of who we are. Just as a clock tells time, because it is a timepiece. As redeemed sinners, sinning is something that is contrary to who we are. Through Christ, sinning moves from a natural response among sinners to an unnatural response among his people.
This is why the New Testament continues to instruct us to put off sin. Sin no longer defines us; God's grace does. By grace we are saved through faith. By grace we are made children of God. By grace we are made the righteousness of God. By grace we live and breath and have our being. As we trust in Jesus, our identity shifts (by grace) from sinner (one rebelling against God) to saint (one set apart by God).
While we live in this world, the process of sanctification makes us more like what God has purposed for us to be. The process of sanctification will not be completed until we receive our glorified bodies. We struggle with sin, because we have been made alive with Christ, and his Spirit dwells within us. The Spirit and the flesh (evil desires within a person) wage war against each other. The flesh is like the dragon in Revelation 12, raging because it knows its time is short. The flesh is angry because it has been dethroned, and God has been restored to his rightful place. Our flesh desires to be the center of our world. My flesh wants me to worship it. Your flesh wants you to worship it. But there is only one God and Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ and only he is worthy of worship.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Everyone Is Free to Wear Sunscreen
Stubbornness is nursing a wicked sunburn when an ample supply of sunscreen was within reach and a willing assistant was nearby. I hate sunburns, although apparently not as much as I hate sunscreen. After I get sunburned, I spend the evening fight the chills. So why do I hesitate when it comes to sunscreen? I wish I knew.
They say, "You live and you learn." I am not entirely sure I agree. Most live, a few learn. I fear that is why so many of us end up repeating our mistakes. We hate the consequences of our choices, but we rarely make the adjustments that would prevent those consequences. We choose the path of least resistance, not because it will make us happy, but because we are comfortable with the routine. There are times we do things we know will cost us, because we know the outcome. There is no guess work, and a known consequence is better than an unknown reward.
My back and shoulders are ablaze with regret. I have vowed to never forgo sunscreen again. Yet, if I were a wagering man, I would bet I'll be in this situation again. Maybe not tomorrow, or next week, but soon the burning will stop, the skin will peal away, and time will make the sunburn a distant memory. When the heat of the consequence dies down, the temptation to avoid sunscreen will come back.
Sin is dreadfully cunning that way. Once it is tripped you up, it points out the folly of your choice to increase your sense of guilt and shame. In this way, it hopes to dishearten you so that you will think you can no longer approach God. Sin wants you to think you can't choose another path. It wants you to think, even in your regret, that your destined to remain unchanged and unchangeable. Then after your conscience has been appeased and you no longer feel the burden of your guilt, sin will return and tell you that this time it will be different, this time the consequences won't be so bad, or this time it won't end in heartbreak. But it's a lie.
The only way to overcome an unpleasant consequence is to change your way of thinking and your way of doing. The only way to make those changes is by turning away from sin and trusting Christ to transform you through his grace. When we place our trust in Jesus, who died for our sin and rose again on the third day, he gives us a new nature. He has absorbed the consequences of our sin upon the cross, and extended to us his righteousness. We can stop listening to the lie, and be transformed by the Truth. That is why the Scriptures continually call us to put off stubbornness and heed the Word of the Lord. Whatever your struggle, turn to Christ in repentance and faith, and ask him to deliver you. You will find he is an able and will Redeemer. And don't forget to wear sunscreen.
They say, "You live and you learn." I am not entirely sure I agree. Most live, a few learn. I fear that is why so many of us end up repeating our mistakes. We hate the consequences of our choices, but we rarely make the adjustments that would prevent those consequences. We choose the path of least resistance, not because it will make us happy, but because we are comfortable with the routine. There are times we do things we know will cost us, because we know the outcome. There is no guess work, and a known consequence is better than an unknown reward.
My back and shoulders are ablaze with regret. I have vowed to never forgo sunscreen again. Yet, if I were a wagering man, I would bet I'll be in this situation again. Maybe not tomorrow, or next week, but soon the burning will stop, the skin will peal away, and time will make the sunburn a distant memory. When the heat of the consequence dies down, the temptation to avoid sunscreen will come back.
