Faith Inspiration - Oswald Chambers - Our Great Capacity for God - Part 3: The Truth About Sin

I think most of us would agree that we are living in dark times. Yes, the light of God is still present, but if we believe God’s Word we know hard times are coming and the darkness will reach all across the world. The cause of this darkness revolves around the existence of sin in the world and the desire of Satan to destroy. There will come a time when God will pull His protective hand away from this world and Satan and his evil will reign, but only for a time.

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The world, since the fall, has been guilty of propagating the lies of Satan. Today the word “sin” is no longer politically correct. Children no longer learn about sin and its ramifications. Now parents are raising their children with the “benefits” of learning, not only academic, but psychological. We tell our children to embrace their emotions and teach them to “work through” those feelings and thoughts, hopefully with the end result of becoming a mature adult who embraces all people and treats everyone with kindness and respect.

I do not downplay what these parents are doing, but even with all the proper training, a child can still experience influences that will change his/her thinking and behavior that a parent has no control over. What does the Bible say about sin?

9 “The heart is more deceitful than all else
And is desperately sick;
Who can understand it?
— Jeremiah 17:9 (NASB 1995)

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The Bible tells us the heart is deceitful, and desperately sick. Those are pretty harsh words. It doesn’t say that only the hearts of bad people are deceitful, it is referring to all of our hearts. A heart, even a kind one, can be turned to stone by the difficult circumstances of life. Jeremiah even asks, “Who can understand it?” The Bible and its author reminds us why the heart is deceitful and sick, and we can follow the trail back to Genesis.

We know what happened there, as we reviewed a few weeks ago Sin’s Beginning. Sin entered into the world at that point and has been the bane of man’s existence ever since. Mankind turned away from the omnipotent, loving God and turned inward in an attempt to fill the hole that sin left behind. Murder, lust, envy, stealing, lying, cheating, adultery, the list is long, are all an attempt to fill that which only God can fill.

God’s Word is clear on sin. Let’s take a look.

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.
20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.
21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22 Professing to be wise, they became fools,
23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.
— Romans 1:18-23 (NASB 1995)

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In the account of Adam and Eve’s sin we see these words fulfilled, “…their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools…” Satan is a master of deception, and we buy into it allowing our foolish hearts to be darkened. The darker we become in our understanding of God and His truth, the more foolish we become

10 As it is written, “There is none righteous, not even one;
11 There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks for God;
12 All have turned aside, together they have become useless;
There is none who does good,
There is not even one.”
13 “Their throat is an open grave,
With their tongues they keep deceiving,”
“The poison of asps is under their lips”;
14 “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”;
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood,
16 Destruction and misery are in their paths,
17 And the path of peace they have not known.”
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
— Romans 3:10 -18 (NASB 1995)

These words are not popular. We want to believe we are good by our own merit. We also want to believe that we can work our way to God, or whatever afterlife image we believe. We don’t want to be accountable to someone else, particularly a being we are trying to run away from. However, that does not delete the reality of who God is, what sin is and what God has done for us through His son, Jesus Christ.

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21 But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction;
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
— Romans 3:21-23 (NASB 1995)

We all fall short. End of story. We cannot measure up to the glory of this enduring, eternal, perfect God. We are exactly what the text says, sinners. We all stand condemned due to the original sin.

8 So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.
19 For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.
20 The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,
21 so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
— Romans 5:18-21 (NASB 1995)
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
— Romans 6:23 (NASB 1995)

Image by Christopher Keough from Pixabay

I wonder if this is how we appear to God before being washed in the blood of Jesus…?

At this point we may be feeling rather hopeless. If we are all sinners, and the wages of sin is death, are we not all condemned to die? Read on.

9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.”
12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him;
13 for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
— Romans 10:9-13 (NASB 1995)

There are two things from this last passage that I want to point out. The first is the if - then truth. If we confess with our mouths, Jesus as Lord, and believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead, (then) we will be saved. The confession is essential. It is a statement that we are placing ourselves under the Lordship of Jesus. There are many who call themselves “Christian”, but they have not confessed the Lordship of Christ.

