I've had so many ideas for new blog posts but I haven't written them down and now I've forgotten them. I do have something I've been thinking about however, and I hope I'll be able to expound upon it.
I was in a Bible study recently that was addressing the issue of sin. We talked about a lot of different aspects of sin like what we are doing when we sin, what happens when we sin, how do we know when we're sinning, how do we stop sinning, etc. I realized something pretty cool as we were reading a certain passage. I can't remember which exact passage it was so I'm gonna have to go back to my notes and write it down but it was talking about the purpose of the law. When I say the law, I mean the Torah, the collection of scriptures that the Hebrews regarded as God's word and commands. The law wasn't given so that men could obtain righteousness, although many of the Jews didn't understand that. It actually did the opposite. It revealed man's unrighteousness. Before men knew the law, they didn't know they were sinful, or at least, they didn't know how sinful they were. But then the law was given to show them their sin. This concept isn't new at all to me. I've read things like this many times before. The thing that struck me anew was that when we were talking and reading about all of this, it was another piece of evidence of why it's so important to be in the Word! The Law revealed sin, just as God's word is able to help us see the sin in our lives. If we don't read the Word, if we're not meditating on it and pondering it and searching it out, then we think everything is ok-that we're ok how we are. But when we read the Word, our sin is revealed. We might be tempted to think of that as a bad thing at first. But think about it for a little longer. If you truly want to follow God, if you don't want anything hindering your relationship with Him, don't you want your sin to be revealed? Yes, it will probably be painful and uncomfortable, but look at the parallel between Jesus's atoning sacrifice and the standard of the Law. Where sin abounded and the presence of it was made clear, Grace abounded all the more. Likewise, when our sin is exposed, grace is all the more available. When we humble ourselves and repent, the blood of Jesus is there to cover that sin and to welcome us back with open arms.
If you don't remember anything from this somewhat irregular post, remember this: If you want to follow Jesus, if you truly want nothing hindering your relationship with Him, get in His word! He will show you what needs to be done away with. He will give you the encouragement and grace you need to allow Him to chip away at the pieces that don't belong in His masterpiece.
One other thing: "Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results." James 5:16. The leader of the Bible study stressed the importance of going to someone and becoming accountable for our sin. I'm so glad he said that because I'm a huge advocate of being honest about where we are and reaching out to those who can help us. If you're serious about following Jesus, there comes a time when we need to find someone that we can be completely honest with. I'm not talking about just an accountability partner. I'm talking about someone who is wise and Godly, who will take seriously the decision to walk with Christ and who will give you sound advice, encouragement, and exhortation.
Galatians 3:19-22
I was in a Bible study recently that was addressing the issue of sin. We talked about a lot of different aspects of sin like what we are doing when we sin, what happens when we sin, how do we know when we're sinning, how do we stop sinning, etc. I realized something pretty cool as we were reading a certain passage. I can't remember which exact passage it was so I'm gonna have to go back to my notes and write it down but it was talking about the purpose of the law. When I say the law, I mean the Torah, the collection of scriptures that the Hebrews regarded as God's word and commands. The law wasn't given so that men could obtain righteousness, although many of the Jews didn't understand that. It actually did the opposite. It revealed man's unrighteousness. Before men knew the law, they didn't know they were sinful, or at least, they didn't know how sinful they were. But then the law was given to show them their sin. This concept isn't new at all to me. I've read things like this many times before. The thing that struck me anew was that when we were talking and reading about all of this, it was another piece of evidence of why it's so important to be in the Word! The Law revealed sin, just as God's word is able to help us see the sin in our lives. If we don't read the Word, if we're not meditating on it and pondering it and searching it out, then we think everything is ok-that we're ok how we are. But when we read the Word, our sin is revealed. We might be tempted to think of that as a bad thing at first. But think about it for a little longer. If you truly want to follow God, if you don't want anything hindering your relationship with Him, don't you want your sin to be revealed? Yes, it will probably be painful and uncomfortable, but look at the parallel between Jesus's atoning sacrifice and the standard of the Law. Where sin abounded and the presence of it was made clear, Grace abounded all the more. Likewise, when our sin is exposed, grace is all the more available. When we humble ourselves and repent, the blood of Jesus is there to cover that sin and to welcome us back with open arms.
If you don't remember anything from this somewhat irregular post, remember this: If you want to follow Jesus, if you truly want nothing hindering your relationship with Him, get in His word! He will show you what needs to be done away with. He will give you the encouragement and grace you need to allow Him to chip away at the pieces that don't belong in His masterpiece.
One other thing: "Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results." James 5:16. The leader of the Bible study stressed the importance of going to someone and becoming accountable for our sin. I'm so glad he said that because I'm a huge advocate of being honest about where we are and reaching out to those who can help us. If you're serious about following Jesus, there comes a time when we need to find someone that we can be completely honest with. I'm not talking about just an accountability partner. I'm talking about someone who is wise and Godly, who will take seriously the decision to walk with Christ and who will give you sound advice, encouragement, and exhortation.
"Why, then, was the law given? It was given alongside the promise to show people their sins. But the law was designed to last only until the coming of the child who was promised. God gave his law through angels to Moses, who was the mediator between God and the people. Now a mediator is helpful if more than one party must reach an agreement. But God, who is one, did not use a mediator when he gave his promise to Abraham.
Is there a conflict, then, between God’s law and God’s promises? Absolutely not! If the law could give us new life, we could be made right with God by obeying it. But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ." Galatians 3:19-22
Hypocrisy: I'm guilty
You know who is encouraging to look at in the Bible? Peter. And David. They both messed up so much, most people would call them hypocrites. Yet God loved them enough to see past their hypocrisy into their hearts and allowed them to be influential in spreading the Word. It really comforts me to know that God still loves me and can still use me if my heart is tender toward Him, even if to others, or even to myself, I appear as a hypocrite. I don't say all of that to condone hypocrisy. I say it to encourage those of you who may be like me-afraid to speak the truth because you know that of yourself, you are unworthy to even bear the Mark of Christ. I hold back so often because I know what I'm guilty of, I hear that voice in my head saying "You've done the same thing, or something similar", and in a sense, I think that can be a good thing, helping me to check myself before I wreck myself (lol). But it can also be really detrimental, because it causes me to sit back and allow a standard that should be held high to waiver or be lowered. I think that's where understanding true love comes into play. True love doesn't allow certain things to go deliberately unnoticed. Sometimes it's appropriate not to say something or not to establish a certain opinion. But other times, it's appropriate and in fact, absolutely necessary to growth as an individual. Mercy needs to be accompanied by discipline. Not discipline in the form of punishment with no forgiveness. Discipline as God defines it - For those who the Lord loves, He disciplines, as a father disciplines the child in whom he delights! Our Father disciplines us because He delights in us! I love that. I think I love it because as a child I was always fearful of getting into trouble with my father. He was very strict. I was terrified of him because in my mind, his discipline or strictness didn't seem loving to me. Had he been around for a few more years I know he would have been better able to help me see that his discipline shouldn't cause me to be that scared of him, that he did it because he loved me. In the same way, in this passage it says that a father who delights in their child disciplines them. So even when God seems "mean" or "scary", He's not. He does what He does because He loves and delights in me.
This is kind of a random post, and I wasn't able to really tie it all up, but hey, it's what I was thinking about.
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