The perfect person would make a terrible Christian.
Because what reason would they have for God?
Jesus is a doctor for the sick, not the healthy. He came to save the imperfect, not the perfect.
So why are we so afraid to confess our sin? Why do we allow ourselves to be dragged down and hidden by the burden of shame? Why do we find it so hard to believe Romans 8:1, that there really is “no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus”?
After much reflection I have landed on this…Sin is not the enemy of the Christian life, secret shame is the enemy of the Christian life.
We are all human, we are all weak, tired, broken cardboard warriors. Not a single one of us will escape this world without sinning. But here is something that donned on me the other day…
Jesus did not die so that we could never sin again. Jesus died to ensure that the weight of sin, and the baggage that comes along with it, are no longer ours to carry.
God’s plan for the world was not for everyone to become perfect after the sacrifice of His Son, but for everyone to become even more dependent on Him as a result of it, being set free from the shame and guilt and death that before had come saddled with sin.
If, when we sin, we allow ourselves to wallow in guilt and shame, then we are not accepting the cross. We are, in our own way saying, what you’ve done God, there’s no way it could possibly cover this. Not what I’ve done. But the truth, and the good news is that it does. God’s grace covers over a multitude of sins, and He gives us grace and freedom in place of guilt and shame. Conviction is fine. God is the righteous judge, He will convict from time to time. But shame and guilt, especially when kept a secret, acts as a larger barrier between us and God than the sin we committed in the first place.
This is the major misconception about the Christian life. It is not one of following legalistic rules and feeling awful about every questionable decision you make. It is a relationship that changes your heart to desire to do the good things of God, and lean on His grace, knowing it is sufficient whenever sin gets a foothold in out lives.
-jon
Because what reason would they have for God?
Jesus is a doctor for the sick, not the healthy. He came to save the imperfect, not the perfect.
So why are we so afraid to confess our sin? Why do we allow ourselves to be dragged down and hidden by the burden of shame? Why do we find it so hard to believe Romans 8:1, that there really is “no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus”?
After much reflection I have landed on this…Sin is not the enemy of the Christian life, secret shame is the enemy of the Christian life.
We are all human, we are all weak, tired, broken cardboard warriors. Not a single one of us will escape this world without sinning. But here is something that donned on me the other day…
Jesus did not die so that we could never sin again. Jesus died to ensure that the weight of sin, and the baggage that comes along with it, are no longer ours to carry.
God’s plan for the world was not for everyone to become perfect after the sacrifice of His Son, but for everyone to become even more dependent on Him as a result of it, being set free from the shame and guilt and death that before had come saddled with sin.
If, when we sin, we allow ourselves to wallow in guilt and shame, then we are not accepting the cross. We are, in our own way saying, what you’ve done God, there’s no way it could possibly cover this. Not what I’ve done. But the truth, and the good news is that it does. God’s grace covers over a multitude of sins, and He gives us grace and freedom in place of guilt and shame. Conviction is fine. God is the righteous judge, He will convict from time to time. But shame and guilt, especially when kept a secret, acts as a larger barrier between us and God than the sin we committed in the first place.
This is the major misconception about the Christian life. It is not one of following legalistic rules and feeling awful about every questionable decision you make. It is a relationship that changes your heart to desire to do the good things of God, and lean on His grace, knowing it is sufficient whenever sin gets a foothold in out lives.
-jon
