The Law and the Lamb

"Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin." -Romans 3:19-20

So, here's one more look at the problem of sin in our lives. The question now becomes, "How do we know that what we're doing is wrong?". The answer... through the Law!

The Law is God's standard of holiness. It is the bar which has been set, and by no other law does God judge the world. Through the Law we are made aware of those things which we do that displease God; those things which are against His laws and standard of perfection. The Law condemns the sin within us.

This is an incredible gift! If you cannot see the benefits of the condemnation which comes from Law... let me try to explain what I mean. The Law makes us aware of a fracture in our goodness. We begin to see, through the Law, that we have displeased our Creator and we have rebelled against His goodness. The sin in our hearts is revealed through God's standard of obedience. Look at the Ten Commandments from Exodus 20 -

"You shall have no other gods before Me.
You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.
Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you.
You shall not murder.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor." (Exodus 20:3-17)

As is evident by this list... there is not a single person (outside of Christ) who has ever been able to keep all of these commands. From the moment we are born we are selfish, self-serving beings who cannot, in and of ourselves, honor God or faithfully serve Him. The Law burns in our consciences the fallen state of our hearts. We see, through the Law, our failure in following the commands of God. Ten rules of living which no man or woman has been capable of keeping... These laws have been in effect for thousands of years, and yet only one man, Jesus Christ, has ever kept all of them to their fullest extent. You see, Christ came to fulfill Law. We see this in other places in Scripture; that Christ was the fulfillment, not the abolitionist, of Law. This is something we will be studying in greater detail, in the not-so-far-off future.

So, I've mentioned the conscience already... The conscience is a gift from God. It is the tool by which we are convicted of those things which are wrong in our lives, even before we become children of God, our consciences convict us of wrongdoing. Think about it... our society has a standard of "right" and "wrong." For example:

We all agree that murder is wrong. Murder is not considered acceptable in our society... Where does this conviction of wrong come from? Who is to say that there is anything wrong with murdering another human being? Why do we recoil at the news of such happenings? Why can a non-Christian group of people stand up and say, "This man deserves death! He has taken the lives of others, therefore His life is forfeit!" What gives us this sense of justice and judgment? There must be a foundation for such a universal wrong... If you think about standard human behavior for a minute... there are very few things which people agree on to such an extent as murder, embezzling, rape... even lying is something which causes distrust and sorrow in the lives of those who are affected by it. What gives us this feeling of wrong-doing when we see and experience these things, whether done by other or by ourselves? Where does the guilt come from? Where does the sense of punishing the one responsible for such actions come from? ... The conscience!

The Law speaks to our conscience and tells us that those things which we read, of which we are all guilty of breaking at least some if not all, are the standard of behavior that demonstrates righteousness (right-standing with men/God). We see ourselves in light of the Law and it reveals the sins which we have within us.

Even in human law, given by humans, the reason for laws is not for the upright citizen but rather for the ones who would seek to do wrong. The law condemns wrongdoing. This has been a very long and probably a very circular topic to look at this morning... I just want to make sure that we understand Law before we look at the bright side of this whole ordeal. You see, the Law does not give us much hope for right-standing before God. If all we have is the Law and our conscience, which tells us that we have not kept the Law, then we are condemned within ourselves and stand ashamed before the throne of God. We understand that there is no good in us and that we have fallen short...

There is yet hope, though... Enter, Christ Jesus, the Savior and fulfillment of Law! The only way by which men could be justified before God, according to Old Testament Law, was through the sacrificing of animals. The blood of lambs, bulls and other animals was the atonement by which current sins could be forgiven. This, however, was never meant to be the fulfillment of Law, because the blood of lambs could not cover the sins which you were yet to commit. You had to keep sacrificing lambs and bulls to atone for the sins which you would continue to commit, over and over again.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only One to ever live a sinless life, upholding the entirety of the Law... He became the sacrificial Lamb to take away the sins of the world. Through the blood of Christ we have eternal redemption. This is not something which must reoccur in order for our sins to be continually covered. Christ's death was the finality of blood sacrifices! Through His death and resurrection we now have a way to be found blameless in the sight of God! This is something we will look into in much greater detail, in the next blog. I did not, however, want to leave this blog without the hope of the Gospel.

So, basic recap... The Law speaks to our conscience and reveals the fracture that has taken place between us and God. Our conscience convicts us of our wrongdoing and urges us to make things right. We see that, through the Law, we can never be completely forgiven or made clean... there is only temporary cleansing through Old Law. Then, we see Jesus! God's redemption plan! "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (Jn. 1:29b) His death and resurrection make a way for us to be cleansed, completely, of our sins and shortcomings before God. We are washed in the blood of the Lamb and, therefore, we are clean in His sight. This is such incredible news!

