Wednesday, February 17, 2010

The Wages Of Sin

Sin is not a popular subject to write about, even in Christian circles. In fact if you even mention the topic you are in danger of being seen as judgmental, pharisaical, or even prejudiced. After all, isn’t sin a matter of one’s private convictions? Can anything be considered wrong if it is private and doesn’t hurt others?

However, contrary to the conventional wisdom of today’s society, sin is real and is something to be concerned about. The reason for this concern is that God hates sin so much that He sent His son to die on a Cross at Calvary so that the eternal consequences and the power of sin would be broken. If this is a matter so important to God it ought to be so to us.

The difficulty in writing about sin is that we all have our own definitions as to what it is. Most Christians have lists of things they consider to be sins. These lists all too often come from what men say rather than the Word of God. The Bible mentions both sin, meaning our sin nature and transgressions which are acts against the will of God. Both ideas are important as we consider what sin is.

Genesis 3 gives the account of how sin came into the human race. The serpent told Eve: “For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5). In other words, Adam and Eve were told that they would be their own gods if they were to do that which God forbade. We have all done the same thing by seeking our own wills over that of God. We all have sought our way over God’s way. We have all come short of the glory of God and are needy of God’s free gift of salvation through the Blood of His Son (Romans 3:23; 6:23, John 3:16) Forgiveness comes as we receive the Gospel (I Corinthians 15:1-5) by receiving God’s Son (John 1:12).

However, Paul introduces an interesting question in Romans 6 that goes something like this: “If we are saved by grace, i.e., God’s favor alone, why not keep on doing what we have been. After all we are forgiven, aren’t we?” Such thinking is prevalent in Christian circles today as more and more activities once considered as sin are accepted as normal Christian behavior. Paul’s reaction to such a statement could not have been stronger. “God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” (Romans 6:2). Reading further we realize that Paul is telling us that we ought not to continue in sin because it keeps us in bondage, and Christ died to free us from that bondage.

Perhaps the most compelling reason to avoid sin is found in verse 23: “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Sin destroys. Sin causes destruction to ourselves and others. While God has forgiven, consequences remain to ourselves and those around us. Jesus died so we do not have to suffer those consequences, so why continues to disobey God bringing upon us hurts, pains, and destruction, God wants us to miss?

Next comes the difficulty in deciding what constitutes sin. However, going by the definition presented above, sin is anything outside the will of God. While some like to limit this to the Ten Commandments, the Bible gives so much more direction than that. Actions alone are not sin, but even ungodly attitudes (see Galatians 5:19-21). In actuality, it is not hard to find God’s will if one is willing to accept it from His Word.

The difficulty in defining sin is when we try to reconcile what God’s Word says about it with what the world around us says. We are told; “as long as it is two consenting adults”, “it’s just that he or she was made that way”, or “science says…” Make no mistake, what God’s Word says is true and men are the liars. Harsh? Maybe, but this is not something with which we ought to mess around. Sin destroys our relationship with God and men.

“But,” you say, “Doesn’t the Bible say we are not to judge others?” (Matthew 7:1) This verse refers to condemning others according to our manmade standards. Consider Galatians 6:1: Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted”. Here we are told it is our business to help other Christians who are caught up in the bonds of sin so they can avoid those things that will cause destruction to their lives. However, our attitude must be one of helping in the spirit of humility, not with one of condemnation.

What about the unsaved who are practicing sin? Note this, the reason people go to Hell is not the fact they are doing what they are doing, but rather because they do not have Christ as their Savior. It is better to talk about the need of a Savior than emphasizing a particular sin because all sin leads to Hell. We are the ones who quantify things by saying a person who does such and such cannot go to heaven. The truth is all sin would disqualify us from heaven if it were not for the Blood of Jesus Christ. We would do better to speak the Gospel and allow the conviction to the Holy Spirit.

