| | The Trouble with Sin...Most people in today's culture have addressed sin as a "right vs wrong," rule-based black-and-white system that governs what they should and should not do. Sin, by its very definition, is an ACTION-related condition. The etymology of the word traces its origins to archery - to "sin" was literally to "miss the mark" in a field of archery. And so "sinning" is failing to hit the bullseye, so to speak. Failing to meet a certain condition - to achieve perfection. Thus when we talk about sin, by necessity we talk about ACTIONS. What we DO in relation to the Holiness of God. Originally, as in the garden of Eden, this was simply an understood condition - love God and obey His commands. But it wasn't about rules. God had set up for Adam and Eve the perfect life, and He knew exactly what they needed to have the fullness of joy and pleasure. We all know what happened though - they chose their own way over God's. And I am going to submit that THEREIN lies the definition of sin. It is simply this: God has a perfect will for our lives - if at any point we choose our own will over His perfect will, it is sin, and it takes many forms. This more-or-less abstract idea didn't really work for the first generations of men, however. As the years went on, people began to become numb to the LOVE of God and unaware that their lives did not meet the standard that God wanted them to live at. That was the basis of the Law of Moses - the Ten Commandments, the system of rules handed down to us by God himself, so that people would become aware that they are living for themselves and not for God.
"The law was added so that the trespass might increase..."- Romans 5:20a And this is where Jesus comes in. The Law became a burden unbearable to God's people, because now they were not living in ignorance their separation from God. If there is no standard, you don't know you're breaking it. But as soon as there is a standard, it becomes impossible to follow. And indeed, the Law is impossible to follow. God imposed on the Israelites an impossible metre, only to show them that they can NOT merit God's favor by DOING. SIN is created in DOING. The ACTION - or rather, CONDITION, since the opposing remedy is impossible - creates sin. See where I'm going with this? "...But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." - Romans 5:20b-21 God offered GRACE through Jesus' death on the cross. You all know the story - God lifted the burden of sin and death, the impossible measure, by offering a free gift of grace through the ULTIMATE ACTION - the sacrifice of Jesus, the anti-sin - the ultimate example of obedience to the will of God, and the opposite of every action ever committed against the will of God. And so the lives of God's people no longer focused on DOING, but on GRACE. Paul (and others) talk extensively in the New Testament about the question of GRACE vs LAW, and therein lies the fundamental paradox of the Gospel. We are given GRACE freely by God - but simultaneously we are held to the impossible standard.
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished." - Matthew 5:17-18 Jesus' call to the disciples was to take up their crosses - to die to their desires - and to follow Him. To do just as He did. Jesus, the embodiment of grace, took the Law and cranked it up a notch - where adultery used to be an action, He made it a heart condition (see Matt 5:28, and surrounding verses). Where eating food used to defile someone, Jesus pointed out that impurity comes from within a person's heart (see Mark 7:20-23). He took all the ACTIONS of the Law and drove them to a deeper level. Jesus made the point clear that being righteous isn't about obeying a system of rules - although unrighteousness is made abundantly apparent by the law, righteousness does not come by means of it - being righteous comes from loving God, and from submitting your own will to the will of the Father.
"...Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." - Matthew 22:36-40 Jesus makes the point right here that EVERYTHING - All the Law, the Prophets, the entire Foundation of the pursuit of God and of Righteousness that we endure - is founded upon loving God. Everything is based upon worship to God. Which begs the question, "What does it mean / what does it look like to love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind?" Jesus told His followers to sell all their possessions to the poor to follow Him (see Matt 19:21) - He told people to die to themselves every day (see Matt 10:38, Matt 16:24, Mark 8:34, Luke 9:23) - He told people to gouge out the eye that causes them to stumble (see Matt 5:29) - He told them to "Be Holy" and to "Be perfect" (see Matt 5:48, 1 Peter 1:16). What then do we do to follow Jesus? According to Jesus, what does it take to be called a "Christian?" What is the COST of DISCIPLESHIP? We call ourselves "Christians" - "Christ Ones," or "Little Christs." Following Jesus requires EVERYTHING of us. More than just ACTIONS, it requires our LIFE be forfeit to Christ and our WILL to submitted to His. SIN, therefore, should never be the focus, because then we are concerned with ACTIONS. Right and Wrong, therefore, should never be the focus, because then we are concerned with ACTIONS. Jesus always ponited back to our HEARTS. Where is your heart? Are you submitted in every part of your life to God? Are you holding anything back? Of the things that you hold back from God, He will only ask you to give up to Him what is not offered freely - so my advice would be to offer freely everything while you can. We have a very unique opportunity here on earth to worship God of our own free wills while the have the ability not to. In heaven, we will be worshipping for eternity without an alternative; here on earth, the worship is so much sweeter because it comes out of sacrifice, a humble spirit, a contrite heart, and a life abandoned and given up freely to God. Only here, knowing that the Law is fulfilled under the grace offered by Christ with the understanding of the Cost of Discipleship, can we asses what in our lives pleases the heart of God, and waht in our lives that He grieves. Let your LIFE be worship - let it be a fragrant offering, a sacrifice of praise out of the thanksgiving of your heart for the salvation that has come through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. - Romans 12:1
But seek first His kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. - Matt 6:33 |
