Churches today are filled with carnal Christians. While none of us are able to walk in the Spirit all the time, there is a difference between incidental sin and habitual or lifestyle sin. This is where the subject arises of “license to sin.” We know that when we came to the Lord, He forgave all of our past, present and future sins. Some people acknowledge that they cannot stop sinning, and knowing that God will forgive whatever they do, they just continue in their sins. Rather than allow the Lord to come into their lives and clean them, they are satisfied with dirt. Instead of a “license to sin,” we have had the bonds of sin removed and have the freedom not to sin! Once the Lord has come into our hearts and lives, we can choose not to sin! Unfortunately, it’s not a one-time decision, but a moment-by-moment one.
When we choose to follow Jesus, He doesn’t remove all of the sinful habits from our lives immediately. Instead, He sends in the Holy Spirit Cleaning Crew. The Holy Spirit begins sweeping out the cracks and crevices of our lives and ridding them of sin. He might begin with sexual promiscuity, and proceed to drugs, alcohol, lying, pride and the like. Some legalistic Christians are quick to judge other believers, who are still struggling with major issues. I have a dear friend who gave her life to the Lord, though she struggled with the occult, drugs, alcohol, smoking, gambling, lying and more. The first thing that the Lord removed was her affiliation with the occult. The other issues were more difficult for her to let go of. It was obvious to me, though, that she was in love with the Lord and in love with His Word. Sadly, she came to church high on drugs part of the time, and when she was confronted, told me that she had no idea that was sinful. If she would have died before God removed the remainder of those sins, would she have gone to hell? I certainly don’t believe she would have, as our walks with the Lord are progressive. She still struggles with some of the sins that held her as an unbeliever, but the battle is the Lord’s. He will win it, as He did on Calvary.
The Bible gives us a procedure of how to deal with fellow Christians who sin against us. First, we are to go to them individually. If they do not heed our words, then we are to go to them with an elder. If they still choose to ignore our words, the Lord says to cast them out of the church, that Satan might have his way with them. This seems harsh, but God’s purpose is for the sin to break them into coming back into His arms. I heard a story of a church elder, who after 25 years of serving the Lord in that facet, left his wife and moved in with a girlfriend. The pastor of the church went to visit the elder at the new home. He knocked on the door, entered, sat on the couch and cried. No words were necessary. No condemnation was necessary. The next day, the elder returned to his wife! That wasn’t man’s heart, but God’s heart. He doesn’t condemn us. “There is no condemnation in Christ Jesus.” Instead, His heart breaks with us and for us, as He knows the destruction of sin in our lives. Yet the sins of many carnal Christians are not sins against us, but against God. What should we do there?
Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.
Galatians 6:1
There’s that world “gentleness” again! Rather than words of judgment, it sounds like those words need to be in love.
8 And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.”
1 Peter 4:8
We all have sin in our lives, but who wants to live in a dirty house? Seek the Lord and what dirt He wants to sweep out of your heart today!
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