I can't wait to get into this in much deeper detail. I must, however, end this episode right here and now. I'm sorry to cut things short, but I will be late for work if I don't get going!

I love you all! Grace and Peace!

Questions or Comments? E-mail me at afflquestions@yahoo.com

The Problem of Sin - Part 2

Well, the good news is that I wasn't late for work yesterday! The rest of the good news is that I'm off today and I can make this entry as long as I want to! So, let's dive back into Romans 3 and re-examine the text...

"As it is written, 'THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;
THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD;
ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS;
THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.
THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE, WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING, THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS;
WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS; THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD, DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS, AND THE PATH OF PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN.
THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES." -Romans 3:10-18

Again... the stress and importance of this entire section of Romans is the realization of our hopelessness without a Savior. Steps 1 and 2 of the Alcoholics Anonymous "12 Steps" program state:
1. We admitted we were powerless over our addictions and compulsive behavior; that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

I find it interesting that a program that is designed to free people from addictions states that we are powerless over the things which have beaten us down... You see, the understanding of the need for outside assistance is universal. God Himself said, "It is not good for the man to be alone..." You see, we were created with a "relational gravitation." All I mean by that is this... we were created with a desire for community with others. In our fallen state, however, we turn inward for help and the solution to our problems. God's original design was for us to turn to Him with all of our fears, doubts, problems, pains, struggles, etc... So, the first step in overcoming the sins with which we struggle is, "To realize that we can't overcome our sins!" We can't beat them! This, in turn, leads us into step 2...

"We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity." Finally! The answer to all of our problems! Jesus is the ONLY power we have! He says in Matthew 11:28-30

"Come to Me, all you who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

Are you weary of your problems? Does sin own you on such a regular basis that you simply don't have the strength to fight it anymore? This is the place where you can admit "I need help!" It's when we are at the end of ourselves that we can finally realize that someone with greater power than us is our only option for restoration! This is the place where we must fall to our knees and say, "Jesus, You are my only good! Please, help me! I need You to rescue me from myself!"

Albert Einstein said, "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." This is true of us, as well. We try to overcome our failures in our own strength... I don't know about you, but this usually just leaves me feeling defeated when I fail again... it leads to depression, anger, self-pity... it's not a good place to find yourself. We expect different results from the same attempts at "being good" on our own. When does the insanity end???

It ends when we realize that sin is too big of an issue for us to deal with on our own! When we realize that Christ is the only One who can heal us... that's the first step towards freedom from the bondage which holds every man and woman captive.

So, we are unable to bring any righteousness of our own before God as an acceptable offering of atonement for our sins... We see that there are none who seek God and none of us does good. We are a crooked, broken mess! We have NOTHING to offer to God! This is the understanding to which we must come before we are ready to move into the good news of Christ's redemptive work on our behalf.

We're going to be getting into more of chapter 3 tomorrow, most likely, but THIS is the thought for today.... the only point I wish to convey. Dig deep! Think long and hard about this concept... we have nothing to offer God and we cannot do good, based on what we've read in Romans 3. So, apart from Christ, where do we stand in the sight of our Creator and Lord? Secondly, have you come to the place where you can say, "I need Christ to change me! I cannot do this on my own!"? Do you believe that Christ can restore you to sanity? If you're not sure if Christ can restore you, I'll help you out a little bit... Of course He can! There is nothing which you have done that Christ cannot redeem you from! There is no trouble which plagues you that Christ cannot replace with His peace! There is no sin which outweighs the blood of Christ!

Well... more of that at a later time!

Grace and Peace, broken sinners in need of a Savior! It's nice to have you here beside me... there is comfort in the realization that you're not the only one with struggles.

Questions or Comments? E-mail me at afflquestions@yahoo.com .

The Problem of Sin - Part 1

"As it is written, 'THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;
THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD;
ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS;
THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.
THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE, WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING, THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS; WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS;
THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD, DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS, AND THE PATH OF PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN.
THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES." -Romans 3:10-18

Okay, so now we're getting into some of the really tasty stuff!

So here is where we learn that there is no good in us! This is a key concept to grasp for those of us who would be called children of God. You see, what these verses show us is that there is no merit by which we come to the cross of Christ. We are completely devoid of any deservance of the mercy and grace which has been shown us. Not only that, but we cannot seek God!

