Christians and sin

Okay I know that as Christians still in the flesh we will struggle with sin. But my question today is can we as Christians know something is a sin, admit that it is wrong and yet continue to do it and say that we are still right with God? The Apostle John doesn't think so. 1 John 3:6 "No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him." When John says "keeps on sinning" he is talking about knowing something is sin, yet still doing it with no struggle or fight. John even takes it a step further and says that "Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil (3:8)." Again "whoever makes a practice of sinning" are those who know something is sin, yet keeps on doing it with no remorse or guilt. Then John says this; "No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God (3:9). We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him (5:18). John says that if we are truly born again then we will take sin seriously and repent and grow in our sanctification.

What about Paul? What does he say regarding Christians and sin? Well he says the same thing in Romans 6:1-2, "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?" When Paul says "go on sinning" he is saying the same thing that John says in 1 John 3:6. John says "keeps on sinning" and Paul says "go on sinning". Again they are both talking about knowing something is sin, yet still doing it with no regard to the fact that they are sinning against a Holy and Righteous God. Paul says that as Christians we have died to sin; how can we "live in it" any longer. Paul knows that Christians are in the flesh and will struggle with sin but he also knows that there is a big difference in "struggling" and "living in it". 

"Well that is John and Paul, but what does Jesus say about Christians and sin?" Well I am glad you asked.  In John 8 Jesus saves a woman from being stoned to death for committing adultery. Many people know that story but forget the end. John 8:10-11, "Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” Here we see the amazing grace of Jesus. Jesus does not condemn her to death but instead shows her grace and mercy. In this grace and mercy Jesus commands something from the woman. He commands obedience. He tells her to "go and sin no more". Notice something else here. In the next section Jesus says "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”(John 8:12) Jesus says that if you are his, if you are a Christian and you "follow him" then you will not "walk in darkness". Jesus doesn't say you will not struggle with sin. No, he says you will not walk in it.

In Matthew chapter 7 we see some of the scariest words in scripture. Jesus is teaching and he says; “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness." Who enters the Kingdom of God? Those who do the will of the Father. Many people everyday go around and think they are doing great things for God and somehow those great things cancel out or void their sin. They focus on all these good things so they can avoid looking at the very sin that is in their life. But Jesus says those things are not good enough. Those good deeds will not pay the debt for your sin. Jesus says "depart from me, you workers of lawlessness." Workers of lawlessness are those that continue to walk in their sin with no intentions of repenting. Nothing can cancel our debt. But Christ did pay for it on the cross and if Christ paid for it how can you go back to it. Repent today and walk in the Light of Jesus.

Making Disciples

Many times we read the scriptures and we see that we are to go and make disciples and we think in our mind that disciple-making sounds like a really good idea. Then we walk away from the scriptures and go on living our life the same way as we have always lived it.

We see discipleship as a nice symbolic gesture from Jesus. But we really don't see it as a way of life. At least not for us. We like being a Christian just like we are.

Disciple-making is actually the only way a Christian lives his daily life. You take away disciple-making and you take away the Christian. Jesus calls us to com to him and die! He calls us to take up our cross and follow him. Jesus says go and make disciples. I love the way Jonathan Leeman describes it in a blog post over at 9 marks back in 2012. He gives a schedule for a normal disciple-maker and shows what it might look like in practice. Again I understand everyone's schedule is different but I like what Jonathan is teaching here. I have added the schedule below. I would encourage you to go check out the 9 marks website.

