Abstract
Socrates, one of the most intelligent people to ever live, once said “I know one thing, that I know nothing, that is the source of my wisdom.” In that spirit, as I go through the sermon, I want you to say and make note of this, “in the midst of everything, I know one thing, that I’m no longer a slave to sin, I’m a child of God. That is the source of my faith in Christ.”
Introduction
As Christians we are often told to be perfect, that we must not sin—and if we do not, we shall inherit eternal life (heaven). However, if we sin, we are all in danger of grieving God and going to hell. It is believed that the goal of being a Christian is perfection, to be spotless always. This very philosophy leads to shame and a perfectionist mindset. Our mind and body are enslaved. The reality is, no one is perfect—not me, not you. Not your pastor, not your mother, nor elder, favorite celebrity, and your favorite bible character (other than Jesus). As the Apostle Paul puts it, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). For all of us that is the case, and rightfully so…as long as we will live, we will NEVER be perfect. We will at one point in time, either in the present and certainly in the future sin. Many are possibly wondering, what sense do we make of that, when clearly the Bible commands us to forsake sin. What sense do we make of that, when weekly in the churches we are given hell, fire and brimstone preaching, surely that must be the case.
Sin: its nature and consequences.
What is sin? To put it in simple terms, sin is merely the transgression of a law. There are however many laws, but all these can fall into two categories. (1) Man made laws, which are laws created by man. Like a parent’s law that one should not stay out late, or the Church's law that one should wear our hair a certain way, or the law of the land that we should not run a red light etc. Man made laws are often tied to the second category, being God-made laws. Laws that state a citizen must not murder or commit certain crimes. If that’s the case, then we can say God’s laws are the ultimate laws. There is also a sense of order. Therefore, sin in even simpler definition is the breaking of the law of God. Which I am guilty of and which you are guilty of. Which we are all guilty of.
What about the nature of sin? If I can sum it up in one word, it would be “corrosive.” For, it ruins everything that it touches. Well, what’s the evidence, you’re probably asking? A quick view of human history shows this. Upon sinning, Adam and Eve experienced this corrosion, on a physical, spiritual, intellectual and emotional level. Physically they were deteriorating and spiritually they were dead. When God said, “from when you eat from it (being the tree) you will certainly die.” That was indeed true, for instantly they became dead, both separated from God. As said in Isaiah 59:2, “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.” Sin began its work through Adam and went to Cain, the first murderer— It went onto Babel, until God saw it fit to flood the whole Earth and start over with humankind. However, sin remained. It continued its harmful work—Sodom and Gomorrah, Egypt, the period of the Judges, David, Solomon, up until Christ came and died. It still did not stop. Men and women showed it, and empires expressed it. The Roman Empire, along with men like Nero, Commodus, Caligula and many more, up until this current age, and even us who express it on a daily basis.
Now what must God do about something like this? God is said to be Holy and therefore, anything unholy cannot stand in his sight. If he is a consuming fire, then he consumes all that is evil or unclean. Hence, God cannot let sin remain unchecked, he must destroy sin. That is shown through the flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, and numerous other instances. In our nation as well as others there is a justice system. Likewise, is the case in the heavenly courts, where justice is what we are accorded in accordance with a law. For as it is said, “the wages of sin is death.” Yes, true death, for Adam and Eve are no longer alive, nor is David, nor the Apostle Paul, nor Gideon, nor any bible character—and we too, will one day pass away.
And so that is what we hear that God will exterminate us like he does not care. That his disposition and his heart is bent on sentencing us, without a care. That he looks at each of us and he is utterly disgusted. And you stand before him and say, “I'm a failure God.” And we look at the charge and we know we are guilty, we then wonder, who will save me from this. On Saturdays we come to church, and we hear mostly, “You sin you die; you sin you are going to hell, burning is not nice, danger here and there, God will not be slack to kill you, etc.” We daily hear how we fail God, and after every sin we sit down and fall into shame. We humiliate ourselves. How many of us do that? We create rituals, because I sin, I will not go to church for a week, because I sin, I will not read my bible–I don't deserve his love, I need to hide.
