going to blog a few thoughts. Don't know how often I'll do this.
So I've been thinking a lot recently about sin management. I can recall the last couple years how much of a theme it was on campus.
When I say sin management, my understanding of it (which doesn't mean it is the same as someone else's) is that it is our (the body of Christ) attempt to try to push our sin away. We try to come up with clever schemes and/or 5 bullet point lists that, in the end, will eliminate said sin from our lives.
I firmly believe that sin management, when thought of by the definition i just gave, is wrong and possibly worse and more prideful than whatever sin from which we're running. It insults the saving grace given by Christ and puts us in the driver's seat.
But I really have had a hard time understanding this whole thing.
We're saved by grace to do good works. So if we have been saved by grace, do we continue to sin? By no means! (sorry Paul...i butchered it....)
So I'm saved by grace, but I'm called to live a holy life. I'm learning that this means living, not not sinning. The former implies trusting in God's grace, looking ahead rather than dwelling on the things of the past (Phil 2).
But somewhere in there, we do have to reject sin. Somewhere in there, sin is wrong and we do want to be rid of it in our lives. It is God's saving grace that allows this to occur. Christ has given us the chance to live lives free of guilt even though we still choose to live in the death of our trespasses.
I've been thinking a lot about the word crucify. I heard it somewhere this week and just keeps sticking with me. I really needed to rehearse it yesterday and today.
Are we called not to manage sin, but maybe to crucify it? We want to live holy lives. This can only happen because of Christ. We are only being changed by His blood through the Holy Spirit. And we are called to leave our lives of sin.
Could we be called to crucify sin, completely rejecting it, and removing it at its deepest roots in our minds? there's so much junk that goes on in our minds and if we let it sink too deep, it becomes very difficult to focus back on Christ.
I'm seeing a difference between crucifying and managing, in that, while the former is looking to remove and destroy at the deepest level (our thoughts, our most basic insecurities, etc), management implies more of a shuffling and reording of priorities ("i won't kick that guy's dog this week for sure").
Where does this idea of being willing to capture our thoughts fit in with grace. I want to focus on Christ alone. My hope is in His grace. I also want to rebuke my sinful thoughts before they take on a life of their own and begin to consume my mind.
Where do these fit together?
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4 comments:
How does one exactly go about "crucifying" sin?
yeah that's a good question drew. I don't quite understand it yet. The person who used the word said that we should "crucify our sin." I hit on it only for a paragraph because I don't quite understand it.
when i think of it, i think of being willing to step beyond simply looking good, and trying to take care of sins that are visible. I'm thinking that maybe for me it's meaning to rebuke sin at its roots (such as pride, dissension, jealousy,) where only God and myself personally are able to recognize that it exists. those are sins that don't necessarily get seen, but most certainly are still causing the death of my soul when i allow them to fester. For me, it is from these things that the surface sins take shape. And while I am now saved by the blood of Christ, i do desire to sin no longer and set my mind completely on Christ. So i do desire to die to these sins, to crucify them, and focus on Him.
Honestly, i wish i fully understood how to always set my mind on Christ, but i think being willing to live a life with that in mind is the start. Rebuking and downright hating anything that distracts my being from following Christ would be "crucifying" from my view. Not focusing on these things, but recognizing they exist, rebuking them, and then setting my sight on Christ again.
something cool today was a prayer i heard at Sacred Heart Griffin while i was doing my observation---
"Jesus, give us the peace to be kind to who we are while striving to be our best"
good question. i don't know if i have it nailed. what do you think?
I'm not so sure that sin can be "crucified" by us.
At first, I thought the notion of crucifying our sin is quite odd, since crucifixion was something that was done to our Lord, and I can't imagine somehow affixing sin to a cross and leaving it to die. However, I do see the symbolism present here, as one of the definitions of "crucify" is to destroy the power of. Since you're obviously wanting to destroy the power of sin, this usage of crucify makes sense.
But, are we, as less than divine humans, truly able to crucify sin? We know that we are not able to bring about the forgiveness of our own sin through our own efforts. Only God through Jesus Christ has the authority and power to give us true forgiveness. To say that we are able to "crucify" the sin and truly destroy the power of sin would cheapen the authority of God, in my thinking.
We also run into issues about exactly how one goes about crucifying sin. I know it's probably uplifting to talk so boldly about getting rid of sin, but is it really possible for us? Should we believe or expect that we are able to have our sinful nature eliminated by anything short of death and entrance into heaven? Should we play this cat-and-mouse game with sin where we get really motivated about getting rid of it and then make unrealistic promises which we can't fulfill? Think about what exactly you're trying to do with a crucifixion of sin, and also consider whether it's possible to destroy something which is so ingrained in human nature.
I've thought quite a bit about the concept of destroying sin, and from my own experience I've found that talking about sin like we can destroy it or completely eliminiate it accomplishes little. Sin management, as you define it, is the only thing that we can really do on this earth. The Holy Spirit serves to give us guidance away from sin, but it does not eliminate the sinful nature that is so ingrained into humanity from the time of Adam. That nature will be eliminated upon our death and entrance into heaven, or at the end when we receive our resurrection bodies which have no weakness.
perhaps we can look at what scripture says about being crucified...Gal. 2:20 suggests that Christ followers have been "crucified" with Christ and no longer live....now it's all about Christ living in us.
maybe the difference is that sin management is all about what I can do to avoid sin...and frankly...I suck at it. However, Christ living in me is able to avoid/combat/eliminate sin from my life...the more I'm controlled by the Holy Spirit instead of myself, the better.
great discussion, guys....
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