#5 I Don’t Want To Sin, But….

Adam and Eve……….*sigh* You know, I can’t help but be mad with them more often than I probably should. I mean, come on! They had a perfect life, literally. Everything was given to them, their work was minimal in nature, and God’s relationship with His creation was as intended. They were only given one rule; One Rule! Do not touch or eat the fruit from the middle of the garden. Those instructions couldn’t have been more clear if there was yellow caution tape wrapped around the proximity of the tree, making it look like a crime scene. (The irony is that something did die there, but more on that later.) For a while, the rule seemed to be easily kept. That is until somebody turned up and presented an alternative thought…. “What if you did eat it?” Before this moment, there was nothing/nobody to challenge what God had told them. His law was absolute and warranted no questioning. Then, a serpent shows up and question their God. He says, “Did God really say you must not eat from any fruit in the garden?” Obviously not, but this gets Eve thinking…….Thinking about what God said……Making sure that’s what He said. This is the opening Satan uses to convince her that God was a liar. “Surely, you won’t die. For God knows when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good from evil.” The bait was laid and the trap, set. All she needed to do was walk into it; she did. She saw the fruit was good for food, pleasing to the eye, and desirable for gaining wisdom. She decided that the cost of death wasn’t enough to deter her from her quest for wisdom. Her husband followed suit, and the fall of man was complete.

Now, many years later and as descendants of Adam, we are cursed with the consequences of their folly! Day in and day out we wrestle against the lust of the flesh, forever caught between carnality and spirituality. Sermons talking about treating your body as the temple of the Holy Ghost are as common as finding rocks on the ground. “Don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you?” Not that this statement is false by any means, because it isn’t. But, I have found that sinning, at least for me, is more difficult to stop than I thought. When you sin, you feel shame, which leads you to seclusion from God. But, in that seclusion, you find yourself retreating back to that sin because, for a moment, it provides a way of escape. (Different people struggle with different things) But, this leads you down that path of shame all over again. So, what ends up happening, is the closet of Christianity gets filled with “dirty” sin and needs to be cleaned. However, we’re too ashamed to talk to God about it and, simultaneously, fear that others will judge us for the “wrong” we commit. So, the closet just sits and festers until deep frustration sets in. This place of self-loathing and criticism is where a question can come to mind: “Why can’t I just stop?” I’m saved, but it seems to not be working. I know scriptures, facts, theology, but sin keeps overtaking me. WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?! Let’s look into it.

Being born in sin sucks. The consequences of Adam and Eve's fall have transcended generations far beyond what they could fathom. Our sin, unfortunately, is a product of their choices. For us, it's not only a choice but also a state of being. We're born IN sin. It's just as part of us as our DNA is; inseparable. This is, by no means, an excuse for continuing to willfully sin. Instead, it’s a deeply planted flaw that exists within everyone. So, with this condition comes a problem. How can we please God while representing a condition that he detests? We can't do it by ourselves. Literally, it's impossible because everything we do is tainted by our condition. So Jesus comes, dies, and creates a direct pathway to the grace of the Father. His death didn't "change" our condition, but gave us a way to directly combat it. We, ourselves, would be screwed if it depended on our ability to not sin. His Son fights for us. Now, when we become saved, we gain access to the power that Jesus held when he staved off sin. He was tempted and never sinned. (Fully man and God i.e. these are His natures from birth) This power doesn't make our sin "condition" disappear. Instead, it's a solution to repelling its very nature; our very nature as sinful people. I think this tug of war between being who you are (sinful) and being who Christ called you to be (disciples) are at the epicenter of the "sin struggle". There is hope, not only in Christ and the sacrifice He made to grant us salvation but also in the fact that this fight is not exclusive to anybody. As a collective, we will fight and struggle with our carnality till the day we die. Paul says in 2 Timothy, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” Until that day comes, know that you are not alone in this fight and there should be no shame in the body of Christ. Instead, reach out to those who love you and ask them to stand along with you as you attempt to live a holy life. Bring one another up and encourage each other in the faith.