We discussed the adulterous woman who was caught in the act and brought to Jesus in our last post. The leaders brought this woman expecting to trap Jesus. He turned the tables on them and then extended mercy to the woman.
We’ve also seen that there is a vast difference between how God deals with people under the Old and New Testaments. It is amazing that the vast majority of Christians do not seem to understand this. On one side of their mouth they talk about Jesus forgiving their sins. On the other side they say that God’s judgement is being poured out because of our sin. This has confused many people!
We all have sin of one form or another in our lives. Sin deals with what we should not be doing. It also deals with what we should be doing.
Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
James 4:17
Sin includes the things that we should be doing. One minister we listen to refers to sin as a violation of the light received.
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it.
Ephesians 5:25
How many husbands do you know that have fulfilled this Scripture?
Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
Philippians 2:3
Do we always esteem other people over ourselves?
These are just two examples of things we should be doing and are not. James call each one sin.We know Paul exhorts us to love our wives as Christ loved the Church but do not always and we do not always put other people’s needs over our own.
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.
Romans 3:23
A person who feels as if they are able to live without sin is deceived.
We may live in a way that is holy compared to someone else but we will never be holier than God. The good news is that He will never give us what we deserve under the New Covenant. Our relationship with Him is based on who we are in Jesus and not on our own self effort.
People with a guilty conscious are living under the Law. Jesus came to free us from living under condemnation and guilt.
So if God is not the one who is causing bad things in our lives then why do they happen? There is one of two obvious answers that I’ve found:
- Satan is causing the destruction occurring in our lives
- Our disobedience and sin is opening the door for destruction in our lives
In most cases the problems that we face are most likely a combination of these. This puts personal responsibility on us. We live in a society and culture that does not want to make anyone responsible.
Sin is always a choice. God loves sinners equally with Christians. He does not make anyone sin but people will do everything possible to avoid taking choices for their sin. We were born with a sin nature but if you will receive Christ, you will receive a new nature!
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