TWO ATTITUDES TOWARD SIN?

Thursday, May 9, 2019

TWO ATTITUDES TOWARD SIN?

Prov 30:20

20 Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.

Rom 7:22-25

22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:

23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

           Paul gives a tormented explanation of the inner struggle of the two natures of the saved man. On the one hand, he is still a fallen creature and the old sinful nature wars for dominance. On the other hand, he now has a new nature given to him by the infusion of the Holy Spirit at the time of his conversion. These two natures, or attitudes, remain in conflict throughout life.

           Paul uses the Greek word talaiporos, which literally means “miserable,” to describe the wretchedness of his struggle. He delights to do what is right. He enjoys agreeing with God in principle and in daily practice, but he is constantly being challenged by the law of sin. One law seeks to liberate him and the other seeks his captivity.

           Many people use the device used by the adulterous woman in Proverbs 30:20. They sin and then simply claim that nothing wicked has been done. That is called denial and eventually it makes one’s conscience insensitive. “Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron” (1 Tim 4:2). In this case the sin remains but the sorrow because of it has departed.

           Sin is self-centeredness! Bill Temple puts it this way in his little book, Christianity in the Social Order, He says, "I am the center of the world I see. And where the horizon is depends on where I stand. Education may make my self-centeredness less disastrous by broadening my vision. It's like a man climbing a tower who sees further in terms of physical vision while remaining himself the center and the standard of reference. I am the center of the world I see." But God's order is that we love him with all our being, and then that we love our neighbor and put ourselves last. Sin is the reversal of that order.

           You are a sinner and so am I. How we “feel” about our sin reveals our relationship to God. Be very careful that you do not lose the sense of  “wretchedness” that sin produces.

Dear Lord, every day I struggle with sin. I can never lessen my vigilance against it. It is troublesome. It grieves me. May I always agree with You regarding sin. Cleanse me. Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. AMEN