We are a people of excuses. We know what we should do and we know the benefits but we don't do it, and we are not honest with ourselves. We have heard the same message for decades concerning the long term benefits of healthy eating and exercise. None of us are incapable of increasing our activity or of making right choices in the grocery store, but we don't make those choices. What is true physically is also true for us spiritually.
The big shocker for people is to realize that we haven't been saved for ourselves. Father is not interested in spoiling us, giving us everything we want or having life focus on us. His goal is to mature us for eternity which means we have tough lessons to live through and learn, just like in childhood. The biggest adjustment is to get ourselves out of the spotlight and to put it on Yahweh and others. First Yahweh, and as a result then others.
Father has prepared a work for us to do and that work is going to be sacrificial and self-denying. It is going to smooth out the rough edges and help us gain the character of Jesus. It is going to provoke us to love, according to the definition of Jesus. It is going to cause us to see others before ourselves. He is telling us to go and get involved in people's lives. But what excuses are we offering? Moses offered excuses:
“O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” (Exodus 4:10)
Good excuses but not good enough to be excused from Yahweh's plans:
“Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord? Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.” (Exodus 4:11-12)
We have no excuses because Father is able to make us capable of what he needs us to be. We have to remember who we are serving. We have to get to know him better. We have to trust him, to simply obey what he tells us to do.
I have shared before that I am an introvert. I would love to spend all my days surfing social media, studying and hiding behind books. Yes, books are fantastic but not when we use them as shields against the calling of the Lord. As an introvert I have to overcome some pretty big barriers to do what I do every day as a pastor. But the Lord called me, equipped me, strengthens me, and fills me with the courage I need to be involved in so many people's lives. Yes, it is definitely a struggle at times and I catch myself more than once crawling back into my shell but that is when I hear him ask, "What are you doing here?" I fully understand Paul the apostle as he writes:
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)
And so can you. No more excuses. No more excuses of why you can't manage the spiritual disciplines of Bible reading, meditation, prayer, worship and witnessing. It's just a decision that these things are important, that Jesus is important, that people are important. No more excuses for focusing on yourself instead of on those who Jesus died to save. No more excuses for denying your calling. Read Yahweh's response to Moses again and decide to trust, leaving behind whatever shield you are hiding behind.
Showing posts with label excuses. Show all posts
Showing posts with label excuses. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Monday, July 22, 2013
Jesus Got Mad
Jesus got mad. He hung out with the lost, the sinners, the murderers, prostitutes, liars and thieves. He didn't get mad at them. He taught large masses of people who ended up not wanting his words but his free lunches. He didn't get mad at them. He was approached by people he was not sent to, who were not the chosen people, who asked him for favours. He didn't get mad at them. No, he got mad at those who turned the temple into something it wasn't suppose to be. He got mad at the religious.
Read John 2 and see the account of the incident.
Jesus,who tolerated so much in the world to bring the good news to the people who needed to hear it, would not tolerate what the religious had allowed to happen in the temple, a place of prayer. I think there is a great lesson here that we are ignoring, an elephant in the room. We've got it backwards.
We spend a lot of time judging and accusing the world of what is only natural for it to do. They are a lost people, blinded to the truth, who exist by instincts that are twisted by rebellion. In many ways they do not know better. They need a message of compassion and truth. They need to know that despite it all, God is still reaching out to them with mercy and grace. They need to hear the words of hope that Jesus brought to us.
We seem to ignore the words of instruction that came through Apostle Paul:
Why should I judge outsiders? Aren’t we supposed to judge only church members? God judges everyone else. The Scriptures say, “Chase away any of your own people who are evil.” (1 Corinthians 5:12-13)
How easy it is for us to point fingers at the world, accusing them of what comes natural. Paul says such judgement comes from God, not us. However, we are responsible for tending to the Church. It is here that we have to be hard on ourselves and yet it is here that we say very little.
