Condemnation and Purity...
So, after saying that we were done with the purity discussion, I'm to resurrect it for one more post. Mainly because I think we told part of the story and the rest needs to come out.
A lot of us struggle with some kind of secret-ish sin (okay, make that ALL of us!). It might be a porn addiction, it might be things we do/say or otherwise, but its the thing that we cannot beat. We've tried and tried, but always fail. If that sounds familiar (which if you're anything at all like me, sounds more like the story of your spiritual life sometimes), this post is for you.
Condemnation comes from tons of sources, but we often heap most of it on ourselves for our repeated failures. I know I'm often my harshest critic, because I see the things no one else sees and know the way it "ought" to have gone/been/worked. And I think that's true of most of us, especially those in Christian circles. We know the truth, and the truth is supposed to set us free, but instead the truth leaves us hollow and dead because we understand our sinful tendencies and cannot overcome them. Paul lays this out in Romans 7 leading to the pivotal verse in Romans 8 (by the way, if you've never read Romans you really, really should! It's the best systematic explanation of Christianity ever written...).
Romans 8.1 says:
So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus!
Did you read that? There is no condemnation for those who belong to Jesus Christ. Just as He didn't condemn the woman caught in adultery (John 8.1-11), Jesus won't condemn us! Instead Romans 8 continues:
Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.
Notice, the only one who can condemn us doesn't! Jesus doesn't hurl accusations and tell us we're worthless, sniveling worms because of our sin. Instead, He picks us up, dusts us off, and says, "Go and sin no more." Those are five of the toughest words ever pinned, but Jesus evidently thinks it possible!
So let's back up and look further at Romans 8:
And because you belong to Jesus Christ, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.
It says that we have been freed from sin and are capable of no longer following our sinful nature! How amazing is that? We don't have to do the things we don't want to, we can live as Jesus lived because He lives in us. But how then can we square off with Paul's prior words in Romans 7?
I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.
How can this be when we see that God freed us from those sinful desires? Some say that short of heaven, we cannot be holy or live free from sin. Some say we will never be sinless, but are to try as hard as we can. But, others say that we can live free from sin in this lifetime. Paul in Romans 8 seems to be saying the exact same thing: we can, and must, live free from sin in this lifetime. How? The power of Christ in me, is Paul's answer. Look back at Romans 8.2:
the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.
It's not our efforts that free us, only Good's power as instilled in us by the Holy Spirit! But how many of us live in dependence on the Holy Spirit? Not many. Some of us see it as the shadowy, unknown part of God. Some see it as the source of some nut-jobs who fall over and do weird stuff in worship because they've been "touched" by the Holy Spirit. But the truth is, without the Spirit we are powerless.
I think of my time working with Schaffner-Valouch Contractor, Inc. growing up. I was a strong guy (and still am in case some of you are doubting!) and could do most anything required of me in my job. However, sometimes I let my strength get me into trouble. One time we needed to dig a trench, 3' deep a distance of 50-60' in that Oklahoma clay. I didn't have a Ditch Witch and needed to get that trench dug so they could pour the foundation, so I got out my shovel and started digging. I started early in the morning, at around 5am, (because digging a ditch in the hot summer sun isn't my idea of fun!) thinking I could finish by 8 or 9 and move on to the next job that needed done. Instead, I had gotten only 10' or so done in many hours as the sun began beating down on me. The plumber had been there early too, only he did the digging with his trencher and wasn't killing himself in the process! With blisters all over my hands, I continued fighting with the ground trying to put in my ditch, putting in more and more effort for decreasing return. It was at that point in time the plumber drove up next to me on his trencher, asking if I wanted a "hand." If I had let my pride stay in the way, I would have been there all day and really wound up hurting because of my digging, but instead I took him up on his offer and was done in 30 minutes.
Why do I tell this story? Simply because it parallels our lives in so many ways. Jesus freed us from the shackles of sin, yet we go and reattach the chains then try to break them ourselves and fail, miserably. Instead, we are to live by the "power of the spirit" instead of in our own power! If I am trying to break an addictive sin, why do I think my own power is great enough? Or why should I think it comes down to my willpower to not sin? The truth that sets us free is that it isn't our power, but the power of Christ in us through the Holy Spirit that allows us to be free from sin!
Here's the question: are you living in the power of Christ in you today? If you're not, maybe now is the time to think about why not and get out of the drivers seat, quit beating yourself up, and allow God to fill you with his power in the Holy Spirit so you can live the way He meant for you to live...