Jesus tells us in John 6:44-45, "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, 'AND THEY SHALL ALL BE TAUGHT OF GOD.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me." Jesus tells us in these verses that it is by the will and prompting of God that we even begin to desire Him! He calls us to Himself, reveals Himself to us, and we respond according to His grace and kindness towards us. This is such an incredible concept to try and grasp. I don't want to delve too deeply into this issue today, but if you have any questions about this whole concept please feel free to e-mail me.

The major issue in Romans 3 is the fact that we are all sinners... Paul lays an incredible foundation for the following chapters with this concept that we all have this problem called "sin." It's a defect of character that is found in every human being who has ever lived. The understanding of the weight of our sin is, as I said earlier, crucial to the concept of Christ's death on our behalf. If there was a way, apart from Christ, by which we could atone for our sins, then His death would have been pointless. There is, however, only Law apart from Christ... The Law, as we will look at later, reveals the problem of sin in us. It is a standard to which no man can ever fully measure up. Thus, it is the glass by which we see ourselves in our broken state... by which we see our sin. The Law is the background against which our sins are held in order to be examined. The Law is the light to which we hold up the bill of our righteous deeds in order to test for falsity. And, sadly, we are all found as frauds...

"There is no one who does good, not even one." Psalm 53:3b

Apart from the grace of God, we are depraved and subject to the destructive power of our own selfish desires and sins. I cannot find a smidgen of light in Romans 3:10-18... As I have already mentioned, if there was hope for us apart from Christ, then the cross looses it's power. But there is no other way. All we have is sin and unrighteousness when Jesus isn't a part of the picture.

Paul says, "For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not." (Romans 7:18)

So, a little something we can take away from this (since I have to end this so suddenly and abruptly, this morning)... If Jesus is the Lord of your life, then this is what you have been saved out of! This lifestyle... the one that serves and pleases only "self" should no longer be a part of who you are. The fear and love of God should be apparent in our lives. These things are evidence that Christ does indeed dwell in us and that He is doing a restoring work in us! This is great news! Especially since we've just read that, apart from God, we cannot even desire to do good!

So, hopefully this has been as equally encouraging as it has been sobering. A basic re-cap would be... "We have no good in us, that comes from ourselves. Any and every bit of good which we have comes from the redemptive work of Christ, in us!" So, there you have it! Once again I apologize for the abrupt end I must put to this entry... However, I'm about to be late for work!

Grace and Peace!

Questions or Comments? E-mail me at afflquestions@yahoo.com .

Faithfulness... It's a God Thing!

"What then? If some did not believe, their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it? May it never be! Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found a liar, as it is written, 'THAT YOU MAY BE JUSTIFIED IN YOUR WORDS, AND PREVAIL WHEN YOU ARE JUDGED.' But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is He? (I am speaking in human terms.) May it never be! For otherwise, how will God judge the world?" -Romans 3:3-6

So, here's one of those things that's going to be really fun to think about... God's faithfulness! It stands throughout the entire span of time; past, present and future! His faithfulness is carried out in many different ways....

First, we see His faithfulness through the promise of redemption. Jesus Christ, God in flesh, came to earth and lived a sinless life. He was then unjustly tried and crucified for the sins of the world. He took upon Himself the punishment which was due each of us, for our sins, and made a way for us to be found acceptable in the sight of God. John 14:6 says, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." So, we see God's faithfulness to provide a way of redemption...

Next, we must look at God's faithfulness to carry out judgment against sin. God is holy! This means that sin cannot be found in His presence. We are sinful beings. Without the blood of Christ to atone for our wrongs, we cannot come into the presence of God. Therefore, God's judgment is carried out against the unrepentant heart. This demonstrates God's faithfulness to His holiness. He does not change! His Word stands forever! Sin must be punished, and God is the perfect and righteous Judge. He is faithful to judge the nations, and the heart of every man.

"For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." -Romans 8:38-39

Here is another aspect of His faithfulness to consider. He does not change! (1 Sam. 15:29; Malachi 3:6) God is immutable! This means that His character does not change! He is, always has been and always will be faithful to His character. This is a great relief for those of us who have been betrayed, time and time again, by others... When Jesus said, "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out." (John 6:37) He is saying, "If you are Mine, then you are Mine, I shall never leave you nor forsake you!" (Deut. 31:6).

So, basically what Paul is getting at in Romans 3 is that we might not comprehend the mind of God, but that He is faithful, nonetheless. Let every man be found a liar, but God's words and promises will stand forever! We see this in an even clearer light when we look at Isaiah 55:8-11...

