Living in sin is an unbiblical phrase. Usually this term is directed toward two sin classifications: two unmarried living together or a divorcee who remarries not having a scriptural reason for the divorce. Too, this phrase is often used by those assuming themselves to be free from such a fanatical label. As far as I can tell, living in sin is not a Bible term. When it is used, it is usually by someone pointing a judgmental finger at another while completely disregarding their own personal and blatant sin.
To bring about such awareness is not to weaken the tragic depth of sin, but rather to intensify it. I'm not wishing to lessen sin, but to bring us into true reality. We are all really guilty enough to be sentenced to hell unless Someone died on the cross to provide Great Rescue. To deny our personal sin weakens the message of the cross.
There is a biblical term which will not let any Christian escape guilt: sin living in me (Romans 7:17,20). Patients do not live in cancer. Cancer lives in the patient. Sin is cancer of the soul. We must not live in denial. We must admit we are sinners.....offensive-to-God sinners.
When Jesus confronted those ready to stone the adulterous woman, how many dropped their accusations and walked off? 100%. What did he say to the woman? Go and sin no more. Raise your hands. How many of you think she never sinned again? Based on my pattern, I say she didn't make it past Mr. Morning Rooster crowing three times.
Sin is not to be denied. It is to be admitted. Mistakenly, guilt-avoiding, squint-eyed Christianity has categorized sin into various bins of S, M, L, XL. Consistently whatever the judger happens to be guilty of is always viewed as S or M.....never XL. We all live XL. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all (James 2:10). Guilty of all sins? Such is the truth for every stumbler.
Do you realize how this combination of awareness and admission changes our brotherhood? It slays the poison pens. It parks the high horses. It strengthens harmony. It bolsters humility. It awakens need for help from rather than criticism toward leaders across town or state or nation.
Do you realize how this combination of awareness and admission changes our relationship in our communities? The neighbor no longer dreads the sight of us coming as we have abandoned our holier than Thou facade. Friends begin to like us, not because we've sunk into sin; but because we've admitted something they've known all along....we, too, are sinners.
John wrote, If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
Maybe in order to evangelize the world more effectively we might find it time to admit our enormous frailties and offer apology rather than condemnation.
7 comments:
Your best post yet!
Love you,
Billye
You are so right. We live in a society that is always judging others. We live in a world of yes, I sin, but do you know what he did! It's really sad. None of us have any right to judge anyone else and what they have done. Especially based on our own sins. There is one judge, and there is one redeemer for all of us regardless of what we've done. Thanks for such a great reminder. Have a great weekend! Love ya!
Actually, the brilliance of Paul's rhetoric in Romans 5-8 is that he portrays both humanity as dwelling or living in sin and sin as living in humanity. Paul imagines two spheres of existence, two places where a person can live: Sin or Righteousness; aka "in Adam" or "in Christ"; "slaves to Sin" or "slaves of obedience."
This is probably why Paul does such a brilliant bait and switch in chapters 1 & 2 of Romans. He sets it up in Romans 1:18-32 by describing the depravity of humankind in terms that 1st C Jews would have used to describe the Gentiles, then in Romans 2 he springs the trap and catches all people in the very game that you describe here, the "pointing the judgmental finger" game. What a brilliant, though terrifying move, espcially when we allow this text to read us, instead of standing over it and using it to attack others.
The brilliance of baptism in Romans 5-8 is that it is an exodus from life in the exile of sin to life in the promised land of the Spirit, the 'in Christ life.' It is a liberation from captivity to Sin and an enslavement to a new master, Jesus Christ.
While we might continue to be "offensive-to-God sinners", we are called to let the Spirit of God do its work on us and bring us into a new type of holy living. But, as you so brilliantly remind us, that can only happen if we do not deny our sin, we admit our guilt, and we allow the power of God to transform us.
Praise be to God for his indescribable gift....
I want to amen what Eric said about living in sin versus living in Christ. I must confess it has been a long time since I heard the expression about living in sin related to living together. My thoughts imediately went another concept in the context of First John. Are we walking in darkness or in Light.
I understand the need to not compare our sins and see ourselves as anything other than sinners on the one hand, but I think we need to move past that on the other hand to a life in Christ. We are to call people to something more than focus on sin. We need to communicate that forgiveness we have recieved in a positive way and not a holier than thou way.
I love 1 John where it says Jesus continually washes us if we continue to walk with him. To me that means, I do not have to live in sin or with sin because Jesus washes me. Not that I still am not predisposed to sin, that is the flesh, but I can be "sinless" in the presence of God. Just like I need a shower daily, I need Jesus to cleanse me continually. Now that is freedom! Thanks for sharing, Lynn
Wow!
That is outstanding.
We all get a little plank-eyed. It seems we forget the meaning and root of the phrase, "Mind your own business."
It is all about the attitude. A rebuke is only good if it comes from someone who loves us back.
