We continue with our series, Removing the Roadblocks to Forgiveness. I believe that understanding God's character and looking closely at the nature of mankind's sin is helpful as we attempt to forgive. Yesterday, we identified sin in ourselves and in others. Today, we think about how sin impacts everyone's lives.
Sin is a waste of our time and energy.
God wants Christians to progress along a path of ever-increasing righteousness. If we think about trying to become more like God, we can compare it to walking up a mountain toward eternal life. When we sin, we do an about-face and head back down the slope we just climbed. Clearly, this is a waste of effort and destroys the Christ-like character we are seeking.
Sin hurts us and others.
Each time that we allow sin into our lives, we inevitably experience a loss of spiritual strength. We suffer as God disciplines us.
Sin also harms our effectiveness in doing the work of God's kingdom. So not only does our sin hurt us, it also hurts others who might benefit from our imitating God's character.
I believe God wants me to use my gift of writing to help survivors of abuse and trauma. If I harbor anger or hatred toward my enemies, I'm not going to be able to serve my readers very effectively. My own sin would hurt me, but it would also hurt others who need to hear about God's love and how we can forgive.
Our sin affects our heavenly rewards.
There are degrees of reward in heaven, as evidenced by the words of I Corinthians 3:12-15 (NIV):
If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.
This passage is telling us that our righteousness will be evaluated on Judgment Day. We will receive heavenly rewards that are in keeping with our efforts to imitate God. Even if the world tells us that our righteousness is like gold, God's fire may prove that it is only as valuable as straw.
Don't spend your life as a Vampire Christian.
As we learned yesterday, a Christian who professes faith in Christ and spends his life striving to obey God's laws will not lose his place in heaven if he sins. Believers who enter into a relationship of grace with God through baptism and then do their best to remain in God's grace through obedience are known as born-again Christians. They do not engage in a lifestyle of sinning, and it is evident by their behavior that they have surrendered their will to Christ.
We must become aware that it is possible for some so-called believers to be what I call Vampire Christians. They desire just a little taste of the blood of Christ, but they aren't willing to fully immerse themselves in that blood through total surrender of their lives.
Vampire Christians are people who profess to be Christians, based on the fact that they attend a church or exhibit behaviors that seem to conform to moral standards of living. They profess belief in Christ and get baptized, but their behavior from that point onward does not lead anyone to see that they are Christians.
The problem with Vampire Christians is that they often take on a consistent pattern of disobedience to Christ. For instance, they may attend church and show up for plenty of church functions; but they perpetually sin through alcoholism, compulsive gambling, pornography addictions, and so on. Some of their sins may be less obvious, such as resentment, bitterness, anger, or hatred.
Vampire Christians lack evidence of spiritual growth, and it is nearly impossible to see in them the fruit of the spirit, as described in Galatians 5:22 (NIV):
But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.
Jesus warns Vampire Christians that they will not inherit eternal life in Matthew 7:21-23 (NIV):
Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'
These verses point out the importance of sanctifying grace, which comes through doing God's will throughout our lives--obeying his laws and commands to the best of our ability. Saving grace, which comes through baptism and profession of faith, is only a starting point. Sadly, Vampire Christians believe it is all that is necessary to achieve eternal life.
I was a Vampire Christian.
Before I met Joe, I was a Vampire Christian. I had been raised in a church that taught forgiveness through rote confession on Sunday mornings, regardless of the enormity of my sin throughout the week. Like all vampires, I lived a half-life, always hiding in darkness and never fully understanding how wonderful it felt to live fully in the light of Christ's love.
When Joe began teaching me about the importance of sanctifying grace, the Holy Spirit convicted me that I had been living a lie. I was not a true Christian, and if I wanted my reward of heaven, I needed to change my ways. Specifically, I needed to give up my sins of pride, anger, bitterness, and revenge toward people who had abused me. I began reading my Bible, studying Joe's books on theology, attending Bible studies, and meeting with more mature Christians.
The light dawned, and I realized all that I had been missing in my life as a Vampire Christian. Even though I had been baptized as an infant, I was baptized by immersion on my 40th birthday. When I came up out of the water, I knew that I had become a true Christian, never again to live that miserable half-life of the Vampire Christian.
