Articles
What Does God Want From Me In Regard To Sin
Are you struggling to really enjoy being a Christian because you feel you can’t be what God wants you to be? It’s sin you are worrying about. As a Christian, does the thought of dying and coming before God to be judged terrify you? It’s sin that has you scared. Do you want your life as a Christian to be vibrant and energized and full of joy? It’ll never happen until you have a healthy view of sin. Do you want heaven to be your home and anticipate it with eagerness? It’ll come when you truly hate sin. In contrast to all of those mindsets, do you think that sin really doesn’t matter after all and it’s just okay to sin? Oh, my friend, are you sure you understand SIN? Thus, we ask the question, “What does God want from me in regard to sin?”
Let me begin by saying that God calls us to be perfect. 1stJn. 2:1 says, “My little children, these things I write to you that you may not sin.” That’s perfection! Does it bother us that the standard is perfection? It doesn’t bother us anywhere else. Who wants an NCAA coach who addresses their team at Spring training and says, “Okay men, this year we are going for #50 in the nation.” Who is motivated by that? All of us want to go for #1. And the greatest athletes want their coaches to be hard on them, to push them and to spot every flaw. Great men of God asked for the same (Psa. 139:23-24).
The call to be perfect is the call to be like Jesus. It is to walk in the steps of Him who “committed no sin” (1 Pet. 2:21-22). What a dream! God wants to work with us little by little, day by day to make us like His Son. The greatest life ever lived. What a transformation (2 Cor. 3:18)!
When I was a boy, I was weaned on the dynasty of the Boston Celtics. Names like Cousy, Havlicek and Russell were household names around my home. I can still see retired jerseys and 16 NBA championships flying in the rafters of Boston Garden. But in 1979, things were floundering until a long-legged, lanky kid from French Lick, Indiana rolled into “Beantown”. Larry Bird would restore Celtic Pride, win 3 MVP awards and hang 3 more championship banners over the garden. At practice, he was the first to arrive and the last to leave. He would shoot free throws for a couple of hours after everyone else had gone home. That’s aiming for perfection! Bird once said, “I never put on a uniform to play. I put on a uniform to win.” In one of those championship years, Boston lost game three to Magic Johnson and the Lakers. They were blown out by 33 points. Bird blasted his teammates saying they played like sissies with no heart. Everyone knew what would happen next. Boston came back with ferociousness and took another banner home following the call of their leader.
I wonder if Jesus ever looks at our complacency toward sin and would say, “You are playing at it like sissies.” How serious do we need to be? Hebrews 12:4 says to resist sin to the shedding of blood!! In so doing, we can take our place beneath the banner of the Lord and add our names to names like Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, Peter, Paul, Tabitha, Lydia and etc. What a motivating standard - excellence, perfection! Before a holy God, we dare not water it down one bit. We don’t put on Christ to play. We put on Christ to win.
Next, we must understand that God’s grace and forgiveness keeps us perfect. You may be saying, “I understand what you are saying but I still sin.” Of course, you do. Even as we aim for perfection, we sometimes miss the mark. That’s the meaning of sin. It’s an archery term. Sometimes we fall short. Sometimes we go beyond. I’m into archery a little myself now. I strive to never miss. But I do.
When it comes to sin, God knew that we would sin. So, long ago, even before the foundation of the world, God had a plan for our failures. After writing to us that we “may not sin” John goes on to say, “If anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world” (1stJohn 2:1-2). The standard doesn’t change. We ever strive to perfectly hit the bull’s eye every time. But there is help when I miss. I have Jesus to come to my aid. Stop now and consider the cost of that. Jesus was tortured and shed His blood to cleanse me from all the sins I commit while striving to walk in the light (1stJn. 1:7).
And yet, would you believe that there are those who treat sin as if it doesn’t matter so much and it is okay to sin. Friend, it’s never okay to sin. Imagine standing beneath the cross of Jesus and asking Him, “Lord, is it alright if I go out and sin?” Can you imagine Him saying “Go ahead. It’s alright with Me.”
Two passages kill the idea that grace gives us permission to sin. Romans 6:1-2 hits the nail on the head when Paul asks “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin, live any longer in it?” Then there’s Titus 2:11-14 telling us that grace teaches us that we should we should be “denying ungodliness and worldly lust, we should live soberly, righteously and godly in this present age.”
Catch the beauty of this second point. God’s grace and forgiveness keeps us perfect. I remember hearing of a very Christlike man who died and as people filed by to view the body, someone said to a son, “I would give anything to be what your dad was.” The son appreciated the kind words but later thought, “They can be every bit what my dad was.” Even a very Christlike man needs forgiveness and when God gives it where does he stand? He’s perfect in the blood of Christ. Another person may not be as far along in His Christlikeness but when he repents, where does he stand? He too is perfect. With forgiveness, we can all stand perfect before God, even as we continue to grow in our Christlikeness. Amazing grace!
Years ago, when typing (otherwise known as keyboarding these days) was a secretarial need, secretaries were given liquid paper. She would strive to make no mistakes and the liquid paper was not given to encourage mistakes but was there to help when she did. When she finished, she had a perfect paper, not because she was perfect but because of the liquid paper that was provided. What a thought that we can stand before God blameless, not because we have been perfect but because of the provision of the blood of Christ!!
How exciting God’s grace is. It gives us incentive to get up and keep trying. All the while, we are making progress, becoming like Christ and rejoicing in what God is doing. With joy we can look on it and say, “I am not what I ought to be, but thank God I’m not where I used to be.”
Finally, and ultimately it is the progress that God is looking for. God is not so much expecting that we be “sinless” but that we “sin less”. And that ought to happen!! If we are not playing at it but instead playing to win, sin is going to be the exception to the rule in our lives. Sin will not reign (Rom. 6:12). We will find ourselves sinning less and when we do sin, it will break our hearts and we will humbly bring it to God for cleansing in the blood of His Son. If we have that spirit and are growing in our Christlikeness, heaven is our home. It’s assured.
2 Pet. 1:5-11 is helpful here. We are to add those “Christian graces” to our lives mentioned in verses 5-7. But they don’t come overnight. Who prays for knowledge and (bam) the next morning there it is? I have all knowledge!! Or who prays for self-control and wakes up with perfect self-control the next day, never to have to worry about it again? These traits are a part of growth. God is looking to see them in us and abounding (increasing). The bottom line is this. Christians who bring their sins to Jesus for cleansing and are growing in Christlikeness will be given entrance into heaven. Their salvation is sure. As Christ is formed in us, we have the “hope of glory” (Col. 1:27-29). Paul gave it his all to help all Christians attain to that goal. He, like us, put on Christ not to play but to win. If you will have that mindset, God will finish what He has started with you (Phil. 1:6) and you can look death in the face and not be afraid (1 Cor. 15:55-57). You will have eagerness to be ushered into the presence of Jesus, being like Him and seeing Him as He is. And that is what God has always wanted for you. Praise be to God for His marvelous grace!