Don't get me wrong, there is lots of judgement, but of the wrong sort. There is a lot of behind the back accusation and finger pointing but very little correction. There is also a tolerance of things that God has rejected. I see so much from my vantage point, so much that people accept as right when God has called it wrong.
These people, who I believe are sincere in their love for God, have also pursued their own interest. They twist and turn the Word of God to make accommodations for themselves. They accuse those who follow God's Word of being narrow minded. And I am speaking of much more than homosexuality.We stretch the truth to allow for what our hearts desire for ourselves.
Homosexuals are not the only ones who say they cannot change so God must have made them this way. Whatever our interest, or "pet" sin, the thing we can't or won't let go of, we make our excuses and live with it. There are those who love God but can't stop the lying. There are those who love God but continue to have sex with who ever is open to it. There are those who love God who can't stop the attraction to pornography. There are those who love God and can't stop stealing. There are those who love God who can't stop drinking or doing drugs or any list of things that God has rejected and called unacceptable for his children. But we excuse it, accommodate it and call it good.
It is what got Jesus mad in the temple that day and provoked him to action and it is what Paul said we have a responsibility to take care of:
In my other letter I told you not to have anything to do with immoral people. But I wasn’t talking about the people of this world. You would have to leave this world to get away from everyone who is immoral or greedy or who cheats or worships idols. I was talking about your own people who are immoral or greedy or worship idols or curse others or get drunk or cheat. Don’t even eat with them! (1 Corinthians 5:9-11)
There's the tree in the eye again.
It's great we are talking about the prophetic and using all kinds of wonderfully descriptive words and using a worship that moves our emotions but until the Holy Spirit moves our hearts back to a desire for holiness, it's just a bunch of words. We need to allow the real love of Jesus to provoke us to evict what does not belong in this temple of the Holy Spirit. We need to get mad that we have allowed such things to occupy us. Sexual immorality does not belong to this body any more, it does not belong in the Body of Christ. Either does drunkenness, lying, stealing, gossiping or any other perversion of God's children.
Of course we have no power to evict anything or to change ourselves. The power only comes from Jesus but he gave us his authority so we can speak to those things in us. It is not by will power but by God's power. Just as a person who is drawn to the same sex cannot stop themselves, either can someone who can't stop having affairs or a person who can't stop lying or a person who can't stop stealing, or drinking or taking drugs. But that is the beauty of Jesus, who restores us to what God has designed us to be.
If we choose to hold on to our sin because we like it, we in turn are rejecting God. You cannot have both sin and Jesus. Sin is a very attractive thing and is powerful. It is why we have been slaves to it for so long but when we accept the sacrifice of Jesus, all of that changes. We are transformed. We have the power and authority, Jesus' authority, over sin and we must use it.
We have to stop tolerating sin in our lives and in the Body of Christ. It is better to deal with it now before the time of forced separation is upon us. The sheep and goats, wheat and weeds will be separated. It's not what we say is right and wrong but what God says. Let's stop pointing fingers at the world and get back to the desire for holy living. Let's get mad about sin in God's holy temple.
Read John 2 and see the account of the incident.
Jesus,who tolerated so much in the world to bring the good news to the people who needed to hear it, would not tolerate what the religious had allowed to happen in the temple, a place of prayer. I think there is a great lesson here that we are ignoring, an elephant in the room. We've got it backwards.
We spend a lot of time judging and accusing the world of what is only natural for it to do. They are a lost people, blinded to the truth, who exist by instincts that are twisted by rebellion. In many ways they do not know better. They need a message of compassion and truth. They need to know that despite it all, God is still reaching out to them with mercy and grace. They need to hear the words of hope that Jesus brought to us.
We seem to ignore the words of instruction that came through Apostle Paul:
Why should I judge outsiders? Aren’t we supposed to judge only church members? God judges everyone else. The Scriptures say, “Chase away any of your own people who are evil.” (1 Corinthians 5:12-13)
How easy it is for us to point fingers at the world, accusing them of what comes natural. Paul says such judgement comes from God, not us. However, we are responsible for tending to the Church. It is here that we have to be hard on ourselves and yet it is here that we say very little.