Seeing our own sin takes us one step closer to forgiving others.
In summary, sin is the opposite of everything that God sees as right. While it is easy to point out our enemy's sins, we must be open to the possibility of our own sinful actions and thoughts.
If we are truly born-again Christians, our sin can never cause us to lose our salvation; but we may expect God to discipline us. Sin is a waste of time, hurts us and our witness to others, and affects our heavenly rewards.
Look inward to make sure that you aren't a Vampire Christian who is satisfied with mere belief in Christ but who lacks the ambition to become more like Him by obeying his laws. In order to forgive, survivors of abuse and trauma need to fully understand their own need for forgiveness, which comes through both saving grace and sanctifying grace from Jesus Christ.
Today's Challenge
How is your sin harming you? How is it affecting your ability to help others? Are you a born-again Christian, or are you guilty of living as a Vampire Christian? If you realize that you have been coasting through life on just your profession of faith, commit your life to Christ today by talking to a more mature Christian who can help you.
Showing posts with label vampire Christians. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vampire Christians. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Recognize Sin
For the past few weeks, we have learned about God's character in our series, Removing the Roadblocks to Forgiveness. Today, we look at the concept of sin. By recognizing it in ourselves and in our enemies, we become better prepared to forgive those who have hurt us.
What is sin?
Previously, we defined righteousness as God's goodness, love, mercy, grace, patience, holiness, peacefulness, justice, jealousy, and wrath. Defining sin is simple, because it is the opposite of God's righteousness: sin is any failure to conform to God's character or law with any act or attitude.
Many times, we think of sin as those acts that people can see: lying, stealing, cheating, and so on. But God also prohibits attitudes such as jealousy, anger, and selfishness. Galatians 5:19-21 (NIV) describes both obvious and inner sins which can get us into trouble:
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, faction and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
It is easy to recognize sin in those who have hurt us.
I John 3:4 (NIV) tells us that Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. When someone abuses us or commits an act that leads to trauma, it is pretty easy to see it and label it as sin. Our justice system can prove a person's guilt, based on his actions and its interpretation of the law.
Ask any survivor of childhood sexual abuse if their perpetrator committed a sin when molesting them, and they will unequivocally answer with a resounding,Yes! Ask survivors of 911 whether or not the terrorists who destroyed the World Trade Center were sinning, and most will cry out, Undoubtedly!
It is not so easy to recognize sin in ourselves.
At the beginning of this series, I identified the roadblocks to forgiveness as anger, fear, lack of trust, low self-esteem, guilt, revenge, pride, hatred, and depression. Many of these characteristics are present in survivors of abuse and trauma.
I would like to assert that if these feelings are left unchecked, they can become a source of sin for survivors. For instance, we may feel a sense of anger toward our perpetrators. This is a natural response and drives us to seek help. However, if we allow ourselves to remain angry for the rest of time, I believe we have an issue with a sinful attitude.
For the past year, God has been using the case of my father molesting his grandchildren to teach me about my own sin. I never realized before how prideful I had been in comparing myself to others. Seeing my father taken away in handcuffs made me think about how guilty I have been of sinning.
I deserve eternal punishment for my sins of pride, anger, hatred, revenge, and unforgiveness. I thank God more than ever now for the gift of grace through Jesus' death on the cross. When we recognize our own sins, we become far more careful about committing more or looking at ourselves as superior to our enemies.
Sin does not change our standing with God if we're born-again Christians.
When a born-again Christian sins, his legal standing before God remains unchanged. Our salvation is not based on how well we behave, but is a gift from God. (Romans 6:23) In other words, even if we sin, we keep our adoption as one of God's children, and we get to spend eternity in heaven with him.
God disciplines us when we sin.
When we sin, God still loves us, but he may become displeased with us. As parents, we understand that we always love our children, but we may not be thrilled when they throw tantrums, break their curfews, or hit their siblings. We discipline them and teach them to improve.
