Not sure what "S" word you were thinking of, but this post is about sin. Not the most exciting of subjects, but an important one nonetheless :-) Well, let's get into it then.
Christians often have an unbalanced view of sin. It's either we're obsessed with it or we don't pay enough attention to it. People in both camps don't believe they part of the camp they part of. HAHAHA! And that's the tricky bit. Again, like all things in the Christian faith, it comes by revelation.
We need to be fully aware of the dangers of sin. It's not wrong to ask "How do I stay away from it?" At the same time, we don't need to be sin conscious either. We need to have a healthy biblical stance when it comes to sin. If you ignore sin or think it doesn't matter "that much", then you'll find yourself in error too. We need to be fully aware of our adversary whose task is simple: He seeks to kill you and destroy you. And sin does that. We need not fear sin or be intimidated by it, but that attitude must not lead to ignorance either. Paul exhorted the church to not be ignorant of the devil's schemes!
Sin is a personal disdain towards Jesus. It's your will over His. It's choosing your desire over His. It's the ultimate form of idolatry and selfishness. To put it simply: Sin is against God. A Christian desires not to sin. But he finds at times that he does. John wrote in his first epistle, "I write this so none of you would sin, but if anyone does..." The battle is real. John knew that. And God certainly does too.
The good news is that sin cannot and does not change ones status in the Kingdom of God. No matter what a Christian does, even the most terrible sins, his position in Christ is secure. He has been made the righteousness of God, he has been justified in the courtroom of Heaven and has been perfected forever. Positionally, nothing can eradicate the finished work of Christ in a man. Not even the gravest of sins. A sinner's justification and gift of salvation is something given as a free gift. It comes by faith alone and no amount of sinning can take it away. Knowing that fundamental truth and being established in it is the foundation to victory over sin. I cannot stress this enough.
But what sin does do, is that it effects fellowship with God. It effects our intimacy with God. God doesn't leave us or create distance from His side, but it does from our side. He promised to never be angry with us and so He will never create distance out of disappointment. But when we sin, it's us that create the distance and awkwardness in the friendship and so our fellowship is effected. God has been friends towards us in Christ but by us choosing sin, we aren't being very friendly back to Him. Sin can't take away what He's done for us (regeneration) but it can take away from our future (fellowship and inheritance). It damages our souls, it hurts the Holy Spirit and it creates distance in our day to day fellowship with Him. If I sin against my wife, it doesn't cause a divorce but it does create an unnecessary tension between us and awkwardness in our marriage. Closeness and intimacy is not the same when sin is involved. Anyone can testify to this.
Christians obsessed with sin tend to be so sin conscious that their entire lives become engulfed in trying to avoid, stay clear and keep oneself clean. They live in perpetual fear that they rend themselves ineffective in the Kingdom. Their lives become so intrinsically focused and self absorbed because it's all about what they do in order to stay clean before God. It's an evil form of unbelief, actually.
Christians who live oblivious to the dangers of sin, where their doctrine of justification has enveloped or swallowed up their sanctification, to a point where they don't give much thought to sin at all, are also in danger. Sin creeps in and they find their fellowship with God becomes distant and weak. It leads to a lukewarm heart and gives worldly pleasures a place in their hearts in the name of freedom.
The Biblical warning to all believers is that we should not take sin lightly. God didn't. That's why Jesus had to die. We need to watch and pray as Jesus said. Watch what the enemy is doing, be aware of His schemes and traps, and pray. Stay in fellowship with God, it's the safest sin-free place you and I can be. Let's not be troubled or intimidated by sin and the enemy. They are both defeated. But they not going down without a fight. Stand firm in the faith, fight the good fight of the faith and stay intimate with Jesus.
We need to be fully aware of the dangers of sin. It's not wrong to ask "How do I stay away from it?" At the same time, we don't need to be sin conscious either. We need to have a healthy biblical stance when it comes to sin. If you ignore sin or think it doesn't matter "that much", then you'll find yourself in error too. We need to be fully aware of our adversary whose task is simple: He seeks to kill you and destroy you. And sin does that. We need not fear sin or be intimidated by it, but that attitude must not lead to ignorance either. Paul exhorted the church to not be ignorant of the devil's schemes!
Sin is a personal disdain towards Jesus. It's your will over His. It's choosing your desire over His. It's the ultimate form of idolatry and selfishness. To put it simply: Sin is against God. A Christian desires not to sin. But he finds at times that he does. John wrote in his first epistle, "I write this so none of you would sin, but if anyone does..." The battle is real. John knew that. And God certainly does too.
The good news is that sin cannot and does not change ones status in the Kingdom of God. No matter what a Christian does, even the most terrible sins, his position in Christ is secure. He has been made the righteousness of God, he has been justified in the courtroom of Heaven and has been perfected forever. Positionally, nothing can eradicate the finished work of Christ in a man. Not even the gravest of sins. A sinner's justification and gift of salvation is something given as a free gift. It comes by faith alone and no amount of sinning can take it away. Knowing that fundamental truth and being established in it is the foundation to victory over sin. I cannot stress this enough.
But what sin does do, is that it effects fellowship with God. It effects our intimacy with God. God doesn't leave us or create distance from His side, but it does from our side. He promised to never be angry with us and so He will never create distance out of disappointment. But when we sin, it's us that create the distance and awkwardness in the friendship and so our fellowship is effected. God has been friends towards us in Christ but by us choosing sin, we aren't being very friendly back to Him. Sin can't take away what He's done for us (regeneration) but it can take away from our future (fellowship and inheritance). It damages our souls, it hurts the Holy Spirit and it creates distance in our day to day fellowship with Him. If I sin against my wife, it doesn't cause a divorce but it does create an unnecessary tension between us and awkwardness in our marriage. Closeness and intimacy is not the same when sin is involved. Anyone can testify to this.
Christians obsessed with sin tend to be so sin conscious that their entire lives become engulfed in trying to avoid, stay clear and keep oneself clean. They live in perpetual fear that they rend themselves ineffective in the Kingdom. Their lives become so intrinsically focused and self absorbed because it's all about what they do in order to stay clean before God. It's an evil form of unbelief, actually.
Christians who live oblivious to the dangers of sin, where their doctrine of justification has enveloped or swallowed up their sanctification, to a point where they don't give much thought to sin at all, are also in danger. Sin creeps in and they find their fellowship with God becomes distant and weak. It leads to a lukewarm heart and gives worldly pleasures a place in their hearts in the name of freedom.
The Biblical warning to all believers is that we should not take sin lightly. God didn't. That's why Jesus had to die. We need to watch and pray as Jesus said. Watch what the enemy is doing, be aware of His schemes and traps, and pray. Stay in fellowship with God, it's the safest sin-free place you and I can be. Let's not be troubled or intimidated by sin and the enemy. They are both defeated. But they not going down without a fight. Stand firm in the faith, fight the good fight of the faith and stay intimate with Jesus.
Keep yourself in His love.
Keep believing the Gospel.
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