' "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,' declares the LORD. 'For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth And making it bear and sprout, And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.' "

It's actually quite comforting to know that God's mind is infinitely greater than our own! Let's face it... if the Creator of the Universe thought along the same lines and at the same level as the average human being... WE'D ALL BE IN TROUBLE! If He was subject to change as often as we are... if He was not the very essence of stability for all of matter... then we'd be living in chaos!

So, thanks be to God! That He is ever faithful! His promises are true! And we can count on His faithfulness when ours runs out! His love is faithful, even when we are not... such faithfulness truly transcends the human capacity for understanding! So, if we can learn to live with the same faithfulness, to the same cause, as Christ, which is to magnify His Father in everything, then I think we just might be on the right track! Let's learn to live in faithfulness! First, to our God, then to His Word, then in everything which His Word shows us.

My simple thought pattern is this... If it's a characteristic of our God... it's probably worth modeling! Let's learn to be faithful beings!

Grace and Peace!

Questions or Comments? E-mail me at afflquestions@yahoo.com .

Circumcise Your Hearts!

"For indeed circumcision is of value if you practice the Law; but if you are a transgressor of the Law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. So if the uncircumcised man keeps the requirements of the Law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? And he who is physically uncircumcised, if he keeps the Law, will he not judge you who though having the letter of the Law and circumcision are a transgressor of the Law? For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God." -Romans 2:25-29

Well, these verses go very nicely with the last few that we looked at...
It's a slightly different twist on the same issues we saw in verses 17-24. Paul is going after the heart of those who would claim Christ as Lord and is asking them, "What is really god to you? Is it the God of universe, or is it something which He has created?"

This is an important question, which Paul asks in 25-29... What is genuine circumcision?

I think the answer is "circumcision of the heart." That's what God desires of us. We see countless times in the Scriptures where Jesus is talking to a large crowd and one of His biggest issues was that the actions and the words of the Pharisees and Sadducees didn't line up. Not only that, but the fact that He knew their hearts, and the pride and duplicity with which their disciplined lives were laced... Being outwardly circumcised, they had a false sense of security and belonging, all the while their hearts were completely uncircumcised! The covenant they kept was one of outward obedience, but their hearts were still chained to their desires for worldly pleasure and monetary gain.

You know... pride is an extremely dangerous thing! It's a very common problem too! It takes root when we live the life of the "good Christian" on the outside, but we do not change what's wrong inside of us. We see those who are struggling around us and, since our hearts are not humbled, we look down upon the "weaker brother." Friends, it is a dangerous position, when you find yourself feeling contempt for the struggling believer, rather than feeling compassion for such a one...

Well, that's pretty much an entirely different subject all-together, but I can't help but rail a little on such a predominant issue as hypocrisy! My apologies....

So, how do we become inwardly circumcised? How do we belong completely and wholly to the God we serve?

There's a couple of things to look at here...

First, the work of inward circumcision is done by the Holy Spirit. (v. 29) Paul says in Romans 7:18 "For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not." The Holy Spirit does the work of conviction in our lives and is the One who empowers us to do the will of the Father. In and of ourselves we could not live uprightly.

Secondly, we must look at the things which we call "god" in our lives. God says, very simply, in Exodus 20:3 "You shall have no other gods before Me." And Jesus says in Matthew 6:24 "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other You cannot serve God and wealth." Notice the NO ONE can serve two masters... Jesus says that it is impossible to be wholly devoted to two different things... and with God, you cannot be only partially His. He hates the lukewarm... "And because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth." (Revelation 3:16)

So, we see two definitive truths alive in these verses. A relationship with Christ means that our inward being is wholly devoted to and belongs completely to Christ. And, secondly, we see that the Holy Spirit is at work in us.... which means that we must listen (through the study of the scriptures and through our conscience) to His prompting in our lives. (Phil. 1:6, 2:13, Romans 5:5, 8:14,16, 1 Cor. 2:11-14)

Also, if you look at the last few words of verse 29, "and his praise is not from men, but from God." This is, once again, extremely indicative of the heart... are we striving for the praise of men? Or do we operate in such a way that we do the things which nobody else will ever see, just because it's the right thing to do? Do we honor God in the small, unobserved ways? Or just in the ways which are noticeable by others?

All of this to say, "Be circumcised in your hearts." We are not trying to be Jews, but we are trying to live lives which honor God and show Him to be our Lord. We ought to be striving for sincerity, as I mentioned last week, in every aspect of our lives.

Well, I'll leave you with these thoughts... I know it's given me plenty to think on!

Grace and Peace!

