Category Archives: Dan’s Blog

Enabled to be Godly

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It’s a wonderful thing to have such utter confidence in the fact that our freedom from law and sin has allowed us to share in God’s own righteousness. And that’s not all! Our redemption is set in stone—a salvation and heavenly reward that no one can strip away from us. But standing in such a marvelous and rock-solid hope carries the danger of breeding complacency. “Now that I’ve got my ticket to heaven, what more do I need? Why worry about it?”

Such an attitude is always rooted in the self-centered belief that, at the end of the day, our relationship with God amounts to little more than making a better life for ourselves here and now, with the added bonus of a fabulous heavenly life later. Sadly, this is the way many Christians think about God and His purpose for their life. But it really shouldn’t surprise us much; multitudes of voices unrelentingly and convincingly preach this very message.

This watered-down gospel, though, has no real basis in Scripture. Quite the opposite actually: devotion, selflessness and discipline bear the true mark of a godly person. “Godly? Who said anything about godly? I’m just glad I’m saved!” Well, saved is wonderful, but our reconciliation with God encompasses a whole lot more than merely our initial regeneration—no matter how dramatic our born-again experience might have been.

The primary reason for God doing all He has through Christ Jesus is to pave the way for godliness to become the standard of our life in Him. Salvation, then, is merely the starting point in our walk with God. Through redemption, we are provided the framework essential to choice. And choice by faith is the very heart of our life—and growth in that life—as Christians.(Titus 2;11-12)

A Fungus Amongus

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I was reminded of the problem of sin recently while watching a T.V. program about fungus in a tree (I always pick the most exciting shows!). While the fungus had originated in the crotch of the branches at the center of the tree, it quickly spread throughout its branches and leaves. How to eradicate the fungus was the question.

An arborist went to work on the tree, cutting away its dead branches and pruning back those still alive. But he also did something I would never have thought of doing: he cut out branches from the center of the tree in order to open it up to fresh air and sunlight. Then, as wind blew through the tree and the sun shined within its branches, the fungus eventually dried up and died. To make certain the tree would not be re-infected by the fungus, he raked up all the diseased leaves which had fallen to the ground below.

As I watched, the Lord seemed to say that this is how He goes about eradicating the fungus of sin from our life. Cutting away the dead branches, pruning others, and raking away the diseased leaves spoke to me of our responsibility to say no to sin. But what was even more obvious was the analogy to God’s strategy for healing the true source of sin. Namely, that He addresses the cause of our sinful fungus by removing the diseased inner branches of our heart to allow the presence of His Spirit to flood our life within.

Excerpted from: Free from the Power of Sin: The Keys to Growing in God in Spite of Yourself

Stategies Against Sin

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Sin doesn’t stem primarily from our physical body; it’s a heart problem rooted within the soul. We know that our soul cannot change until it is influenced by a healthy spirit. And nothing happens until our spirit is first empowered by the life of God. But when it is, the soul, mind and body are pushed automatically toward their purpose. Ultimately this is the answer to the dilemma of the sinful weakness of the flesh.

This, of course, doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t consciously try to curb sin in our flesh by saying no to it. It would be pretty foolish to let sin run rampant in our body while waiting for change to happen within our heart. Rather, these strategies are designed to work hand in hand with each other. Only when we renounce sin in our flesh and then couple it with the pursuit of healing and change in our heart do we stand a chance of experiencing transformation in our behavior.

Put God in charge–and then cooperate with Him. He has a plan!

Excerpted from: Free from the Power of Sin: The Keys to Growing in God in Spite of Yourself

Sin’s Root

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We see in Scripture conflicting opinions about what causes sin, and therefore its remedy. The Jews—the Scribes and Pharisees in particular—viewed sin as being a product of a person’s outward behavior. So they attempted to manage it through a form of law which evolved over time into a system of commandments even stricter than those found in the Law of Moses.

Jesus, on the other hand, knew that sin is primarily a matter of the heart, saying in Matthew 15:19: “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.”

Since most of the sins just listed are acted out by our behavior, it’s not too hard to see them simply as a response by our flesh to some outside stimulus received through our natural senses. In other words: “I wanted it, so I did it!” But in reality, sin manifesting itself through the actions of our body is a symptom of a much more serious disease within.

Sin is a barometer of the heart—a very clear indicator of what is residing within self. Sin is more than just actions; it is rooted in our attitudes, intentions and motives. Given this fact, I find it disturbing (though not surprising) that it’s so common among Christians to ignore the significance of these inner motivations.

What Is Sin?

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What is sin? Scripture never really bothers to define sin, except where it says that “sin is lawlessness.”(1 John 3:4) Everyone in the Bible simply seemed to understand what it meant. The word first appears in Genesis 4:7 where Cain, angry over the unacceptability of his offering, is told by God, “sin is crouching at your door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.”

I have often heard sin defined as missing the mark, as if one were missing a target he is aiming at. The Greek dictionary defines sin as, “missing the true end and scope of our lives, which is God—an offence in relation to God with an emphasis on guilt.”

It’s pretty obvious what God considers to be sin. Time and again in his various letters Paul makes perfectly clear what the sins of the flesh are, listing each by name—often along with a warning that those corrupted by sin have no inheritance in God’s kingdom.(Galatians 5:18-21, Ephesians 5:3-5) And other biblical writers do the same. God’s purpose in so emphatically defining the sins of the flesh is to make it impossible for us to play dumb, saying we didn’t know.

