A friend of mine wrote this week wondering why believers, who have been forgiven, cleansed, redeemed and filled by the Holy Spirit still succumb to sin. She stated correctly that, to a large extent, for a Christian to remain in a state of sin is a decision. Why then do we decide so often to sin rather than to resist?
I don't really have an answer to the above question. Of course, the apostle Paul brilliantly describes the struggle of the war within all of us: there's that sinful nature to contend with until we die. I'll have to say that I don't really know many believers who triumph over sin more than we fall--our sinful nature becomes a convenient excuse for our failures in holiness.
A partial clue may be found in a quote by J.C. Ryle, as read in Packer/Nystrom's book called Praying. Ryle wrote: Praying and sinning will never live together in the same heart. Prayer will consume sin, or sin will choke prayer. I cannot forget this. I look at men's lives. I believe that few pray. Prayerlessness is certainly part of the answer to my friend's question. There are times when we are so aware of spiritual battles raging all about us that we are driven to prayer; the trick is to remember they're still raging even when we don't see them and to remain on our knees.
5 comments:
It's good to see you blogging again, Auntie Ann-Elise!
I don't believe that continuing to sin is always a conscious "decision," although very often it certainly is. Sometimes I feel like we're already so hard-wired for sin that we do it before we've had time to consider our options. Even those who believe in their hearts and confess with their lips that Jesus is Lord can find themselves falling into sins they don't want to commit! However, there can be no argument that a healthy prayer life is the best defense against against sin, and the temptation to sin.
I think this is why our ultimate model of prayer, given by Jesus himself, contains the plea for God to "lead us not into temptation." It doesn't say, "Father, when temptation arises, as we know it will, give us the strength to resist it." Rather it asks God to protect us from the occasion to sin in the first place, knowing that when faced with temptation we sometimes sin so automatically we don't realize we even had a choice.
And this is the way it should be, because it reminds us continually that no matter how strong our faith is and how good our intentions, we are at every hour of the day completely dependent on God's mercy and grace to keep us from falling into sin. We remain humble knowing that if indeed we are not sinning, it's because He has graciously protected us from temptation. It's not our actions and strength that keeps us out of the pit; it's His grace alone.
Thanks, Dave, for your very insightful comment. I probably stated more strongly than I meant to or should have our role in sinning. Without the Holy Spirit's power we are helpless in the face of temptation. It is only He who can strengthen us to live lives of holiness. And it's all about unmerited grace, thank God! (And I still think you have the qualities I mentioned before!) :-)
Yeah, Mom! Glad to have you back in the blogosphere! Thanks for the thoughts, too, Mom. I think about this often.
Dave--have you ever thought of being a pastor? You could be some crazy kind of non-traditional pastor, like Rob Bell, only with more music. ;)
Yes, I agree with you all on your comments re sin. As a male, I have the same up and down struggle with temptation. I am fine as long as I do not dwell or think on it. But when I don't go to God and swing out on my own with my own imaginations, then I fail to stand and am consumed. You are right, Annelise about needing to be on our knees and you are right Dave that the subconscious kicks in when we are not aware of the sin actually being there. It can be dormant and spring back to life like a century plant.
So I pray that you all continue to live lives of grace because God will definitely grade on a curve. No way will he expect perfection from us. He sent Jesus to take care of that. Phew. Peace, scott(Jenn's friend)
Thanks, Scott, for visiting the blog and commenting. It is a relief to know that Jesus won't judge us on our merits, but on His grace!
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