Sorry, to send a whole article but I like to look on the bright side of things. I have dealt with severe mental depression in my lifetime and to think any other way can bring me down. I AM AS GUILTY AS ANY OF SIN AND WHEN WE RECOGNIZE THAT FACT WE RECOGIZE OUR FALLEN HUMAN STATE; HOWEVER AS THIS ARTICLE TITLE STATES "FAITHFUL DO SIN LESS". WE DO SIN BUT LESS IS GOOD THAN THE OTHER. I LOVE READING TERRY'S BLOG AND LIKE READING COMMENTS THOUGH I DON'T READ THEM ALL. I HOPE YOU WILL UNDERSTAND THAT THE GREAT COMMANDMENT TO LOVE THE LORD OUR GOD WITH ALL WE HAVE AND TO LOVE OUR NEIGHBOR AS OURSELF CAN STILL BE DONE, THOUGH WE DON'T DO IT ENOUGH.
Shocker! Faithful really do sin less
by Rebecca Hagelin
In his 1971 song "Imagine," John Lennon asks us to envision a secular utopia. There's no heaven, no hell. Peace and harmony reign, and a global "brotherhood of man" flourishes. Amid this blissful state of affairs, of course, we find "no religion."
Lennon was a talented songwriter, but when it came to theology, he was 180 degrees off. A world free of religion would certainly have no heaven. But there would be plenty of hell – and right here on earth.
This isn't simply the opinion of a lady who takes her faith seriously. A large and growing body of social science research shows what a huge difference religious faith makes in our everyday lives. It's no overstatement, in fact, to say that religion makes civil society possible. Without it, just about every indicator of human misery would be off the charts.
For a concise yet comprehensive catalog of just how bad things could be, take a look at a startling new paper by Pat Fagan, the Heritage Foundation's premier social-science researcher. In it, he sifts through countless studies that show the remarkable effect of religion on marriage, divorce, child-rearing, drug/alcohol abuse, out-of-wedlock births – even mental and physical health
Start with an area near and dear to my heart – family relations. My husband and I have raised our three teenagers in a loving, religious household. Our faith in God has sustained us in good times and bad, and it has been a steady source of inspiration, comfort and encouragement. So I was particularly pleased to read the following in Fagan's paper:
Compared with mothers who did not consider religion important, those who deemed religion to be very important rated their relationship with their child significantly higher. … When mothers and their children share the same level of religious practice, they experience better relationships with one another. For instance, when 18-year-olds attended religious services with approximately the same frequency as their mothers, the mothers reported significantly better relationships with them, even many years later. … Moreover, mothers who became more religious throughout the first 18 years of their child's life reported a better relationship with that child, regardless of the level of their religious practice before the child was born.
The same holds true for fathers:
Compared with fathers who had no religious affiliation, those who attended religious services frequently were more likely to monitor their children, praise and hug their children, and spend time with their children. In fact, fathers' frequency of religious attendance was a stronger predictor of paternal involvement in one-on-one activities with children than were employment and income – the factors most frequently cited in the academic literature on fatherhood.
Couples are far more likely to stay together if they're religiously active, Fagan found. Indeed, the risk of divorce more than doubles for couples who stop practicing their religion. Religiously active couples also report greater happiness and satisfaction with their marriages. The incidence of domestic violence drops, too. Men who attended religious services at least weekly were more than 50 percent less likely to commit an act of violence against their partners than were peers who attended only once a year or less.
How about adolescent sexual behavior? Good news here, as well. Fagan notes that traditional values and religious beliefs were among the most common factors teens cite to explain why they are abstaining from sex. And religion affects out-of-wedlock childbearing: Compared with those who consider themselves "very religious," those who were "not at all religious" are two to three times more likely to have a child outside of marriage. In addition, the use of cigarettes and the abuse of alcohol and drugs drops significantly among those who are religiously active.
Religion is also a great help to those who never marry or have children. "A review of the research shows that religion significantly affects the level of an individual's happiness and overall sense of well-being," Fagan writes. "In the vast majority of the studies reviewed, an increase in religious practice was associated with having greater hope and a greater sense of purpose in life." In addition, people who are religiously active are at a much lower risk of depression and suicide. They also tend to live longer.
None of this would surprise our Founding Fathers, who knew that no people could be self-governing without religion. In his Farewell Address, George Washington referred to religion and morality as the "great pillars of human happiness" and noted: "Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle."
As you head to church this Christmas – and, I hope, in the weeks that follow – remember the indispensable role that religion plays in free society. We've been told by the highest authority, after all, that if we seek first the kingdom of God "all these things will be given to you as well." In a way, Jesus was telling us – almost 2,000 years before John Lennon wrote a single note – how to achieve a true "brotherhood of man." Imagine.
Rebecca Hagelin is a vice president of The Heritage Foundation and the author of Home Invasion: Protecting Your Family in a Culture that's Gone Stark Raving Mad.
First Appeared on WorldNetDaily.com
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