Questions or Comments? E-mail me at afflquestions@yahoo.com .

Sincerity Is a MUST! (Practice what you Preach)

"But if you bear the name 'Jew' and rely upon the Law and boast in God, and know His will and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth, you, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that one shall not steal, do you steal? You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God? For 'THE NAME OF GOD IS BLASPHEMED AMONG THE GENTILES BECAUSE OF YOU,' just as it is written." Romans 2:17-24

Wow! What a wakeup call! I was sitting here reading this text, this morning, and I couldn't believe how clearly it woke me up...

Are we practicing what we preach? Because I can definitely talk a good talk! But can I walk the road to Calvary as well as Christ did? I'm not so sure about that one...

What does it really mean to take up our cross and follow Christ? I think Paul nailed it right there! It means that we're an example of everything that we claim as truth. We don't live double lives. There is no differentiation between our "Sunday-selves" and the "Weekly-Us." How on earth can we expect to be an example of Christ if we preach His Word and then live a completely opposite life???

Check out this portion of the verse again... it just slammed me this morning...

"For 'THE NAME OF GOD IS BLASPHEMED AMONG THE GENTILES BECAUSE OF YOU,' just as it is written."

?!?!!! Yeah... that's not intimidating in the slightest, right? How many times have I said one thing and then done another? This is such a sobering thought.... that we who claim to be children of God would blaspheme His holy Name with our duplicity!!!

So... Who wants to be on this side of the line? Who wants it said of them, "You are a blasphemer of the God of the Universe, because you spoke His Words but lived like the world and thus destroyed all and any impact you might have had for the sake of the Gospel..."? Well? Any takers? Yeah, me neither.

So what do we do? What steps do we take to avoid such incriminating charges as "blasphemy"?

Well, I think step one is "Sincerity." There must be sincerity in our walk with Christ. If things aren't right between me and God then I am NEVER going to be an effective disciple. So, sincerity starts with the inward relationship with our Heavenly Father.

Secondly, sincerity must take place in our relationships with others. If we wear the "Sunday mask" to church and pretend to be who we're not... we'll never be free of the guilt which accompanies such games. There is a certain level of fakeness which plagues most churches today. The modern church has become a place where you cannot have problems... what's with that??? Isn't the church the place where broken people are supposed to find healing? Isn't the church supposed to be the place where we come because we know that we aren't good enough and that Christ is the only good in us?

So, we go to church with this understanding that we have to be "Super Christians" in order to be found acceptable. We say all the right "churchy" words and know all of the songs by heart... but our hearts are calloused by our adulterous relationship with the world!

This cannot be! Sincerity means that, when we talk with others, our life says, "I'm messed up! But thanks be to God, I am His! He's working on me and sanctifying a life that has been broken by sin!" After all... the world already has a surplus supply of people who live in duplicity. What people are looking for, when they come to a church or are looking into the lives of those who claim Christ as Lord, is for truth, real-ness... they want to see what "real" looks like. Anyone can pretend to be okay and deny all hurts and pains; but it takes a sincere Christ-follower, who lives humbly and according the Word, to admit that they are powerless in-and-of themselves and that Christ is the only good they have!

Perhaps I've gone a little too far out on a tangent, but I hope you understand the point I'm driving at... How true and effective is our witness if we are preaching repentance and truth to others and then living in the very sins we call others to repent of? There is no truth in that! Have you ever wondered at the ineffectiveness of your witness? Perhaps this is something to reflect on.

So, today let's make an internal inspection of ourselves. Let's check those deep corners of our hearts and minds for things which are a little out of whack. Then... let's take those things to the cross... let's confess them to the One who already knows all of our faults. He has already died for and covered those sins with His blood, but we are told to confess them to Him openly anyways. That's what sincerity is all about. We have to be sincere and honest with ourselves just as much as we do with anyone else. If you lie to yourself about the issues of your heart, then how can you ever expect to be honest with someone else?

My prayer is that we will be bold in this and ask God to bring to light anything and everything with is not honoring to Him. That He would show us those things which would be damaging to our relationship with Him and which would cause us to be called hypocrites and blasphemers. My hope is that we would take these things and lay them at the foot of the cross... that we would repent of these things and turn away from them.

Friends, I can say this from experience... there is so much freedom in sincerity! God's been shaking me, breaking me, and re-shaping me these past few weeks... I'm not going to lie, it's definitely painful, but it's also definitely WORTH IT!!! The freedom that comes with sincerity is incomparably greater than any life lived in hypocrisy and duplicity!

I'll leave you each to wrestle with these thoughts...

Grace and Peace!

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