Don't get me wrong, there is lots of judgement, but of the wrong sort. There is a lot of behind the back accusation and finger pointing but very little correction. There is also a tolerance of things that God has rejected. I see so much from my vantage point, so much that people accept as right when God has called it wrong.
These people, who I believe are sincere in their love for God, have also pursued their own interest. They twist and turn the Word of God to make accommodations for themselves. They accuse those who follow God's Word of being narrow minded. And I am speaking of much more than homosexuality.We stretch the truth to allow for what our hearts desire for ourselves.
Homosexuals are not the only ones who say they cannot change so God must have made them this way. Whatever our interest, or "pet" sin, the thing we can't or won't let go of, we make our excuses and live with it. There are those who love God but can't stop the lying. There are those who love God but continue to have sex with who ever is open to it. There are those who love God who can't stop the attraction to pornography. There are those who love God and can't stop stealing. There are those who love God who can't stop drinking or doing drugs or any list of things that God has rejected and called unacceptable for his children. But we excuse it, accommodate it and call it good.
It is what got Jesus mad in the temple that day and provoked him to action and it is what Paul said we have a responsibility to take care of:
In my other letter I told you not to have anything to do with immoral people. But I wasn’t talking about the people of this world. You would have to leave this world to get away from everyone who is immoral or greedy or who cheats or worships idols. I was talking about your own people who are immoral or greedy or worship idols or curse others or get drunk or cheat. Don’t even eat with them! (1 Corinthians 5:9-11)
There's the tree in the eye again.
It's great we are talking about the prophetic and using all kinds of wonderfully descriptive words and using a worship that moves our emotions but until the Holy Spirit moves our hearts back to a desire for holiness, it's just a bunch of words. We need to allow the real love of Jesus to provoke us to evict what does not belong in this temple of the Holy Spirit. We need to get mad that we have allowed such things to occupy us. Sexual immorality does not belong to this body any more, it does not belong in the Body of Christ. Either does drunkenness, lying, stealing, gossiping or any other perversion of God's children.
Of course we have no power to evict anything or to change ourselves. The power only comes from Jesus but he gave us his authority so we can speak to those things in us. It is not by will power but by God's power. Just as a person who is drawn to the same sex cannot stop themselves, either can someone who can't stop having affairs or a person who can't stop lying or a person who can't stop stealing, or drinking or taking drugs. But that is the beauty of Jesus, who restores us to what God has designed us to be.
If we choose to hold on to our sin because we like it, we in turn are rejecting God. You cannot have both sin and Jesus. Sin is a very attractive thing and is powerful. It is why we have been slaves to it for so long but when we accept the sacrifice of Jesus, all of that changes. We are transformed. We have the power and authority, Jesus' authority, over sin and we must use it.
We have to stop tolerating sin in our lives and in the Body of Christ. It is better to deal with it now before the time of forced separation is upon us. The sheep and goats, wheat and weeds will be separated. It's not what we say is right and wrong but what God says. Let's stop pointing fingers at the world and get back to the desire for holy living. Let's get mad about sin in God's holy temple.
Monday, April 15, 2013
No More Excuses
I wonder how confident we are about our Christian walk. Would we be willing to tell someone to look at our example? More often than not we make excuses: "I'm only human", "I'm not perfect, just forgiven". I guess it is our way of apologizing or seeking forgiveness. Or is it our way of avoiding holiness? All I know is that when I read Paul's testimony he was not afraid to say to people, "Do what I do", "Consider my example".
Look at what Paul wrote to Timothy, someone who spent long periods of time with Paul and would have seen his private as well as his public face:
Timothy, you know what I teach and how I live. You know what I want to do and what I believe. You have seen how patient and loving I am, and how in the past I put up with trouble and suffering in the cities of Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. (2 Timothy 2:10-11)
You know what I teach and how I live. There are two "you know" statements and then there is the amazing, "you have seen". Paul is reminding Timothy that he lives what he preaches, and Timothy knows it. Paul did not hold up high standards for others that he was not living himself. Neither was he excusing other people's attitudes and behaviours so he himself could live such a low standard. Paul was determined to be like Jesus and he expected others to have the same desire.
