7.) My field of expertise

Chapter.7

INDENTIFYING THE ENEMY CALLED SIN

When I began to follow Christ all Iever heard, in regards to sin was the need to claim forgiveness. I used to

think the resurrection must not be that big-of-a-deal because all I ever heard about was forgiveness  and it was offered even before the resurrection in the Old Testament. So what new thing did the resurrection provide?     As a Roman Catholic I was taught to confess my exact sins to a priest in exchange for his penance. However, when I walked out of the confessional I would sin again before I even got to my car. Then as a Protestant, I watched people sit around an altar and cry and confess their sins, only to see they too had no power. Jesus says He appeared in order to take away sins but men say that no one can be freed from sin (1Jn.3:8/Rm.6:7). So who is lying?

Except for the ridiculous fat-cat preachers screaming in their religious hype about ‘power over sin’, I never met any real person who claimed victory over sin. It was as if Jesus never really intended for us to have victory; just forgiveness.

The common thinking today is victory over sin may be possible, but it is not worth the hassle to find out because you can get “saved” by a quick prayer; “just accept Christ”. Yet God clearly says that”…he who sins is of THE DEVIL” (1Jn.3:8). What do you honestly think Jesus meant when He told an adulterous woman to “go your way; from now on SIN NO MORE” (Jn.8:11)? Be honest. Doesn’t that scare you a little bit? How realistic is it for you, right now, to sin no more?! Don’t you really think, deep down, that Jesus meant “If you do sin… I will forgive you”?

Today the so-called “churches” talk about sin in some vague and generic manner. Can you imagine driving your car into a mechanic, with black smoke blowing out all over, and hearing him say “There’s something wrong with your engine”? Oh wow! Really? How helpful. Preachers and priests tell you that you are struggling because of sin and just tell God you’re sorry, get forgiveness, and keep struggling. Nobody can really be perfect, they imply, but God likes it if you try. Blind leaders of the blind (Mt.15:14). Do you realize how stupid this is? It’s like telling someone they don’t have any chance of swimming across the top of Niagara Falls but they should at least give it a try.

The “churches” of today don’t have a clue to the reality of sin (Mark 7:6). A man can’t preach victory if he himself doesn’t really know what it means. 5The “ministers” of today are so laden with their own guilt and condemnation all they can preach is “Love, love, love, love, forgiveness, forgiveness, forgiveness, love, love…” (Ezk.34/2Cor.11:13-15/Phil.3:18-19). They ignorantly lay heavy requirements of the law upon the backs of men that they themselves are bound by (Mt.23:15ff). They stand up and denounce drunkenness and adultery while every turn and gesture of their proud ego radiates the self-arrogance of “Look at ME”! They do not have the courage to confront others with sin because they depend on these same people to fee their own egos and pocket books. They say stupid things like “God loves the sinner but hates the sin”. The Scriptures say, “Thou dost hate all who do iniquity” (Ps.5:5,11:5/Rom.9:13).

Sin is not a thing like a wallet that you can take out of your pocket and put away. As if there is no deliberate personal involvement in the conspiracy of rebellion. It is not sins that are gong to hell. It is sinNERS whom God will inflict with His eternal wrath in the lake of fire (Rev.20:15). The preachers of today are themselves reprobate. My field of expertise happens to be weakness and sin (2Cor.12:9). In regards to sinners I am foremost of all (1Tim.1:15). I am an expert on sin because I have truly come to know the wickedness which indwells me AND I have come to discover the marvelous victory that IS FOUND in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. As I expose the man of sin I pray that you might catch a glimpse of this monster hiding within you.

 As you read this booklet you will find a struggle between the witness of the Spirit to your conscience, the lazy proud inclinations of your sinful nature to reject the truth, and your free will. Through tremendous suffering and humiliation, I have won this battle, and pressed beyond the veil of (my) deception and pretense.  I can tell you, as a butterfly, the joy of flying is well worth the struggle of going through the cocoon.

Victory over sin does not come from striving to get rid of your sins. It does not come from trying to act holy. It does not come from your will power, self-piety or moral righteousness (Phil.3:9). Victory over sin comes from having “LIGHT” on the real nature of sin and learning to walk in the truth of that light (1Jn.1:6/Jn.12:35-36,11:9,8:12). For God does not speak lightly when He declares “…without holiness no man will see God” (Heb.12:14). Paul talks about sin 65 times in just the first eight chapters of Romans!! Do you think this might indicate that Paul placed a little importance on understanding how sin operates?

The majority define salvation as “Saying you’re sorry for you sins and accepting Christ into your life”. Then they go on with their lives totally blinded to the true powers of sin that continue to influence and determine the direction of their lives. If you could get rid of sin by a little ‘sinners prayer’ Paul would surely not have concentrated so much time and effort to teaching  about it and Jesus would not have paid such an agonizing price to bear it (1Pt.2:24).

 If you want a quick and easy answer to sin then you can continue to act happy, rationalize your continual lust and depression, and claim forgiveness while, in actuality, sin rages on within you.

 If you want “the truth that will set you free indeed” then it’s time to get serious and commit your heart to the depths of God’s Word (Jn.17:17,8:26-32).

Forget about what others say. Find out what God says. Why is our tendency so strong to hide our sin nature within us, or make it not as bad as it really is? Why is it you’d never dream of telling someone the lust that goes on in your heart of the hatred that rises up for someone at times? Can you say shame? Can you say guilt? These are feelings that you do not like to feel so you suppress them and rationalize them away. You lie about them. The only way you are ever going to deal with these things is to make a very deliberate effort to change your mind about how you think about sin. Can you say humility? The start of true repentance is a self-humiliating season of change to speak truth and reality. You must make a conscious and deliberate effort to stop the re-actional routine of rebellious thought patterns (Eph.4:23/Rm.12:2). Does His resurrection proved real, practical, accessible power?