I was witnessing my Faith not that long ago to a man maybe in his mid-30's, and he really got into my face about, "all that sin junk". "Why do you even GO there?", he asked? "Who SAID we're so blind in our nature? God? And why would God want to put people on such guilt-trips, anyway?" He was serious. DEAD serious.
And I, also, thought the same way once. ONCE.
..........
So just why, HAS our God in Heaven put the concept of sin, and all of its ramifications before us?
Well, I ended up telling this young fellow that without a solid concept of sin there is very little else graspable within the Christian faith. In other words, I asked him directly, "How can anyone even BEGIN to understand Jesus' Mission if they cannot or will not try to realize just what Jesus IS trying to save us from?"
..........
The point I want to make in this post, is that our current secular culture is trying VERY, VERY desperately to re-define this very concept of, "The Existence of Sin".
As a vivid example, I saw this sign above a stack of candy products in a variety store the other day, that used the phrase, "with a SINFULLY delightful flavor". Whoa. I picked up one of the products and the actual label read, and I quote, "Unusually high level of sugar-like ingredients, made SO very flavorable to the point of seeming sinful." Unquote. Wow !
So, I ask, "Is our culture trying to dismiss sin as only a concept which holds very little weight or substance at all?"
And this is the thrust of the very-prevalent and fastly-growing dilemma which I see in our world today: People, ANY people of Belief or not, now seem to so easily question why God should even BE angry at all over the fact that people only want a little bit of pleasure and excitement in their lives! It's as if secular society is saying, "Come on, God, GIVE US A BREAK HERE, will you?"
Is, in other words, our society of today totally dis-using the concept of sin entirely? And, is THIS a habit which a Believer should be condoning? I guess I am asking, "Has this dimension of our culture actually begun to beckon us INTO sin by telling us that there IS no sin, actually?" Is THIS the very lie of satan, within his temptations of secularism? Are we then, EVEN IN OUR CHURCH WORSHIP, raising our hands in praise yet still staying confused as to what sin really is at all?
I heard this t.v. preacher the other day, as he stood before literally thousands of people, use so much VERY politically and socially-correct verbiage about God's Love and our NEED to love others, but never ONCE in a half-hour even MENTION the word "sin", or even alluded to it.
..........
So, what is this all about which I now so avidly write ?
Let me ask you then, "If we do not feel that sin is our greatest enemy, how can we know that Jesus is our Greatest Blessing?"
Yes, how can our Christian belief even be possible if we do not have a firm grasp on the fact that sin MUST be directly confronted EACH day remaining in our sinful-yet-saved lives?
.........
Heavenly Father, when will we ever realize that "easier and more-popular" faith practices are surely not right in Your Eyes? We, just like the tribes of Judah, have chosen a secular culture as our rocky road to spiritual existence. We, as a society, are not claiming YOU and Your Commandments as our own! Please forgive us, Lord. In Jesus' Precious Name I pray.
..........
And just like those ancient people, as told to us in 2 Kings Chapter 17, we have chosen our own "kings" of our lives, WITHIN our physical belongings and worldly concepts and ideals. When will we choose to see how these "kings" of our lives are even now trying, as they once did centuries ago, to crush each other in popularity, WITHIN our own self-esteem and spiritual struggle? Yes, as the very hands of satan, within these worldly and secular beliefs, agendas and ideologies, take higher and higher priority in our lives, AND WE AREN'T EVEN AWARE OF IT !! Or was that last sentence just too personal for you? How about trying to look at our world as having its values more focused on, and attached to, "what is comfortable to us, INSTEAD of what is Godly Right for us to do under His Commands"?
Why I even continue to write about all this now, is what lies behind the question, "Will we also fall to ruin, as God's ancient generations did, because we choose to play the game of life by our own rules?
..........
"And they did wicked things, provoking the Lord to anger, and they served idols which the Lord has said to them, 'You shall not do this.' ............ "But they did not listen, but were stubborn, as their fathers had been, who did not believe in The Lord their God." And, "They went after false idols AND BECAME FALSE, and they followed the nations that were around them ........ and they abandoned all the Commandments of the Lord, their God." (ref: 2 Kings 17:11-16)
..........
My Friends, I just don't think that it gets any plainer than that. Sin originates because of human rejection of God. We worship our idols. Yes, even the entire Book of Amos depicts HIS day verses OUR current world condition, doesn't it?
They even killed children outright, if they didn't want them. DOES THIS RIGHT A BELL, or what??
.........
Heavenly Father and Lord, please help me to NEVER lose my terrible fear about how my world today is rejecting You. Help ME and all your chosen people NEVER stop sharing YOUR Word and YOUR Commands! And help us, Dear God, be moved by Your Treasure of Salvation! In Jesus Name I ask these things. Amen.
..........
For God commanded the Light to shine out of darkness, and to shine in our hearts to give the Light of the Knowledge of the Glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But have this treasure in your earthen vessel, to show that the surpassing Power belongs to God and not to us." (2 Corinthians 4:6-7)
Doesn't this wonderful Scripture tell us why we need to SO BOLDLY share this Light of Knowledge to others, and that the wonder of it all is that is "treasure" is not of us, NOT of this earthly body or mind, but of God!
