Sinning as Christians and Sanctification
In the previous post, I showed that Christians sin in one way or another, just like sinners or unbelievers sin. The sins may not be the same sins as unbelievers, but sin is sin. The only difference between believers and unbelievers is the forgiveness of those sins, because we have asked for Christ’s mercy. If we look closely at the scriptures, we find that every man, woman, and child sins in one form or another. The problem arises when Christians do not stay humble before their God and fellow man, realizing that they, too, continually sin, and thus need to continually ask God to forgive them and cover those sins with the Blood of Jesus Christ. Repentance is an ongoing process for a Christian trying to grow from a spiritual baby to a mature believer in Christ, trying to lay aside our natural carnal characteristics and put on the characteristics of Christ. It is a full-time job, and takes spending much time in prayer, reading, and studying His Word, and ‘asking’ for the help of the Holy Spirit to convict us when we displease our Lord, so that we can make it right with confession and obedience.
If we look at the church at Corinth, we find a group of ‘believers’ who are demonstrating all manner of carnal characteristics and sins that one would expect from unbelievers and the world.
The Corinthians seemed to have forgotten about sanctification, or setting themselves apart from the world. Sanctification is a two-fold operation. One part is done by the Holy Spirit, convicting us of what is right and what is wrong before the Lord, while reminding us of the coming Judgement. (John 16:8) The second part belongs to us individually, as we fear and honor our Lord by setting ourselves apart from that which displeases Him, and making sure we ask for the covering of His Blood to wash the stains from our wedding garments. (II Corinthians 7:1)
Even though they were believers, and a result of Paul’s ministry, there were divisions, incest, adultery, believers taking believers to court, and the misuse of liberty. There were questions about marriage, eating meat offered to idols, disorderly worship, spiritual gifts, and the resurrection. There was loyalty to different leaders, instead of loyalty to Christ as head of the church. Yet, these were believers in Christ!
The world looks at Christians and sees different sins they commit and justify themselves by calling them hypocrites. They have a valid point. Sin is sin; and we cannot judge unbeliever’s sins, while we are committing the same or similar sins. Jesus said to judge not lest we would be judged. This applies not only to His Judgement of us when we stand before Him, but to those who watch our lives to see if we measure up to what we preach.
Unfortunately, if we look closely at any given Christian, as posted previously, we will find ‘sin’ of some form or another; because we all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God. Believers, hopefully, should be asking for forgiveness and setting themselves apart by the power of the Holy Spirit, while unbelievers continue their sins, without forgiveness or changing their ways.
Paul wrote some pretty heavy things, trying to encourage the Corinthians to ‘separate themselves’ from that which displeases their Lord. He went so far as to say that the one who was sleeping with his father’s second wife, or stepmother, should be excommunicated from the church. This, in Paul’s thinking, was the same as turning this man over to the devil, so that he might learn to repent and be saved at the second coming of Christ.
Paul illustrates holiness by the Old Testament teaching that no yeast be allowed in the bread for the Passover. If the yeast is not removed, then the whole church would become infected by this man’s sin.
This is tough love, demonstrated in the Bible for pastors and parents in today’s permissive society, where ‘tolerance’ is demanded for any and every form of behavior that one would choose to engage in, no matter how much it offends the very nature of God!
All Christians sin. All Christians need to pray the Lord’s Prayer every day, which includes a plea for forgiveness, and a reminder that we need to stay humble in attitude before the only one who can forgive us, and provide for us, and protect us from evil in this world.
Sanctification involves the Holy Spirit convicting us of sin, of righteousness, and of the coming Judgement.
Sanctification also involves a choice: to yield our wills to the will of our Heavenly Father, and to the conviction of the Holy Spirit. If we choose to ignore the conviction in our hearts, then our hearts become hardened, and we reach a point where we no longer feel convicted. Paul calls this the scarring of our conscience. (I Timothy 4:2)
As with any scar tissue, the nerve endings are dulled and do not feel the pain any longer, as it once did. Our hearts or conscience can become like the scar on our bodies. No matter how loud the Holy Spirit screams, we can’t hear or feel His conviction like we once did. This is dangerous ground, for it allows us to continue in sin without abatement; and sin, sinned over and over again, becomes like cords that cannot be broken. (Proverbs 5:22)
Paul was not afraid of estranging this man for his sin, knowing that if his body was attacked by the devil in the world, and God used this as discipline, his spirit would be saved by being brought to repentance.
Could this be the main purpose of what is coming upon America and the world in the near future: God allowing the devil to have his way with the bodies of mankind, to discipline them for their lack of repentance, and bringing them to repentance and acknowledging their need of Him as their God and Savior? Multitudes are saved out of the tribulation, whereas, today, there are spots of revival here and there. Most of the churches have become like the Corinthians, while the pastors allow the yeast to spread freely throughout the body of Christ for fear of offending anyone, and in the name of ‘Tolerance’!
So the next time you look at yourself in the mirror, ask God to help you to be thankful, with a humble spirit. The next time you see another Christian do something wrong, be quick to give them latitude and forgiveness, without judgement, while at the same time firmly reminding them of what the Scripture says about their behavior. The next time you hear a sinner call a Christian a hypocrite, pray for them, asking God to open their eyes to understand the Truth that is in Christ alone as the only sinless one.
Christians sin just like sinners. Christians need to grow up in the family of God just like a child does in the natural family. That takes a child at least 18 years; and some children never mature beyond their teens, even when they are in their 40’s and 50’s. Christian babies take a full lifetime to grow from being Born Again to being ready to stand before their Creator at death’s door. Love covers a multitude of sin, while the Word is a double-edged sword, dividing the soul from the spirit and separating the very joints and marrow of the body. Love has to be tough sometimes to be effective. Just ask any drug addict who has been delivered from their addiction. Fortunately, God knows how to administer love in firmness and judgement, and in gentleness and mercy, depending on how scarred and marred the vessel is in His hands. He is the great Potter, and sometimes has to squash the vessel completely to be able to make another vessel fit for His use. (Jeremiah 18:4)
Are we able to watch Him do His work in the lives of those we love, even when His ways seem tough?