Posted on 10/24/2005 9:10:02 AM PDT by The Ghost of FReepers Past
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Sin, and What to Do About It
On January 16, 2003, the space shuttle Columbia lifted off for what was supposed to be a routine flight. Shortly after lift-off a piece of insulating foam from the shuttle's external fuel tanks broke off and struck Columbia's left wing. This action was caught on video, but it was presumed that no serious damage had occurred. However, serious damage had occurred. The foam from the fuel tanks punctured the wing's thermal protection system.
The seriousness of the damage became evident when Columbia reentered the earth's atmosphere on February 1. The damaged wing was no longer protected from the extreme heat caused during reentry. The shuttle disintegrated in midair killing all seven astronauts. NASA's failure to correctly assess the damage prevented it from taking action that could have avoided the devastating results.
Mankind faces a similar but even more tragic situation. Shortly after creation, Adam sinned. With Adam as the head, the whole human race fell under God's condemnation. Sin now rules every unregenerate heart, and if it had its way, it would destroy and damn every soul.
What Does God Think About Your Sin?
Sin is abominable to God-He hates it (cf. Deuteronomy 12:31). Sin is contrary to His nature (Isaiah 6:3; 1 John 1:5). It stains the soul and degrades humanity's nobility. Scripture calls sin "filthiness" (Proverbs 30:12; Ezekiel 24:13; James 1:21) and likens it to a putrefying corpse-sinners are the tombs that contain stench and foulness (Matthew 23:27). The ultimate penalty-death-is the consequence of sin (Ezekiel 18:4, 20; Romans 6:3). The human race is in bad shape.
God wants you to understand how bad sin is and how terrifying its consequences are. You dare not take sin lightly or dismiss your own guilt frivolously. Quite the contrary-you should hate sin.
But sin tempts the best of saints, and even the godliest among us commit sin. David was a man who followed after God with all his heart (1 Kings 14:8); and yet he entered into temptation and committed unimaginable sin-adultery, deception, betrayal, and murder. And until God confronted David through the prophet Nathan, David denied his sin. That's the natural tendency of every fallen sinner.
What Do You Think About Your Sin? Like the rest of fallen humanity, your denial of sin falls into three general categories: you seek to cover it up, you try to justify yourself, and, most often, you are oblivious to your sin.
First, you try to cover up. That's what King David tried to do when he sinned against Uriah. He had committed adultery with Uriah's wife, Bathsheba. When she became pregnant, David first plotted to make it seem as if Uriah was the father of the baby (2 Samuel 11:5-13). When that didn't work, he schemed to have Uriah killed (vv. 14-17). That only compounded his sin.
For all the months of Bathsheba's pregnancy, David continued to cover his sin (2 Samuel 11:27). Later, when David repented, he confessed, "When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer" (Psalm 32:3-4).
Second, you attempt to justify yourself. Adam blamed Eve, whom he described as "the woman whom You gave to be with me" (Genesis 3:12, emphasis added). In blaming Eve, Adam was blaming God too. God, he reasoned, was responsible for the woman who victimized him.
You also try to excuse your wrongdoing by saying it's someone else's fault. Or you argue that you have a valid reason for sin. You convince yourself that it's OK to return evil for evil (cf. Proverbs 24:29; 1 Thessalonians 5:15; 1 Peter 3:9). You can call sin a sickness, a mental condition, or a hormone imbalance; you can excuse yourself as a victim; you can even deny what you've done is really wrong. Your sinful heart is endlessly creative in finding ways to justify its own evil.
Third, you can be oblivious to your own sin. Whether in ignorance or presumption, you sin, and you sin often. That's why David prayed, "Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults. Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins" (Psalm 19:12-13). It's those "hidden faults" that God sees in plain daylight, and they are just as offensive to Him as the "presumptuous sins." Because sin is so pervasive, you naturally tend to be insensitive to your own sin, just as a skunk is impervious to its own odor.
What Are You Going to Do About Your Sin?
