For Your Consideration

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I would like to throw out an idea that I have been thinking about and get your reaction to it.

Could it be that the problem of sin in the church is not primarily because Christians don’t know God’s Law well enough but because we in the church are more concerned about getting it right and pointing out when others get it wrong than we are about being gracious to one another? My experience has led me to believe that sin decreases when grace increases, and sin increases when grace decreases. In other words, we often pursue the right thing (sanctification, personal holiness, Christian practice) the wrong way. The problem is not a lack of law, but a lack of grace.

I would love to hear what you think.

8 Comments

    1. Right. One of the passages behind my thinking is Romans 8:1-4 (NIV), “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
      Law tells us what is good but is “powerless” to bring about the good it points to. When we try and help people “be better” I find that is often code for “you need to meet my expectations.” The Christian life is not about becoming good enough. It is not about becoming worthy. The Christian life is about realizing that the perfect, holy, righteous, sovereign creator and ruler of the universe despite all our ugliness, sin, and messiness, has decided to set His love and joy and pleasure in us; that He has decided to redeem us, forgive us, and adopt us for Himself; and living in light of that truth and grace.

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  2. From my experience when I have focused inward on just being a better me. I’ve had an outward affect in a positive manner on those around me. Both in sinning less myself because I’m more conscious about the choices I’m making but also in just being the example to others that I hope to always be.
    The times of greatest reward for me have come not when tearing others down. But when tearing myself down. Not in public but inside, just tear down the walls and examine the foundation. Then trying my best to patch my own sin and forgiving anyone who has sinned against me. Those are the times I’ve seen the greatest gains in my closeness to god and in positive ways in my life.
    It seems the harder I work to be a better me and the less I concern myself with you being a better you the greater the rewards I reap. The converse is also true. It seems the more focused outwardly on making others better or less sinful the more my own life falls back to sin.
    Maybe god wants us to focus inward and fix ourselves. We also become examples outwardly when we do this weather we know it or not. Nearly 100% of the good things that have happened to me seem to happen during times of personal struggle to right my own self. It’s also during these times I seem to have the most influence even if only by example.
    So yes more grace is poured out on us when we are less concerned about the righteousness of others and more concerned about being the most righteous and humble person we are capable of being. Righteous people are examples without words to others who are struggling, where self-righteous or pious people who point out flaws in others tend to drive a wedge and not be heard.
    I found god speaks to us in whispers to fix our sin, perhaps we should speak by example when fixing the sins in others.

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    1. I think that is the message of Matthew 7:3-5 (NIV), “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” I think our primary concern needs to be for ourselves. All the do’s and don’t’s in the Scripture are focused on you. The great majority of passages in Scripture that talk about responding to other’s are about being patient, longsuffering, merciful, compassionate, forgiving, and gentle. Certainly there are places where we have to call a spade a spade or call people on the carpet. But at the same time, it is not the calling out of sin that brings change. Only grace does that. We should conduct ourselves in truth, and respond in grace.

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    2. Another Scripture that comes to mind about that is Micah 6:8 (NIV)
      He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
      And what does the LORD require of you?
      To act justly and to love mercy
      and to walk humbly with your God. You act justly. You love to give mercy. In doing so you show that you are walking humbly with God… and at the same time walking humbly with God means you act justly and love mercy.

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