Is This Sin?

I have been reading Jerry Bridge's classic, The Pursuit of Holiness.  It is a mix of education, edification, and exhortation bound together to encourage believers to fulfill our responsibility to walk in holiness before God and men.  The book contains a little formula which sums up my convictions very well in the way we define sin personally, sins not clearly described in scripture.  We have likely all struggled whether a certain attitude, thought, or action was sinful.  So often we find that even though something is not sinful in itself, that harmless thing for one person can be a enslaving idol to another.  Until we are convinced we are in sin we likely will not cease from sinning!  How can we tell right from wrong?  God does not leave us to our own philosophy or opinions, but clearly lays guidelines before us to follow as led by the Holy Spirit.

On page 91 of the book (which I recommend purchasing and reading entirely yourself!), four questions are posed to aid us when dealing with morally neutral activities or to reveal sin we justify.  I find my flesh is opposed to my spirit.  When there is a conflict within me, it is almost always the flesh warring against the Spirit of God for authority.  We like to have clear boundaries laid out and find some comfort in going back under the Law.  But now we are ruled by the Holy Spirit of God who dwells within us, and it is He who brings conviction of sin.  He holds us to a far higher standard than the Law of Moses ever could.  His rule is not only over actions, but the thoughts and attitudes of our hearts.

The first two questions we must ask ourselves are taken from 1 Corinthians 6:12:  "All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any."  Question 1:  Is this activity helpful and beneficial for my physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional well-being?  Question 2:  Does this activity bring me under its power?  Paul refused to be brought under the power of anything but Jesus Christ.  The next question comes out of 1 Corinthians 8:13:  "Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble."  We must resolve to love others as Christ loves us, and give them greater consideration than our own flesh.  Question 3:  Does this activity or attitude have the potential to hurt others or cause them to stumble in faith?  The fourth question is derived from 1 Corinthians 10:31:  "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."  Question 4:  Does this activity or thinking glorify God?  If we are willing to honestly ask the Holy Spirit to lead us in answering these questions, we will know the answer whether we like it or not.

Our intellect can be a great enemy of the convicting power of the Spirit.  When He puts His finger upon something wrong, we will think of many Christians or leaders in the church who do these same things and think, "Why must I be deprived?"  Our minds rush to judge others when God points out our sin.  We reluctantly and angrily obey God, gritting our teeth to hand over our sins.  We can be like Moses and Zipporah, who were negligent to obey God in circumcising one of their sons.  These are three very interesting verses of scripture not often spoken of.  Exodus 4:24-26 reads "And it came to pass on the way, at the encampment, that the LORD met him and sought to kill him. ²⁵ Then Zipporah took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it at Moses' feet, and said, "Surely you are a husband of blood to me!" ²⁶ So He let him go. Then she said, " You are a husband of blood!"--because of the circumcision."  God had told Moses to circumcise his son, but it seems because of his wife's negative attitude towards it he let it go.  Then God met him in the way to kill him!  God takes disobedience seriously!  Even then the circumcision was performed with much irritation and anger towards Moses.  Circumcision in this passage is not the point:  it is the simple matter of obedience.

There is no justification for us to willingly remain in sin because Christ's blood has been shed to atone and free us from slavery to sin.  We have been filled with the Spirit of God who convicts us of sin, righteousness, and judgment.  We are without excuse.  It is crucial that our lives reflect our desire to walk in holiness. Hebrews 12:14-16:  "Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: ¹⁵ looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; ¹⁶ lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright."  Sin has the power to defile, deceive, and destroy.  Let us heed God's Word and put sin far from us.  Sin doesn't affect just me.  We need not look further than Adam!  It is time to confess sin, forsake it, receive the forgiveness found only in Christ, and walk in this newness of life. 

Our Refuge and Strength

To the chief musician, by the sons of Korah "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. ² Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; ³ though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah"

Psalm 46:1-3

It is easy to lose proper perspective in this life when faced with troubling circumstances.  Like Peter who took his eyes off Jesus as he began to sink on the Sea of Galilee, we too can be overwhelmed by the difficulties which surround us.  Illness, depression, politics, relationships, anything and everything can cause us to lose heart.  But I love this passage in Psalm 46 because it brings us back to the right outlook.  God is our refuge no matter what!  Even if the earth is removed and the mountains cast into the sea, even if huge tsunamis devastate the coasts and earthquakes ravage the land, God remains our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

I find it ironic that the authors of this Psalm are the sons of Korah.  Do you recall in Numbers 16 when Korah, Dathan, and Abiram rebelled against Moses and God?  The composers of this Psalm were descendants of the same Korah.  He rebelled against the authority of Moses and God opened up the ground beneath these three, along with their possessions and families, and swallowed them up.  Yet God's grace is again revealed that not all of the children of Korah perished in His wrath.  God allowed a remnant even from a rebellious man to glorify Him with songs in the congregation.  The remaining sons of Korah were not prohibited from their roles serving God in the temple, and contributed beautiful words included in scripture inspired by God as seen in Psalm 46.  Even if the ground opened its mouth, even if the mountains were removed, God would be their refuge and help in trouble.