As a sinner, you cannot improve your own condition. Jeremiah 13:23 says, "Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? Then you also can do good who are accustomed to doing evil." Your tears and sorrow can't atone for your sin. Your "good" deeds can't make amends for your wrong against God. Your prayers and personal devotion can't soften your guilt or cover it in any way.
And don't buy into the erroneous concept of purgatory-the fires of hell over a million lifetimes could never purify the soul from its own corruption or atone for its own sin. If you are looking for a do-it-yourself solution to the problem of sin, you only shackle yourself all the more securely to your guilt.
But there has to be a solution to our problem; there must be a way God can satisfy His perfect righteousness and still display His rich mercy toward sinners. I'm delighted to tell you that there is a solution to the human sin problem-it's called the Gospel. The cross of Christ provided the way to God by enabling the only acceptable Sacrifice to atone for human sin once for all.
Our Lord, the sinless One, was the Lamb of God offered as a perfect sacrifice for sin (John 1:29)-it was the very purpose for which He came. "You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin" (1 John 3:5). Isaiah prophesied, "Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried…He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him" (Isaiah 53:4-5, emphasis added).
Jesus Christ "offered Himself without blemish to God" to cleanse our consciences (Hebrews 9:14). He paid the penalty to the fullest on our behalf. All the sins of everyone who believes are imputed to Christ, and He died for them. Jesus then rose from the dead to declare His victory over sin and death-"[He] was delivered up because or our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification" (Romans 4:25).
Furthermore, God reckons all believers righteous in Christ-He accounts Christ's righteousness to the believer. That's the truth taught in 2 Corinthians 5:21: "[God] made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."
God redeems those who believe and makes them new creatures (2 Corinthians 5:17). If you are a believer, you know what I'm talking about. God gave you an entirely new nature, including a love for righteousness and hatred for sin.
If you're unsure of your salvation, reading this should bring you to the point of despair. What can you possibly do to change your hopeless condition? Nothing. You are utterly dependent on God's mercy. But if the cry of your heart is something akin to that of the Philippian jailer who said, "What must I do to be saved?" (Acts 16:30), take heart-the Spirit of God is already working in you! Here is Jesus' clear and concise command to the troubled sinner: "Repent and believe in the gospel" (Mark 1:15).
To repent is to "turn away from all your transgressions" (Ezekiel 18:30). It means confessing and forsaking your iniquities (Proverbs 28:13), and completely hating your sin (2 Corinthians 7:11). If repentance stresses turning away from sin and self, believing emphasizes what to turn toward-"Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved" (Acts 16:31).
You can't lay hold of Christ while still clinging to your sin. Unless you pry your heart from the passing pleasures of sin, you'll never see God. God's salvation from the flames of an eternal hell involves a glorious liberation from the control of sin.
That's good news! You can be set free from sin's dominion of your life. Take hold of Christ, and take this gospel offer seriously. It may be your last opportunity!
Adapted from The Vanishing Conscience © 1995 by John MacArthur. All rights reserved.
• Grace to You (Friday, September 23, 2005)
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Not so. Faith is the way to heaven. We are saved by grace through faith. The only "repentance" mentioned in Acts and beyond is a "repentance" concerning the person's belief about the Person of Jesus Christ, in other words, is He who He really says He is, reagarding His Messiahship and unique salvation.
But if you misinterpret this "repentance" as departing from sin, then how do you know when you've departed enough to be "saved"? Did you sin at all today? Will you tomorrow? Will you a split second before you die? It's ludicrous and ridiculous. Repentance is not departing from sin. We're saved by grace through faith, and NOTHING more. Upon the sacrifice of Jesus once and for all do I stand, with NOTHING of my own
Anyway I've been down this avenue on FR religion threads many times, so I won't get much into it. Just what I know in my experience and reading of the Word
Let's just take Revelation alone. You should get a good idea about how non-repentance will hold up before God in Revelation, don't you think?
