Sin and Spiritual Growth

The Pharisees were very concerned about maintaining their religious image, and they viewed themselves as learned experts and teachers.  They were very wary when Jesus appeared on the scene and seemed to undermine their legalistic norms they followed and imposed upon others.  Yet Jesus was not like other men, for He taught with authority and did miraculous signs that led even some Pharisees to conclude Jesus was sent from God.  When Nicodemus met with Jesus by night, he divulged this to Jesus personally.

What impresses me about Nicodemus is his willingness to be vulnerable and ask Jesus genuine questions to His face while others in his circle gathered behind closed doors to plot His murder.  They were weary of Jesus showing them up and dodging their accusations with wise answers, exposing their hypocrisy, calling them a brood of vipers, and comparing them to whitewashed tombs that appeared clean on the outside but were full of uncleanness within.  As the Light of the World, Jesus Christ directed the light of God's word they knew upon their own hearts and motives, and conviction gnawed at them.  They would not admit defeat or that they were even sinners:  they saw Jesus as the real problem to be eliminated, and their wicked hearts were hardened without repentance.

We had a pine tree removed from our backyard a couple months back, and it was not long after it was cut down before little pine shoots began sprouting throughout the turf.  At first I assumed these shoots were sprouting from seeds, but investigation revealed the pine tree had sent thick roots throughout the topsoil.  When this came to light, there were two options:  I could run the lawn mower over the grass and pine sprouts at once and preserve the lawn, or I needed to use a mattock to remove the roots which would pose an ongoing problem.  This would damage the lawn in places, but removing these roots was the key to a healthier lawn moving forward.  The envy, hatred and murder of the Pharisees was evidence of sin in their proud hearts, and they were like one who would rather mow the pine shoots in an attempt to preserve the appearance of a healthy lawn rather than remove the roots by repentance.

When evidence of our stubborn sinfulness reveals itself, we ought to be like Nicodemus who was vulnerable before the LORD Jesus concerning his ignorance by admitting and repenting of our sin.  Rather than merely apologising over the appearance of sin, we ought to dig down and examine our hearts so we might deal with the root problems that hide under an image of religious piety and maturity.  Leaders, teachers and people who have taken a clear stand for the truth can be uncomfortable to admit having ongoing sins and problems the LORD brings to light, but it would be better to rip up sin by the roots than to keep cutting the grass and pine shoots as if we are beyond the reach of sin.  Attempts to keep up appearances undermines maturity, and genuine repentance causes us to grow spiritually to be more like Jesus.