We all have to capacity to fear earthquakes, cataclysms, and unforeseen troubles.  Jesus tells us not to worry, for "Sufficient for the day is its own trouble" (Matt. 6:34).  It is amazing that even though the world be dissolved, we can remain unmoved upon the foundation of Jesus Christ.  The earth can shake, the waters can roar, and everything which seems secure in this can be ripped up and destroyed, and yet we can remain firm upon the promises of God.  It is for this reason Paul exhorts in 1 Corinthians 15:58:  "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."  Our world might be tearing apart at the seams, but we can remain steadfast and immovable in Jesus Christ.  That is good perspective!

When faced with trouble, our natural response is similar to Elijah's in 1 Kings 19:4:  "But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, "It is enough! Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!"  When faced with threats of defeat we allow ourselves to wallow in it.  We isolate ourselves, become self-focused, forget about God and His power to save as our Refuge, and ask to escape even if it means our death!  How true are those words:  we are no better than our fathers!  The disciples screamed at Christ when the waves were tempestuous, "Don't you care if we die?"  What was the issue?  Their faith!  The issues of this life will never end as long as we sojourn here, but Christ remains our Refuge, strength, and present help in trouble.  May we never forget this!  Instead of being caught up in fear when the world crashes down around us, let us look to Christ and take refuge in Him.

The Universal Everyday Holiday

I remember my dad reading from Norman Rockwell's Christmas Book when I was a kid.  One of the stories in the book is called "Christmas Every Day" by William Dean Howells.  A man tells his daughter a story about a little girl who wished every day was Christmas.  To her initial surprise and delight, her wish became true.  But it was not long before she was so tired of everything having to do with celebrating Christmas - the packages, food, and activities - that she wished it would never be Christmas again!  Everyone was sick from eating candy, turkeys were so scarce hummingbirds were being used as substitutes, people lost their tempers from the stress, and everyone was dirt poor.  The moral of the story is the conclusion that Christmas is very special because it is one day a year, and that is enough.  It is possible to have "too much a good thing."

As a believer and follower of Jesus Christ, it is possible to appreciate and thank God for Christ's coming to earth every day out of the year.  Real life does not have to be suspended for me to rejoice that Jesus came to mankind to seek and save the lost.  With how commercialized the holidays have become it would be unreasonable to "celebrate" them daily.  Today is "Thanksgiving" in the United States, and happy Thanksgiving to all my family and friends back home who will be gathering for a special meal, desserts, maybe some football, and prayers of thanksgiving to God for our country and all the blessings He has graciously bestowed upon us.  It is my personal favorite because it is a scriptural holiday that gives glory to God.  One of my pet-peeves is when people call Thanksgiving "Turkey Day."  Instead of focusing on giving God thanks, it places great value and emphasis on a stupid bird over the Creator of the universe.  That is something man excels at, worshiping the creature over the Creator.

Though the celebration of Thanksgiving in America is based upon the historical events of the Pilgrims and American Indian's first meal together and giving thanks to God, this is a holiday for all people for all time.  1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 reads, "Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray without ceasing, ¹⁸ in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."  When the cultural stuff is stripped away from  traditional celebration of Thanksgiving, the most basic elements are:  rejoicing, prayer, and thanksgiving.  This sums up Thanksgiving very well.  Psalm 118:1 says, "Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever." God always remains good, and His mercies are new every morning.  Whether we are poor or rich, whether Dallas beats the Saints, even if we have no one to share a meal with on Thanksgiving day, God deserves thanks.  When the Grinch stole all the Christmas presents from Who-ville Christmas came just the same.  We can have Thanksgiving without turkey, football, and pumpkin pie.  We should gave thanks to God for everything every day, every moment of the day.  That is the will of God for each of our lives.

