25424 Aldine-Westfield, Spring, TX. 77373

LIFT UP IN PRAYER:

God’s will for our congregation Various friends, relatives and co-workers

Our nation, leaders and military Joy in Christ

Tuesday a new President will become the 44^th President of the United States. Whether one voted for him or not, our responsibility is to pray for him and for all who are in power (Romans 13:1-5; 1 Timothy 2:1-2). Let’s make this a part of our daily prayer life.

WHAT’S WRONG WITH SIN?

“You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3).

When we talk about sin, we often list sins as found in scripture. We have even divided sins into the big ugly ones and those little minor ones. The big ugly are those we would not do and considered done outside polite circles. The little minor ones are those we do, sometimes justifiably, that will not really affect our lives. We have attempted to define sin in terms like “missing the mark.” Most of the time we talk around what the central theme of sin is, preferring not to come face to face with the major problem of sin. Let’s take another look at what is wrong with sin (1).

It helps us to go back to the beginning of sin as seen in scripture. In Genesis three, Adam and Eve are confronted by the Accuser. We miss it if we think that the fruit was the problem. Here is what the serpent told them: “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (verse 5). That sounded like a good thing but we all now know the negative consequences involved. When God gave Israel the Ten Commandments, the first one given was to have no other gods before Him. Again we often think in terms of idolatry in the forms of animals and the worship of stars and beasts etc. Yet there is more to this as well. When Jesus came, He stated that we are first of all to love the Lord our God with all of our hearts, souls, strength, and minds.

When we look at the problem of sin, we can define it as humans making something else god, whatever it may be. Another way to say it is not only doing bad things but making good things into ultimate things (2). In the great movie, Chariots of Fire, two British runners were contrasted, one a Jew and one a Christian. The Christian runner ran for the glory of God, the Jewish runner to, in ten seconds, justify his existence. In our individualistic culture, we find our identity in our achievements, our status, our talents, even our relationships. In essence, we make these and many other things our gods.

What happens in this is that we try to find our identity apart from God. When God created humankind, it was in His image. Since the sin of Adam and Eve, that identity has been corrupted. In recent years, a number of atheists have written books against the belief in God, wanting to be their own god, not necessarily in control of others, but in how they live their lives (3). In a recent ad in Washington D.C., humanists stated that we can be good for goodness sake, without God. Who then determines what is good?

“Identity apart from God is inherently unstable” (4). Who or what is our god? Is it healthy living? Sex? A political party? Teaching? What happens if I get sick, lose my spouse, my party looses, or I lose my job? Have these things enslaved us if our identity is found in them and not God in Christ? I remember an interview of a professional basketball player in Washington D.C. He was nearing the end of his career and the reporter asked him what he was going to do after basketball. The player looked shocked. He said he had no idea, basketball was all that he ever did; in essence it was his god.

We have often, and correctly, defined sin as pride and self-centeredness, yet it goes much deeper. We will become like God, knowing good and evil. Then we will become a god, determining good and evil. The Imperial cult of Rome that grew into Caesar worship was a major religion that Paul and the early Christians faced as they spread the good news of Jesus (5). Political figures in recent years have often subtly demanded worship of some kind, replacing the King of the Universe as god.

The idea behind the above is control. Control is seen in other ways as well. We have a desire, even a lust, for things that end up controlling us through debt, make us feel superior (keeping up with the Joneses mentality), and excluding those not in our “class.” In speaking on the Parable of the Lost Sons in Luke 15, Mr. Keller says this: “elder brothers have an undercurrent of anger toward life circumstances, hold grudges long and bitterly, look down at people of other races, religions and lifestyles, experience life as a joyless, crushing drudgery, have little intimacy and joy in their prayer lives, and have a deep insecurity that makes them overly sensitive to criticism and rejection yet fierce and merciless in condemning others” (6). Do we not see this in the complaints of the Pharisees when they saw Jesus eating with tax collectors and sinners? Mr. Keller tells of two women who were struggling in their marriages and whose sons were getting into trouble. He told them to forgive their husbands. The one who was less spiritual did and found hope but the second, who was more spiritual, could not forgive. If anything happened to her son, she said, her whole world would collapse - her live was not God but her son, who became her god.

So how do we deal with the problem of sin? We need to find the peace that passes all understanding, the shalom of God. “Is peace on earth really possible…when current culture conditions us to be cynical and sarcastic, to use put-downs and name-calling, to demean and demonize those who believe differently” (7)? The Hebrew word means full, harmonious, joyful, flourishing life. This is done not just be changing our life but by refocusing our hearts to God. Love the Lord your God with all of our hearts. All the gods that humankind has ever created and worshipped, who we bow down to, have failed us; and we find them to be very unforgiving. If Jesus is Lord, we can fail him and be forgiven through His graciousness and love. He is always faithful. We are to be renewed in the image of our Creator in mind and in heart.

When we say Jesus is Lord, we are challenging all gods of our making. We are no longer the center, no longer worshipping the failed gods of our making. We bow before the One true God seeking His peace in our lives (see Philippians 4:6-7). Good things can enslave us unless our hearts and minds are on God. Even the church, you and I, can become false gods if we are not committed to and focused on God in Christ. The problem of sin is getting my way. The answer to sin is loving God in word and life from the depths of our hearts.

George B. Mearns

(1) Some thoughts for this article come from Timothy Keller, The Reason for God, chapter ten, The Problem of Sin, Dutton, 2008.

(2) ibid., p. 129.

(3) Mr. Keller has an interesting comment on ancient creation accounts stating that they are a by-product of some kind of warfare or violence, none except the Bible’s account, are planned or deliberate. So today we see in the debates about evolution that it all was an accident and the survival of the fittest is the prevailing theme. See ibid., p. 134.

(4) ibid., p. 130.

(5) Recent scholars such as N.T. Wright have seen not the beginnings but a well developed system within the Roman Empire as Paul began his missionary journeys into the pagan world, and the conflict between the two would bring about the persecution of Christians in the latter part of the first century.

(6) Timothy Keller, The Prodigal God, Dutton, 2008, p. 70-71.

(7) Rick Warren, The Purpose of Christmas, Howard Books, 2008, p. 92.