Belief is the the next ingredient in this first if - then truth. We have to believe what happened over 2000 years ago in Jerusalem. Jesus died on a cross and then three days later God raised Him from the dead. There are many doctrinal points we can quibble over, (though I prefer to just believe what the Scriptures say), but if we do not believe He died and rose again we cannot call ourselves Christians.

The second thing I wanted to point out from this passage is the Scriptural truth stated, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” I have heard people say they are disappointed in God, because He let them down in one way or another. We can be disappointed in people, circumstances, life, but there is no reason to be disappointed in God. He loves us without reservation, He knows us like no other, and only He is completely trustworthy.

Next month we will look at how sin keeps us from realizing our great capacity for God.

Creative Christianity: The Widow's Quest - Part 5

(This story and its previous parts are based on the story of the widow and the judge found in Luke 18:1-8. This is a fictional story with a world and characters built by me.)

Connie had been working for two hours on the old water heater, but she finally managed to find the problem. Several of the pipes had become clogged with mineral deposits and rust. It was amazing the pipes had not started leaking. She moved up the basement steps and found Rocky playing with Adam and the pups. She found Maribelle in the kitchen working on a pot of soup.

Image by Tom from Pixabay

“That smells delicious!”

Maribelle smiled. “It was my mom’s recipe. It lasts a few days if we are careful. It’s not as rich as she used to make it, but…well…things are not as easy as they were when she was alive.”

Connie nodded her head. “A lot has happened in the last few decades. How long has she been gone?”

“About three years. She got the lung illness, and my dad was already gone. We tried the best we could to help her, but it finally took her.”

Image by StockSnap from Pixabay

Connie wiped her dirty hands on a rag that Maribelle had given her and then put her hand on the younger woman’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry. It is never easy to lose a mother. Mine has been gone for almost twenty years, but I try to remember the good days we had together. Your mother was very fortunate to have you and your husband to help care for her.”

Maribelle nodded and seemed to brighten a bit. “I guess you are right. I never really looked at it that way. I only wish she would have lived long enough to meet Adam. He’s our future.”

Connie looked at the waning daylight out the window and realized she would not get to the Manor of Minward on this trip. She was going to have to return to the Rift by tomorrow morning, or Neopolo would send a few of his goons after her. It seemed ridiculous. She was nobody, but De Caro believed everyone in the Rift was his. If you went out, you came back, or you died.

Maribelle must have noticed her gaze out the window. “If you have to be going, I understand. It has been wonderful for Adam to have a few playmates for a while. Please don’t feel the need to stay.”

Connie turned, her mind already made up. “I’m not going anywhere, leastwise not until later tonight when I have to make my way back to the Rift. I found the problem with your water heater, all I need are a few clean pipes, and a torch. I already have solder and the other necessary tools. Usually at steam works they have torches for workers to use. Any ideas?”

Image by Ken Boyd from Pixabay

“My husband, Lukas has a torch. He does metal work for the Hy-Breds. They like all them fancy fences and designs on their moving vehicles. I’m not sure about clean pipes. You could check at the church. They take in a lot of scrap stuff in trade for food. I’m pretty sure, it is just another way to get people in to hear their message.” She laughed.

“If you think Lukas would let me borrow his torch, then just point me in the right direction and I will go see if I can get the pipes I need for the job.”

“Oh, I am sure Lukas will be happy to loan you his torch in exchange for a hot shower. I’ll write the address of the church down for you. It’s just a few blocks away.”

“Do you mind if Rocky hangs out here while I’m gone?”

Maribelle peeked around the corner to where Adam was giggling and puppies were yapping. “Not at all. He’s the first babysitter I’ve had since Adam was born.”

