Have you ever asked that question... as a Christian? I know I have. I did last week. I was upset over something The Husband said to me. It got me thinking.. well, either that or the Holy Spirit did. You see, I've had that same question asked of me MANY times. (Behind my back, but that is a whole other issue.)
How can you do that evil, sinful, prideful, selfish, disgusting thing... AND be a Christian?
Having the Holy Spirit inside me to guide me is such an amazing thing. Wouldn't it be awesome if I always let it guide me? Wouldn't it be amazing if every Christian always let it guide them in every thing they did of every moment of every day? Maybe that's what heaven will be like, but we aren't there yet.
As long as we are still living in the flesh, we will still be sinful and have to fight with that side of ourselves. But, why?
We have sinful, fleshly bodies. Here is the passage from Galatians 5:19-21 (KJV):
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
When we become Christians, we are blessed with baptism by the Holy Spirit. Jesus spoke these words in this account in John Chapter 3:
3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit,whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
How can I do these things when I feel the Holy Spirit within me?
Because I still have free will. As long as I still live in this body, I will battle with sin. My own desire to save the world myself. My own pride. My own righteousness. My own victories. My own way.
This frustrates me to no end within my own self! It is not that I want to be perfect. It is that I hate knowing that I cannot always contain my sin, and that it hurts people. But even the Apostle Paul who was one of the first to be baptized by the Holy Spirit, had a struggle with this. And in his words, I find comfort, and also empathy. This is from 2 Corinthians (NSRV):
5 On behalf of such a one I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses. 6 But if I wish to boast, I will not be a fool, for I will be speaking the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think better of me than what is seen in me or heard from me, 7 even considering the exceptional character of the revelations. Therefore, to keep[a] me from being too elated, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me from being too elated.[b] 8 Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me, 9 but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power[c] is made perfect in weakness.” So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. 10 Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.
Amazing! Through our weaknesses, we are reminded of our need for God's power, who is made perfect when we show our weakness. His grace is sufficient. It covers that. Paul said that he would gladly boast of his weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in him. He became content with his imperfections because when he was weak, God made him strong.
So, I will keep up the good fight and have my moments where I remember that I act sinful when I try to be strong on my own. When I am weak and I let go of my pride, that is when I can show God through me. His spirit is inside of me, and so it shows in times when I squelch my own desires.
As for us, when we want to pull out the specks in others's eyes, we have to be reminded that it is only through God's grace that we are made strong. We will continue to do battle with sin until the flesh is no more. So when I see a Christian behave in a certain way, it is not for me to judge. If they are truly a Christian, it is just their pride keeping the Holy Spirit hidden. Pray for the afflicted individual. Talk TO the individual. Help them cope with their own thorn in their side.
The Holy Spirit is GREAT at convicting us when we listen. It is only our pride that wants to do it for the Holy Spirit. It is truly up to the individual on whether they will change. We might be able to sway them towards listening to the Holy Spirit, but they have to decide for themselves between free will and flesh.
I am going to stop asking my husband how he can do certain things.. because I see that I am just as good at "doing sin" while being a faithful Christian. Will you pledge today to do the same? Christianity doesn't keep us from being sinners. It only means we are redeemed when we repent of it! When we attack other Christians it only brings a blemish to our own faith!
