Shocking I know, but as Christians we aren’t supposed to sin!
…wait, what?
This was a little surprising for me at first too; I mean, who knew?
Prepare for Bible verses galore!
We Are Told To Follow After God’s Own Heart And Character, So Why Don’t We?
Both in the Old Testament and New Testament, God is incredibly open and direct about how we are supposed to be holy, and act in ways that honor him as the one who laid down his life for us
Ecclesiastes 12:13
Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man
Leviticus 19:2
Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: “Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy”
1 Peter 1:14-19
As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect
Okay, so these verses are pretty straight forward in saying that God wants us to be holy because he is holy, and goes into detail about how we are redeemed through Jesus, so we should show our gratitude–a simple concept right?
Got it!
But Jesus Is Awesome, And He Always Forgives!
Okay, so I know a lot of people have grown up on the notion that God’s forgiveness is endless, and that we can lead our lives however we want to and just ask for forgiveness, but we really have to make sure we understand God’s character before falling into “The Forgiveness Trap”, as this lifestyle is only a reflection of our lack of love for God, as it shows disrespect for what he has given us
Jesus really said this best though:
John 14:15
If you love me, you will obey what I command
John 14:21
Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him
Yikes, that is pretty clear, and if we love God we won’t treat his grace and mercy like a gum ball machine that pumps out forgiveness
So what happens if we don’t obey?
God Can Get Upset With Us!
No really, God actually gets upset when we sin and reject his love and righteousness in our lives
I know, who knew right?
Who would have thought all this talk about being holy was for a reason or purpose, certainly not because anything to the contrary would offend God, he doesn’t have feelings, he is God and God should always be there for us when we sin to clear our consciences
*cough*
Yeah right!
When considering the instruction to “be holy”, it is really important to understand God’s character, since if we don’t understand who is really asking us to be holy, we might not take it seriously
Let’s look at some example of God’s more “assertive” side then!
Nahum 1:2-3
The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD takes vengeance and is filled with wrath. The LORD takes vengeance on his foes and maintains his wrath against his enemies. The LORD is slow to anger and great in power; the LORD will not leave the guilty unpunished
James 4:4
You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God
Genesis 6:11-13
Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth”
Revelation 19:11-13
I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God
Wow, these are all really strong statements about God’s character and personality, as it shows he certainly knows how to hand out punishment, and he actually does get angry when it is appropriate
However, I think the most amazing passage I have read on this topic is here:
Numbers 25:1-11
While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite women, who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods. The people ate and bowed down before these gods. So Israel joined in worshiping the Baal of Peor. And the LORD’s anger burned against them.
The LORD said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of these people, kill them and expose them in broad daylight before the LORD, so that the LORD’s fierce anger may turn away from Israel.”
So Moses said to Israel’s judges, “Each of you must put to death those of your men who have joined in worshiping the Baal of Peor.”
Then an Israelite man brought to his family a Midianite woman right before the eyes of Moses and the whole assembly of Israel while they were weeping at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. When Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, saw this, he left the assembly, took a spear in his hand and followed the Israelite into the tent. He drove the spear through both of them—through the Israelite and into the woman’s body. Then the plague against the Israelites was stopped; but those who died in the plague numbered 24,000.
The LORD said to Moses, “Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, has turned my anger away from the Israelites; for he was as zealous as I am for my honor among them”
Hmm, you know what, in Sunday school I think they left out the story where the Israelite in heat and the idol worshipping woman got skewered on the same spear, imagine that!
This story is interesting as God relented in his anger against the Israelites because one of Aaron’s grandsons skewered a man for taking a Midianite woman into his tent after they were specifically told not to have sexual relationshps with people who worshipped other Gods
Can you imagine something like this taking place today, I certainly can’t!
Before we get shocked and start rationalizing this passage in our mind to mean something else (“But that was the Old Testament, we have grace now!”), we have to focus on God’s statement that his passion to be number one in the lives of those whom he wants to be close to is what his motivation is at all times, ie: “Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, has turned my anger away from the Israelites; for he was as zealous as I am for my honor among them”
Simply put: God will not tolerate a rival, and why should he, what else could be better than him?
Are We Affected By The People Around Us Or Do We Affect Them?
Maybe our choice in friends or relationship partners won’t lead to us getting stabbed with a spear by an angry priest in our tent (I said maybe), but on a daily basis, we must pay attention to the people around us, as they have a tremendous influence on us, and we can’t get caught up in the idea that just being around our non-Christian friends is going to somehow, magically lead them to God–witnessing to people takes courage, gentleness, lots of patience (sometimes), and prayer!
1 Corinthians 15:33
Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”
Being Holy Is More Than Just “Not Doing Bad Stuff”, It Is About Loving God
If we love someone, and have empathy for their emotions, we don’t need to stop and think all the time to make sure we don’t hurt their feelings. In fact, the opposite is true, in that we will tend to go out of our way to make them happy!
This is important to remember as Jesus said “If you love me, you will obey what I command”, which is a really clear statement that if we respect, honor, and truly love God, sin will not be an issue for us, as I know for some Christianity feels like a restrictive set of “rules” that does not allow them to lead the kind of life they want to
In fact, Paul takes this one step farther, and instructs us to take every single thought captive, not just guard our actions, and hold them in obedience to God
2 Corinthians 10:5
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thoughtto make it obedient to Christ
This means not fantasizing about that hot stranger, thinking about how angry you are at someone and holding a grudge, thinking about the things that you want to buy, stewing in jealousy, etc…
When we love God, resisting sin is incredibly easy, just like it is easy to be affectionate towards someone we love with all of our heart
Mark 12:30
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength
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