Revelation 2:5 'Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place--unless you repent. Revelation 2:4-6 (in Context) Revelation 2 (Whole Chapter) Revelation 2:16 'Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth. Revelation 2:15-17 (in Context) Revelation 2 (Whole Chapter)
Revelation 2:21 ' I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her immorality. Revelation 2:20-22 (in Context) Revelation 2 (Whole Chapter)
Revelation 2:22 'Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds.
Revelation 2:21-23 (in Context) Revelation 2 (Whole Chapter)
Revelation 3:3 'So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you. Revelation 3:2-4 (in Context) Revelation 3 (Whole Chapter)
Revelation 3:19 ' Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. Revelation 3:18-20 (in Context) Revelation 3 (Whole Chapter)
Revelation 9:20 The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk; Revelation 9:19-21 (in Context) Revelation 9 (Whole Chapter)
Revelation 9:21 and they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts. Revelation 9:20-22 (in Context) Revelation 9 (Whole Chapter)
Revelation 16:9 Men were scorched with fierce heat; and they blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues, and they did not repent so as to give Him glory.
Revelation 16:8-10 (in Context) Revelation 16 (Whole Chapter)
Revelation 16:11 and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores; and they did not repent of their deeds.
This is the problem with some Protestant theology. You bring up a good point that proves this viewpoint incorrect - for the punishment of sin is eternal damnation...Christ certainly is not in Hell. The Atonement is NOT punitive! Christ is a sin-offering, a propitiation. He satisfies the Almighty Justice of the Father. He offered Himself, He was not punished! He offered His sufferings to open the gates of heaven POTENTIALLY to individual men. This is called vicarious suffering - suffering for the sake of others. Yet, individual men may choose not to accept this sin offering that was made on their behalf. Thus, they cast themselves into a status of eternal separation from God.
God has opened the gate, but He doesn't force us into heaven.
Regards
You're absolutley right...faith is the only way to slavation.
In answering the question "Sin, and What to Do About it," I would say we are admonished to repent wouldn't you. (not that our salvation is dependant upon repentance.)
One aspect we must accept to know God is, God hates sin. How can you have faith in God without accepting your sinfulness, wanting to have that sinfulness removed, and becoming born again a new creature in Christ. That is what faith is about.
Is it your opinion that just because you believe that Jesus (God) is a reality, you are saved? I think one must also realize that, "I am a sinner...I need Christ to save me." To continue practicing your sins is an abomination.
To me the meaning of repentance is to "turn from sin." Does that mean we will never sin again? No - and our salvation is NOT based on perfect performance, but based on the heart decision to hate sin and turn away from "wanting" to commit sin.
Slavation = Salvation.
That was no Fruedian slip - just bad typing.
Oh I sin all the time. Pride is the biggest temptation I have and it can manifest in so many ways. I realize it's a sin...I want to do better. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. It doesn't interrupt my salvation.
When I accepted Christ atonement, when I truly recognized my sin and the horror of it...how dispicable it is to God. It made me perfect in His sight....it did not make my actions perfect (and he knows that, thus the sacrifice of his son.) I think the recognition - turning from - is the meaning of repentance. Repentance I think happens once and if you are truly born again it stays.
Now if, for example, you believe in God as a creator and ultimate power, without also believing he hates sin, then you might presume there needs to be no effort on your part...that you can go on with your sinful practices since it doesn't matter anyway. This would indicate to me, that you have NOT been born again...you're not humbled and perfect in Christ. It would be an indication that you think you are the one in power because you can fool people, you can fool God.
Accepting your fallibility isn't the same as flaunting your sin....do you see the difference...repentance is a heart matter, thinking it's okay to sin means your damned. Recognizing you will sin and that you need Christ means you're saved. It's a small difference...but it makes all the difference IMHO.
