December 2015

“By our very nature,
all human beings fall
short and sin. That
doesn’t mean it is
our blanket excuse
to keep on doing
so.”
fall from grace by Adam and Eve, only a holy God
in human form could be qualified to give Himself
up as atonement for the rest of the world.
Heretics in the early church mistook atonement to
mean they could live a sinful life as long as they
confessed their sins on their death bed. Sort of a
have-our-sin-cake-and-eat-it-too philosophy. Paul
tried to correct their understanding. However,
today in the wake of the “I’m okay, you’re okay”
movement, this falsehood has once again surfaced.
Believers shrug their shoulders and reply,
“I’m still tainted by being on earth. I’m going to
sin. I can’t help it. That’s why I asked Jesus into
my life.” They act as if Christ is their “get out of
jail free” card in their back pocket. The Christian
should be saying, “I’m not okay and neither are
you. But I am trying to change. That’s why I need
a Savior. How about you?”
By our very nature, all human beings fall short and
sin. That doesn’t mean it is our blanket excuse to
keep on doing so. Somewhere along the line, we
are to strive to sin less, prompted by the Holy Spirit
we have asked to dwell in us. Paul also tells the
Roman Christians, Do not conform to the pattern
of this world, but be transformed by the renewing
of your mind. Then you will be able to test and
approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing
and perfect will. Romans 12:2 He explains in his
second letter to the Corinthians, And we all, who
with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory,
are being transformed into his image with everincreasing
glory, which comes from the Lord, who
is the Spirit. (3:18)
Yes, Christ accepts us as we are, but He never
said to stay that way. Often, during His ministry
on earth, Jesus told the recipient of a miracle to
“go and sin no more.” Granted, no one will obtain
a pure sin-less nature as long as they walk on
this planet, but should not we be striving towards
that goal? To expect God to always wipe the slate
clean and have it not affect our actions or thoughts
is to teeter on a dangerous precipice.
Why? We never know when Christ will return and
the Bible clearly states we will be accountable
for our actions at the end of the age. Ttue, if we
receive Christ as our Savior, he covers our sin
with His blood, so that God sees us veiled in
Christ’s mercy. Christ stands between those have
proclaimed Him to be Savior and God the Father.
The Father “sees” us through the veil of forgiveness