Paul took Jesus at his word and he had faith to believe that everything was possible through Jesus. That includes holy living. It includes the righteousness of God. I don't see in any of Paul's writings where excuses were offered and I don't see where excuses were extended. We have been called to live according to the Word God has written on our heart, confirmed by the Spirit and the written testimony he has given to us. It is a daily surrender and a growing process but it is not a system of poor excuses.
We have not been left here to struggle with sin. Sin is done with and if it happens then God's grace and forgiveness is abundant but we are not to use that grace as an excuse to sin. We need to be careful of our attitude that it is not a "God will forgive me because he understands how weak I am". We were weak but we aren't any more. We are filled by the resurrection power, possessed by the Spirit of God. When we sin it is a rebellious act against God, lacking in love. For such a thing, we had better repent and not expect God simply to "understand". He does understand and he sent Jesus to take care of the matter. Now we are more than conquerors and had better start acting that way instead of like the weaklings we like to project.
More than conquerors, I am telling you and it means that when God tells me to be holy as he is holy that he has made it possible for me. Not because I will my behaviour, attitude and desires to change but because I submit to the Spirit's authority to change them in me. It is a decision to decide for Jesus every single time and when I fail to do so, not to excuse it but deal with it. "Lord, you made me capable of saying no but in my selfishness, I decided against you and said yes to my selfishness. Forgive me and help me understand more fully how your love has transformed me. Sin no longer has authority over me but I gave it that authority and for this I am sorry. I will run from evil and run to you."
All of us should be able to say to a "Timothy", "Look at my example". All of us. No more excuses. No more slogans. No more easy outs. We are called to be God's holy nation, set aside for his purpose, by his design. He has declared us to be holy and has transformed us to be holy. We are more that conquerors through Jesus Christ, our King.
Look at what Paul wrote to Timothy, someone who spent long periods of time with Paul and would have seen his private as well as his public face:
Timothy, you know what I teach and how I live. You know what I want to do and what I believe. You have seen how patient and loving I am, and how in the past I put up with trouble and suffering in the cities of Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. (2 Timothy 2:10-11)
You know what I teach and how I live. There are two "you know" statements and then there is the amazing, "you have seen". Paul is reminding Timothy that he lives what he preaches, and Timothy knows it. Paul did not hold up high standards for others that he was not living himself. Neither was he excusing other people's attitudes and behaviours so he himself could live such a low standard. Paul was determined to be like Jesus and he expected others to have the same desire.
Paul took Jesus at his word and he had faith to believe that everything was possible through Jesus. That includes holy living. It includes the righteousness of God. I don't see in any of Paul's writings where excuses were offered and I don't see where excuses were extended. We have been called to live according to the Word God has written on our heart, confirmed by the Spirit and the written testimony he has given to us. It is a daily surrender and a growing process but it is not a system of poor excuses.
We have not been left here to struggle with sin. Sin is done with and if it happens then God's grace and forgiveness is abundant but we are not to use that grace as an excuse to sin. We need to be careful of our attitude that it is not a "God will forgive me because he understands how weak I am". We were weak but we aren't any more. We are filled by the resurrection power, possessed by the Spirit of God. When we sin it is a rebellious act against God, lacking in love. For such a thing, we had better repent and not expect God simply to "understand". He does understand and he sent Jesus to take care of the matter. Now we are more than conquerors and had better start acting that way instead of like the weaklings we like to project.
