Working On The Wrong Side of Sin

Sin is not an intellectual problem.

Sin is not a problem of ignorance.

Sin is a problem of morality.

Sin is a problem of the will.

Sin is about wrong priorities.

Sin is about the misuse of my freewill.

Sin is about my rebellion against my Creator and it is about my deep desire to want God's glory for myself.

Many people think that to overcome sin, we must change our thinking. There's a flake of truth to that but sin is first and foremost about a broken relationship. It's about being wilfully estranged from the only One who can save us from ourselves.

While solid Biblical teaching can help to change my thinking, I won't want that teaching until my heart has been changed. Until my heart is changed this broken relationship will cause me to see God as the enemy. My stoney heart will cause me to see God as cruel and insensitive. Until I've been fundamentally changed, I will think that pleasing God is all about keeping these rules, and avoiding breaking those rules. That couldn't be further from the truth. A changed heart takes what I know and uses it to transform the way I live.

King David didn't kill Bathsheba's husband because he didn't know murder was wrong. He did it because he was adapting his own moral code to accommodate what he wanted. King David didn't commit adultery with Bathsheba because he didn't know adultery was wrong. He did it because he was adapting his own moral code to accommodate what he wanted. When I say something unkind to my children or when I don't show my wife the degree of love she deserves, it's not because I don't know better. I do those things because I'm following the lead of my heart.

Once grace has brought me back into a healed and forgiven relationship with Jesus, I will seek to obey Jesus out of love and gratitude. Until then I won't care what God wants; I'll simply go after what my heart wants.