So many of us rattle off a list on sins when we confess our transgressions to Christ. That would be me. But witin a recent sermon at my church, our music minister mentioned how we should not do this, and instead confess our very nature to be sinful. We should admit that we are sinful, not simply what we do.
We always hear that we are sinful beings. We know it. We realize we commit many sins, but how many of us really consider our very selves to be sinful? Perhaps we have heard it, but do we believe it?I'm not so sure I did. That is, until I realized I could sin in my sleep and not even realize it until later. I stomped my foot at how unfair it was that I could sin without conscious thought until I realized how natural it was for me to sin.I could even do it in my sleep! Without thinking, without resistance.
Yup, I'm sinful.
And this is coming from something with a relatively high level of self-confidence. Let me tell you, praying for humility has made clear where my faults lie. Suddenly, the same stupid things I always do are in the light and I can see them. This made me realize how very naturally I sin.
It's not only that I'm sinful because I have sinned. Perhaps that's how it started with Adam and Eve, but not me. I have sinned because I'm sinful.
God above, have mercy.
"We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do -- this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it." -- Romans 7:14-20
I'm in the same boat with you when it comes to sin. I hate it, and sometimes even the whole experience of asking for forgiveness irks me. It's like saying you're sorry but continuously taking advantage of God's grace, you know?
ReplyDeleteI would sometimes give up and just live in sin. The funny thing about that though is when I sin I always find yourself feeling empty afterwards. There is no real lasting pleasure outside of what the flesh enjoys for that moment or time. Once you've truly known God there's a real emptiness that comes with living life without him. I know there's a Bible verse that says we should repent quickly and come back to God when we sin, so I've always went back to that.
Our goal should be to allow God to mold us into something better and eventually we will begin to look more and more like Christ. We will in fact start to sin less. We may never be perfect but we will be a great blessing to the people around us, and a pleasing sight in Gods eyes.
Amen to every word you just said! It's always a relief to find out I'm not alone in the boat (though, sorry for you). It's so easy to just give up and quit fighting, but it's been weighing on my heart lately to "fight the good fight," as it says in the Word. And man, that's a really tough fight.
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