* * * * *

The church was a solid, old structure built from brick, with large wooden doors and stained glass windows that still looked mostly intact. There were only a few open churches in the Rift, and they were barely hanging together. De Caro gleaned anything and everything shortly after he came into power. He wanted all the residents of the Rift to know they, and everything they had, belonged to him.

Image by Couleur from Pixabay

Connie saw a few people standing outside one of the sets of doors, so she moved in their direction.

“Excuse me, I was told I might be able to find some usable scrap materials here.”

A very large, dark skinned man gave her a stern look. “Who sent you?”

Connie had no idea who these people were and she wasn’t about to give them Maribelle and Lukas’ names, especially after they were being so kind to her.

“Well, I...as you can see I am a steamer, but I live in the Rift and often when I get sent to a job out here, I try to pick up a few odd jobs, just to help stretch the coin…I mean who can blame me…my name is Connie by the way. What is yours?”

The man looked a little unsettled by Connie’s friendly, matter-of-fact tone. He hesitated. Another voice from behind him said, “His name is Reggie, and he is being very rude.”

An older man stepped past Reggie and extended his hand towards her. “I’m Andreas Eastman. I help out around here when I have time.”

Connie took his hand and smiled at him. He was a nice looking man, and she suddenly felt mortified at how dirty her hands and everything else on her was. She quickly pulled her hand away and adjusted her hair behind her ear.

“What can we do for you?”

“Well, I am doing a job nearby on an old water heater and a few of the pipes need to be replaced.”

“Come on. I’ll show you where we keep the scrap metal.”

Connie followed Andreas into the church. They went through the sanctuary where a small group huddled together with their heads bowed. They came to a hallway which led past several rooms and what looked and smelled like a kitchen. Connie’s stomach growled. Eventually they went through another outer door into a small yard. Taking up about one fourth of it was an area filled with all sorts of metal, wood and other material scarps.

Image by andreas N from Pixabay

“Wow! This is impressive, and everything is so well organized.”

Andreas chuckled. “We do a lot with volunteers. It’s our way of trying to keep people off the streets. It gives them a place and a purpose. The scrap is here for locals to purchase.”

Connie felt her heart sink. “I’m afraid I don’t have much in the way of money.”

Andreas smiled at her warmly. “Oh, you misunderstand. When I say purchase I mean barter. People can stay for a message, help in the kitchen, even do some cleaning. No currency is ever exchanged. Around here that is hard to come by.”

Connie still felt wary. She didn’t have much time.

Andreas seemed to sense her hesitation. “I overheard you say you are from the Rift. You are a ways from home aren’t you?”

Connie nodded, but didn’t speak. She was feeling overwhelmed.

“Listen, I am aware of how it works. I have a few friends in the Rift. You have a time limit. Did you get all your legitimate business finished?”

Connie felt herself coming unhinged. She was so tired of carrying this burden alone. “Well, I…I actually didn’t have legitimate business. My work papers were forged. I was on my way to the Manor of Minward. I expected to be there and back before my time was up. I didn’t know I would meet an orphan, a mother pup and her babies and a family who needed a little help…”

She looked up at Andreas and noticed his light eyes looking at her intently. “Why were you going to the Manor of Minward?”

Connie took a deep breath and stood a little straighter. She was not going to be deterred in her efforts. “I am going to talk to the Lord of the Manor. He needs to do something about the Rift. People are living in squalor and Neopolo De Caro needs to be taken down!”

As soon as it came out of her mouth, Connie worried that she had said too much. How did she know that the “friends” this man had inside the Rift weren’t a part of DeCaro’s mob?

“Look,” she started. “You don’t need to worry. I’m not going to hurt anyone. I’m just one person who would like to make a difference. You get that, right?”

Image by wal_172619 from Pixabay

Andreas smiled. “Yes. All of us who are at this church want to make a difference.”

"Why don’t you just let me scrounge through the scrap, tell me how to pay and I’ll be out of your hair.”

“Sure! Have a look. When you are done you’ll need to talk to our pastor. He’ll tell you how you can pay.”

