Category: Sin

2 Corinthians 7:8-12

The apostle’s words here give us a wonderful example of the attitude that should be present in a Christian when convicted of sin.

Paul wrote concerning the various failings of the Corinthians, documenting many in his first epistle to that church. Verse 12 seems to indicate that Paul had specifically in mind their treatment of the immoral man in 1 Corinthians 5. They had tolerated his sin rather than withdrawing their fellowship from him, as Paul had commanded them.

But, at Paul’s instruction they had repented. Godly sorrow, as they were convicted of their sin, led them to repent. Such sorrow was strong, and led to indignation (toward themselves), and zeal (to prove their repentance). As a result of this profound change of heart regarding their sin, Paul stated, “In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter” (vs. 11). May we all show the same sorrow at our own transgressions.

Apathy, the distractions of sin, lack of study, discouragement, a lack of love… All of these things can be an impediment to spiritual growth.

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Profanity is an outward expression of a dissolute and evil heart. It is wickedness, and unworthy of the Christian profession.

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Sin is destructive. And the sinner who sins is destructive. We must recognize that when we sin, we do damage to our own lives, the lives of others, and our eternal standing before God.

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James 1:13-16

Quite often people blame God for things He has not done. This is certainly so in the realm of temptation. As our text indicates, when we are tempted, it is not God’s fault.

God is perfect. Perfect in His righteousness and perfect in His love for man. As such, it is impossible for Him to contribute to the sin of man.

When a man sins he alone is at fault. Though there may be causal factors, (e.g. the enticements placed before him by Satan and his minions), the fault is his.

As the text states, a man sins when he is “drawn away by his own desires.”

When we sin, we can not say that we are not responsible. It is not God’s fault, and the devil did not “make us do it.” It is not the fault of our mother or our father (cf. Ezekiel 18:20).

It is our own fault, and the consequences are dire: “when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death” (vs. 15).

Even though pride is often referred to as a positive attribute by those with worldly values, it is an abomination to God. The Christian should avoid pride.

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Proverbs 6 lists a total of seven things that God hates… That are an abomination to Him. The lesson discusses these seven sins, and gives suggestions on how to avoid them.

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Cain’s choice to sin, and then to compound his initial sin with others, caused him much anguish in life, and God’s condemnation.

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There are sins of the tongue that are directed at others, such as gossip, talebearing and slander. These are antithetical to the profession of the Christian life, and must be avoided by the child of God.

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Man is capable of sinning against God directly through his unwise use of his tongue. Complaining and grumbling, Profane and Vain language, and taking the Lord’s name in vain are all ways we can sin with the tongue.

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Now she tells us? When I first heard that J.K. Rowling had revealed the homosexuality of Professor Albus Dumbledore, esteemed headmaster of Hogwarts, before a packed congregation of children and adults at Carnegie Hall on Oct. 19, my reaction was half appreciation, half annoyance. Ten years, seven books, 4,000 pages, and it never occurred to her to mention this before? At least she didn’t make the gay character a fairy (or a troll), so we’ll be spared those jokes, I thought. Rowling’s announcement felt almost too strategic, a gotcha! she conveniently withheld until the multibillion-dollar revenue stream had had years to flow. And why bother? The outing of Dumbledore doesn’t seriously reshape any plotline in the Harry Potter novels, nor do the books ever drop the kind of hints that would inspire questions from readers. Also, the saga is over, and Dumbledore’s, you know, dead, so, like that infamous moment on Law & Order when viewers suddenly learned that one of the show’s main characters was a lesbian literally 10 seconds before she left the series, it all seemed a bit easy.

Mark Davis
EW.com (Entertainment Weekly)

Analysis:

First, there is no such person as Dumbledore. So, he can’t be a homosexual. He is not a person, he is a fictional character in the Harry Potter books.

Continue reading “In The News: Dumbledore is a Homosexual” →

Jesus Christ was murdered. His killers perpetrated a great crime on humanity. The question is, who killed Jesus? Was it the Romans? The Jews? You and I?

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It is apparent that we are living during a time of immorality and ungodliness. Worldliness has always held sway with the majority, but we are certainly in a cycle of excessiveness.

In Genesis 6:5-6 we are informed of an ungodly time, much like our own. “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.” That is not to say that there are only 8 righteous souls on the earth (the number spared in the flood). However, the evil nature of society is certainly similar to that of old.

The pagan society of Paul’s day was similar. Paul stated that “although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened” (Romans 1:21). Their foolishness led them to all types of debauchery, and Paul maintained that those who practice such things are “worthy of death” (vs. 32).

This past week I typed in the word “scandal” into an internet search engine, and came up with a sampling of the pervasive ungodliness that exists in our world today.

• An NBA referee (Tim Donaghy) is being investigated by the FBI for both betting on and fixing NBA games in order to appease gangsters because of his gambling debts. The scandal is perhaps the most disturbing in decades in professional sports.
• Some British politicians are presently embroiled in a scandal involving unethical campaign financing schemes.
• A Catholic Cardinal in Los Angeles apologized last week to the hundreds of people affected by the sex scandal that has rocked the Catholic church. The church in L.A. is scheduled to pay $660,000,000 in reparations to victims.
• Louisiana Senator David Vitter spent last week in seclusion after a raid on a prostitution ring in Washington D.C. turned up his phone number. He has acknowledged what he calls “a serious sin.”
• In China a scandal surfaced last month after about 400 distraught parents posted a plea on the Internet about their children who had been sold into slavery in China’s northern Shanxi province and neighbouring Henan. It is estimated that over 1,000 people, many of them children, have been victimized by these crimes.

These are only representative of the literally hundreds of scandals that have been reported on in the news the past several weeks. They show a lack of integrity, conviction and morality that exists in the world today. Sex, gambling, corruption and man’s inhumanity to man are the norm rather than the exception. In fact, such are so common that it is probable most of the examples above are unfamiliar to most of the readers of this article.

In the face of such ungodliness, Christians are admonished by the Holy Spirit to, “become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I [Paul] may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain” (Phil. 2:15-16).

AOTS Number 70

Satan’s greatest weapon against us is deception. As we grow familiar with sin, it becomes possible to deceive ourselves into thinking is isn’t a big deal!

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It was F.B. Meyer, I believe, who once said that when we see a brother or sister in sin, there are two things we do not know: First, we do not know how hard he or she tried not to sin. And second, we do not know the power of the forces that assailed him or her. We also do not know what we would have done in the same circumstances.

Stephen Brown, Christianity Today, April 5, 1993, p. 17.

The point is not to ignore or tolerate the sin of a brother. Paul admonished the Corinthians for their acceptance of immorality into the church, (cf. 1 Corinthians 5), and instructed them to “deliver such a one to Satan.”

However, that same individual, upon his repentance, received Paul’s pity. “Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love to him” (2 Corinthians 2:8).

Our approach to the sinner should be one of humility and compassion, even as we seek to discipline him in his sin. “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted” (Galatians 6:1).