Who's A Sinner?

I fell into sin yesterday, and I was wondering this morning about that and how it's the little things that trip us up. You know the sins that don't really seem like much, but end up hurting our relationship with the Father. Jesus told us that if our eye offends us we should pluck it out, well that seems a little extreme doesn't it? Yet there it is, a command from our Lord. So what are we to do with that?

One thing that I've come to realize in Christianity is that we as a people group try to rate our sins or categorize them into various degrees of evil. Murder is at the worst end of the spectrum, while gossiping may end up on the "little sin" end of the scale. One of the things that I find really funny, is the fat Christian who points his finger at the person who drinks or smokes and condemns them as one of those really big sinners. The truth is, gluttony is just as much a sin as what they are pointing out, but lets don't talk about that, after all a person's gotta eat, right? And don't you know that we are told to fellowship with other believers, and we do that around meals. Yeah I know, just next time skip the third helping and two deserts, how about that? (And I've been guilty of this so don't stone me).

There are no degrees of sin with God period. Sin causes separation from God. It breaks the fellowship that we have with Him, and that is why it is bad. Regardless of what sin you commit, this will hinder you in your relationship with the Father. This is why He hates sin, not because He has this big list of do's and dont's, but because He knows that when we sin it keeps His best from getting to us, and He is all about doing good for us. Remember, "For I know the plans I have for you says the Lord, to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11"

And that is the point really, the relationship I have between me and God. So when I sin, and we all do, this barrier raises up which keeps me from receiving God's best for my life, and the devil knows this. He works very hard to trip us up in this area. Now before you come to the conclusion that we are just pawns in some big cosmic chess game, I'm not saying that the devil can "make" us sin. What he does is plant thoughts in our little pea brains to see if we will act on them. Take a look at James 1:14 - 15 in the Amplified Bible:

"But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his own evil desire (lust, passions). Then the evil desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is fully matured, brings forth death."

"Baited by his own lust and passions". Hmm, now this is interesting, we are not driven along by the devil and his minions with pitchforks prodding us to do wrong. No, it is the lust and passions within us that cause us to sin. So, while the enemy has a part to play, we can no longer just blame him for our short comings can we? I think not. You know the bait covers up a hook, and it is the hook that causes the problem, for it snares us and brings the destruction of our fellowship with God.

So what are we to do then? If it is our lust and passions that trip us up then we need to learn to control those things. But how do I do that Dave? I'm glad you asked. You have to have a working knowledge of God's Word. We can no longer take a casual approach to the Bible and it's teachings, to do so allows sin to have it's way with us. We must master those things that would try and trip us up. Now before you go any further, just because you read the Bible does not mean that you will magically never sin again. You may read in the Word that you should not do something, but just having that knowledge won't save you, you have to act on that knowledge.

Just as sin starts as a thought and then you act on that thought. God's Word is a thought which you must act on too. The key here is that we have to do the acting, either for good or for bad, it is our choice. No longer do we have the right to say that we couldn't help ourselves because that is a lie, we can..."IF" we make the decision to do so. So get a Bible reading plan and start it, then act on those things that you learn there and you will see the things that once tripped you up will begin to have less and less ability to entice you.

Now I wonder as you read this today, did you get the point I've been making this morning, or have you just been trying to decide which sin I committed yesterday? Strength and honor for the Kingdom and the King!