Remember God hates sin so much but loved us even while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). So should we continue in sin? Certainly not. Should we ignore it? In no way! However we are not to set some manmade list as our standard. Instead go to the Word of God to see what He has to say and be willing to accept His Word when it conflicts with our own desires. Only in this way can have the freedom from the bondage Jesus died to secure for us.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

The State of The Church

The last of the seven churches mentioned in the book of Revelation was the Laodicean Church, a lukewarm church repugnant to God. This church, according to many Bible teachers, is the one that represents the prevailing condition of the Christian Church at the return of Jesus Christ. It follows then, that there has been, and continues to be, much concern over the state of organized Christianity in our present times. Are we becoming lukewarm, hindered in our attempts to spread the Gospel because we have slipped into dead orthodoxy and are unwilling to take stands concerning God's Truth for fear of offending anyone? And consequently, has organized Christianity become ineffective?

With the assumption that organized Christianity is broken and ineffective, many teachers are giving their ideas how to fix it. The head of one Christian radio network has declared that the organized local church is no longer operating under God's blessing and suggests that believers come out of all local churches to be taught in other types of fellowships. However, the prevailing thought seems to be that we need to fix the local church, not abandon it. Methods, practices, and teachings have all come under scrutiny as a cure for malaise in the local church is sought. Churches that have experienced growth in recent days are receiving much attention as others seek the secret to throwing off ineffectiveness. The methods and practices of growing churches are imitated with the hopes of achieving the same results elsewhere. The goal seems to be to bring in excitement with a willingness to try any new thing in the attempt to throw off what is considered to be dead orthodoxy.

However, is all orthodoxy dead? Certainly not. While there are indeed historically orthodox practices, methods and even teachings that are inappropriate in this current era, not all are. We need to be careful that in our attempt to fix the local church's problems we don't bring in new ones by abandoning historical practices and principles that are biblically based and replacing them with practices and principles that are non-biblical. The question ought not to be, "How can we grow" but rather, "How can we be more like the Philadelphian Church?" The Philadelphian Church, also described in the Book of Revelation, was a church faithfully giving out the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Gospel is what needs to be of supreme importance to us. Only by concentrating on the Gospel, can we fulfill what God has intended for us, and avoid the pitfalls that come from seeking man's methods over God's methods.
We must examine the source of the methods we are seeking to imitate. Are these methods truly of God? Numbers of excited people attending religious gatherings ought not to be the test we should be giving. Genuine conversions are. Many strange practices and teachings have been brought into churches historically known for their preaching of the Gospel. The doctrines of Eternal Security, the Pre-Tribulation Rapture and even the Sufficiency of Christ, all of which were once strongly held in Gospel preaching, soul-winning churches, are being rejected. In their place, the Gospel is being toned down in an attempt to make the church more seeker friendly. In some cases, Salvation is offered without repentance, and in other cases, Godhood is offered to those who have enough faith. Methods and teachings are being accepted without an examination as to the Gospel that is being taught.
The book of II Peter warns of false teachers who would come to teach a false Gospel. In chapter one of that epistle, Peter tells believers how to be prepared. He tells us in verses five through seven to build upon our faith in Christ, virtue, knowledge, temperance (self-control), patience (endurance), godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity (Godly love). It is by adding these qualities to our lives (through the power of the Holy Spirit) we truly grow to know the God Who has saved us (II Peter 1:3-7). By knowing God by drawing close to Him in an intimate relationship with Him, we will be in a position to spot false teachers and false teachings.
In chapter two, Peter describes the basic characteristic of false teachers, stating that they deny "the Lord that bought them" (II Peter 2:1). Consequently, the first question we ought to have when it comes to any teacher or ministry is what is said about Jesus Christ. Is the Christ presented, the unique Lord over all Creation as presented in Scripture? Or is He a Christ that man can some how become the same as? Is it being taught that the sacrifice that was at Calvary was sufficient for our salvation? Or is it being taught that our sin was only partially paid for on the Cross and Jesus had to be tortured elsewhere, or that we need to have to finish the work? Is it even being taught that we are sinners in need of being bought from the market place of sin? While it is not wrong to question methods and practices in the local church, we must be careful not to replace them with anything that is contrary to, or that will distract from, the simple Truth of the Gospel, that Jesus Christ, died on the Cross for our sins and rose again (I Corinthians 15:1-5).
In conclusion, I just want to state that the Gospel preaching, soul-winning local church is not dead. Many are faithfully rightly dividing the Word of Truth. We don't all follow the same methods, practices and programs, but if we continue to look to God and let Him be our lead, He will bring the results. Let us be faithful.