Yet I'm here to tell you, we have been taught wrong about God and his heart. Jesus once said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28). When I first saw this verse I laughed, God? Telling me to come to him? Gentle and lowly? I thought you were strict and harsh. Many of us feel that we do not have to hide it. There comes the gospel, God seeks not to exterminate us NO! You think God enjoys the death of the just? Much less that of the wicked? He merely seeks for us to come to him. The way a mother cannot stand to punish her child, but even after comes to that child and consoles him or her, is the same way God is toward us. Well really? Yes, and Jesus proved it. God left his abode to dwell among man, I mean really that sounds ridiculous. Holy Just Mighty God, coming to meet us wretched sinners? If his heart and if he saw us as disgusting, why did he come to us? WE think when God looks at us, he says, “GET THAT THING AWAY FROM ME.” But no, he doesn't, because he loves us. Now because of the way we were taught, many say, really does God love me? Indeed, he does, for he died for us, on a cross, humiliated. That same God cried blood at the thought of dying on the cross, and yet he still decided to die for us, because he loves us. We all know the story of Christ. He hung out with sinners, rebuked people for sin, called for repentance, did miracles, he died and eventually rose again. All that, just to connect us back to him–and as he said, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me” (John 12:32). The same God who looks at us with disgust? That same one wishes to draw us to him. Because of his death, we now have communion with God, we are saved…born again. Yet why are we still scared of this wonderful message? Why is the first word that comes out of the mouth of many preachers is to come to Christ to avoid hell, and rather, come to Christ because he loves you eternally–he wishes to commune with you, to be your best friend. He wishes to free you from sin and give you joy, peace, love, etc.
Change
2 Corinthian 5: 17 says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” Upon accepting Christ and being baptized, we are brought into the fold–now we truly live and truly experience God. There is now a task for us, that is we must forsake our old ways and grow every more into Christ, that is still the case. And it's in this that many misunderstand Christ, it is there that many preach a gospel that is twisted in shame and wrapped with fear, with so much anxiety and hellfire brimstone. Christ calls us to change our ways and repent that is certainly true, yet his expectation is not that we cease to sin in the immediate. If that were not so, the Apostle Paul wouldn't have said, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” If that were not so, then men like David wouldn't fall into sin, nor would Abraham be regarded as the father of faith. Yet what is the nature of change? This that I will state is from a piece that I've written, called “Shame and Guilt.” To change entails an alteration, one that is permanent, and is independent of circumstances. Meaning, if one claims to have changed they must in all circumstances show that to be such, in their thinking and doing (such is a mark of a changed person). However, the reality stays the same, we are human and in this life to be human is to err. Oh really one might say? Yes really, for we have two natures…the spirit and the flesh. Of which Paul says, “For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not able to do whatever you want.” Galatians 5:17. Now what does this mean? In simple terms it means, there is a war we all go through–one that is of the spirit and of the flesh, one where we are supposed to fight. Now in war, often there is death–and not every battle is won, the victor does not always win every battle. Likewise we will not win every battle, sometimes we will sin, that's the truth. Hence why Paul himself attested to that when he said, “ I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” My friends by now you should realize that NONE OF US CAN EVER BE PERFECT. Yet, we have won the war the minute we accept Christ. Hence why one day we will say, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:55). Therefore, on Earth the Christian is daily undergoing a process of change, thus for the Christian struggling with sin, the mark of a changing person is the process. The fight that one is in to escape from a certain being. Upon being saved by Christ, we are all in that fight, we all though are saved must CONTINUE to fight. Yet how many sermons do we hear of that? Many misunderstand it, for the Christian it is not hell and fire we should daily be hearing, but constantly being fed Christ and his love for us, daily fed that we must continue to strive, daily encouraged, daily we come together to STRENGTHEN each other. What strength is there in shaming the congregation? What has shame ever done, it does nothing. For shame doesn't lead to change, it leads to debasement and self flagellation; the rituals I speak of above. The church does not instruct people to overcome sin, they shame people to overcome. That is two different things. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” If that were not so, then men like David wouldn't fall into sin, nor would Abraham be regarded as the father of faith. Yet what is the nature of change? This that I will state is from a piece that I've written, called “Shame and Guilt.” To change entails an alteration, one that is permanent, and is independent of circumstances. Meaning, if one claims to have changed they must in all circumstances show that to be such, in their thinking and doing (such is a mark of a changed person). However, the reality stays the same, we are human and in this life to be human is to err. Oh really one might say? Yes really, for we have two natures…the spirit and the flesh. Of which Paul says, “For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not able to do whatever you want.” Galatians 5:17. Now what does this mean? In simple terms it means, there is a war we all go through–one that is of the spirit and of the flesh, one where we are supposed to fight. Now in war, often there is death–and not every battle is won, the victor does not always win every battle. Likewise we will not win every battle, sometimes we will sin, that's the truth. Hence why Paul himself attested to that when he said, “ I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” My friends by now you should realize that NONE OF US CAN EVER BE PERFECT. Yet, we have won the war the minute we accept Christ. Hence why one day we will say, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:55). Therefore, on Earth the Christian is daily undergoing a process of change, thus for the Christian struggling with sin, the mark of a changing person is the process. The fight that one is in to escape from a certain being. Upon being saved by Christ, we are all in that fight, we all though are saved must CONTINUE to fight. Yet how many sermons do we hear of that? Many misunderstand it, for the Christian it is not hell and fire we should daily be hearing, but constantly being fed Christ and his love for us, daily fed that we must continue to strive, daily encouraged, daily we come together to STRENGTHEN each other. What strength is there in shaming the congregation? What has shame ever done, it does nothing. For shame doesn't lead to change, it leads to debasement and self flagellation; the rituals I speak of above. The church does not instruct people to overcome sin, they shame people to overcome. That is two different things.
