Monday, July 19, 2010

CAN'T OVERCOME SIN, IT'S O.K.

To start this blog post, please read my last one to set this one up. We still often see things in our life from a past paradigm of Western Theological philosophy in a rewards and punishment perspective. One which we in Western Christianity have inhereited from Plato and St. Augustine of Hippo. With this warning in mind let's proceed to this present blog post.

In our humanity we all live in the fallenness we received from the first Adam and with a darkened mind also received from him. Just because we acknowledge who we are in Jesus Christ and believe what He says applies to us does not mean that we all check our humanness, weaknesses, lusts, carnality, vanity, greed, jealousies and all other fleshly human foibles at the door of the Church of Jesus Christ. We all too often walk in and after the flesh and not as often do we walk in and after the Spirit. And what I am telling all of us is this. " THIS IS O.K. "

Jesus did not come to stop humans from sinning. He came to FORGIVE SIN and become sin, all sin for all of us His children. Paul says it this way in Romans 5:18, "...the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life ( eternal life) for ALL men " Jesus simply makes us righteous by His declaration as an act of God made possible by His perfect life.

Jesus is not going to let our sins slip under the door and miss some of them and thereby we find sins in our life that go unforgiven. Silly I know, Jesus "has our back" as the terminology of the day goes.

Paul speaks to this dual life we lead, one in the flesh and the other in the Spirit , in Romans 7. Paul illustrates that we as humans will always have the two sides of our life warring against each other. But , in Jesus, we have the victory in that war because He says SO! Then Paul says in Romans 8:1, "...there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." All actually are, they all just do not know it yet. And they will.

( Again, if you have not read my last blog post, please take the time to do so now.)

Jesus even said himself in John 5:24, that we have passed from death into life through faith and belief in Him. In Matt.11:28, Jesus speaks to all of us trying to become perfect in the flesh by doing this that or the other thing or NOT doing this that or the other thing. He simply says REST. Come to Him and Rest. I will give you rest, He says.

To illustrate the continuing corruption we all are in the flesh, Paul says it this way in ICor.15:53 (OKJ), " This corruptible must put on incorruption." What Paul is saying that even until the day we die or are resurrected we are still sinners and we are still corruption or corruptible. We NEVER attain perfection of the flesh in this life. We can improve but only in Jesus Can we be PERFECT. And we ARE!!!

We all too often go around beating ourselves up over weaknesses and sins or lusts which we may NEVER humanly conquer in this physical life. Alcoholism. Drug addiction. Pornography addiction. Sex addiction. Tobacco addiction. You name it and someone has it. But we all have victory in Jesus Christ who Gives us the Victory. ICor.15:57. We simply win because declares us winners.

I love the verse in Romans 14:22 which says, " blessed is the man who does not condemn himself in what he approves." Jesus says to quit judging each other and rest. Rejoice. Celebrate what He has done to us and for us. He loves us unconditionally which I have been describing here.

We are ALL weak sinners. We all live in a body of sin and death. We all have a darkened mind. We all live in the fallenness of the first Adam. And it is while we are YET sinners Christ died for us the ungodly. Thank you Jesus. Eternity with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit awaits all of us who believe.