A lot of us struggle with some kind of secret-ish sin (okay, make that ALL of us!). It might be a porn addiction, it might be things we do/say or otherwise, but its the thing that we cannot beat. We've tried and tried, but always fail. If that sounds familiar (which if you're anything at all like me, sounds more like the story of your spiritual life sometimes), this post is for you.
Condemnation comes from tons of sources, but we often heap most of it on ourselves for our repeated failures. I know I'm often my harshest critic, because I see the things no one else sees and know the way it "ought" to have gone/been/worked. And I think that's true of most of us, especially those in Christian circles. We know the truth, and the truth is supposed to set us free, but instead the truth leaves us hollow and dead because we understand our sinful tendencies and cannot overcome them. Paul lays this out in Romans 7 leading to the pivotal verse in Romans 8 (by the way, if you've never read Romans you really, really should! It's the best systematic explanation of Christianity ever written...).
Romans 8.1 says:
So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus!
Did you read that? There is no condemnation for those who belong to Jesus Christ. Just as He didn't condemn the woman caught in adultery (John 8.1-11), Jesus won't condemn us! Instead Romans 8 continues:
Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.
Notice, the only one who can condemn us doesn't! Jesus doesn't hurl accusations and tell us we're worthless, sniveling worms because of our sin. Instead, He picks us up, dusts us off, and says, "Go and sin no more." Those are five of the toughest words ever pinned, but Jesus evidently thinks it possible!
So let's back up and look further at Romans 8:
And because you belong to Jesus Christ, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.
It says that we have been freed from sin and are capable of no longer following our sinful nature! How amazing is that? We don't have to do the things we don't want to, we can live as Jesus lived because He lives in us. But how then can we square off with Paul's prior words in Romans 7?
I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.
How can this be when we see that God freed us from those sinful desires? Some say that short of heaven, we cannot be holy or live free from sin. Some say we will never be sinless, but are to try as hard as we can. But, others say that we can live free from sin in this lifetime. Paul in Romans 8 seems to be saying the exact same thing: we can, and must, live free from sin in this lifetime. How? The power of Christ in me, is Paul's answer. Look back at Romans 8.2:
the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.
It's not our efforts that free us, only Good's power as instilled in us by the Holy Spirit! But how many of us live in dependence on the Holy Spirit? Not many. Some of us see it as the shadowy, unknown part of God. Some see it as the source of some nut-jobs who fall over and do weird stuff in worship because they've been "touched" by the Holy Spirit. But the truth is, without the Spirit we are powerless.
I think of my time working with Schaffner-Valouch Contractor, Inc. growing up. I was a strong guy (and still am in case some of you are doubting!) and could do most anything required of me in my job. However, sometimes I let my strength get me into trouble. One time we needed to dig a trench, 3' deep a distance of 50-60' in that Oklahoma clay. I didn't have a Ditch Witch and needed to get that trench dug so they could pour the foundation, so I got out my shovel and started digging. I started early in the morning, at around 5am, (because digging a ditch in the hot summer sun isn't my idea of fun!) thinking I could finish by 8 or 9 and move on to the next job that needed done. Instead, I had gotten only 10' or so done in many hours as the sun began beating down on me. The plumber had been there early too, only he did the digging with his trencher and wasn't killing himself in the process! With blisters all over my hands, I continued fighting with the ground trying to put in my ditch, putting in more and more effort for decreasing return. It was at that point in time the plumber drove up next to me on his trencher, asking if I wanted a "hand." If I had let my pride stay in the way, I would have been there all day and really wound up hurting because of my digging, but instead I took him up on his offer and was done in 30 minutes.
Why do I tell this story? Simply because it parallels our lives in so many ways. Jesus freed us from the shackles of sin, yet we go and reattach the chains then try to break them ourselves and fail, miserably. Instead, we are to live by the "power of the spirit" instead of in our own power! If I am trying to break an addictive sin, why do I think my own power is great enough? Or why should I think it comes down to my willpower to not sin? The truth that sets us free is that it isn't our power, but the power of Christ in us through the Holy Spirit that allows us to be free from sin!
Here's the question: are you living in the power of Christ in you today? If you're not, maybe now is the time to think about why not and get out of the drivers seat, quit beating yourself up, and allow God to fill you with his power in the Holy Spirit so you can live the way He meant for you to live...
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