Friday, August 14, 2015

Dealing With The Consequence Of Sin


My Utmost For His Highest

“My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him.” —Hebrews 12:5

“It is very easy to grieve the Spirit of God; we do it by despising the discipline of the Lord, or by becoming discouraged when He rebukes us. If our experience of being set apart from sin and being made holy through the process of sanctification is still very shallow, we tend to mistake the reality of God for something else. And when the Spirit of God gives us a sense of warning or restraint, we are apt to say mistakenly, “Oh, that must be from the devil.”[…] Am I fully prepared to allow God to grip me by His power and do a work in me that is truly worthy of Himself? Sanctification is not my idea of what I want God to do for me— sanctification is God’s idea of what He wants to do for me. But He has to get me into the state of mind and spirit where I will allow Him to sanctify me completely, whatever the cost (see 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).” CHAMBERS

Do you remember the story of Job?  When trouble came to him, his friends were convinced that he had done something wrong.  Actually he had been doing everything right.  There are two kinds of trouble. 1) Trouble that comes as a form of testing which is meant to refine us and conform us in the image of Christ. And  2) Trouble that comes as a consequence of sin.  God’s Word shows us how to live.  God’s Spirit enables us to live that life.  But we all know that a struggle ensues … that struggle is with obedience often resulting in sin.   When we sin, there are consequences which are as natural as gravity taking effect when we jump out of bed in the morning.  Our feet are going down, not up.  When we act in a way that is contrary to God’s Word, we must deal with the consequence.  Yes, God is faithful to forgive us (1 John 1:9), but He does not generally save us from the consequence. The solution to both types of trouble is the same .. we must turn to God, repent, and draw close to Him.   

The way of people who choose sin is that they want to make their own choices and not suffer the consequences.  Most of the time when I am talking to someone who is struggling with an issue, the issue is really about a consequence … they are not interested in turning from the source of the consequence.  To do that requires repentance.  You really can’t help someone who does not want to repent. 

The story of the prodigal son is a great lesson on repentance not just forgiveness.  (Luke 15:11-32) We have a tendency to focus on the reception the son received when he went home.  And we tend to gloss over the fact that the son repented from his sin first.  He had suffered the consequence and the father had not intervened.  Then the son chose to turn from his sin and return to the father.  It is a hard thing to watch people you care about struggle with consequences.  The father looked to the hill every day with the hope that his son would repent and return, not that his son would return, ask for more money and continue to sin.  But you must let them struggle if they are to repent. Watching people you love struggle with consequences is a test of your faith. Oh, and don't expect to be praised for it .. at least not right away. ELGIN

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)

No comments: