God's Holiness and Our Sin

Do you ever feel less sinful than you perceive others to be? Have you ever listened to someone else’s testimony and wondered what sin God has saved you from? You see, I grew up in a fairly stable environment and had Christian influences in my life since I was born and I feel like God has kept me from straying too far off the path. So what is it that God is actually saving me from? I had this discussion with a good friend of mine in which he told me he felt the same way. He told me that he knew he was a sinner, but since he had never really done anything that bad in his life that he has a harder time appreciating God’s saving grace as much as other people with amazing testimonies. We both struggled with this together until we finally came to a conclusion. Luke 7:47 “Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.” But isn’t all sin the same in God’s eyes? Yes. Now we can sit here and compare ourselves to the Ten Commandments all day (which I believe is a healthy exercise as the commandments are a mirror that allow us to see our sin) but I would recommend another approach for people who share the same difficulty as I do.

Instead of trying to convict yourself of your sin, allow God’s Spirit to do so by first doing a study on the Holiness of God. Read Isaiah 6:1-7 and Revelation 4. Anytime I find myself feeling like I’m not a sinner I read these passages and it really humbles me and shows me that even though I wasn’t pulled from the depths of depravity like some of my friends, I am none-the-less, just as sinful. It’s like coming back from a camping trip. You don’t realize just how dirty you are until you get home and see your face and hands in the light of your bathroom. The closer we get to God the more apparent our sin becomes in the light of his holiness. Maybe you don’t have a radical testimony, maybe your testimony is more like mine, an average American male who deals with pride and lust. You’ve never murdered someone (except in your heart Matt 5:21-26) and you’ve never committed adultery (except in your heart Matt 5:27-28) but I can guarantee that if you read just how holy God is then you will see just how sinful you truly are. And when we know just how much we have been forgiven of we are enabled to love God so much more.

We can’t medicate man to perfection again

We can’t legislate peace in our hearts

We can’t educate sin from our souls

It’s been there from the start

But the blind lead the blind into bottomless pits

Still we smile and deny that we’re cursed

But of all our iniquities

Ignorance may be the worst

Thrice – All the World is Mad

That’s my perspective.

Ben Peters

The Weight

Do you remember fairy tales? Do you remember those movies you used to watch as a kid, the ones where the guy romantically wooed the girl, got married and lived happily ever after? Emotions run wild every time the two lovers eyes meet. The young girls beauty is overwhelming and the young man is exceptionally handsome. A sense of euphoria washes over the audience as the two share their first kiss. The movie culminates in the union of the lovers, leaving the audience with a feathery light sense of assurance: nothing could bring these two apart. Unfortunately this story does not hold true in the reality of our culture.

I have come to accept the fact that in American culture, especially in my generation, the motto is to do what “feels” right. As a culture we have made emotional decisions a normal part of everyday life. This holds true even in the most critical decisions we make, the most important being relationships. I often wonder how many people make the decision to get married simply based on the emotions they are feeling at the moment. One of my mentors once told me that “emotional decisions tend to be poor decisions” and I believe that this is reflected in the divorce rates we see in America. A study by the Barna Group revealed about Americans that “four out of every five adults (78%) have been married at least once” and “among adults who have been married, one-third (33%) have experienced at least one divorce”. Director of the study George Barna noted that Americans have grown comfortable with divorce as a natural part of life. I propose a change in perspective.

Coming from a background that has seen divorce I could tell you all the horrible things that it can do to a family, but instead I will present you with how God feels about it and what His plan is for us in seeking relationships with the opposite sex. Divorce is one of the things that God hates (Malachi 2:16) and it was never part of His plan for our lives. Genesis 2:24 says, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” Here’s the picture: Imagine you take two pieces of wood and you laminate them together, and by that I mean you spread glue over the two surfaces and then clamp them together and let them sit and dry overnight. When you come back the next day you will find that the two pieces of wood have become one. The glue has seeped deep into the pores of the two pieces of wood and they are now forever bonded together. This is how God views marriage. But what happens if you try to split these two pieces of wood apart? The wood splinters and cracks. Pieces of the wood tear off and remain attached to either piece. You see, that’s just the thing; you cannot break apart something that was meant to be a permanent bond without destructive consequences. How can we avoid such a disaster? By being the kind of people God desires us to be.

Before we can even consider pursuing a relationship with someone I think we need to compare ourselves with God’s definition of what love is. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 says, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”(NIV). Here is a challenging exercise: read this passage out loud, but replace the words “love” and “it” with your name instead. Can you say the whole thing and feel like it’s true? I know I can’t. Before we even consider bringing someone into our life we need to make sure we’re right with God and we are pursuing His model lifestyle for us, and not only that, but ask the question: is this person pursuing the same kind of lifestyle?

It’s time that we started to ask serious questions of ourselves and the people we are courting. Ladies, is he the kind of guy who is above reproach, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, gentle and perhaps most importantly able to teach? (1Tim 3:1-7) Guys, is she a woman devoted to the Lord like Anna, devoted to worship, fasting and prayer (Luke 2:36-37) and does she speak wisdom and kindness? (Prov 31:26) Look beyond your emotions and don’t act to hastily. Know for certain the one whom you are pursuing, find out their character and be sure of their commitment to God and His interests. Ask yourself if you are truly ready to carry the weight of love.

“And come what may, I won’t abandon you or leave you behind,

Because love is a loyalty sworn, not a burning for a moment.

Come what may, I will be standing right here by your side,

I won’t run away, though the storm’s getting worse and there’s no end in sight.”

Thrice – The weight

That’s my perspective.

Ben Peters