Chapter 21: Where Do We Go from Here?
CHAPTER 21
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
We’ve now looked in detail at the subtle or sneaky sins we Christians tolerate in our lives. And to tell the truth, I hope this journey has been at least a little painful for you. That means you have been honest enough and humble enough to admit some of your own subtle sin. That’s a good thing, a hopeful thing, because “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5).
Jesus said basically the same thing in the part of His Sermon on the Mount usually called the Beatitudes (see Matthew 5:1-12). He started by talking about the “poor in spirit” and “those who mourn” — in other words, those who are conscious of their own sinfulness. Because of this, they are “meek” and “merciful” in their attitudes and actions toward others, and they “hunger and thirst for [the] righteousness” they know they haven’t attained yet. They’re the opposite of proud, morally superior, and self-righteous! And Jesus said that they are “blessed” — happy!
A lot of Jesus’ parables make more or less the same point. Consider the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector praying in the temple (see Luke 18:9-14). To the Jews who first heard this story, the tax collector would have been the automatic bad guy. Everybody hated tax collectors. And in the parable of the prodigal son (see Luke 15:11-32), the son’s despicable actions — taking his father’s money, wasting it all on immoral living, sleeping with unclean pigs — would have completely scandalized Jesus’ Jewish audience. That son would have been a bad guy too.
But read those stories again. The real bad guys are the self-righteousness Pharisee and the self-righteous older brother! The humble, repentant tax collector went away justified, and the repentant prodigal son got a big hug of welcome from his father. Doesn’t this tell us something about how much God responds to a humble and contrite spirit?
We need to be honest and humble enough to admit our subtle sins in order to experience the love that comes through the forgiveness of those sins. But we must also face them in order to deal with them. The worst sin of all, in practical terms, is the denial of the subtle sins in our lives. We cannot fight them until we admit their presence. The first step in breaking free from any sin is to acknowledge it and repent of it.
This doesn’t mean we will make rapid progress in getting that sin out of our lives! The flesh doesn’t give up that easily. Besides, most of us have developed patterns of sinning. We have developed habits of ungodly thinking, anxiety, self-indulgence, critical attitudes, gossip, and the like. So even though you’ve finished this book, you probably have some work to do.
So what’s next? I hope that you’ve been praying over these so-called respectable sins all along, asking God to reveal to you any evidence of them in your life. But this is a good time to look at the list again. Turn back to the survey you took before you started looking at these sins in detail. As you go through it, continue to ask God to open your eyes to sins you have been tolerating or have even refused to acknowledge as being present in your life.
This might be a good time to ask others for their evaluation too. Set aside time with someone who knows you well: a good friend, a brother or sister, a youth leader, even your parents. Ask for honest feedback, and try not to get defensive when you get it. Just listen, even if you don’t agree with their assessments. God may be using other people to open up areas you have been in denial about.
Now go back and review the seven general directions for dealing with sin listed in chapter 6. If you are feeling a little overwhelmed about all this, pay special attention to number 1: always address your sin in the context of the gospel.
Remind yourself that your sins are already forgiven, your guilt is taken care of, and the Holy Spirit is acting in your life to free you from the power of sin. As you work on your sins, you’re growing into those qualities Paul called the fruit of the Spirit: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” Best of all, you’re becoming who you already are — a saint!
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that sneaky “little” sins don’t matter. The world is watching us, and they notice our self-righteousness, our anger, our judgmentalism, and especially our hypocrisy. They know when we don’t practice what we preach. But the more we respond in honesty and humility, the better our chance of changing their minds while we’re changing our lives. We might even win some hearts for God even as we draw closer to the One who loved us enough to die for our sins.
YOUR TURN
“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23)
ENGAGE
1. Think back on your study of this book. Identify three key discoveries or principles that stood out to you regarding God’s view of the “respectable sins,” our tendency to overlook these sins, or God’s provision for overcoming them. What comes to mind?
2. Look over the prayer you wrote at the end of chapter 5. Have you made progress in dealing with this sin or any of the subtle sins you’ve identified? Have you run into any roadblocks?
3. Name at least one strategy for dealing with subtle sin you would like to continue after this study is over.
BRING IT TO GOD
What would you like to tell or ask God right now regarding “respectable sins” in your life? Write out your prayer as if He’s reading over your shoulder. Don’t forget to express your thanks for bringing you this far and for your dependence and trust in Him to help lead the godly life He desires for you.