Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Sins vs the Condition of Sin--and God's response

Scripture Passage that Caught my attention today: Acts 7:51-54 [Stephen said] “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you are forever opposing the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors used to do. 52 Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, and now you have become his betrayers and murderers. 53 You are the ones that received the law as ordained by angels, and yet you have not kept it.” When they heard these things, they became enraged and ground their teeth at Stephen.

Observation: The people accusing Stephen recoiled at being compared to the sinfulness of their ancestors.

Application:
Periodically I’ll be asked why the church doesn’t speak more about “sin.” What people most often are referring to are perceived ‘sins,’ not the condition of ‘sin.’ There is a difference.

“Sins,” in the minds of most people, are those things we do that we shouldn’t or those things that we don’t do but we should. Some refer to the so-called seven deadly sins. Breaking one or more of the 10 commandments is considered ‘sinning.’ So on and so forth…

I like to think of ‘sins’ as something on the surface that reveal something much deeper we all share, something theologians refer to as the “condition of sin.” Trying to identify and rectify the things we have done or left undone is to miss the point. There is an illness deep in the heart of us all that is, well, hostile to God.

It’s a strong statement, I know. But it’s true. God’s ways are not our ways.

The people accusing Stephen--religious leaders all—did not want to be identified with the sinfulness of their ancestors. They didn’t want to admit that they, like all of us, share the same sinful human condition of every generation before them. Surely they had progressed far beyond those from days of old!

Fat chance.

At that point they had the choice of facing the music or silencing the musician. They chose the latter, stoning Stephen to death as he claimed to see the heavens opened. How ironic that he pleaded for their forgiveness even as they hurled chunks from the very bedrock upon which their ancestors likely walked.

We like to think we’re different and, of course better, than those who have gone before us. A better, more realistic approach would be to see our common humanity and sinful nature—the likes of which can only be addressed by the One whom the Bible declares to be “gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.”

Prayer:
Lord, let us look honestly at ourselves in order to more honestly see how gracious and merciful you really are. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

(Readings today included: Exodus 28-29 and Acts 7)

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