Christ Knows
John 13:33 says, ““My children, I will be with you only a little longer.” Christ states the disciples to be his children, and if they are his children they belong to him. Earlier in John 13:1 it is said, “Having loved his very own who were in the world, he loved them till the end.” Though he was faced with death, Christ continued to love his disciples. Yet let's focus on one particular individual, Peter. One who is just like all of us. Way earlier when Peter encountered Christ (Luke 5:8) he said, “ Depart from me Lord, for I am a sinful man.” This is all of us–the entirety of humanity, for when we experience God we too say that, Job, Isaiah, and many more. The one who says, COME TO ME ALL YE WHO LABOR AND ARE HEAVY LADEN, is told by those same people he comes to help, GET AWAY FROM ME, I'M TOO SINFUL. That same peter who was walking and eating with Christ, asking him questions–was himself an utterly selfish man. Yet, Christ looked beyond his sinfulness and said, “don't be afraid from now on you will fish for people.” Would it still surprise you that (1) This same Peter denied Christ three times. (2) Christ already knew, even when he said he would fish for people, he knew Peter would deny him in his most dire moment. Even before we were baptized God knew our sins, before we even committed them. Even after we have been baptized and even during that moment where we are fully submerged, he already knew. John 13: 38 says, “Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” Peter? Child of God? Denying the savior? And he will be a fisher of men? Impossible. Surely this is a joke. Weren't we supposed to be perfect? Even as a child of God? Especially that. Yet here is Peter denying the savior, a sinner. Christ did not shame Peter, he did not point his finger and wag it in his face, humiliating him. He merely said, YEAH YOU'RE NOT PERFECT BUT YOU'RE STILL MY CHILD; you're going to sin but you're still my child. This is what Christ is saying to all of us; the constant sermons that WE MUST BE PERFECT is ridiculous. Christ did not exclaim that Peter had to be perfect, with NO SIN. Instead he showed who Peter truly is, a weak sinful man. This same Peter became a great evangelist, and even then he had his downfalls. Our entire life is before Christ, as he says in Jeremiah 1:5, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.” He knew our defects, our zeal, pleas, cries, failings, winnings, desires etc. Nothing catches me by surprise, but as the story goes, after the third denial The Lord turned and looked at Peter. Peter remembered what Christ said and it is said, “he went outside and wept bitterly.” Luke 22: 61-62. Peter simply ran out and wept–he repented. Just like me and you, As a child of God we will sin and when we do, God is not surprised, nor swayed, nor caught off guard, but he expects us to clearly express that we have sinned. To turn away from it.
We can learn two things from this: (1) That we are not perfect, as I've been saying over and over. And second, Christ is concerned about our coming to him, he does not expect us to be perfect nor does he want us to fix ourselves before coming to him. That is the whole point of sanctification, we are being perfected, but we are not perfect. Day by day, moment by moment, year by year we shed our sins, we shed our imperfections–but friends let's be honest, we have a long life ahead of us and a longer way to go. Again, we are being perfected, but we are not perfect—far from it.