Uttterly ridiculous. Christ doesn't call for a one-time declaration of "repentance" that does not take into account our future ongoing conversion. Only those who obey the will of the Father will enter heaven, not those who say "Lord, Lord" (Mat 7:21). Recognizing Christ's Passion and Death and its meaning for us DOES NOT necessarily instill within us repentence. Clearly, if one repents of sin in 1990 has little effect on whether you will continue this walk. Proof? Consider Judas Iscariot. Did he not accept Jesus as his Lord and savior and repent from his sins? Wasn't he sent out with power and authority to heal in Christ's name? And yet, what happened to him? Eternal salvation is not guaranteed to anyone. Even your own concept ("This would indicate to me, that you have NOT been born again") precludes this. How do YOU know YOU are not going to become one of those who "really wasn't born again"? So much for the guarantee of eternal salvation...
And finally, NO ONE is perfect in God's sight on this earth! Just because you think that Christ died for your sins doesn't make you pleasing to God!
Recognizing you will sin and that you need Christ means you're saved.
"Saved" means to be healed, also. It doesn't ONLY mean to receive eternal salvation. Recognition of sin doesn't mean we are healed. Repentance and conversion is our indication that we are healed. What's the point of recognition if you don't intend to change?
Regards
Isn't this exactly what I said? I recognize that I'm not the most erudite person here on the religion thread, but I think if you read my post again you'll find that we agree.
This is what I posted...."Accepting your fallibility isn't the same as flaunting your sin....do you see the difference...repentance is a heart matter, thinking it's okay to sin means your damned."
Regards
I liked your statement about constant conversion....because it IS a process.
I think we agree if someone says "I sin, so what?" then Houston we have a problem!
Roger that!
Regards
These are the issues that are NEVER answered by your type. You can cut/paste verses, but you can't apply them. Answer these types of questions. If you can't, then you're just a fear monger, trying to get everyone to "repent", in some way that you yourself CAN'T.
and our salvation is NOT based on perfect performance, but based on the heart decision to hate sin and turn away from "wanting" to commit sin.
That sounds noble, but in reality, it is NOWHERE in the Bible that I must have such a perfect way of seeing things, to be saved. In reality, you have it backwards. I am saved ONLY by faith in Christ. During my life, He shows me the errors and tragedy of a life of sin, and that drives me to hate sin, but I wasn't saved by that hate of sin. I was saved ONLY by His precious death and resurrection from the dead.
To add ANYTHING, no matter how "noble" it sounds, is to cheapen His precious work for salvation.
When I accepted Christ atonement, when I truly recognized my sin and the horror of it...how dispicable it is to God. It made me perfect in His sight....it did not make my actions perfect (and he knows that, thus the sacrifice of his son.) I think the recognition - turning from - is the meaning of repentance. Repentance I think happens once and if you are truly born again it stays.....
........that you can go on with your sinful practices since it doesn't matter anyway. This would indicate to me, that you have NOT been born again...you're not humbled and perfect in Christ.
I don't see how my statement taken in a whole disagrees with yours. I was talking about repentance not salvation.
Man, you people are tough...you twist what's been said into some semblance of something you can argue with. Good luck with that!
Mormons have faith in Christ. They believe he was a type of God and have FAITH that he was born to atone for our sins and give us the gift of resurrection.
But believing in Jesus Christ is not quite the same for Mormons as for the rest of Christians. Now....justify your statement to me that faith is all you need.
I agree with you on MacArthur. I started listening to him around 1995 or so. I had a second job and it took me a half hour to drive home and he was on the radio at 10pm so listening to him made the drive that much better. I think his main problem with the reliogious/political activism is that the churches (left and right) that are involved in this usually pound on the sins that they don't do. For example, a church might preach against homosexuality but may not preach to much against divorce (don't want to make our top donor CEO's and the 3rd trophy wives upset now do we. lol). Also I get the impression his church has seen many homosexuals repent of their sins and left homosexuality and become christians. Maybe he feels that would not have happened if he had been heanily involved in politics.
Hmmmmmmmmm, as I said, good luck with that.
Jesus said, "love one another." and "Judge not that ye be not judged...."
Sin means "missing the mark." Which we all do, ALL of us...an alcoholic is in no worse position than the rest. Why do you continue to use him as an example?
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