More than conquerors, I am telling you and it means that when God tells me to be holy as he is holy that he has made it possible for me. Not because I will my behaviour, attitude and desires to change but because I submit to the Spirit's authority to change them in me. It is a decision to decide for Jesus every single time and when I fail to do so, not to excuse it but deal with it. "Lord, you made me capable of saying no but in my selfishness, I decided against you and said yes to my selfishness. Forgive me and help me understand more fully how your love has transformed me. Sin no longer has authority over me but I gave it that authority and for this I am sorry. I will run from evil and run to you."
All of us should be able to say to a "Timothy", "Look at my example". All of us. No more excuses. No more slogans. No more easy outs. We are called to be God's holy nation, set aside for his purpose, by his design. He has declared us to be holy and has transformed us to be holy. We are more that conquerors through Jesus Christ, our King.
Saturday, February 9, 2013
No Timidity In Jesus
There are some things we have to get right if we are ever going to live up to our potential in Jesus. Too often we rob ourselves of the joy of serving with all our heart because we get the foundation of our understanding wrong. The one thing I keep going on about is the fact that our service to our King does not depend on our abilities It does not depend on our desires, likes, wants, fears or our lack of anything. There are only two things that we need to bring to the table: faithfulness and obedience.
When you come to Jesus you come stripped of everything. You come empty handed. You have nothing to offer and what you think you had is taken from you. The whole reason we needed Jesus to die for us is because we had nothing to offer our God. So God did it all. It is no different in our service. God does not need anything we can do for him. What he is looking for is empty vessels that he can pour himself into.
Let's get this right: God does not need your opinion or your ideas. A private does not express his opinions to a general; he obeys what he is told. God loves us as his children, but as servants he is only looking for obedience. This is vital to understand so that when God speaks and gives us direction we are not like Moses, giving our excuses. If God said it don't philosophy over it; just do it.
This is the idea of what Paul was writing to Timothy. He just told him to fan into flame the gift that was given to him when Paul laid hands on him. In other words, God had equipped Timothy with his own power so Timothy could be obedient in the tasks he was given. Timothy did not have the ability but God did through him. So now Paul encourages him to not allow anything to prevent him from being obedient and faithful:
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. (2 Timothy 1:7)
If you are serving God in your strength and ability, stop it! You are serving God with your limitations and he can't use what you are offering. It will be of no eternal value. He wants us to serve him with his limitlessness.
We have no excuse for hanging back; no excuse for disobedience. We can't say it isn't our personality. We can't say it is out of our comfort zone. We can't say we are afraid of failure. We can't say that we are too timid. If we do then we better wake up to the fact that we are trying to serve him in a manner that does not honour him. We do not have a spirit of timidity but of boldness in Jesus Christ.
By the Spirit we have been given to serve him we are filled with his power. Do you understand that? Not our ability and power but God's infinite power to overcome all things, to do all things, to be all things. We cannot serve him in our limited love but we have been given his love through the Spirit to serve him in the attitude of love. If we do not feel the love and compassion of God for all people, how can we serve him in this world?
By this same Spirit we have been given self-discipline. It means there are no excuses. When we are tired we lean on Jesus and we serve in his energy. When we feel lazy we put that lazy spirit under our feet and serve him in his strength. If we lack self-disciple in anything in our life it is because our life does not belong to Jesus. Are you understanding the point here?
My fear for Christians is that we do not understand this foundation matter. We are disciples of Jesus Christ. We have died to ourselves and our lives are now empty of ourselves and the only reason we have for living is Jesus. He is not interested in our opinions; we is looking for our faithfulness and obedience. It doesn't matter if you think it is a bad idea; if the Spirit told you to do it then do it and let God work it out. I realize this is hard, especially when we are young, middle aged or old. Get the point? It is always hard to remain submitted to Jesus, but we must if we are going to live up to our potential in him. Trust. Obey. Allow the Spirit to work through you. No excuses.
When you come to Jesus you come stripped of everything. You come empty handed. You have nothing to offer and what you think you had is taken from you. The whole reason we needed Jesus to die for us is because we had nothing to offer our God. So God did it all. It is no different in our service. God does not need anything we can do for him. What he is looking for is empty vessels that he can pour himself into.
