God’s Guidance for Our Good

⁵ For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. ⁶ For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— Romans 6:5-6

Sin by another name. Recently I addressed the myth of “Hate the sin. Love the sinner.” That should leave you with a question. What do I do about someone who is caught up in “sin?” Well, first off never forget we all sin. We are all caught up in it to some extend. Nevertheless, loving others has to include acting in their best interest. If we will remember that sin is harmful behavior, our path becomes clearer. God did not just arbitrarily decide that certain things would be allowed and others not. He knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows what is good for us and what isn’t. Sin encompasses those things that hurt us, others, or our mission. God has provided guidance for our good. Acting against that divine guidance is sin.

Avoid label obsession. We should be concerned when we or someone we love is hurting himself, others or the mission. Very few will positively respond to a reminder that they are sinning. It seems silly to say that sin is a “bad” word. It’s certainly politically incorrect. Today, sinful activity is fine. Pointing out things that are sinful is what’s forbidden. If we want to get through to people and make a difference,  should not our approach be to point out that we are concerned about harm. It’s great if we are at a point in our spiritual walk where the mere knowledge that God said it is good enough for us. The truth is none of us is always at that point and most of the world is hardly ever there.

What’s the harm? When the Holy Spirit impresses upon us that we need to be involved in someone’s walk, look for the harmful behavior. Address that. Sin is activity which God has identified for us as  harm producing or running a risk of harm. If we are concerned about what we consider sinful behavior in someone we care about, but can’t find the harm or risk of harm, maybe we aren’t the one to deal with the situation. Maybe what we think is sin, really isn’t.

People are most resistant to advice that begins with “You need to . . .” What we fail to do is often harm producing and sinful. We need to have a prayer life. We need to be in communion with other followers of Christ.  People really need to see these activities make a difference before they will be motivated to do likewise. Let the positive activities in our lives speak for themselves.

Jesus is the answer. We need to never forget that it’s not about behavior change. It’s about new birth. The answer to sin is Jesus. If your interaction with a person bound with sin doesn’t include Jesus, you have, at best, pointed out the problem without providing a solution. Loving the sinner, ultimately means showing them Jesus in what we say and in what we do. Never point out a problem without providing the solution.

Next time: Harm to others and Harm to Mission.