We can count on God to discipline us when we sin, whether we commit evil acts or harbor sinful attitudes. Hebrews 12:10 (NIV) tells us, God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.
God disciplines all of his children.
Imagine a family where each of the children got punished for misbehaving, except for one. Think about how unruly and prideful that child might become.
We inevitably expect God to discipline our perpetrators for their sins against us, but how many of us ask God to bypass disciplining us when our attitudes toward our enemies get out of hand? We need to accept his discipline and learn from it so that we can become more like him each day.
Tomorrow, we will continue our discussion about sin with a look at people who are known as Vampire Christians. Are you one of them?
Today's Challenge
Do you have a different understanding of your sin now? Which one of your attitudes toward your enemy needs to be released to God? How do you feel now about God's discpline for you?
What is sin?
Previously, we defined righteousness as God's goodness, love, mercy, grace, patience, holiness, peacefulness, justice, jealousy, and wrath. Defining sin is simple, because it is the opposite of God's righteousness: sin is any failure to conform to God's character or law with any act or attitude.
Many times, we think of sin as those acts that people can see: lying, stealing, cheating, and so on. But God also prohibits attitudes such as jealousy, anger, and selfishness. Galatians 5:19-21 (NIV) describes both obvious and inner sins which can get us into trouble:
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, faction and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
It is easy to recognize sin in those who have hurt us.
I John 3:4 (NIV) tells us that Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. When someone abuses us or commits an act that leads to trauma, it is pretty easy to see it and label it as sin. Our justice system can prove a person's guilt, based on his actions and its interpretation of the law.
Ask any survivor of childhood sexual abuse if their perpetrator committed a sin when molesting them, and they will unequivocally answer with a resounding,Yes! Ask survivors of 911 whether or not the terrorists who destroyed the World Trade Center were sinning, and most will cry out, Undoubtedly!
It is not so easy to recognize sin in ourselves.
At the beginning of this series, I identified the roadblocks to forgiveness as anger, fear, lack of trust, low self-esteem, guilt, revenge, pride, hatred, and depression. Many of these characteristics are present in survivors of abuse and trauma.
I would like to assert that if these feelings are left unchecked, they can become a source of sin for survivors. For instance, we may feel a sense of anger toward our perpetrators. This is a natural response and drives us to seek help. However, if we allow ourselves to remain angry for the rest of time, I believe we have an issue with a sinful attitude.
For the past year, God has been using the case of my father molesting his grandchildren to teach me about my own sin. I never realized before how prideful I had been in comparing myself to others. Seeing my father taken away in handcuffs made me think about how guilty I have been of sinning.
I deserve eternal punishment for my sins of pride, anger, hatred, revenge, and unforgiveness. I thank God more than ever now for the gift of grace through Jesus' death on the cross. When we recognize our own sins, we become far more careful about committing more or looking at ourselves as superior to our enemies.
Sin does not change our standing with God if we're born-again Christians.
When a born-again Christian sins, his legal standing before God remains unchanged. Our salvation is not based on how well we behave, but is a gift from God. (Romans 6:23) In other words, even if we sin, we keep our adoption as one of God's children, and we get to spend eternity in heaven with him.
God disciplines us when we sin.
When we sin, God still loves us, but he may become displeased with us. As parents, we understand that we always love our children, but we may not be thrilled when they throw tantrums, break their curfews, or hit their siblings. We discipline them and teach them to improve.
We can count on God to discipline us when we sin, whether we commit evil acts or harbor sinful attitudes. Hebrews 12:10 (NIV) tells us, God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.
God disciplines all of his children.
Imagine a family where each of the children got punished for misbehaving, except for one. Think about how unruly and prideful that child might become.
We inevitably expect God to discipline our perpetrators for their sins against us, but how many of us ask God to bypass disciplining us when our attitudes toward our enemies get out of hand? We need to accept his discipline and learn from it so that we can become more like him each day.
Tomorrow, we will continue our discussion about sin with a look at people who are known as Vampire Christians. Are you one of them?
Today's Challenge
Do you have a different understanding of your sin now? Which one of your attitudes toward your enemy needs to be released to God? How do you feel now about God's discpline for you?
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