I Sin Every Day!

"I sin every day in thought, word, and deed." The very words made me cringe. The person who said these words to me was not really bragging about their sin, just merely trying to be factual about their own spiritual experience.

Why I don't think real Christians sin every day in thought, word, and deed....

1. Jesus wins against sin. Through his death and resurrection, Jesus not only defeated sin, He overcame it! If there is victory in Jesus, then we, as Christians have a different option for a lifestyle than repetitive and continual on going sin in our lives. We have been given the opportunity to live differently! The grace of Jesus is greater than all our sin! Simply put, Jesus always wins out against sin where their is human cooperation.

2. If it were true, then it would mean that there's no practical difference between a "Christian" and a non-Christian. No real transformation. Redemption is only a theory. If we all go on sinning every day then we are bound to talk big about what Jesus cannot really do in our lives.

3. It makes Jesus death & resurrection inconsequential. His suffering does little more than convince the Father to overlook the foul stench of sin. His atonement does no more than deal with the past because it is powerless to effect the present or future in any real way. God has never been in the business of "managing" sin. He is always about a cleansing, purifying work in our hearts that effects all of our life!

4. It isn't Biblical... at all. Where does the Bible teach that the standard for the believer is on going sin? But it does teach a lot of things about not continuing to sin!! For example: 1 John 3:6-10, 1 Corinthians 10:13, & Romans 6:12-14 are just a few of the passages of Scripture that call us to a different lifestyle than on going sin. While the Bible does not ignore the reality of sin, it does not standardize it among God's people.

5. It is our past failure dictating the standard Christian life. Rather than the Truth of Jesus defining us, sin begin continues to shape us. It's pretty clear in the Bible that God's intent is that sin would not continue to define our new life in Jesus. Those old patterns of living, values, and thought processes need to be rejected for something better from God! God wants to begin to lead our lives as Christians now.

6. It's hypocritical. When we say that we sin every day we really mean that we are allowed our sins, but others are not. Would we not have a problem with someone who lies every day? What if your pastor only stole money once a week? What if your spouse only committed adultery one day out of the year? It just doesn't work, but it does make us hypocrites! Don't justify your own sin by being dismissive about it and thus a hypocrite.

7. It's not attractive to anyone. Who wants a "religion" that cannot change their life. Who wants a 
faith that simply numbs their moral conscious so that they might be able to endure their own sinfulness through life. The answer is: no one! Those that are seeking real change in their lives look elsewhere when they find that the lifestyle of some "Christians" is no different than theirs. The testimony of the Christian is more than a verbal communication, it is a visible lifestyle witnessed!

8. It promotes a "defeatism" mentality among Christians. We are so busy promoting our imperfections, sins, and 'Fallenness' that we disregard the redeeming work of God. Many churches have testimony services that do more to "brag on the Devil" than glorify God. This promotion of our sin and shortcoming also goes a long way in further confusing people in their ability to distinguish between being tempted and actually sinning. They are not the same. Jesus is grieved when we exalt the works of darkness in our lives over His ability to save to the uttermost!

9. It would mean that we do not have free will in reality. If we sin every day in thought, word, and deed we have lost our volition. We are really claiming that we have no ability to choose good over evil, holiness instead of sin, or righteousness over wickedness. The ability to resist temptation is a gift that Jesus gives, but we reject if we claim to go on sinning all the time.

10. Continual sin undermines God's call for us to be holy. While holiness is not defined by lack of sin, it certainly cannot take up residency with sin. Holiness is more than "not sinning" but cannot avoid the rejection of sin. If we allow sin to remain, the Holy Spirit cannot have freedom to work in our lives the way He intends. You cannot love God with all your heart unless He has all your heart.

Here's the bad news and the Good News!
"Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (ESV)

So what do you think?


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Get a Back Bone!

There seems to be a lack of back bone among many Christians in many churches and denominations today. Has the whole "ostrich stick your head in the sand and hope it all goes away" thing ever actually been beneficial? (Yes, I know that ostriches do not actually stick their head in the ground.)

What ever happened to pastors, denominational leaders, and lay leaders in the church who were courageous, gracious, and prophetic? My call is for us to return to a time when people lived with a love of God that produced a conviction and resolve to live for Him, serve Him, and glorify Him!

So take a few minutes and reach around and feel for a back bone. If you can't find one, there are spines available from the anointing of the Holy Spirit! What does it look like to have a spine or back bone? Well, here's a few observations...

