In light of recent events, I would like to speak. I have held my peace for a long time, and side-stepped important issues when conversing with people. This has been done out of respect for friends of people, or involved parties, but since there are many people who know much about lots, I don’t think I need to do any specific naming in order to get my points across. But to anyone who is offended (or knows I am talking about them), I have no problem facing this head-on in a conversation. Please feel free to talk to me whenever possible. (I’m gonna get a lot of guff for this, so keep the comments somewhat civil, please.)
* * * * *
Sin is a horrible thing. It lives in our hearts, and our minds, and our lifestyles. It invades everything we do, and warps everything we understand, and twists what we long for. It keeps us from the presence of God, and hinders our marriage to Him, and prevents us from imagining Him as who He could be. We must endure it until the day we die, and we must revoke it for the same amount of time. We do our best to shy from it, and at times we fall prey to it, and even indulge in when we are weak or careless. Our mouths speak it, our eyes see it, our ears hear it, our minds think it, and our actions distribute it. It is repulsive, disgusting, ugly, horrid, frightening, loathsome, terrible, and wretched. Sin is in the world, and of the world, just as the world is of sin. And yet, there is hope.
For when the Son of Man returns, and we are caught up into His Glory, and the world is made new again, there will be a time eternal, without sin. We can look forward to this time, because of the Hope that is given to us while on this sinful earth. Hope and Grace.
Now, here’s a misconception I’d like to address: The Grace that is given to us. Grace is almighty, all-loving, and all-powerful. However, it is not a get-out-of-jail-free card, or a do-what-I-want pass, or even a I’m-fine-because-I-believe-in-Jesus ticket. Grace is something we don’t deserve, and never will deserve while on here, and therefore cannot be taken for granted, because it is not given without a price!
When a Brother or Sister (in Christ) falls to sin, us Christians rally around that person and hoist them back to their feet! We must hate the sin with a passion, and do everything we can to help our sibling stand up and walk straight and true once more. But we must also keep in mind the heart of the Brother or Sister. If they do not first admit their sin and REPENT, we as Brothers and Sisters must let them crawl around until they can crawl no more. A heart that no longer seeks Christ is a heart no longer belonging to Him. And even a longtime Christian, with a former steadfast relationship with God, can fall this far, and they can only be helped so much before enough is enough.
As humans, sin is an everyday occurrence. But, as Christians, sin is a constant struggle. For a Brother or Sister to engage in sin, live IN sin, and not REPENT OF THEIR SIN, and then expect Grace to step in and cover them and everything to be just dandy- they are living a deceived life, and most likely know it, which is even worse.
To take it a step further, when that Brother or Sister causes a fellow Brother or Sister to sin, and engages in sin for an extended period of time, hurting not only themselves and the involved party, but also may others in many different and destructive ways, and that Brother or Sister then refuses to repent and seek forgiveness from his fellow Brothers and Sisters in the Church, that man or woman is no longer a Brother or Sister of that Church. I think all I have to do is point to 1 Corinthians 5 for the backing for this statement, as well as the understood context. All men fall prey to sin, and ALL MEN must act accordingly. Therefore ALL MEN must be treated the same, and repentance is NOT a request, or a thing that can wait until later. It is an OBLIGATION; it is MANDATORY; and it is REQUIRED IMMEDIATELY. If repentance is not present, no further growth or forward movement can take place, no rebuilding can happen, and NOTHING is CHANGED. This goes for Brothers and Sisters of ALL STATUSES, DUTIES, JOBS, RESPONSIBILITIES, and LEADERSHIP POSITIONS.
Also, on a personal note: Anybody who knowingly hurts my friends in ways that will forever change their lives…AND REFUSES TO REPENT…is not only an unrepentant sinner, but also an enemy of peace and love in my eyes, and will not have anything to do with me or my house as long as the sinfulness continues.
I mentioned Love, and I’m also prepared to talk about this screwy relationship it has with Grace and Mercy. I still haven’t totally figured this one out yet, at least not enough to talk about for long, but my take on it goes like this: Mercy is a choice I can make to offer someone. Grace is something God gives us. Love connects both of these Spiritual ideals, and brings both about through a bond. Since I can Love each and every man and woman, and not necessarily their actions or the sin they constantly live in, I currently have the choice to offer Mercy, because Grace is not mine to give. I do not want to confuse my Love for people as an acceptance of their sin, nor a tolerance of it in this high a degree. Perhaps I’ll think about it differently when I’m older, but for now, you can count on my completely immovable stance on this point.
Before I end this note, I would like to bring up a few examples of affectation resulting from this and previous related events:
- My relationships with a large number of people have been damaged because of a series of lies I received. Granted, my immaturity and haste cause much of this problem. Unfortunately, my trust in this person was severely misplaced.
- My friends, many of whom were already struggling with numerous overwhelming and discouraging problems of their own, were suddenly dragged into a pit of lies and deceit, covered from head to toe in a filth they had no part in creating, and dragged to the ground by an enormous load they did not deserve and hurt in so many ways. This is despicable. I will not stand for it.
- I have personally poured many hours of my life into an obviously-unappreciated cause: the teaching of the untaught, and the loving of the unloved. This is taken for granted, because despite the hundreds of hours people gave to fight what they thought was a worthy cause, they were betrayed in an incredible way, and now must try to scrape together some optimism from the knife imbedded in their backs.
I will do everything I can to help pick up the pieces. I will love my friends with a fierce love, and be there when they need it. They don’t have to worry about being betrayed by me, because I am nothing but honest with them, and show my true colors as often as I can.
In order to not condemn, I will end this note. I have included a few verses below…I’m sure you can find the rest. I don’t know how many people disagree with me about this, but it’d be nice to get some feedback in the comments. I don’t want to be the only one who’s willing to talk about this. Anything overly personal will be moved to a discrete, one-on-one message. Good night.
* * *
1 Cor. 5:1-13 – Immoral Brother
2 Cor. 2:1-11 – Forgiveness for the repentant sinner
Col. 3:5 – Put Sin to Death
1 John 3:4-6 (especially 6) – Sin and Spiritual Relationships
Leave a Reply