Connie nodded then slipped past Andreas and began scouring the scrap pile. She found several pieces she thought would work, plus a few flexible stainless steel pieces with the appropriate attachment ends. She was delighted by that find. When she was finished she made her way back into the church.

She was just going to step back into the sanctuary when Andreas called to her from down the hall. “Connie?”

She turned and he motioned her to follow. She moved down the hall and saw him slip into a doorway a few feet further on.

When she stepped inside she took a sharp breath. Sitting in a chair on one side of the desk was a man she assumed to be the pastor. Across from him sat the guard from the first check point in the Rift.

“Hey there, Sunshine!”

Word for the Year: Trust

Here we are, barreling through another January. A new year has begun and time continues to fly. As I was mulling over the idea of doing another Word of the Year, I had several in mind including a return to believe, or a look at hope. As a friend and I were discussing after our Saturday morning Zoom Bible study the words believe and trust came up. Both words are rich and full of meaning and depth, especially when taken in the context of the Holy Scriptures and our relationship with Christ.

Image by Lisa Caroselli from Pixabay

The word believe is defined: to accept something as true, genuine or real; to have a firm, wholehearted religious conviction or persuasion that the existence of God is true; to have a firm conviction as to the goodness, efficacy or ability of something.

The word trust is defined: the assured reliance on the character, ability, strength or truth of someone or something; dependence on something future or contingent - hope; to rely on the truthfulness or accuracy of - believe; to place confidence in - rely; to hope or expect confidently.

Both of these words have similar tones and you honestly can’t have trust without belief, nor can you experience true, life changing belief without trust. We can see this idea in the the story of the man who brings his demon possessed son to Jesus for healing. I did a more in depth look at this passage in 2022 when I chose believe as my word for the year.

20 They brought the boy to Him. When he saw Him, immediately the spirit threw him into a convulsion, and falling to the ground, he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth.
21 And He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood.
22 It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!”
23 And Jesus said to him, “‘If You can?’ All things are possible to him who believes.”
24 Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said, “I do believe; help my unbelief.”
— Mark 9:20-24 (NASB 1995)

Image by Artur Skoniecki from Pixabay

This man took an actionable step from belief to trust. He recognized he did not have enough belief to go from “…if you can do anything…” to “Of course you can heal him! You are the Son of God.” (My own idea of what he might have said if he already placed his complete trust in Jesus.) He placed his trust in Christ when he exposed his vulnerability by saying, “help my unbelief."

This idea of trust is not easy. It is a step that takes us from a place of alleged safety to a place of exposure. Take for instance an individual going to a counselor seeking help for a mental health problem. Perhaps they are struggling with depression or anxiety. In order to take this action step they first need to see they have a problem that requires help. After they make that discovery they must call a therapist or psychiatrist. It might be that they ask friends and co-workers for the name of someone these people deem trustworthy. They make the call, setting up the appointment, then with some additional amount of fear they go to their first appointment.

When they are sitting in the therapist’s office they must answer this question: “Am I going to trust this person enough to really open up to them? Am I going to expose my inner most fears and struggles? Am I going to let them peek into my inner closet where all the skeletons and, perhaps demons, hang?” It is only by choosing to trust the professional with their struggles that the individual is going to make progress towards being mentally healthy and whole.

The same idea is true in our relationship with Christ. We come to Him by believing, but what makes our belief different than that of the fallen angels?

18 But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”
19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.
20 But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?
— James 2:18-20 (NASB 1995)

Our belief is a choice to open up to a mighty God and the first thing we must do is admit we have a problem. We are sinners. We are of the lineage of Adam and Eve and their sin became our sin. The only healing for this problem is to place ourselves in the hands of a pure and holy God. We come to Him hoping for His mercy, love and forgiveness and He freely gives it to us. This is the beginning of a life of trust.

Over the next twelve months we will look at the word trust and how a lack of it leads to a life of worry and fear, whereas a life of abandoning all to Him will free us up to know joy unspeakable. I hope you will join me.