Subjectivity Is Not Allowed

I want to post a link today to the Pulpit Magazine blog. "Johnny Mac's" thoughts are quite pertinent to our current conversation.

http://www.sfpulpit.com/2008/05/13/true-objectivity/



David

Lesser Sin Part 2

I have defined lesser sins as those that are not so obvious. Many may not call them sin, but Jesus was very clear that even lesser sins are just as damning as the more obvious ones. One of my most faithful readers, Rich, commented on this in my last post. In Matt 5:22-30 records the words of Jesus as he explains the spiritual nature of sin. Impure thoughts lead to guilt, and yet many will say that they haven't sinned because they have not acted on their thoughts.

I think it is fair to ask if Christians should get caught up in testing each other. It could quit easily turn into a "holy er than thow" contest, which is not edifying, nor does it glorify God. Even so I can't help but to remember that Christians are to be proclaimers of the gospel, and when do we stop proclaiming the gospel? NEVER! We must recognise that the gospel is the thread that ties the whole of scripture together. So then, to continue from my last post, what is the best way to confront a professing Christian who is in denial about their lesser sin? Proclaim the gospel. We may never know the true condition of a man's heart, but if his life shows little or no evidence of regeneration, we can't go wrong by continuing to clearly explain the plite of man, and his redemption through the death and Resurrection of Jesus. Sin is evidence of our fallen condition and a constant reminder that human kind is in-capable of fulfilling our obligation to the law of God. We are totally depraved, in that, we are dead in our sin and only God can breath life into our spiritual being. Once God begins that work, we are in-capable of resisting Him. The flash flood of His new birth will overwhelm us, and will pour out of us as we become saturated by it. If we aren't dripping drops of righteousness everywhere we go, then how can we claim to be born again?

Where does church discipline fit in with all of this?

More next time

David

Lesser Sin? Part 1

It is about 10:30pm on Mother's Day, and I have been tossing in bead for about an hour and a half. I am starting to regret the cup of black coffee (no sugar!) that I had with desert this afternoon. I hope that spending a little time at my computer will tempt me to bow irreverently toward the L.C.D.
As an order of house keeping, I would like to mention that I am offering an e-mail subscription notification for new posts to my blog. leave your e-mail address as a comment to the most recent post and I will add you to my "Post Notification Group".

I had a wonderful opportunity last week. One that I have been inexcusably negligent in. I went to a mid-week bible study at the home of an elder in my new church. I want to focus this post on a question that consumed a large portion of our discussion about discipleship and believers. It's worth mention that the title of "disciple" in the larger context of new testament scripture is used synonymously with the title of "Christian". I would also ad that all believers are "disciples" of Jesus the Christ.

The question?

How are disciples of Jesus, to relate to a professing Christian who has a habitual problem with a lesser sin?

I don't want to address the obvious sins, but rather the subtle sins. I want you to think about bitterness, resentment, temper, white lies, selfishness, etc.

Not to measure the seriousness of these individual sins, but to consider whether or not a pattern of on-going lesser sin, could or should be recognized as evidence of an un-regenerate faker who wants his peers to think he is a Christian because he thrives on their acceptance and approval.













At what point should true believers, confront these types habitual sins, and what response should we expect from fellow true believers after they have been confronted? I would like to suggest that a major defining characteristic of a true believer, is that he will eventually embrace an opportunity to repent of any sin that could hinder his communion with God. How then should a true believer relate to the professing Christian who denies the truth of his sin and gains only insult from the encounter?


More next time

David