Excerpted from: Free from the Power of Sin: The Keys to Growing in God in Spite of Yourself

The Reality of Freedom

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 Do you suppose God might have known what the consequences of sin’s presence with us here on earth would be? Of course He did. God knew Adam, human as he was, would fall into sin. Standing outside of time, He sees the beginning and end of everything all at the same time. So how could He ever have imagined that things might turn out differently?

The only logical answer is that our confrontation with the power of sin is simply a part of His plan to bring His purpose for our lives to fruition. Yet this doesn’t mean that God has decided to tolerate sin. He detests sin, not only because it’s a personal affront to His goodness and holiness, but also because of its destructive power in people’s lives.

The lesson for all of us here is that tolerating sin in our own lives is simply unacceptable. Let’s forget the excuses, then, that sin is merely an inescapable part of life, and move on to the freedom God designed us for.      

God Desires Our Good

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Unquestionably, God wants good for us here, but His plan ultimately revolves around our union with Him later. So He has designed things such that His purpose can only come to fruition as we receive Christ as Lord and Savior, and then enter into a lifelong pursuit of God in spite of our human penchant to choose self in place of Him.

So our ongoing battle with the flesh, as we’re confronted daily by a world steeped in sin, boils down to one thing only: choice with teeth, decision with real meaning. And this is precisely why God had to allow sin to play such a major role in our decision-making.

But how could God (whose very essence is goodness) give evil the right to exist at all, much less allow it to have such overwhelming and destructive power over mankind? Again, choice is the answer to this age-old question. In His unfathomable wisdom, God has ordained that His children choose Him freely—and the more difficult the choice, the better He likes our yes. It makes the value we place on Him all the more meaningful.

Excerpted from: Free from the Power of Sin: The Keys to Growing in God in Spite of Yourself

Dispelling a Myth

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Let’s dispel a myth quite popular in Christian circles. It is this: the idea that our life here on earth would be so wonderful if only Adam had not sinned. Well, I suppose it would be, but all the same it stands in direct opposition to God’s purpose. Why? Because given the nature of man, Adam was doomed to sin. Strong words, I know, yet true. But why would God set the stage for that to happen—both to him and to us? Couldn’t we more wholeheartedly commit ourselves to Christ’s lordship if sin were never an issue?

What could possibly be wrong with wanting complete freedom from the influence of sin so that single-minded devotion to God might not only be easier but more pleasurable? Well, we need to think about what letting us slide through life here on earth in the comfort and security of sinlessness would ultimately achieve. It’s only possible outcome would be a good life here, with the added hope of even a better eternal life in heaven.

What’s the problem with that, you might ask? The trouble with this notion is that, while nice, it’s not God’s reality. He has a much greater purpose for our lives, because our eternal destiny with Him in heaven is indeed much more than just a wonderful place to spend eternity.

Excerpted from: Free from the Power of Sin: The Keys to Growing in God in Spite of Yourself

 

True Change Not So Easy

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A big problem that seems to sap our motivation to change is the fact that our self-willed nature craves instant change: “Please give me patience, Lord, but give it to me now!” The uncomfortable truth is that, in most instances, hasty change is simply not the way God works out His plan for our lives. While on occasion God may choose to instantly change something in us, those of us who have been around for awhile know that this is the exception rather than the rule. And when change does not come quickly, we tend to lose hope that it ever will. But God has a purpose in allowing painful circumstances.

God wants to go deep within our nature to rebuild our character—a true change of heart. Often this is a process He can accomplish in no other way but through time and suffering.

How do you feel about yourself? Are you happy with who you are? Or do you sense the need for change in your inner person? Well, whether the need be subtle or dramatic, the transformation of our character is God’s goal for each and every one of us. Why? Because God has designed us for relationship, and the reality of the weakness of the flesh must be dealt with for our life in Him to be healthy.

Can Our Heart Change?

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Regarding to our nature, a big question remains: can a leopard change its spots? Is the heart (self) capable of genuine change? This seems like kind of a silly question given all we’ve talked about regarding our nature because we’ve already spent a lot of time establishing the fact that, with God’s help, we can change. Yet I think it’s a valid question. I can see how I truly have changed, initially through my born again experience and then more slowly over the many years since. But in many ways I’m the same person I’ve always been. I know I’m still that same old me because of what sporadically surfaces in my heart when confronted with something that challenges the self-will still residing at the deepest levels of my being.

Moreover, there seems to be a paradox in Scripture as to whether or not the heart can change. On the one hand there are passages such as: “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?”(Jeremiah 17:9) Here the heart appears to be stubborn to the point of being incapable of fundamental change. And in fact our flesh does seem to be precisely that way—controllable maybe, but not entirely changeable. Paul seems to agree that this is so in his teaching in Romans 7.

On the other hand, The Bible implies that we have the power to change our heart by our choices—for both good and bad.(Hebrews 3:12) And not only that, but Scripture also seems to imply that our heart can actually in a sense be pure.(2 Timothy 2:22)

Can both be true? I think they can. The changed lives of millions of Christians down through the centuries are proof that the heart can indeed change. But unfortunately, there are millions more whose attitudes and behavior shed doubt on it. What’s the difference between the two? Choice. Our choices, made in response to each opportunity presented to us in life, make all the difference.