A few days ago, I wrote about the amazing insight found in the Greek word “peirazo” (tempted), and how knowing the meaning behind this word opened a window into a greater understanding of the James 1 passage. I think the parallel between James and Job still stands, as well as the general conclusions from the Greek word and its usage, but I want to revise it slightly. In my 7th paragraph I wrote: “Similarly, I think I have realized that each presentation of Desire before us is a secret attempt to solicit us to sin in an effort to prove us evil, weak, and unapproved before the throne of God!” While I think this could be true, I think an even more insidious reason behind the attempts by our Enemy to get us to birth sin is to accuse us of being evil, weak, and unapproved of our inheritance before the throne of our OWN heart. This idea came to me as I was reading a new biography on the rich, deep life of Rich Mullins.
In a book called, “An Arrow Pointing to Heaven,” author James Bryan Smith writes about one of the most famed, beloved contemporary Christian artists, Rich Mullins. In case you have never heard of him, you surely have heard and sung his song “Awesome God”. His was truly a life that pointed to God; he was truly fully and entirely sold out to Christ! There are so many amazing things I could say about this life, and probably will in several posts as I progress through the biography, but I want to focus on some things he said on sin and temptation.
Mullin’s life was truly an open book: he was honest and real about his failings and openly shared about his own brokeness. He was very self aware about his own experience with sin and his need to rely and rest only in God’s grace: “I would rather live on the verge of falling and let my security be in the all-sufficiency of the grace of God than to live in some kind of pietistic illusion of moral excellence–not that I don’t want to be morally excellent, but my faith isn’t in the idea that I’m more moral than anybody else.” Then Rich said something that struck me, “My faith is in the idea that God and His love are greater than whatever sins any of us commit.” After reading this last sentence, my mind wandered back to my blog post and considered two ideas: the idea that God’s grace is far greater than any sin I could commit and the fact I almost always feel so far from that grace post-sin experience.
Think about those specific sin habits in your life. Go ahead, get a visual. Now think about each time you sin and the Accusation that accompanies the commission of that sin: “Look at you, you pathetic Christian!” “If you are truly God’s son or daughter, how could you do that?!?” “You are too dirty to come to God, so stay away from the bible, prayer, and Church fellowship!” “God thinks you are a failure; you fail God so much, you are a failure!” “God is disappointed with you, because you don’t keep his law or commands; you must not truly love Him!” The list goes on and on. Each and every one of these I have heard, I still hear them and long for the day these Voices go away!
Are these Voices from God, our Abba? Do they speak of His grace, a grace that covers, forgives, and removes our sin? If the reality of Romans 5:1 and 8:1 are real, then where do these Voices come from? “Ahh, perceptive blogger,” you might say, “do not forget about Hebrews 12, because God disciplines those He loves and counts as family, just like a Father!” Yes, ok, but do those aforementioned words and sentences draw us CLOSER or FARTHER from our Abba? Even more so, do they draw us CLOSER or FARTHER from the grace of our Abba? I don’t know about you, but I hardly feel like running to my Abba after sinning, like a child running to a parent after scraping a knee, but that is what He wants us to do! (see Hebrews 4:14-16). It seems the realization of my sin tends not to does not draw me closer to God’s grace, but farther away. I do not experience and feel God’s grace more post-sin experience, but less. (This isn’t to say we can’t, by any means! I am sure plenty of others do, but I am just being honest about where I am at right now…) Why is this the case???
Maybe the point of the Enemy leading us into sin and dark-living isn’t to accuse us of being evil and spiritually weak and unapproved or unworthy before God’s throne, but before the throne of Self; perhaps a better read of James is to say that the Enemy draws us into sin for the purpose of accusing us of being fake poseurs and seeking to strip us naked of God’s grace. And in questioning our Gracious Garments, he questions the very character of God himself.
Think back to Genesis 3:1 and the Serpent’s words to Eve: “Did God really say…” When we sin, that same forked-tongue drips with the poison of these four blasphemous words in an attempt to draw us away from God and His love. Look at what our Enemy questions when he speaks accusation to our hearts, when he solicits and draws us into sin:
-Did God really say you are saved from Death by grace through faith, and not your own performance? (Eph. 2:8,9)
-Did God really say you have been declared not guilty through your faith in Christ and are no longer at war with the Creator? (Rom. 5:1)
-Did God really say you are not now, nor will you ever be condemned for anything you do as a child of Jesus? (Rom. 8:1)
-Did God really say that neither height nor depth or anything else in all of creation (either actors or actions within) can or ever will keep us from the God’s love? (Rom. 8:39)
-Did God really say you are declared not guilty, free of charge, merely by the death and resurrection of Jesus? (Rom 3:24)
-Did God really say you have access to His love and eternally stand in it? (Rom. 5:2)
-Did God really say where sin increases, God’s gracious love increases all the more, not decreases? (Rom. 5:20)
-Did God really say that His gracious love is sufficient in the face of temptation, His power made perfect in our weakness? (2 Cor. 12:19)
-Did God really say to not set aside the love of God for human performance? (Gal. 2:21)
-Did God really say we have been redeemed and forgiven of our sins by His love? (Eph. 1:7)
-Did God really say that God’s grace brings salvation? (Titus 2:11)
-Did God really say we can approach His thrown of gracious love, even when we sin? (Heb. 4:16)
Look at the mosaic of grace writ large throughout the Saving Story of the Bible and tell me how much of this you feel or even acknowledge after sinning! If you feel none of it, consider that the Enemy is trying to draw you away from Grace by soliciting you to sin, to prove you evil, weak, and unapproved.
I am still not sure why all of this matters and what it all means, but I feel I am on the verge of some spiritual insight, like when you are ascending to the top of that first hill of the new roller coaster with a mixture of eager anticipation and trepidation. Sure, you’ve already been on several in your life, so you know the routine and feelings that come with racing at 75 miles per hour up, down, over, through, around, and under, but you anticipate this new one will be five, no ten, times the excitement! That’s what I feel with this topic of grace and sin; I’ve lived with both for so long I think I know the routine and feelings, but James brought novus.
Anyway, look for more thoughts on Grace soon, and tell me what you think about all of these novus thoughts.
be His,