May the Holy Spirit SPEED you to this understanding and give you the boldness to step out in your faith and witness your knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
And I, also, thought the same way once. ONCE.
..........
So just why, HAS our God in Heaven put the concept of sin, and all of its ramifications before us?
Well, I ended up telling this young fellow that without a solid concept of sin there is very little else graspable within the Christian faith. In other words, I asked him directly, "How can anyone even BEGIN to understand Jesus' Mission if they cannot or will not try to realize just what Jesus IS trying to save us from?"
..........
The point I want to make in this post, is that our current secular culture is trying VERY, VERY desperately to re-define this very concept of, "The Existence of Sin".
As a vivid example, I saw this sign above a stack of candy products in a variety store the other day, that used the phrase, "with a SINFULLY delightful flavor". Whoa. I picked up one of the products and the actual label read, and I quote, "Unusually high level of sugar-like ingredients, made SO very flavorable to the point of seeming sinful." Unquote. Wow !
So, I ask, "Is our culture trying to dismiss sin as only a concept which holds very little weight or substance at all?"
And this is the thrust of the very-prevalent and fastly-growing dilemma which I see in our world today: People, ANY people of Belief or not, now seem to so easily question why God should even BE angry at all over the fact that people only want a little bit of pleasure and excitement in their lives! It's as if secular society is saying, "Come on, God, GIVE US A BREAK HERE, will you?"
Is, in other words, our society of today totally dis-using the concept of sin entirely? And, is THIS a habit which a Believer should be condoning? I guess I am asking, "Has this dimension of our culture actually begun to beckon us INTO sin by telling us that there IS no sin, actually?" Is THIS the very lie of satan, within his temptations of secularism? Are we then, EVEN IN OUR CHURCH WORSHIP, raising our hands in praise yet still staying confused as to what sin really is at all?
I heard this t.v. preacher the other day, as he stood before literally thousands of people, use so much VERY politically and socially-correct verbiage about God's Love and our NEED to love others, but never ONCE in a half-hour even MENTION the word "sin", or even alluded to it.
..........
So, what is this all about which I now so avidly write ?
Let me ask you then, "If we do not feel that sin is our greatest enemy, how can we know that Jesus is our Greatest Blessing?"
Yes, how can our Christian belief even be possible if we do not have a firm grasp on the fact that sin MUST be directly confronted EACH day remaining in our sinful-yet-saved lives?
.........
Heavenly Father, when will we ever realize that "easier and more-popular" faith practices are surely not right in Your Eyes? We, just like the tribes of Judah, have chosen a secular culture as our rocky road to spiritual existence. We, as a society, are not claiming YOU and Your Commandments as our own! Please forgive us, Lord. In Jesus' Precious Name I pray.
..........
And just like those ancient people, as told to us in 2 Kings Chapter 17, we have chosen our own "kings" of our lives, WITHIN our physical belongings and worldly concepts and ideals. When will we choose to see how these "kings" of our lives are even now trying, as they once did centuries ago, to crush each other in popularity, WITHIN our own self-esteem and spiritual struggle? Yes, as the very hands of satan, within these worldly and secular beliefs, agendas and ideologies, take higher and higher priority in our lives, AND WE AREN'T EVEN AWARE OF IT !! Or was that last sentence just too personal for you? How about trying to look at our world as having its values more focused on, and attached to, "what is comfortable to us, INSTEAD of what is Godly Right for us to do under His Commands"?
Why I even continue to write about all this now, is what lies behind the question, "Will we also fall to ruin, as God's ancient generations did, because we choose to play the game of life by our own rules?
..........
"And they did wicked things, provoking the Lord to anger, and they served idols which the Lord has said to them, 'You shall not do this.' ............ "But they did not listen, but were stubborn, as their fathers had been, who did not believe in The Lord their God." And, "They went after false idols AND BECAME FALSE, and they followed the nations that were around them ........ and they abandoned all the Commandments of the Lord, their God." (ref: 2 Kings 17:11-16)
..........
My Friends, I just don't think that it gets any plainer than that. Sin originates because of human rejection of God. We worship our idols. Yes, even the entire Book of Amos depicts HIS day verses OUR current world condition, doesn't it?
They even killed children outright, if they didn't want them. DOES THIS RIGHT A BELL, or what??
.........
Heavenly Father and Lord, please help me to NEVER lose my terrible fear about how my world today is rejecting You. Help ME and all your chosen people NEVER stop sharing YOUR Word and YOUR Commands! And help us, Dear God, be moved by Your Treasure of Salvation! In Jesus Name I ask these things. Amen.
..........
For God commanded the Light to shine out of darkness, and to shine in our hearts to give the Light of the Knowledge of the Glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But have this treasure in your earthen vessel, to show that the surpassing Power belongs to God and not to us." (2 Corinthians 4:6-7)
Doesn't this wonderful Scripture tell us why we need to SO BOLDLY share this Light of Knowledge to others, and that the wonder of it all is that is "treasure" is not of us, NOT of this earthly body or mind, but of God!
May the Holy Spirit SPEED you to this understanding and give you the boldness to step out in your faith and witness your knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