 A Discipler's Daily Itinerary

It is one thing to say that Christians should be involved in discipling relationships. It is another thing to figure out what this looks like practically. When do you do it? How do you do it? What does it look like?
In order to present as clear a picture as possible, here is what a day’s schedule might look like for a typical Christian husband and father who has heard Jesus’ call to be a fisher of men.
6:00 a.m. Shower & dress
6:30 a.m. Devotions: Bible reading & praying. Pray for family, day’s events, discipling relationships, evangelistic opportunities, the church, etc.
7:00 a.m. Help kids get ready
7:30 a.m. Meet fellow church member Paul at nearby coffee shop for breakfast; discuss chapter of D. A. Carson book; discuss marriage and parenting; ask about his other Christian and non-Christian relationships
8:30 a.m. Work
12:30 p.m. Lunch with non-Christian co-worker; discuss faith
1:30 p.m. Work
5:30 p.m. Pick up items at store for dinner for wife; bring Ken, single man in the church who lives nearby. Ask deliberate questions about his life.
6:30 p.m. Dinner; family worship; play with kids; bedtime routine
8:45 p.m. Desert with wife and the Smiths in the living room, a younger couple in the church who are struggling in their marriage; conversations about marriage and prayer
10:15 p.m. Prayer with wife and bed.

On the one hand, that schedule is all very neat. Life never quite fits into 30 and 60 minute blocks. You know that. Any given day might have more time with family, doing home repair, taking kids to swim lesson, working late, or a hundred other things.
Still, it gives you the picture of a fairly average discipler. Nothing exceptional or groundbreaking, but hopefully faithful and deliberate amidst the many stewardships of life that God gives. Four touch points outside the family (breakfast, lunch, errand, dessert) might be unusual—one to three would be more typical. And some days, there might be none.


Jonathan Leeman, a member of Capitol Hill Baptist Church, is the editorial director of 9Marks and is the author of Church Membership: How the World Knows Who Represents Jesus.
September/October 2012
© 9Marks

What is the meaning of the Old Testament?

The Old Testament is about God (Genesis 1:1) and him redeeming his people through his son Jesus Christ. In Genesis 2 we see the fall of man. In Genesis 3:15 we see God promising to send a Savior to crush Satan’s head and redeem his people from sin. The rest of the Old Testament points us towards that Savior who is Jesus.

The Old Testament is not a bunch of moral stories we read and try to live by. There are good stories in the bible but if you read them carefully you will find that the only “good” one in the stories is God Himself. God is always in complete control throughout these narratives. In all these stories we should see God’s Sovereignty and God’s redemption. That is what Gregg Day calls the "gold thread" and the "red thread". The gold thread is God's sovereignty and the red thread is God's redeeming act.  

The narratives throughout the Old Testament should be pointing us to the true Savior. Jesus is the promised seed from Adam that would crush the head of Satan (Gen. 3:15). He is the offspring of Abraham that would bless every nation (Gen. 12). He is the son of Judah who reigns eternally as king (Gen. 49).

Jesus is the Passover lamb who was slain to save God’s people from the angel of death (Exodus12). He is the bread of life that truly feeds his people (Exodus 16, John 6). Jesus is the rock from whom living water flows (Exodus 17, John 4). Jesus is the perfect fulfillment of the law, obeying the commandments of God perfectly in thought, word and deed (Exodus 20, Matt. 5:17). He is also the greater high priest that offers his very body as a sacrifice for the sins of his people (Exodus 28-29, 1 Cor. 15, Hebrews 4-5).

Jesus is the once for all sacrifice that God offered on the alter on the “day of atonement”, and at the same time the scape goat that took away the sins of his people, out of the presence of God (Lev. 16, Hebrews 7:22-28).

Jesus is the promise land that his people can run to for shelter (Numbers 34). He is also the one who leads us into this promise land where they will dwell with him forever (Joshua 3). He is the warrior who is victorious over sin and death (Joshua 5).

Jesus is Israel’s only Savior (Isaiah 43), He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:3-6). The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn (Isaiah 61:1-3).

Jesus is the merciful Husband who takes back his unfaithful bride (Hosea 1-3). He is the One who brings the Day of the Lord, Blow a trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming; it is near, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains a great and powerful people; their like has never been before, nor will be again after them through the years of all generations (Joel 2:1-2). Yet he is also full of mercy and grace, “Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster (Joel 2:12-13).

The Old Testament is all about God’s promises to his people. Jesus is the fulfillment of those promises. Jesus is our salvation. Turn to Him in faith and repentance.