Sin is dreadfully cunning that way. Once it is tripped you up, it points out the folly of your choice to increase your sense of guilt and shame. In this way, it hopes to dishearten you so that you will think you can no longer approach God. Sin wants you to think you can't choose another path. It wants you to think, even in your regret, that your destined to remain unchanged and unchangeable. Then after your conscience has been appeased and you no longer feel the burden of your guilt, sin will return and tell you that this time it will be different, this time the consequences won't be so bad, or this time it won't end in heartbreak. But it's a lie.
The only way to overcome an unpleasant consequence is to change your way of thinking and your way of doing. The only way to make those changes is by turning away from sin and trusting Christ to transform you through his grace. When we place our trust in Jesus, who died for our sin and rose again on the third day, he gives us a new nature. He has absorbed the consequences of our sin upon the cross, and extended to us his righteousness. We can stop listening to the lie, and be transformed by the Truth. That is why the Scriptures continually call us to put off stubbornness and heed the Word of the Lord. Whatever your struggle, turn to Christ in repentance and faith, and ask him to deliver you. You will find he is an able and will Redeemer. And don't forget to wear sunscreen.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Tips for Mortifying Sin
The Puritans and other used to speak of mortifying sin, that is putting to death our sin nature. John MacArthur points to eight scriptural principles in The Vanishing Conscience.
1) Abstain from fleshly lusts. (1Pet 2:11; 1Cor 6:8; Eph 4:28) The best way to kill sin is to stop sinning. As Yoda told Luke, "Do. Or do not. There is not try."
2) Make no provision for the flesh. (Rom 13:4) This may include avoiding the junk food isle at the store, setting the alarm for earlier in the day, going for a walk, reading Scripture daily. Where ever we struggle with sin we have to stop making excuses and start making plans to overcome.
3) Fix your heart on Christ. (1John 3:23) We must realize that Jesus is our great reward.
4) Meditate on God's Word. (Ps. 119:5, 11; 1:2; Josh 1:8; John 17:17; Col 3:16; Eph 6:17) Many people today think that meditation is the clearing the mind of all thoughts. However, biblical meditation is the filling of the mind with God's Word. Chewing the words over and over in order to better understand and apply them to our lives.
5) Pray without ceasing. (Luke 22:40; Matt 26:41) We need to be in a continual prayerful attitude.
6) Watch and Pray. (Ps. 19:12; 1 John 1:9; Heb 4:16) We are called to be vigilant.
7) Exercise self-Control. (Gal 5:23; 1 Cor 9:25-27; Luke 21:34; 2 Pet 1:3-11) By God's grace and with His help, we must strive to overcome our passions, desires, and self.
8) Be filled with the Spirit. (Eph 5:18;Rom 8:13; Phil 2:13-13; Gal 5:16) The Spirit dwells inside every believer, but we often grieve him and quench his work. To be filled with the Spirit is to walk in obedience to his leadership.
1) Abstain from fleshly lusts. (1Pet 2:11; 1Cor 6:8; Eph 4:28) The best way to kill sin is to stop sinning. As Yoda told Luke, "Do. Or do not. There is not try."
2) Make no provision for the flesh. (Rom 13:4) This may include avoiding the junk food isle at the store, setting the alarm for earlier in the day, going for a walk, reading Scripture daily. Where ever we struggle with sin we have to stop making excuses and start making plans to overcome.
3) Fix your heart on Christ. (1John 3:23) We must realize that Jesus is our great reward.
4) Meditate on God's Word. (Ps. 119:5, 11; 1:2; Josh 1:8; John 17:17; Col 3:16; Eph 6:17) Many people today think that meditation is the clearing the mind of all thoughts. However, biblical meditation is the filling of the mind with God's Word. Chewing the words over and over in order to better understand and apply them to our lives.
5) Pray without ceasing. (Luke 22:40; Matt 26:41) We need to be in a continual prayerful attitude.
6) Watch and Pray. (Ps. 19:12; 1 John 1:9; Heb 4:16) We are called to be vigilant.
7) Exercise self-Control. (Gal 5:23; 1 Cor 9:25-27; Luke 21:34; 2 Pet 1:3-11) By God's grace and with His help, we must strive to overcome our passions, desires, and self.
8) Be filled with the Spirit. (Eph 5:18;Rom 8:13; Phil 2:13-13; Gal 5:16) The Spirit dwells inside every believer, but we often grieve him and quench his work. To be filled with the Spirit is to walk in obedience to his leadership.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)