Sin

Fleming Rutledge

I recently received a book, The Crucifixion, that was written by the noted preacher, Fleming Rutledge. In this tome, Rutledge describes sin as a power and as such, we are unable, in ourselves, to overcome it; it takes a “force” outside of the creation to conquer it. We would do well to recognize that sin is rampant in the world today, and that we are just a guilty of sin as the next person and need that “force” that is God to overcome and conquer our, and the world’s, propensity to sin.

The world was certainly no different in Jesus’ day, and in fact, Jesus unhesitatingly recognized and pointed out people’s sins. It was one of the reasons many people disliked him – disliked him so much that they nailed him to a cross. It goes without saying, people who live in sin don’t like to be reminded of their misdoings. However, Jesus’ pointing out people’s sins, was a vital part of his salvation strategy. It certainly wasn’t a pleasant task, but someone had to do it.

We, too, must, first and foremost, confront and confess our sins, because without confession there is no repentance and no faith. Without faith, there is no salvation. In other words, we must accept our own sins and readily practice confession of those sins. When we fail to recognize and confess our sins, they increase and hinder our fellowship with God, and we prove to be a part of the problem. In addition, we must be prepared to challenge the sin of our fellow Christians, and help them get on the path of repentance.

The idea of sin, in many cases, has become a repugnant topic of discussion in today’s church. Some people simply consider the topic offensive, such that they do not even want it mentioned and will leave a church that insists on people facing up to their sins.

Let’s be frank, we have not evolved beyond sin, and we are fooling ourselves if we think we can build the church into the entities that God desires if we fail to deal with sin. If we deny our sin we are, in effect, calling God a liar, as the writer of the First Epistle of John reminds us, “If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”

The first step in conquering sin was taken when Jesus was crucified, thereby the kingdom of God was initiated and the “force” was unleashed on the power that is sin. But we must be partners in this conquering of sin by recognizing it, confessing it, and allowing Christ to be the driving force in our lives.

Curtis