Earlier, while I was working the bag down in my garage, I was listening to a sermon preached by Renny Scott, my pastor from almost 30 years ago. Something he said about the faithfulness of God really hit me.
Renny (to congregation): “Did you know that Jesus secured your ability to live sinlessly? And that God the Father sustains what Jesus secured?”
I don't know that I've ever really thought about things in that way before—or, at least, in a very long time. Most of the time—and I’m just being really honest here, when I think about what Jesus “secured” for me, I think about how He secured my salvation and my eternal forgiveness for the sins I’ve committed.
And for the sins I have yet to commit.
Hmmm...For the sins I have yet to commit.
You know? It’s almost as if I’m planning on sinning—as if my committing of future sins is a foregone conclusion and something, about which, I have no choice or control.
The above is more than just a slip of the tongue or a play on words. I think it’s an attitude, would you not agree?
Provided below is a really startling fact (at least to me) about the sin in my life…
The sins I commit are not committed by accident.
There’s no such a thing as “accidentally” lying to another, is there?
Or “accidentally” speaking harshly to someone…
…or “accidentally” cheating on an exam or on my tax returns.
No. I don't really think there's too much accidental about any of that.
My sins are volitional, meaning, they are things I chose to do.
There’s a really cool scripture that I’ve often drawn from to provide comfort in times of difficulty. Perhaps you have, too. The scripture is found in 1 Corinthians 10:13…
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
Most of the time, I “use” this scripture as a comfort to remind me that, when I’m going through a difficult time, God will be right there with me and that He will help me to get through whatever the difficulty is that I might be facing in the moment.
Now…while it is most definitely true that God will always be there (see Matthew 28:20), quite honestly—and now that I really think about it, I think my theology about this whole issue has been severely flawed. The above scripture has very little to do with difficult times and God helping us out during those times.
No.
This scripture is about God’s faithfulness to help us to resist temptation and, as such, to live sinlessly.
He does this by…
…not allowing us to “be tempted beyond what [we] can bear”…
…and by providing “a way out”…
And He does this so…
…that we can stand up under it.
I must apologize, but I'm feeling really, really tired and need to call it for the night. I'd like to write more on this subject, but I'm going to need to defer doing so as I can hardly keep my eyes open. Lord-willing, I will write more about this subject tomorrow.
Until next time, God’s peace to all'y’all,
Daver
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