Battling Sin In The Body Of Christ

Have you ever noticed that you are stronger with friends? Facing difficulties, challenges, even defeat is a lot easier when you are surrounded by people who love and encourage you. A rope made of many woven pieces of twine is far stronger than a single piece of twine. We can't afford to forget that we are not on this Christian walk alone. Not only are we possessed by Christ but we are also a single unit in the context of the Body of Christ.

We are responsible for each other. It has been given to us to encourage, pray for, help carry, warn and even correct each other. The Christian walk is not an easy one and part of it is learning to love each other in the same way Jesus loved us. We are supposed to be united as brothers and sisters and our goal is to see each other complete the race we have been given to run. That means a lot of encouragement during the rough patches.

We are here for each other's success but at the same time there are warnings not to allow sin to propagate in the Body. Sin is a destructive force and when not dealt with it will spread and effect the whole. It would be like a diseased limb. We would do everything we can to heal that limb but if it failed to respond to the treatments it would have to be amputated to protect the body from its spread. This is the exact course of action subscribed by the Word of God for a diseased unit within the Body of Christ. We see a severe example in Joshua.

Achan had sinned by going against the exact instruction of Yahweh. The instruction was clear as was the sin against it, but note how it was seen from Yahweh's perspective:

But the children of Israel committed a trespass regarding the accursed things, for Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed things; so the anger of the Lord burned against the children of Israel. (Joshua 7:1)

Yahweh's anger was at the whole nation even though it was only one person who had sinned. The solution was to find the one person and remove him from Israel because the whole body was suffering due to the disease that had been brought into the nation.

People think that when they choose to sin it only effects them. They are too self-centered or clouded to see the impact it has on people around them. Because it has impact on so many others it is only natural that others will be part of the solution. These others bring the situation to the attention of the individual, bring correction and participate in the restoration of the individual. If the individual does not respond to the treatment then these same others have no choice but to amputate for the sake of the whole. This is how it should be done but rarely is because we have a wrong perspective and so allow the disease to grow and spread. We think that pampering the disease, calling it something else or defining the cause will somehow lead to a cure. Instead it leads to tolerance and the spreading of the disease.

This is not something I expected those without Jesus to understand but those of us with Jesus should be able to appreciate the Biblical instructions. We should appreciate people helping us see where we are making terrible mistakes and when we are in danger. Individuals can lose sight, perspective and come under the influence of disease. It's not about protecting a persons feelings but keeping an eternal perspective. We need our church government to be strong in these matters even if it involves amputations because the health of the Body matters.

 

Why It Sometimes Goes Wrong

Life is fluid. Everything is constantly moving, changing, evolving because life involves a lot of people. Perhaps if you stood in isolation, dependent on no one else and having no interaction with anyone else, life might be predictable. However, your life involves a lot of different people who are independent in their decision making. Even you, with your many decisions in a day, cause life to be fluid. This is the reason we should never assume.

We are dependent on Yahweh, or at least, we are suppose to be. We are suppose to be in constant communication, checking his will and direction. He adjusts our actions according to the decisions of other people so that his will is always fulfilled. That means it is not one set of instructions and off we go. He goes with us for a reason, so adjustments can be made. This is why he desires obedience from his children, so we will listen constantly and obey in love and trust. We have an example of this with Joshua and the Israelite's.

They just had an awesome victory at Jericho. It was a bit odd but the purpose was to show them that Yahweh was giving them victory and it was not dependent on their army. He had given them exact, step by step directions. So now their sights were set on their next objective, the city of Ai. Joshua sent the spies and they came back with this report:

Do not let all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not weary all the people there, for the people of Ai are few. (Joshua 7:3)

Confident on the heels of their victory, they did not consult with Yahweh. They assumed. But life is fluid. None of them could possibly have known that the situation had changed. One of their own had disobeyed Yahweh's instructions in the first battle and because of his sin, Yahweh had removed himself from Israel. When they went up to attack Ai, a much softer target than Jericho, they were thoroughly defeated and people died. People died, not just because of Achan's sin but because the leadership had failed to consult Yahweh. If they had verified things with him they would have discovered the change in their situation.