Today and every day, may we give God thanks for His goodness and mercy toward us.  Take time to think over how wonderful God is and all He has done.  Let us rejoice with the Psalmist in Psalm 136:1-9, 23-26 (but read the whole passage if you can): "Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. ² Oh, give thanks to the God of gods! For His mercy endures forever. ³ Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords! For His mercy endures forever: ⁴ To Him who alone does great wonders, For His mercy endures forever; ⁵ To Him who by wisdom made the heavens, For His mercy endures forever; ⁶ To Him who laid out the earth above the waters, For His mercy endures forever; ⁷ To Him who made great lights, For His mercy endures forever--⁸ The sun to rule by day, For His mercy endures forever; ⁹ The moon and stars to rule by night, For His mercy endures forever...²³ Who remembered us in our lowly state, For His mercy endures forever; ²⁴ And rescued us from our enemies, For His mercy endures forever; ²⁵ Who gives food to all flesh, For His mercy endures forever. ²⁶ Oh, give thanks to the God of heaven! For His mercy endures forever."

The Big "If"

Small things can make a big difference.  When baking bread, cakes, or cookies, a small omission of salt or baking powder will make a tremendous impact on the outcome.  All the ingredients work together with the heat of the oven to rise properly and form the correct consistency.  One little teaspoon of salt missing from the batter can have disastrous results!

Little words in the English language have great power.  Take the word "all," for instance.  In three letters everything can be lumped together.  Every person in the world, every rock in the universe, every star in the heavens, every molecule and atom are included in "all" things.  Another huge word is "if" when used in a conditional sense.  Galatians 6:9 reads, "And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart."  The immediate context of the passage is teaching the principle of sowing and reaping:  if we sow to the flesh we will reap corruption, and if we sow to the Spirit we will reap life everlasting.  The passage above states that when we do good without growing weary we will reap IF we do not lose heart.  This reveals it is possible to do good and not reap benefits because we have given up.  The KJV version says, "...in due season we shall reap if we faint not."  Faint literally means "to relax."  When we stop laboring for God's glory and relax, we will backslide and lose ground.

How tragic to plant a big field of crops, tend the field, guard from pests and destructive animals, and lose heart before time to reap.  Much labor, time, and expense would be wasted if farmers relaxed during the reaping phase.  Farmers work from dark in the morning to dark in the evening to harvest their crops.  As we travel through this life following Jesus Christ, by His grace our lives will be transformed.  This is a process called sanctification in the Bible.  Every day we have the choice to sow to the flesh or sow to the Spirit.  We can invest ourselves in the temporal, perishing things of this life on earth or we can labor for the glory of God.  It is hard work to raise a field of crops, and it is also hard work to keep our lives clean from sinful influence.  Like leaves that continually blow into the pool, sinful thoughts and attitudes drift into our hearts and need constant removal.  Many people start the race, and far less people finish than begin.  Why?  Because they lose heart when faced with struggles, trials, and hard work.  They choose worldly relaxation instead of spiritual rest in Christ.

Instead of focusing on the negative - the big "if" in this passage - it would be fruitful for us to consider the positive.  When we do good and live for God, we will reap bountifully.  There is great reward for following Jesus Christ faithfully.  I know when I was little, I wanted instant results when I planted seeds in the ground.  Every day I would look at the bare earth where the seeds had been planted and wonder if they would ever grow!  After a few days or a week passed I wondered if it was really worth the effort of keeping the soil moist.  Maybe the seeds weren't growing!  Maybe it was all a waste of time!  But when good seed is planted in soft soil in the right conditions, it will grow and be fruitful.  Sometimes we labor to walk in obedience to God and wonder if the struggle is worth it.  God's Word is good seed, and though there may be little visible growth at times we can KNOW we will reap a great crop.  A lot of growth occurs unseen under the surface.  As we abide in the Vine Jesus Christ, we will be fruitful for His glory.

In this life we can grow weary, but we can be sustained by the power of the Holy Spirit so we will be strong to persevere.  Jonah 2:7 reads, "When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the LORD; And my prayer went up to You, into Your holy temple."  It took Jonah reaching his lowest point before he remembered the LORD and cried out to Him.  God delivered Jonah from the belly of the great fish, and God will deliver us from our apathy, foolishness, and vices when we seek Him.  Sometimes we can be lulled into thinking we are sufficient in ourselves.  We might see fruit forming in our field and think the time for hard work is over.  We must continue to wait on the LORD and sow to the Spirit so we will be able to reap for God's increase.  When our hearts are devoted to God and the performance of this will, our hearts are guarded from pride and sin.  We will reap, if we faint not!