Satan tempts with two weapons, self-righteousness and self-pity. Since the first is more familiar in Christian circles, I will venture to talk about the latter.
I once heard a preacher say you cannot be more offended by sin than God, maybe this is what he meant.
Some of us get creative when our (supposed) clean sheet gets messed up.
Now, I don’t want you to hear what I am not saying, I am not saying sin is not devastating, sin is tragic, it destroys families and pollutes pulpits. Most importantly, it took a perfect man to the cross.
Sin makes us feel unworthy ( which is what we really are the other side of the cross) sin belittles the beautiful and wrecks the wonderful, sin is, sin is, sin is, sin is, all terrible things we encounter and experience every hour.
But we need to be careful not to take matters into our own hands, when we stumble, some of us attempt to atone for our sin, we play nice, “how can I do such thing?” “I should have known better.”
And so, we pick up habits of “cleansing” our guilt, we call ourselves atheist, we rant online, we regret. List goes on.
And sure, the effects of sin include despair, depression, (and yes, terrible moods) but I am also learning that in such situations three key things are important to remember.
1. How we evaluate ourselves
2. Whether we remember the gospel.
3. Whether we listen or speak to ourselves.
When the man after God’s own heart sinned, he cried out to be “restored to the joy of his salvation” Ps 51:12 – a saving God was his focus.
And he was downcast, he spoke to himself rather than listened to himself. “Why are you downcast oh my soul? “(Ps 42:11)
We think we believe the gospel until sin strikes, only to reveal we were strong believers in self-salvation. All along.
Moments of disaster have a way of revealing what we really believe.
So if you, dear believer stumbles this week and terribly falls head first, remember “godly sorrow leads to repentance, and worldly sorrow leads to death.” (2 Cor 7:10)
Acknowledge the gravity of what just happened, what God did about it by “making him who had no sin become sin” ( 2 Cor 5:21) and remember faith comes by hearing, not listening to yourself, but “hearing the word of God.” (Romans 10:17)
And yeah, assess yourself well, not as a formerly strong man but as a weakling, constantly in need of grace and who without God’s grace, would soon be “sifted like wheat” if I may borrow Jesus’ words in Luke 22:31.
After that, lift up your head, look to the son of man who had no sin and watch how unbelief staggers away bleeding, even in your worst possible season.
Or to complete the words of that preacher, you cannot be more offended at sin more than God, because he butchered his son so that our sin would be imputed on him.
And It’s okay to say Amen to that.
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