1. They are willing to make sacrifices. They will pay the price for what is true or right. Their political agenda, their preferences, and their material things have been laid on an altar in an act of worship to God. It's not about self, it's about being led by the Spirit. It's not about personal gain, it's about faithfulness to Jesus. Are you willing to go where no one else will go? Are you willing to do what no one else would do? Are you willing to give up what no one else will give up? Real spiritual leaders are willing to make sacrifices.

2. They are willing to address the real problem. If there's an elephant in the room the person with the back bone will point it out. Too many boards, committees, or 'think tanks' dance around the problem because no one wants to "get their hands dirty." Real leaders will not ignore the problem by setting up straw men (or 'scare' crows) but work to solve the problem. This is about more than identifying the problem. Any critic can identify a problem. Rather this is about problem identification for the sake of problem resolution.

3. They are willing to stay the course. Leadership in the church that seeks to move forward into the future will often meet resistance in the form of questioning the validity of the decision made or whether it was actually "God's will." This can create hesitation in leadership which leads to a lack of confidence. Being confident that you are leading in the context of the Holy Spirit is important. That does not mean you should disregard the concerns of other Christians along the way, but it does mean we cannot allow God's vision to be derailed by detractors. God's will does not come with a guarantee everyone will be happy about it.

4. They have integrity. Integrity is character when no one is looking. They are the same person wherever they are and whatever they might be doing. They never say things to certain people and different things to other people. What they believe is what they say. What they live is what they are at all time. Real spiritual leadership lives in purity so that they can operate in power. They are not checking which way the wind is going and then deciding their principles. They have principles and allow them to guide their life.

5. They believe in accountability. They reject lack of accountability for themselves, for others, and for the church. Those who are always complaining about being accountable to others are generally part of the problem. Holding others accountable is rarely a comfortable or popular thing to do, but it is always the right thing to do. Lack of accountability resulting in lack of leadership back bone leads to scandals in the church much like the sexual abuse which has rocked the Roman Catholic church. John Stuart Mill said in 1867: “Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing.”

6. They are not afraid to rock the boat. Spirit filled leaders with a back bone do not initiate change to rock the boat, but are not afraid of the boat rocking. They regularly find themselves swimming up stream and in direct opposition to cultural trends or pop theology. Spiritual leaders are not working to protect the traditions of an organization, but to promote the Biblical mission. Those that make a difference do not seek to manage an organization, but through the Spirit of God lead the church of Christ. No more bondage to popularity or polls. Not afraid of labels people put on them. It is just part of the territory for a leader with a back bone.

7. These leaders are able to be clear and direct. Much leadership within churches today is about maintaining the status quo, or at least trying to maintain unity (even to the neglect of Biblical truth or sinful behavior). The only real unity the church should adhere to is unity in Christ. Too many prophets today find that they preach and respond to people like a politician. People leave our churches regularly wondering where the church stands on any issue. But this is not the case for leaders with a spine. They are prophets who speak and lead with clarity of intent, belief, and mission.

8. Real spiritual leaders are willing to take risks. They are not about creating "safe" spaces, refusing to adapt, becoming stagnant, or preserving the present status quo. Those with a back bone see the mission clearly and are moving toward it always. They realize that kingdom work comes with a price. There is personal cost to being part of harvest work. They are willing to forego the comfort of some for the transformation of others. For them, faith rarely leads to comfortability.

9. Leaders with back bone are decisive. I do not mean that they are intentionally divisive (though they may be), but they are definitely decisive! When they are in line with what God's Spirit is doing, they will not get off task. Real spiritual leadership does not straddle the fence. Much like Nehemiah in the Old Testament, they do not want to come down off of the wall when they are doing God's work. They stick to core values, vision, and mission. 

10. They provide clear direction for the future. They articulate where God is directing His church and point people to that vision. It is when there is no vision for God's people that they perish! There is unrest, divided priorities, people on the fringe promoting tangents. And this unrest and division results from lack of clear direction and vision. If no one knows where the church is going and what it is suppose to be doing, they are distracted by others who promote their own agenda.

"A piece of spaghetti is 'pliable' and easily surrenders to the slightest pressure. A piece of steel is inflexible and rigid. Men don't build with spaghetti, but they do build with steel." C.W. Fisher

So what do you think?

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