Let's get this right: God does not need your opinion or your ideas. A private does not express his opinions to a general; he obeys what he is told. God loves us as his children, but as servants he is only looking for obedience. This is vital to understand so that when God speaks and gives us direction we are not like Moses, giving our excuses. If God said it don't philosophy over it; just do it.
This is the idea of what Paul was writing to Timothy. He just told him to fan into flame the gift that was given to him when Paul laid hands on him. In other words, God had equipped Timothy with his own power so Timothy could be obedient in the tasks he was given. Timothy did not have the ability but God did through him. So now Paul encourages him to not allow anything to prevent him from being obedient and faithful:
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. (2 Timothy 1:7)
If you are serving God in your strength and ability, stop it! You are serving God with your limitations and he can't use what you are offering. It will be of no eternal value. He wants us to serve him with his limitlessness.
We have no excuse for hanging back; no excuse for disobedience. We can't say it isn't our personality. We can't say it is out of our comfort zone. We can't say we are afraid of failure. We can't say that we are too timid. If we do then we better wake up to the fact that we are trying to serve him in a manner that does not honour him. We do not have a spirit of timidity but of boldness in Jesus Christ.
By the Spirit we have been given to serve him we are filled with his power. Do you understand that? Not our ability and power but God's infinite power to overcome all things, to do all things, to be all things. We cannot serve him in our limited love but we have been given his love through the Spirit to serve him in the attitude of love. If we do not feel the love and compassion of God for all people, how can we serve him in this world?
By this same Spirit we have been given self-discipline. It means there are no excuses. When we are tired we lean on Jesus and we serve in his energy. When we feel lazy we put that lazy spirit under our feet and serve him in his strength. If we lack self-disciple in anything in our life it is because our life does not belong to Jesus. Are you understanding the point here?
My fear for Christians is that we do not understand this foundation matter. We are disciples of Jesus Christ. We have died to ourselves and our lives are now empty of ourselves and the only reason we have for living is Jesus. He is not interested in our opinions; we is looking for our faithfulness and obedience. It doesn't matter if you think it is a bad idea; if the Spirit told you to do it then do it and let God work it out. I realize this is hard, especially when we are young, middle aged or old. Get the point? It is always hard to remain submitted to Jesus, but we must if we are going to live up to our potential in him. Trust. Obey. Allow the Spirit to work through you. No excuses.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Keeping It Real With Jesus
Too often as Christians we take the easy way out instead of standing in the character Jesus has given us, Too easily we say "I am only human" or "I am not perfect, only forgiven". We cop out of our new nature and responsibility to represent Jesus. We leave a world confused as we say one thing and do another. We believe the holiness of God while failing to understand holiness for ourselves. Spiritually we are like bulls in a china shop, making a mess and expecting God to clean it up.
We need a better understanding of what Jesus has done for us. Let's re-visit this verse from a couple of days ago:
In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ ... (Colossians 2:11)
That "putting off" is the same putting off of the foreskin in circumcision. Jesus literally cut away our sin nature, making it so that it is no longer part of us.
With the sin nature we have no choice put to sin. We were slaves to it. Jesus rescued us from that slavery, destroying the power our sin nature had over us. We became a new creation, without our sin nature. A lot of people do not believe this and continue to use their sin nature as an excuse to rebel against God. They use the little motto "not perfect, forgiven". Cop out.
Jesus cut our sin nature away but that does not mean we are unable to sin. Now it is simply a choice. Before we had no choice, we had to sin, being enslave to that nature, but now we have a choice. So when we sin in Jesus it is an act of our will, a decision we have made, something we have set our heart to do. No excuses! I sinned because I made the conscience choice to sin. Let's call it what it is.