Double front war
Correct, we must call out sin–we must see it in ourselves, yet there is a way to do it. If we do it in the sense of shaming, it destroys us, it leads to more sin. For as stated, we do not truly change, yes for a day or two, yet when it surfaces again, we fall, and the cycle continues. God does convict us, and we do feel the guilt, yet that is entirely different, for guilt states that we have done something wrong. Yet when we dwell on it, and this is where many get it wrong, it leads to us running away from God, the same way Adam and Eve did. Upon sinning they realized what happened, they saw their guilt, but what happened? They run to hide. Now in terms of instructing, this is what is needed in the church. Sin is nothing but a symptom of an issue. Too many times we focus on the WHAT (being sin) and not the WHY (being why do we sin). Focusing on what produces no fruit, it does not lead to true change. When and if we focus on the why, now we begin to change, then we see what is causing us to go to that sin that pleases us. Suppose you go to the doctor with a runny nose, and he gives you a tissue, often you wipe it and nothing changes—it becomes obvious that you have a cold or the flu, do you continue wiping your nose and say, “well, I'm wiping my nose I'm fine.” Many walk around doing just that, and that is just what a false righteousness is, where our sins seem to be minimal, yet the inside of our hearts is corrupted. In the case above, there needs to be medication given and a diagnosis of the problem, only then does the runny nose become fixed. It's the same with sin. It is stated that many watches perverted contents and are told daily to not watch these things…to stop sinning. Yes, it is and what else? Never do they ask, why are you doing it? For as I've spoken to many people, for some it's because of past history with abuse, where they have a sense of control because of watching certain contents or listening to certain songs, for others it's because they were introduced to it as a child, and still for others it's because they have a coping mechanism–and still for others it's because they feel alone. How many sermons do we hear about these situations? About how people experience things in life which leads to sin, how our childhood and the things we experience lead us down certain paths. Many people judge those in a gang, yet how often do you sit and listen to their story? The countless of them who have been abandoned, castaways…where is the church then? Where is the church when someone is going through a difficult time? When one struggles with a certain mental illness…that same church that says, “pray it away” the same one which says “Shhh do not talk about these things.” That same one which shuns speaking on the why, stands to condemn sin. How ironic. How can you wish to deal with the people, if you wish not to deal with their issues. How can you expect sin to die, if you do not first seek the source of it. To those of you struggling with sin, look deep within and ask why. I sympathize and empathize with you, the struggle knowing you're not good enough—that you have experienced things which have caused you to do certain things, not to say the sin is okay. But there needs to be both a call out of sin and patience with the individual…we must be patient with ourselves, as we are human and we are not perfect, we have traumas that express ourselves…beliefs which cause us to act in sinful ways, all these are battles in themselves. Instead of shaming yourself, give yourself grace, as God himself bestows on you grace, not that we should continue abound in sin, NO, that we should continue to fight it.
Speaking of not being perfect, take the life of David–a man whom God calls “The man after my own heart.” That same David who sinned? The same one who killed a man and took his wife? Surely if David were in the assembly many could crucify him themselves, many would shame him and humiliate him. All of us have sins, which if were brought into the light would humiliate us…yet to be called a Child of God even when not perfect proves again that we will never be perfect in this world—moreover that, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9. WE ARE NOT SAVED BY VIRTUE OF BEING PERFECT. IF WE WERE PERFECT THEN WHAT DO WE NEED GRACE FOR? If the call is to be perfect, then why does God’s grace renew every single morning?
On the Church Community
My cousin Aslan and I were discussing once. The topic: the state of the church. The discussion went something like this: churches are so quick at calling out sin, yet so slow to accept sinners, so few are willing to love people and help them. He further gave a story of a great church he attended, and it went like this. There was a Kleptomaniac in that church (someone who has an irresistible urge to steal). He used to steal phones and everything else that catches his eyes. The church did not condemn him, nor did they shame him. They accepted his condition and understood him, they of course were not passive—they approached and said, SIR WHAT YOU'RE DOING IS WRONG. But most of their energy was spent on educating him and giving him grace. Overtime he became better, stole less–the church did not kick him out nor abandon him. Yet I wondered, how many churches would abandon someone just like that.
Point being, it's time to accept each other. Christ once said, “A new commandment I give you, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. You are also to love one another” (John 13:34). It is acceptance that allows us to build connections with our neighbors–without it there is no church family. I have said it once and I'll say it again, “If love is a tree, then repentance is one of the fruits that it bears.” Many argue, oh acceptance is passivity…it means we leave sin go unchecked. Yet, acceptance does not equal tolerance of sin. Friends accept one another, yet when one has harmed the other, they say, “Hey you have done me wrong, I didn't like that.” We accept because it leads to change, and we foster change in being accepted in being seen, understood and loved.
