Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Not perfect just Forgiven

         This morning I read a blog, what it was about wasn't as important as the comment afterward. The blog objected to the use of scripture in a particular publication, the comment that followed is one every Christian should read. 
She referenced a person that was just  mean, and a gossip, yet had a bumper sticker on her car that said                    "Not Perfect, Just Forgiven."
  Well, that doesn't surprise me. Anyone could unfortunately say something similar about me. It proves that those of us who profess Christ are always being watched. First to see if we really are different and second to see if we really are not. What we as Christians do, effects our testimony, and by the world's standards, our Christ. He does not need us to show his glory, but he has chosen us to do so and we should be overwhelmed by that!
  It is the next part of the woman's statement that is so very important. She said "When did being a Christian become and excuse instead of a motivation?"
  She is right! Just because we are sinners forgiven is no excuse to continue to sin. Now.....we will. We will never be perfect in this life, in this world, that comes with Christ's return.

Now- the world is full of sin, dying from it.
We, trapped in tents of flesh are serving ourselves. Sin.
Ephesians 4:17-32 talks of how a sinner, saved by grace must put off the old self that is corrupted by deceitful desires because we have been made new, created to be like God in righteousness and holiness. No longer to be like those who are lost, darkened in their understanding because of ignorance and hardness of heart.

 The unbeliever does not have this battle. The old self rules, there is no new creation to battle with. Believers must daily  put down the old ways, the anger, gossip, lust and sinful desires. It is battle! The flesh is strong, the will of man is strong, evil is strong.
          Christ is stronger.

There is the story, perhaps you have heard it in one form or another.

An old Indian man, as a new believer in Christ speaks of the raging battle inside of him. He says, it is like two dogs fighting within me, both trying to win. One is good, it is those things like prayer and Bible reading, kindness to others, forgiveness. The other, it is my old life, spirituality, drugs, lust and anger. They fight all day, all day, all day. Someone asks the old man, "Which one wins?" He replyed, "The one that I feed."

Believers in Christ sin. Believers are forgiven. Believers do not have license to sin freely.
We have the gift of God's grace, his mercy, his guidance and power of his Holy Spirit, his restraint.
We have repentance granted by him.
Repentance in the Greek means to think differently to reconsider.
Maybe it means to feed the right dog.

2 comments:

  1. Ooooh, I do believe I've been referenced here! Exciting!
    I'm happy to see you spreading the lesson to treat others the way you would like to be treated. For the most part, everyone who commented on that post was very nice, regardless of their beliefs :)

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  2. I like that feed the right dog...never have heard it. Lezlee

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