Sin part 2
Jesus took away the sin of the world. He fulfilled the law. So why in the world are we so obsessed with those two things? Why are we still putting ourselves under a law that was never given to us (and falling from grace in so doing) and why are we always on a sin hunt? Look at Romans 4:15, "Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression." Think about that for a minute. You can't break the law when there is no law. Right? That tracks. But that doesn't mean we are lawless. Look at James 1:22-25, "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed." There's a lot there. But basically, behavior modification doesn't work. If you're hearing the truth about yourself--that you are God's beloved Son in whom He is well pleased--but not applying it, then the truth isn't helping you because it isn't true... to you. And we know that the truth (that we know and believe) will set us free and make us free. Faith working by love is what makes everything happen. Walking by faith and not by sight. Living by faith. Living out of our abundance. But here's the thing: If you think of freedom as freedom TO sin instead of freedom FROM sin... that's where things get twisted. And, yes, freedom is easy to abuse. But it's still better than bondage. Look at 1 Corinthians 6:12, "All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any." Just because you CAN do something doesn't mean you SHOULD. Sin is unbelief. Believing anything other than the ultimate truth of the universe that God is love and He loves you. And those transgressions, those acts, are what flows from that unbelief. Trying to get something you think you haven't got. That's why people do things--not because they think it's bad, but because they think it will get them what they want. Love, however, is never about getting. Ever. Because love IS giving. Always. So we dont' have to worry about getting, because our heavenly Father has already given us everything we need. He made the Way of Grace. We respond with the Walk of Faith. We receive and release what He has given us. And that's how we experience what He has given us. It's not about trying to act a certain way. It's about giving what you've got. By knowing and believing that you've got it. It's not about being on a sin hunt and trying to get the sin out of the camp. It's about being on a righteousness hunt and letting that righteousness of God in Christ (that we are) shine through. It's about being who you are, not about trying (and failing) to be who the world tells you to be. You were created for a purpose. And that purpose is to let God love you and love Him back by loving people. Sin isn't even in the equation. Jesus took away the sin (unbelief) of the world by giving us something (someONE, Himself, LOVE) to believe in. The problem, as I think I mentioned yesteday, is our sin consciousness. Which we will address tomorrow. That's what we need to deal with it. Because Jesus already dealt with sin. Put it as far away as the east is from the west. Threw it into a sea of forgetfulness. And, most importantly, forgave us for it. Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. He did. And now that we know better, we can do better. We're not constrained by an external law. We are led by an internal law... of liberty!