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I'm Sinful
But I'll Get Over It
Christians
are frequently given grief over the fact that they still sin on occasion.
Unbelievers will look at a believer who has tripped up and say smugly,
"You’re no better than we are!"
They couldn’t be more wrong.
There is a profound difference
between a Christian who sins and a non-Christian immersed in sin. The
non-Christian has no recourse for forgiveness from sins since sinfulness is
completely natural to them. What do they need forgiveness for? They don’t
believe they need. They also deny hell, the consequence of their sin.
For the Christian, it’s very
different. Sin is not a way of life for a Christian, but a point of resistance.
Sin sometimes gets the best of the Christian, but the Christian has immediate
recourse through the blood of Jesus. Forgiveness is only a confession away (1
John 1:10).
Let’s try an analogy.
A glutton is someone who eats
continually. To them, all food is good food. Over time, the glutton’s body will
fail as the pounds and fat builds up. Eventually, the glutton’s way of life will
kill him. Just skipping a meal now and then is meaningless to the glutton. The
value of such an act is negligible. Without drastic intervention, there is no
recourse for the glutton as far as his health is concerned. And, if he is true
to his gluttony, he does not see the need for any change in his lifestyle.
A person who believes in eating
right and being healthy takes an entirely different view toward food. Food is a
necessity, but not a bondage. The healthy person recognizes the need for eating
a variety of good foods in moderate amounts. However, even healthy people can
have cravings. They may really like fries a lot and have to resist the urge to
pig out. Or, they may have a sweet tooth that, once they begin to indulge, they
find it difficult to stop. In other words, the healthy person may, in a moment
of stress or weakness, give into their urge and behave for a time like a
glutton. But that does not make them a glutton. Not even close.
When the moment of weakness
passes, the healthy person realizes the mistake and takes steps to counteract
their indulgence. They’ll diet for a few days and exercise a little more. As a
result, their health will not necessarily suffer. Further, in each moment of
failure, the healthy person learns a little bit more about themselves and their
vulnerabilities. They become stronger and healthier over time as they continue
to resist occasional acts of gluttony as they seek to live a healthy life.
So it is with the Christian. Each
time a Christian trips up, gives up, ‘fesses up, and gets up, they become
stronger and more appreciative of God’s mercy.
It takes a lot of courage to have
sinned and walked away from it. Especially if the sinful behavior is something
others decide is especially egregious. Those who have struggled with drug
addiction, sexual sins, abusiveness, alcoholism, gambling, embezzlement, theft,
and the like, are often viewed with a degree of suspicion by others. Those who
have come out of these sins, and may even still battle against them, are very
brave people, especially when their sins are known to others.
It is far better to have been in
sin or to occasionally fall prey to sin, than to be completely entrenched in it.
Those who are truly wise and mature will be quick to discern the difference, and
will also know better than to point fingers or throw stones. After all, everyone
without exception has sinned (Romans 3:23, 1 John 1:10).
Even the best are affected by sin.
Before converting, Paul the Apostle was a murderer. Peter, a disciple of Christ,
vehemently swore and denied his association with Jesus. The woman at the well
had had five husbands and was living with another man she wasn't married to, yet
Jesus accepted her as she was without condemnation (John 4).
Martin Luther is said to have
proclaimed, "Sin and sin boldly!" What did he mean? He didn’t mean to go seeking
sin. Rather, as Christians, when we do sin, to boldly admit it, boldly confess
it, and boldly live through it, even when others fling stones and whispers at
us.
For those who persevere in the
struggle against sin, a life in an environment totally free of sin awaits. We
may be sinful, but in Christ, we’ll get over it (Revelation 22:14).
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