Weekly Thought – March 1, 2016
Fred clearly believed in “original sin.” He never doubted the need for grace and forgiveness. When asked about it he explained it was the only reasonable explanation for life. He held strongly to the goodness of God.
Sin is Real
We are so afraid of minimizing sin, we find it difficult to accept forgiveness for fear we will begin to enjoy sinning. We start to set up artificial measures of whether a person is a believer or not by how much they do or do not enjoy sin. Then we start to look at how long we last between sinning and feeling remorse.
The weakness in this thinking is that we fail to see the change of attitude toward past and future sin. Our gratitude for grace is evidenced in our attitude toward future sin. We accept that expecting to stop sinning leans on our own human efforts. We have to soberly think about our attitude toward all sin.
If we fall into the immaturity of thinking sin is covered so we can sin in order that “grace may abound,” we are simply accepting grace as a bromide for the morning after sickness. If we accept grace as the only answer for our sin (original nature of man) then we realize it isn’t ours to handle. Only the power of the Holy Spirit can deliver us. Moving on in grace is as much a work of the Spirit as is our salvation.
When we allow guilt (created by ourselves) over sins of the past, we cloud over the future. There is certainly divine discipline and God works in us to point us to Him, but He doesn’t create a situation in which we repeatedly beat ourselves up over past sins.
Those who try to deny others the reconciliation through repentance are holding them accountable through human efforts, not Godly relationship. Too often we try to hold others by the throat bringing up past sins. When forgiveness comes, it is not our job to dredge up the details. We are to be people who live in grace with others. We are to live in an “attitude of forgiveness” which allows us to experience restoration.
This week think about: 1) How do I define sin? 2) What areas in my life are most susceptible to sin? 3) When do I celebrate grace with myself and with others?
Words of Wisdom: “We are so afraid of minimizing sin, we find it difficult to accept forgiveness.”
Wisdom from the Word: “to give his people knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins.” (Luke 1:77 NET Bible)