“I’ve experienced His Presence in the deepest darkest hell that men can create..I have tested the promises of the Bible, and believe me, you count on them.” Corrie Ten Boom

Imagine this, a little blond haired angel of a little girl sitting in church, she’s a bit confused because the pastor is screaming a lot. To top it off, he has a really red face. He looked mad more than joyful. It was quite a quandary for this little one. She kept hearing the words, “hellfire!” “damnation!” “Eternity away from God!!” To be honest, it scared this little one. After all, in Sunday school she had heard over and over, “God is Love.” Love to her was not screaming, right? As the little one grew she heard a continuous word of damnation for a little while, it was not always the case. After a few years a new pastor came in and took a completely different approach to interpreting scripture. There was more love preached rather than damnation. It was a welcome change. Now, I wasn’t actually an angelic little girl; I was in fact talkative, loud and full of spitfire. But I did know my scriptures from about 6 years old. I remember God’s voice from a very young age, despite my spitfire personality. 

Childhood memories bring to mind the current state of the church

Why do I mention this memory? There are actually many reasons. I’ve had the occasion to talk with several of my childhood friends. We all attended the same church. Some of our memories are very much the same, and in other circumstances our memories are completely different. It is amazing what a child’s eyes and mind can tell you. There were in fact joyful sermons and sermons that challenged members to step away from their sin. After all, why did Jesus die on the Cross? Was it not for the sins of the world? That would merit some sermons that do indeed dwell on the matter of sin. Also, this subject has come to mind as a result of the continued conversations with my childhood friends. We have all moved on from our small little town and have found new places of worship. We often find the occasion to discuss the difference between services then and now. We did draw some definite conclusions. 

Church music is definitely different these days

The first observation that we had was that the music has definitely changed both in the difficulty and the rich words that teach words of life. I’ve spent many years serving in some capacity at a church. I started playing offertories at about 13 years old. Since then I have served in some sort of musical function to various congregations. When I first started there was definitely a church bathed in light with hymn books that were well loved. The songs were sung, the melody and harmony was glorious and the words touched our souls. As the years continued on the praise choruses came into fashion. There were some duds for sure but it felt like the sentiment of rich words with meaning was there. 

God is light

Fast forward to the last several years of church service. The church was dark, pitch black as you walked through the door. Of course, me and my opinionated self immediately said, “I can’t see my hands! Is this a church or a club? All we need is a stripper pole and a bar!” I did feel a little embarrassed and a little verklempt at the state of darkness in the room. I won’t dwell on this for a long time but I do want to add that this club, oh wait. I meant to write that church had all the hallmarks of the time I spent at clubs in my 20s. Loud thumping bass, strobe lights and darkness as far as you could see. Seriously, is that church? This may be an unpopular opinion but God is a God of Light, there is no darkness in Him. Why would we make the church that way? 

A more complicated difference came to mind

The next difference that we noticed was a bit more complicated. The topic of sin had been all but erased in place of copious amounts of grace. Now, before you get upset with me please let me explain what I mean. We don’t need the yelling red-faced sermons of hellfire and damnation but we do need to discuss sin in the church and in our spiritual life (and the pursuit of truth.)  If you look in the scripture, the Greek word for sin is Hamartema. It means an act of disobedience to Divine law. The Hebrew word is Khata. It means to fail or miss the goal. Now, before you Biblical scholars come for me, I know that Jesus did not make sin the sole focus of His teachings. In fact, He mentioned it about 7 times. He had a lot to mention in the very short time of His life. It truly is a miracle all that He imparted to humanity in His 35 years on the earth. That is why the apostles wrote the subsequent books that we see in the new testament. 

There are different sects of Christianity

Before I delve into this subject I want to emphasize that I am not a Liberal or Progressive Christian. My beliefs land almost squarely in Classic Christianity. C.S. Lewis wrote a wonderful book called, “Mere Christianity.” This book is a very good reflection of where my beliefs land. I do believe that the Bible happened, and it was left for us to know about God’s love for His people as we journey through this life. With that in mind, let us proceed with the idea of sin and grace. 

Romans 5 helps us outline grace

In Romans 5 Paul lays out the case for Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins as the second Adam. The first Adam was in the Garden of Eden. Both he and Eve partook of the forbidden fruit and introduced sin into the world. Because of that action, Jesus had to come and bear the sin of the world through His death and resurrection. The ultimate act of love was His sacrifice for us. When we believe in the weight of His sacrifice in our lives and confess with our mouth we are made righteous in God’s sight. What does that mean? To be righteous means to be in right standing with God. Our souls are clean. Now, until we make it to Heaven we will still have the propensity to sin but we have the wealth of God’s forgiveness because of His grace. 

