From the Pastor’s Study

Jodie E. Jackson, Sr., Pastor

First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Salisbury

WAYS TO DEAL WITH SIN

Sin has been and is ever with us, creating some horrendous consequences in our lives despite our best efforts to not yield to the flood of temptations confronting us. The Apostle Paul describes that tension in Romans 7: 14-25. Before continuing, open your Bible and read his true to life dilemma to determine if you can relate to his struggle.

As I see it, there are several available options people use to deal with sin/sins in their lives. They may be used singly or in any combination. Can you relate to a method you may use to deal with sin in your life?

One method is to flat-out deny one’s sinfulness/sins. This is a spin-off of the “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” saying. “What may be a sin for one doesn’t necessarily become a sin for me”, says the guilty sinner who wishes to wave away his actions, no matter how heinous they may be. However, the Bible doesn’t blink an eye in its insistence that all are sinners, regardless of how loudly the sinner denies his guilt.

Another is to down-grade it. “Oh, it’s not so bad” or “It’s not as bad as (what somebody else has done).” This is a variation of the “degrees of sin theology” that holds that some sins are worse than others! This is interesting, in that the Bible nowhere grades sins on a “badness” scale of 1 to 10, 1 being a trifle and 10 being the absolute worst.

Still another method is to delegate responsibility for one’s sin to someone else, and to blame others for lapses in righteous living. The classic example is Father Adam who when confronted with his sin immediately whined to God: “That woman You gave me made me do it!” He blamed both God and Eve! You may remember Geraldine who was played by Flip Wilson. “She” was quick to excuse “her” sin by blaming it on the Devil: “The Devil made me do it!” Sadly, too many replay that explanation in a futile effort to avoid personal accountability before God.

Yet another method is to defend one’s sin by adopting a “yes, but” attitude. The most common expression is “Yes, I know it’s wrong…but everybody else is doing it!” Judging by the moral tone of our generation, this is a popular way of dealing with sin. And it does seem that everybody is doing it, whatever it may be, and getting away with it!

The above methods really do nothing to deal with the deadly and fatal sin problem.

How then deal with it? Vague and ambiguous language just won’t suffice! God doesn’t take sin lightly, nor must we. It is now time to get serious with God by defining, by taking ownership, by confessing, and by resolving by His grace to no longer live in that state of rebellion against the claims of a holy and righteous God. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (I John 1: 9 NIV).” Confession means literally agreeing with God that a sin is just that, certainly nothing less. “He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them finds mercy (Proverbs. 28:13 NIV).”. In more contemporary language, he who figuratively sweeps his sins under the carpet will not get away with that and will forego the forgiveness he may be seeking.

In this Easter season let’s be keenly aware that it was our sins that nailed Him to that old rugged cross, and that with Him there is mercy, forgiveness, and pardon for His penitent children. Do you need the assurance of His forgiveness?