Imagine if Christ did not accept us. Many often state, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, which says, “Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men[a] 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” True indeed, yet often skip over verse 11, “THAT IS WHAT SOME OF YOU WERE, BUT YOU WERE WASHED AND SANCTIFIED, YOU WERE JUSTIFIED IN THE NAME OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AND BY THE SPIRIT OF OUR GOD.” Some of us were fornicators, some of us idolaters, some of us practiced witchcraft—yet we are changed, totally different, new creatures. That means there was a process, in which we went through, and even now after overcoming these, that doesn't mean we are perfect—for we still struggle with other sins. Or we relapse. Now imagine if Christ did not accept you, where would you be? So why do we not accept each other? Why do we shame ourselves and others when we have our own baggage and our own story.
Ephesians 4:29 says, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” We as a church need to cease condemning, to cease humiliating our fellow brothers and sisters. Our sermons are to build each other up, our words are to build each other up, our rebukes are to build each other up. If we struggle with a sin, then we have a need in that area. For those who struggle with anxiety and depression, why do we not hear sermons about how Christ loves us still? About other men and women, in the bible who struggled with these—David, GIDEON, Elijah and many more. For those who struggle with shame, a sermon on overcoming that. One who struggles with lust, why not a sermon to overcome? There is so much focus on calling out sin and not enough on helping out sinners overcome. It's easy to call out, yet difficult and rare to help out. To those who struggle, I know your hurts and pain, I feel your cries—and Christ knows it best. As he once told the woman who was caught in adultery, while everyone tried to condemn her, he said, “Neither do I condemn you, go now and leave your life of sin.”
We desperately need love. These days love is growing cold. We often have an elitist view, that we are above the Atheist, the Muslim, the Jews—more Holy, more Righteous, and more Intelligent. However, yet too in the churches, we don't want to admit, love is growing cold. What kind of gospel do we preach, if we do not love. Shaming is not “tough love.” To have a thriving church community, we need to accept that we are all individuals, therefore different, all with a story, a unique past–all made in God’s image and all valuable. Our world is filled with broken people, people looking to belong, to be heard, to be understood, embraced, to feel safe–true agape love. If not us then who? For if you claim the world to not have love, that only the christians have it in entirety, then why do we hoard it? To you all listening, Pathfinders, As Jordan Peterson once said in his letter to the churches, “we want to call you to the highest purpose of your life, we want your time, energy and everything you have, we want to work with you, to make things better. So join us, we’ll help fix you up, and you'll help fix us up.” None of us are perfect, certainly not me. But with God and our togetherness (being unity), we can change for the better. Together we can be a true family, together we can walk towards heaven–stating, “in the midst of everything, I know one thing, that I’m no longer a slave to sin, I’m a child of God. That is the source of my faith in Christ.”
Perseverance
Friends let us hold onto this verse, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” 2 Timothy 4:7-8. As my mentor Fr Surpris once told me, I have often abused the grace of Christ, to which I myself say. Yet the righteous man falls 7 times and gets up again. David fell and he repented, his heart was repentant…he fought like all of us, he struggled like all of us…yet when he fell, he was not told that he was in hell–no, he was told that he committed a sin before God and thus he must repent. This my friends is what we need, when we fall, we do not stay down. Rather, we go to Christ OVER AND OVER. My challenge for you is this, whenever you sin approaches the throne of Christ, go to God and acknowledge it. Sounds easy, doesn't it? When Adam and Eve sinned, they ran—if as Terence once said, “whatever is human is not alien to me” is true, then we too have the tendency to run, which we do.
While many scare you into Christ or tell you to dismay after every sin, rather do like the Theologian Kierkegaard once said, “Do not despair over each relapse which the God of patience has patience enough to pardon, and which a sinner should surely have patience enough to humble himself under.” —Soren Kierkegaard. The human condition is one of addiction to sin, and so, we will relapse…yet God has more than enough patience to forgive us, more than enough so that we overcome our sin. Though wretched and sinful that I am, I hold onto this: "He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6).” The walk of a Christian, the reality is in being wretched. The Christian does not daily realize his righteousness, but daily understands to the gravity that he is wretched and lost, yet daily understands how Merciful and Loving God is. So, this perfectionist mindset has to go–as well as the shame we carry. For when God forgives us of our sins, he does so completely, meaning he does not hold it against us.
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