Now some people will say they sin out of habit, it is only a learned behaviour that they are trying to break. It is like smoking. People just get use to the habit so that even when they break their dependency on the drug they still have the urge because of habit. They are use to taking that break for a smoke, to have something in their hands and in their mouth. Habits are powerful and can be hard to break, like the habit of lying or stealing. For this we need to understand the power that now possesses us:
... having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. (v.12)
Our salvation is a result of our faith in the power of God to do exactly what he said he would do. Some of us have faith to see the Spirit manifested through us. We have faith for God's provision. Yet, we lack faith to believe that God is powerful enough to sustain us in temptation. That temptation is now only a thing that is playing on our will and on habit, it has no power over us any more. We can stand up under it by having faith in the power of God in the same way we had faith that he could save us. We need to allow the Spirit to re-train us and to develop new habits in us; habits that bring Jesus glory. Thankfully we live in an age of grace where when we do fail, and it is a failure, Jesus is there to pick us up, dust us off and start again.
Our problem is that we sometimes get so caught up in the big picture we forget the daily battles that have to be fought. We need to stay strong in Jesus so we can fulfil our responsibility in service, and we need to understand that sin weakens us. To win those daily battles we have to live in the moment and say to ourselves, "No, in this moment I choose to follow Jesus". Every time we are tempted to rebel, to do what we want, to cheat, to cut corners, to bend the rules, all we have to do is make a decision for Jesus and have faith that he has empowered us to walk away from temptation.
For a follower of Jesus sin is an act of the will. The excuse of our sin nature has been cut away and we now stand in our faith in the power of God to keep us and sustain us. No more excuses. Keep it real.
We need a better understanding of what Jesus has done for us. Let's re-visit this verse from a couple of days ago:
In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ ... (Colossians 2:11)
That "putting off" is the same putting off of the foreskin in circumcision. Jesus literally cut away our sin nature, making it so that it is no longer part of us.
With the sin nature we have no choice put to sin. We were slaves to it. Jesus rescued us from that slavery, destroying the power our sin nature had over us. We became a new creation, without our sin nature. A lot of people do not believe this and continue to use their sin nature as an excuse to rebel against God. They use the little motto "not perfect, forgiven". Cop out.
Jesus cut our sin nature away but that does not mean we are unable to sin. Now it is simply a choice. Before we had no choice, we had to sin, being enslave to that nature, but now we have a choice. So when we sin in Jesus it is an act of our will, a decision we have made, something we have set our heart to do. No excuses! I sinned because I made the conscience choice to sin. Let's call it what it is.
Now some people will say they sin out of habit, it is only a learned behaviour that they are trying to break. It is like smoking. People just get use to the habit so that even when they break their dependency on the drug they still have the urge because of habit. They are use to taking that break for a smoke, to have something in their hands and in their mouth. Habits are powerful and can be hard to break, like the habit of lying or stealing. For this we need to understand the power that now possesses us:
... having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. (v.12)
Our salvation is a result of our faith in the power of God to do exactly what he said he would do. Some of us have faith to see the Spirit manifested through us. We have faith for God's provision. Yet, we lack faith to believe that God is powerful enough to sustain us in temptation. That temptation is now only a thing that is playing on our will and on habit, it has no power over us any more. We can stand up under it by having faith in the power of God in the same way we had faith that he could save us. We need to allow the Spirit to re-train us and to develop new habits in us; habits that bring Jesus glory. Thankfully we live in an age of grace where when we do fail, and it is a failure, Jesus is there to pick us up, dust us off and start again.
Our problem is that we sometimes get so caught up in the big picture we forget the daily battles that have to be fought. We need to stay strong in Jesus so we can fulfil our responsibility in service, and we need to understand that sin weakens us. To win those daily battles we have to live in the moment and say to ourselves, "No, in this moment I choose to follow Jesus". Every time we are tempted to rebel, to do what we want, to cheat, to cut corners, to bend the rules, all we have to do is make a decision for Jesus and have faith that he has empowered us to walk away from temptation.
For a follower of Jesus sin is an act of the will. The excuse of our sin nature has been cut away and we now stand in our faith in the power of God to keep us and sustain us. No more excuses. Keep it real.
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