On Sin and Truth and Change

Oh y'all. The Christian world is in an uproar right now. First, there was Worldvision's little stunt followed by a quick rethink of said stunt at the start of the week. Then, there was the impending release of the "Noah" movie in all its controversial glory . . . And well, suddenly, let's all have a fight.  I mean we do that well, us Christians. We've got the fighting amongst ourselves thing down.

I thought about throwing my proverbial hat into the ring. Then I thought better of it. I mean who really cares about the opinion of a 30 something year old mom and housewife from Texas? But then, someone, who just so happens to be relatively big in the evangelical world made a statement in the wake of the Worldvision debacle that made me pause for more than a minute. The statement was something to the effect of the Bible being open to interpretation and how we're never going to all agree. I'm not calling this person out. That's not my point. But y'all there are certain things in the Bible that are not open to interpretation. The definition of marriage falls well into that category. But more and more I see this attitude of inclusion and acceptance that is absolutely allowing and giving people permission to stay in bondage rather than be set free.

Before you burn me at the stake give me a second or ten to explain. Here's the deal. I feel like we're afraid to call sin what it is, "sin". We're so jaded from fire and brimstone, legalistic teaching and preaching that we think to point out sin is to negate God's grace. But y'all we need to stop being afraid of sin. We need to start understanding what sin it truly is. It's more than a bad behavior, an action, a screw up. It's more than I yelled at my kid, fought with my husband, cheated on my wife, or stole my neighbor's car (extreme examples . . . stick with me). Sin is a heart problem. Sin is the absence of the power of God in our lives. Jesus wasn't afraid of sin, He didn't ignore sin. He repeatedly said, "Go and sin no more." And so we think He was saying stop doing what you're doing and do something else. But y'all He didn't say that. He literally said, "Go and sin no more." How is that humanly possible? News flash: it's not! But see Jesus wasn't just healing physical ailments. He was transforming hearts.

If we're afraid to point out sin, then we're missing an opportunity to allow God to do an effective work in a person's life. But, if we try to do it without God, if we try to get people to just change their behaviors, we're setting them and ourselves up for disaster. We need to start looking at the condition of people's lives and realize that the behaviors are symptoms of an inward problem. Then we need to point them to Jesus and explain that He can do what no counselor, pastor, teacher, psychiatrist, friend, or foe can do . . . He can change a leopard's spots. He can take who you are and make you who you never dreamed you can be. That's what the cross is all about. That's what grace is for. Not to excuse our sin, but to empower us to turn to the One who can erase our sin and transform our hearts.

And just so we're clear, if you come to me a mess, know that I'm a mess too. I won't shame you or condemn you. There's more than enough of that to go around. What I will do is share with you about Jesus and His transforming power. I have no desire to drag anyone through the mud, but I also have no desire to see anyone live out their life in the mud.

So there's Worldvision and there's "Noah". I'm sorry for Worldvision because quite frankly, I don't think they get it. I think they're trying to please whomever cries the loudest. And "Noah", I'm not afraid to say that I'm not thrilled with the fact that it's being touted as one of the most, if not the most, "unbiblical" biblical movie ever. But I'll withhold my opinion until I actually see it for myself.

And well, I guess "I threw my hat into the ring" after all.