Romans 6 takes the idea further

Romans 6:1-3 offers an excellent explanation of the relationship between sin and grace. Well then, shall we keep on sinning so that God can keep on showing us more and more kindness and forgiveness? Of course not! Should we keep on sinning when we don’t have to? For sin’s power over us was broken when we became Christians and were baptized to become a part of Jesus Christ; through his death the power of your sinful nature was shattered. Our sinful nature was shattered because of Jesus’ work on the cross. Will we be tempted, yes. But God has made a way of escape. 

I Corinthians 10:13-14 No temptation [regardless of its source] has overtaken or enticed you that is not common to human experience [nor is any temptation unusual or beyond human resistance]; but God is faithful [to His word—He is compassionate and trustworthy], and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability [to resist], but along with the temptation He [has in the past and is now and] will [always] provide the way out as well, so that you will be able to endure it [without yielding, and will overcome temptation with joy]. Therefore, my beloved, run [keep far, far away] from [any sort of] idolatry [and that includes loving anything more than God, or participating in anything that leads to sin and enslaves the soul].

To take the idea further Titus gives us some excellent advice concerning grace.

God’s readiness to give and forgive is now public. Salvation’s available for everyone! We’re being shown how to turn our backs on a godless, indulgent life, and how to take on a God-filled, God-honoring life. This new life is starting right now, and is whetting our appetites for the glorious day when our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, appears. He offered himself as a sacrifice to free us from a dark, rebellious life into this good, pure life, making us a people he can be proud of, energetic in goodness.

Grace, truth and realizing sin walk hand in hand

Dear readers, grace is not grace without the doctrine of sin. Also, any belief system that is quite comfortable with unlimited sin is not Biblical grace. Think of an eagle, can it fly with just one wing? No, it cannot. Those wings are grace and truth that causes us to want to live in less sin. After all, what were the words of Jesus?  Jesus said to those Jews who had believed in Him, If you abide in My word [hold fast to My teachings and live in accordance with them], you are truly My disciples. And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free. What is the truth? The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Saint Francis of Assisi had theories of unconfessed sin

My husband and I are currently doing a new devotional together. One of the subjects was titled, “The Preyer.” The writer broached the subject of Francis of Assisi. He often prayed for his Order, there were times he said his Order was surrounded by demons that were unable to get in because they lived a life that was circumspect. They were constantly keeping the high places in their lives in the realm of prayer and circumspect lives. One day as Francis was praying he saw that the door had been opened for the devils to come in. He found that a friar had plotted revenge on a brother. After Francis’ prompting the friar did repent of his egregious feelings and impending actions. The gate of wickedness was shut and the demons were unable to get in. 

It’s important to find the “High Places” in our lives

This story is a wonderful example of being aware of the urge to sin or to erect high places in our lives and the risk of opening the door to more sin that lets more darkness in. It is all about the wonderful boundless gift of grace. Grace is not a license to do whatever we want. Grace is an act of love not only by Christ for us but also an act of love for us to Jesus for His sacrifice. We can hold grace and truth (a willingness to seek His truth which causes us to sin less) in our minds at the same time. That doesn’t mean we must be legalistic, but we must strive to be walking more in His image as each day passes. I believe after the time of hellfire and brimstone we over-corrected on the other end of the spectrum. You can do whatever you want! After all, there is grace. Sure, we are not murdering, stealing, committing adultery or any of the egregious sins that we think of in our minds. But what are our high places? 

Walk in grace and pursuit of God’s truth

2 Corinthians 10:5 tells us: [Inasmuch as we] refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One.) What are your high places? What do you place before God? A relationship? A hidden sin? Money? Those are all a hastily placed bandage on a bleeding wound of the soul that needs God. I absolutely positively believe in the wonderful matchless grace of God. I believe that in that grace we can show our love for God by striving to realize the open doors in our lives and to close them through prayer and a pursuit of holiness. 

We don’t have to scream and yell in sermons but we do need to be thankful for the unchangeableness of God. After all, the scripture tells us: Jesus Christ is [eternally changeless, always] the same yesterday and today and forever. May we find the balanced gospel that leads us to a closer walk with God.