“I am not perfect!” 

 How many times have we heard that phrase roll off the lips of some high profile celebrity who is needing to quickly do ‘damage repair’ to their image following some well publicized stunt or ‘sin’. It’s like they are stating the obvious for …what reason? Who ever suggested they were perfect and what does that have to do with the situation at hand? Kudos to them for coming forward and if their hearts are truly sincere, we can only pray that the experience has humbled them and turns them towards a healing path. This is not about judging them. 

 The past few days, I’ve been discussing what sin is, and isn’t. Today we will look further in to what sin actually is and why do we ‘Christians’ do it? 

 I can already hear some of you muttering under your breath answering: ‘because we are sinners and nobody is perfect!” 

 O-kayyy….so let’s unpack this and break it down using scripture to examine how we may possibly have been ‘led astray’ in our thinking. 

 For starters, we have ALL sinned.    Every. Stinking. One. Of. Us. 

 It was our inherent nature when we were born. You and I never stood a chance. Granted over the years, many might have been more proficient at the task of sinning than others, but nobody had a blameless record. Except Jesus…who came to deliver us from sin. And contrary to popular thinking and opinion He did more than just ‘erase’ all our past sins, He actually came to remove the source of our ongoing sinning by replacing or healing a ‘defective heart’ that was filled with sin. (Mark 7:21-23) 

 Paul, writing to believers in Ephesus, enlightens us with this passage of truth: Would you mind opening your bible and reading Ephesians 2:1-3 right now please? Anything stand out to you as you do this? 

 Four quick takeaways from that passage: 1) Prior to coming to Christ, we were spiritually dead, separated from God. 2) We were actually under the control or influence of demons who operated through our sinful flesh nature (which is why we need to spend more time understanding why that nature needs to DIE) 

3) Because of this sin we were objects or targets of wrath (not a good thing). 4) But here’s the kicker we need to circle and underline and highlight to cap off…believers ONCE WALKED this way…as WE ALL ONCE CONDUCTED OURSELVES in the lust of our flesh. 

 Did you catch that? It means we don’t do those things anymore. Need some more proof? 

 Colossians 3:6-7- ‘because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which YOU YOURSELVES ONCE WALKED WHEN YOU LIVED IN THEM.” How about some more as we read what Peter had to say: “as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the FORMER lusts as in your ignorance…you also be holy in ALL your conduct…( 1:14-15) and “he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin and should no longer live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men but for the will of God.(4:2) (Go read Matt 7:21 again real quick) 

 We were in darkness and did not know where we were going. Past Tense. (John 12:35) Jesus came to light the way and he came preaching: “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Matt 4:17) He did not come to condemn us for our past sins. We stood condemned already. He came to rescue us…to deliver us…and to set us free from our sins so that we could actually…are you ready for this? - so we could GO AND SIN NO MORE!. (John 5:14 and John 8:11). 

 Remember the adulterous woman brought to Jesus? He was not on board for a public stoning which is what the penalty for that sin was. Romans 1:32 declares that all such sins are ‘deserving of death’. And that includes that man who obviously was not brought to Jesus even though she was ‘caught in the very act’. But Jesus forgave her. Then told her to ‘go and sin no more’. 

 It wasn’t a suggestion. 

And He doesn’t issue those statements lightly. Might I also add that as unrealistic and impossible as it sounds (to go and sin no more) Jesus would never have issued that ‘command’ unless He fully intended to provide and show a way in which we might be able to actually do that. It goes without saying that won’t happen in our own strength and ability. It can ONLY happen when we come to Him with all our heart and allow Him to walk it out through us. 

 He makes it pretty clear in John 15:1-7 that unless we abide in Him, there will simply be no evident fruit of obedience.

 But get this…I keep referring to this verse (among several) because modern day Christians don’t know what to do with it. And I make no apologies for ‘shouting it from the rooftop’: “WHOEVER ABIDES IN HIM DOES NOT SIN” (1 John3:6) ‘WHOEVER HAS BEEN BORN OF GOD DOES NOT SIN, FOR HIS SEED REMAINS IN HIM; AND HE CANNOT SIN, BECAUSE HE HAS BEEN BORN OF GOD!” (1 John 3:9) 

 Admit it….this offends our flesh nature. What is that…that rises up inside of you when you read/hear that verse? Go take a look at 1 Peter 2:7-8. It is interesting to read how Jesus became the ‘stone that the builders rejected…and became a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense’. 

 Remember, Jesus IS the Word (John 1:1-14) The Pharisees were incensed over the things that Jesus taught. They wanted to throw him off cliffs and eventually had Him nailed to a cross. And if we are not careful, we end up doing the same thing when we reject the word which leads to our hearts being hardened. 

 Please understand…those are not My words…but HIS. And he didn’t have those written to discourage us or condemn us. “Yeah…but nobody is perfect!” “We can’t ever live in this life without sinning!” 

 So what should we do…cut those out? Run to some big thick commentary and read what some smart man said as to why those verses don’t really mean that? 

 I use to have a poster in my classroom of Garfield exerting all this frustration and effort trying to push a door open. The sign above it said ‘Pull to Open’. And at the bottom of the poster it said: “It helps to read” 

 Perhaps it would help if we all stood back, took a deep breath and instead of trying to reject those verses, we humbly come to God and say “Gee Lord…that seems pretty hard…how in the world can we actually obey that?” It would also help to be open to the crazy notion that just maybe we’ve been in the dark on some things and have either been ‘deceived’ or perhaps ‘dozed off’ like those wise virgins did in Matt. 25. Jesus would never have set such outlandish expectations for us if He did not have a plan or way of empowering us…to walk…just like He walked. Oh, That is in the bible too. – 1 John 2:6. 

 I realize I’m gonna lose some of you with this…and it breaks my heart and it breaks God’s heart…when we flat out say that what God says is impossible to do. But I won’t back down in saying what God says. I can’t. I was a prisoner for too long and Jesus has been and is setting me free. 

 You have not heard me declare once that : “I have no sin” (1 John 1:8). But that is different than saying: “I am not sinning”. “Having no sin” easily suggest there is likely still areas in mine/your hearts that still need to be dealt with, but does not imply you are acting on those sins or ‘doing them’. And IF you sin…(does not say ‘when you sin’) you have an advocate with the Father and you can run to Him and find mercy. 

 But that will be the exception, and not the rule where you continue in sin over and over and over. Being a ‘sinner saved by grace who will continue to sin’ sounds noble. But it is not some ‘holy badge of honor’. Rather it is a confession that maybe we are missing out on something and need to allow God through His Word and Holy Spirit to perhaps ‘correct’ some erroneous teachings. 

 Remember, the ‘preaching of the cross/gospel is foolishness to them who are perishing. But to us who believe, it is the power of God. (1 Cor. 1:18) T

he power to do what? Oh…make us like Jesus? (Romans 8:29) It does involve a cross and dying to self, which is not a popular message today. Never has been. Hence the buffet of ‘other gospels and other Jesus’ to follow ( 2 Cor 11:2-4) where we can simply ‘walk in a form of godliness but deny the power.’ ( 2 Tim 3:5) 

 May I remind you that this gospel really is… ‘good news’. 

 To those sitting bound in darkness it is, at least.