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Tag: sin

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The fight between good and evil—it is a common theme in books and movies, especially older movies, but there is no question that it is also a part of our daily life on this Earth. I Peter 5:8 warns us to be sober and alert. The devil is looking for someone to devour, to win over to his side, so we must be constantly aware and work to avoid being ensnared by him. Ephesians 4:27 instructs us not to give the devil a foothold, an opportunity. How can we do that? The whole message of Ephesians 4 is that we need to be transformed from our old selves to our new selves through the power of the Holy Spirit. In Ephesians 4:1-3, Paul encourages us to live with humility, gentleness, patience and love in order to maintain peace and unity in the Spirit. In Ephesians 4:22-24 we are instructed to put our old ways behind us and to start living as the person who was created in God’s image, striving to be like Him by knowing His truth. One specific way to do this is to follow the guidance given in Ephesians 4:26: Be angry and do not sin.

Anger is an emotion, a gift given by God, and it is impossible to avoid becoming angry. Sin, however, is an act of the will or a lack of self-control. We choose how we will act when we are angry, either consciously or by failing to exercise self-discipline. Some Bible scholars state that because the verb in the original language is in the imperative form, we are commanded to be angry, and they discuss the value of righteous anger. God gets angry at sin, and so should we. Of course, God is sinless and we are not, so we are in much bigger danger of doing the wrong thing with our anger. Other scholars say that yes, it is the imperative form, but it is a permissive imperative. In other words, go ahead and be angry if you must, but be careful what you do with it. Whichever interpretation you believe to be true, the rest of the sentence is clear: do not sin. Make sure that you are controlling your emotions rather than allowing your emotions to control you.

The second half of Ephesians 4:26 should be taken symbolically rather than literally. It doesn’t mean that if you get angry in the morning you have a longer time to fume and stew than someone who didn’t get angry until later in the day. It means that you should resolve the disputes between you as soon as possible, and you should do it in the light of day. Darkness symbolizes deceit while daylight symbolizes truth. Work out your differences with pure motives. Forgive each other as we talked about last week. If we can control our anger and keep from sinning in the midst of this intense emotion, we will succeed in keeping unity and peace with our brothers and sisters in Christ, and we will not give Satan a chance.

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Published on 3 Comments on Matthew 7:1-2 Judge Not

During a recent discussion on reasons for leaving the church, the subject of judging came up. Some think that people in the church are too judgemental, and others think that we need to stand up for our convictions. Doesn’t the Bible tell us to show a brother his fault? Then again, it also says, “Judge not”. (Matthew 7:1-2) How can we do both?

Matthew 18:15-17 says that if your brother sins, go and show him his fault when you are alone. Don’t make a public spectacle of the problem. If you can’t resolve it between the two of you, follow the steps in the rest of the passage, which may in fact end in separation. Let me be clear, this passage refers to relationships with fellow Christians, people who profess to believe essentially the same things that we do.

What about those who, in our view, are living a life of sin? We need to be very careful here, not to become too self-righteous. (Romans 12:3) We are all sinners (Romans 3:23) somewhere on the road between lost and being saved by grace. (Romans 3:24) This is where the passage in Matthew 7:1-2 comes in. Judge not, so that you won’t be judged. The measure of grace, or lack of it, that you use in judging others, will determine how others, and God, will judge you. The word translated as judge in this passage means to be critical and condemning; this is what we are to avoid. We are certainly called to be discerning, as the following verses indicate. Matthew 7:3-5 teaches that we need to examine ourselves first. Once we become aware of our own faults and have corrected them, we are in a place to be able to graciously help our brother, our fellow believer.

How then can we help non-believers to see the light? Not by criticism, but by love. John 13:34-35 indicates that they will know we are Christians by our love. I Peter 3:15-16 tells us to always be ready to give an answer for the hope that we have. Both those passages indicate to me that we need to build relationships with people who don’t believe the same things we do, so that we can share what we believe with people who are willing to listen to us, so that they too might share the hope that we have. If they reject our views, or our help, or us altogether, we need to leave them alone. Matthew 7:6 tells us not to throw our pearls before swine. Don’t give what is holy to someone who doesn’t know what to do with it and will only condemn it and then attack you. That would be a very good occasion to shake the dust off your feet. (Matthew 10:14)

What is our reason for pointing out others’ faults? Is it to make ourselves feel better about our own sins, because we haven’t done anything as bad as they have? Is it to lead them to the path of life, because we are sure from their actions that they aren’t on it? Only God truly knows a person’s heart, but even if they are on the wrong path, condemnation and criticism are not the right way to approach them. Whatever we do, we need to be very careful of our own actions and motives before we say that we are obeying what the Bible teaches.