We can't make assumptions with Yahweh. We must remain in the Spirit, being sensitive to his voice so when adjustments need to be made we will be in the know. If we do not understand and practice the presence of our Lord then we will have the mentality of a commander receiving instructions from the general, then going out without the general to carry it out. Then again, a general always has contact with his troops in the field for the purpose of adjustments as the situation changes.

Practicing the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ is more than for our strength. We often get selfish in this relationship, thinking it is always about us. It is true that being aware of his presence is a great source of strength and confidence, but his presence is also for direction. You have never been left alone to do this on your own because on your own you are not capable. You are not capable of understanding all the changes in our fluid lives, but the Spirit is and he is here to direct us in our Father's will. So learn to listen and obey.

Grace As A Loophole

In this age of hyper-grace we are losing our fear of Yahweh. We are no longer afraid to sin, to offend our God because the overwhelming message of the day is that his grace will cover us. How quick we forget apostle Paul's warning not to use grace as an excuse to sin. The grace of our God is the great message of the age, as it has been for every age since the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is a fantastic reality that we need to bring to the world but we can never lose sight of the truth that we serve a God of justice. Yahweh will judge and he will punish according to our heart.

We should not be looking for loopholes in order to excuse our sin. If any sin has a hold on us it means that we are enslaved to it and not to the righteousness of our LORD. It means we do not walk in the freedom Jesus won for us and it means we are wrong. Pleading grace is not like pleading the 5th in the United States. Grace is applied to the repentant heart not to the one that is looking for the "get out of jail free" card. Let's look at two examples, one from the Old Testament and one from the New.

Israel had just destroyed Jericho at Yahweh's command. He had warned them not to take anything but to destroy everything. However, there was one who did not obey. Achan could not resist certain of the treasures, so he took some and buried them in his tent. An innocent sin that did not impact anyone else, right? Wrong. God's blessings were removed from the nation and when they fought the next battle many lost their lives because Yahweh was not with them. Achan's sin was found out and Yahweh called for justice to be carried out. Rebellion cannot be tolerated among the children of Yahweh:

Then Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the garment, the wedge of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and all that he had, and they brought them to the Valley of Achor. And Joshua said, “Why have you troubled us? The Lord will trouble you this day.” So all Israel stoned him with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones. (Joshua 7:24-25)

Harsh but so was the sin, the rebellion that Yahweh could not permit to spread in his holy nation. Now let's flip forward to the beginning of the Church. There was a married couple who had a plot of land. At that time many of the followers of Jesus were selling their possessions to give to the leaders to provide for those who did not have much. This couple wanted to look good in everyone's eyes but without the cost. So they said they were donating the price of the plot of land they sold but in fact they held some back for themselves. They said they were giving their all but they kept some in reserve:

But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things. (Acts 5:3-5)

They could have given whatever they wanted, there were no expectations, but they choose to lie. Fear came upon the followers of Jesus as it should to this day. I speak for myself as well when I say that we have lost that fear. We are no longer afraid to offend our God, we no longer fear to sin. We enter into it with the thought, "My God knows I love him; he will forgive me according to his grace". But the Spirit knows the motivation of our heart. If we truly loved Jesus then we would seek his righteousness not loopholes to get what we want and to do what we wish.

There is a difference between those who have chosen righteousness, who pursue it and who are covered by grace, and those who say they seek it but lie, expecting that the grace of our Father will cover them. Our God is still a God of justice and we should fear that justice. How quickly we forget the warning in Hebrews:

For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 10:26-31)

Fearful indeed. I am not saying that we should live our life constantly in fear of stepping on an ant and offending Yahweh; we do not live a sin conscience life. But we can live a life where we are aware of the motivation of our heart and if our motivation is to sin against the righteousness of our LORD, to reject it immediately. We are a holy nation, a royal priesthood, separated for the purpose of our Father. We walk in his righteousness and maintain a healthy and respectful fear of the Living God. No loopholes, only obedience.