There is a kind of
catch 22 about the gospel. When we have believed lies about God
especially that He is out to get us, then we don’t know that there
is a cure for sin sickness. And if we don’t know there's a cure,
what else can we do but we try to cover it up and deny that it’s
there, or at least that it’s serious? To admit it, would be to
open up a can of worms. So we hide the truth, even from ourselves.
It is helpful to see that there is a difference between conviction, and
condemnation. To condemn someone is to declare them to be
reprehensible, and evil. And the feelings of condemnation can be
crushing. But God did not send His Son into the world to condemn
the world, but rather that the world through Him might be saved (John 3:17).
Conviction is different, though we are still made aware of our wrong
doing, conviction is not a guilt trip, it has a purpose and comes
with an invitation. Conviction is the Holy Spirit's job, not ours
(John 16:18). And part of the problem is the self-righteous hypocritical attitudes and guilt trips of some!
But coming back to
conviction, I don’t know why it's so hard to admit it when we are
wrong, but it seems to be. In fact from the beginning we tried to
hide our sin (see “Where are you Adam” 22 January). However “He
who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and
forsakes them will have mercy” (Proverbs 28:13). When Adam and
Eve sinned God cursed the earth "for our sake" (see 25 January), that
is He put into motion the spiritual law that bad choices produce bad
fruit. And the “for our sake” curse, is about His desire that
we be drawn to Him through the consequence of our own and others sin. When we
become sick and tired of being sick and tired of it all, we can start to see
the relevance of the Spirit's invitation to “come ..… let
him that is thirsty come. And whosoever will, let him take the water
of life freely” (Revelation 22:17).
As regards to the nature of
this invitation, Jesus tells us “Come to Me, all you who labor and
are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and
learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find
rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28-30). Father God likewise
invites “Come let us reason together, though your sins are like
scarlet, they shall be as white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18). We do of
course need to repent, but when “we confess our sins, He is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleans us from all
unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). And when we do this and receive Jesus,
we become His children (John 1:12), and from that point on “There
is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ”
(Romans 8:1).
Father, I want to thank
You this morning that You cursed the earth for our sake. I know that
it was the consequences of my own and others sins, that made me
desperate enough to try “even God” as I thought about it then.
Thank You for Your invitation to taste and see that You are good (Psalm 34:8). Indeed Your are Lord, You are good all the time, and
all the time You are good in Jesus Name Amen
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