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Published on 2 Comments on Psalm 86:11-13 Regrets, I’ve had a few.

Sometimes we do things we regret. That was certainly the case for David before he wrote Psalm 86. In II Samuel 11 we read about David’s regrets…mistakes…sins—adultery, deception and conspiracy to murder. That’s a lot to feel bad about. So, when in Psalm 86:11 David prays that the Lord would teach him how to live, it is an earnest prayer. He wants to be wholeheartedly committed to God. The King James Version uses the term “unite my heart”. In the New International Version, David prays for an “undivided heart”. He realizes that if his heart isn’t entirely focused on God, he will go down the wrong path, but he also sees that he needs God’s help to do it. He knows that what is impossible for humans is possible for God. (Luke 18:27)

His vow, in Psalm 86:12, to praise God forevermore, is also sincere. His reason is shown in Psalm 86:13. David knows that what he has done is deserving of death, but God in His great mercy has forgiven him. God is deserving of our praise simply because He is God, but His love and mercy toward David provided so much more motivation. David vowed not only to praise God, but to do it with enthusiasm, and to do it forever.

It is likely that most of the people reading this have not sinned to the same degree that David did in the case of Bathsheba and Uriah. But even the most noble among us are dependent on God’s grace to save us. We cannot save ourselves. (Ephesians 2:4-9) God wants us all to be completely devoted to Him. He wants us to ask for His help to live the way we should. He is ready and willing to give it, along with His grace, mercy, love and forgiveness. He has provided His Word so that we can learn more about His ways, but it takes commitment. We need to choose each day to put Him first, to praise Him and to give Him the glory.

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In my last post, August 1, 2011 I said that being filled with and led by the Holy Spirit would give us the tools we need to develop discernment. That made me think of Galatians 5:25. Being led by the Spirit, requires that we make a conscious choice to follow the Spirit. This should not be considered a burdensome task, but part of the freedom of living for Christ. Let’s look at the context of this verse beginning today with Galatians 5:13-14.

Galatians 5:13 tells us that we were called to freedom; God never intended for us to be bound by religious legalism. But there is a wide span between legalism and lawlessness, and we should not use the freedom we have in Christ to indulge our sinful nature. Just as a rock climber needs a foothold to get to the next step, we provide a foothold to Satan if we give in to our sinful desires. Being free does not mean having no boundaries. A.T. Pierson has said:

True freedom is found only in obedience to proper restraint. A river finds liberty to flow, only between banks: without these it would only spread out into a slimy, stagnant pool. Planets, uncontrolled by law, would only bring wreck to themselves and to the universe. The same law which fences us in, fences others out; the restraints which regulate our liberty also insure and protect it. It is not control, but the right kind of control, and a cheerful obedience which make the free man.

Instead of using our freedom to indulge ourselves, we should use it to serve one another. We are of course expected to obey the laws of our land, (Romans 13:1) but we also need to obey the most important commandments of Christ, which are to love God with everything we have within us, and love others as we love ourselves. (Matthew 22:37-40) Love should be the motive and the result of all Christian behaviour.

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Sometimes we do things we regret.  That was certainly the case for David before he wrote Psalm 86.  In II Samuel 11 we read about David’s regrets…mistakes…sins—adultery, deception and conspiracy to murder.  That’s a lot to feel bad about.  So, when in Psalm 86:11 David prays that the Lord would teach him how to live, it is an earnest prayer.  He wants to be wholeheartedly committed to God.  The King James Version uses the term “unite my heart”.   In the New International Version, David prays for an “undivided heart”.  He realizes that if his heart isn’t entirely focused on God, he will go down the wrong path, but he also sees that he needs God’s help to do it.  He knows that what is impossible for humans is possible for God.  (Luke 18:27)

His vow, in Psalm 86:12, to praise God forevermore, is also sincere.  His reason is shown in Psalm 86:13.  David knows that what he has done is deserving of death, but God in His great mercy has forgiven him.  God is deserving of our praise simply because He is God, but His love and mercy toward David provided so much more motivation.  David vowed not only to praise God, but to do it with enthusiasm, and to do it forever.

It is likely that most of the people reading this have not sinned to the same degree that David did in the case of Bathsheba and Uriah.  But even the most noble among us are dependent on God’s grace to save us.  We cannot save ourselves.  (Ephesians 2:4-9)

God wants us all to be completely devoted to Him.  He wants us to ask for His help to live the way we should.  He is ready and willing to give it, along with His grace, mercy, love and forgiveness.  He has provided His Word so that we can learn more about His ways, but it takes commitment.  We need to choose each day to put Him first, to praise Him and to give Him the glory.