Without Sin
I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing. Galatians 2:21
If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. 1 John: 1:10
A man I know is convinced that if we live well enough and try hard enough that we can lead sinless lives. I disagree and I believe that the Scriptures above back me up. This man is not alone. He has several friends who think the same thing. I don’t know all of them but I know a few. To me, the biggest sin I see among them is pride, the inflated sense of self that says I can do this thing if I try hard enough. To that I say, good luck.
Like many people I know, I still waste a fair amount of time trying really hard. Once in awhile something good will come of all that trying but mostly it breeds frustration and anxiousness. At its worst it breeds bitterness because I try so hard and where is God? I’ll tell you where He is. He’s waiting patiently for me to get a clue.
One of my absolutely favorite verses of Scripture comes from the book of Micah. It says, He has shown you o Man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8 Nowhere in there does it say, try really hard, depend on your own strength, and by all means, get it right.
The argument of the man I mentioned and his cronies, is that Jesus was human and we are human, so we should be able to do this thing. They love to quote the be perfect verse. (Matthew 5:48) Taken out of context it is an excellent defense of their thinking. It does say, “Be perfect therefore.” However, it comes at the end of a passage about love. Is Jesus telling us that perfection, across the board of life is attainable without his sacrifice, on this side of heaven? No, at least not as far as I can see.
I believe that Jesus is saying in matters of how we treat each other, as far as loving each other is concerned to love, as our Father loves us, which of course is perfect. Even at that, we cannot love without God’s help, not the way Jesus lays it out in Matthew 5:43-48. We are told in that passage to love not just our neighbor but our enemies as well. It is the same passage where we are told that no, life is not fair. Jesus says that our Father sends rain and sun to both the evil and the good. When we see that sun shining on one we perceive to be evil while rain is pouring on our own head or the head of someone we see as good, how easy it is to live in perfect love?
To say that perfection is attainable this side of heaven makes Jesus a nice guy and a great role model but it also makes his sacrifice unnecessary. Just typing that makes my stomach turn a little. I don’t even like to think about who I would be or where I would be without Jesus.
There is a song that has been played in many churches for many years. It is called, “My All in All.” That is the truth. Jesus is our all in all. He is everything we need. John 15:5 says that apart from Jesus we can do nothing. My personal experience says that apart from him I am nothing. Be perfect, therefore, in love, not in pride and by all means understand that while it is the goal to strive toward, it is not attainable without the loving sacrifice of Jesus.
If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. 1 John: 1:10
A man I know is convinced that if we live well enough and try hard enough that we can lead sinless lives. I disagree and I believe that the Scriptures above back me up. This man is not alone. He has several friends who think the same thing. I don’t know all of them but I know a few. To me, the biggest sin I see among them is pride, the inflated sense of self that says I can do this thing if I try hard enough. To that I say, good luck.
Like many people I know, I still waste a fair amount of time trying really hard. Once in awhile something good will come of all that trying but mostly it breeds frustration and anxiousness. At its worst it breeds bitterness because I try so hard and where is God? I’ll tell you where He is. He’s waiting patiently for me to get a clue.
One of my absolutely favorite verses of Scripture comes from the book of Micah. It says, He has shown you o Man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8 Nowhere in there does it say, try really hard, depend on your own strength, and by all means, get it right.
The argument of the man I mentioned and his cronies, is that Jesus was human and we are human, so we should be able to do this thing. They love to quote the be perfect verse. (Matthew 5:48) Taken out of context it is an excellent defense of their thinking. It does say, “Be perfect therefore.” However, it comes at the end of a passage about love. Is Jesus telling us that perfection, across the board of life is attainable without his sacrifice, on this side of heaven? No, at least not as far as I can see.
I believe that Jesus is saying in matters of how we treat each other, as far as loving each other is concerned to love, as our Father loves us, which of course is perfect. Even at that, we cannot love without God’s help, not the way Jesus lays it out in Matthew 5:43-48. We are told in that passage to love not just our neighbor but our enemies as well. It is the same passage where we are told that no, life is not fair. Jesus says that our Father sends rain and sun to both the evil and the good. When we see that sun shining on one we perceive to be evil while rain is pouring on our own head or the head of someone we see as good, how easy it is to live in perfect love?
To say that perfection is attainable this side of heaven makes Jesus a nice guy and a great role model but it also makes his sacrifice unnecessary. Just typing that makes my stomach turn a little. I don’t even like to think about who I would be or where I would be without Jesus.
There is a song that has been played in many churches for many years. It is called, “My All in All.” That is the truth. Jesus is our all in all. He is everything we need. John 15:5 says that apart from Jesus we can do nothing. My personal experience says that apart from him I am nothing. Be perfect, therefore, in love, not in pride and by all means understand that while it is the goal to strive toward, it is not attainable without the loving sacrifice of Jesus.
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