Tuesday, January 07, 2014

When I fail and fall



When I fail and fall

Did you notice I said “when,” not “if?”  Scripture says "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23, NIV)  Great heroes of the Bible fail!  Abraham, the father of the faithful, lied about Sarah’s identity to save his own skin. David, the man who loved God wholeheartedly, saw Bathsheba, another man’s wife, and chose adultery and proxy murder. Peter swore he did not know Jesus when he felt threatened.  Later on, he compromised his Christian conviction about God’s acceptance of all people and exercised prejudice against the Gentile believers.

My theme today is not to provide an excuse for indulging our sinful natures. I write to encourage renewal and hope. The lie persists both inside of us and in the Christian church that failure makes us unacceptable to God, unworthy of His service.  Jesus’ interaction with Peter on the shore of Galilee says otherwise.  Peter was so demoralized by his denial of the Lord that he went back to fishing.  One morning, after a night of fruitless effort, the resurrected Lord came to the beach.  He did not berate Peter.  He restored him – with confrontation, confession, and commission! "After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.” “Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him. Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.” “Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said. A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep." (John 21:15-17, NLT)   Three denials, three affirmations!

When we fail and fall, God offers forgiveness and restoration. His grace is free, but it is not cheap. He will not sweep our sins under the rug, allowing us to just forget about them.  He wants us to learn, to grow, to become stronger. The Lord sent Nathan to confront David.  After rousing the king’s anger over an injustice, the prophet pointed at the king and said, “You are that man!”  The powerful prayer of repentance that David prayed is recorded for us in the 51st Psalm.  He found forgiveness, but the consequences of his sin rippled through his extended family for the next 40 years.

The greater test of a Christian is not that he lives a flawless life but that he chooses to receive God’s grace and press on to become whole again.  Paul might have spent his life after meeting Christ in seclusion, full of regret for his persecution of the Church. Instead, he accepted the forgiveness of the Lord and help of Barnabas and gave us half of our New Testament by the inspiration of the Spirit! I wonder if he was remembering who he had been before Christ’s love when he wrote the great text that declares that ‘there is no condemnation for those who in Christ?  Here is how The Message puts it:  "With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ’s being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death." (Romans 8:1-2, The Message) "Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life." (Romans 8:6, The Message)  "If God himself has taken up residence in your life, you can hardly be thinking more of yourself than of him. Anyone, of course, who has not welcomed this invisible but clearly present God, the Spirit of Christ, won’t know what we’re talking about." (Romans 8:8-9, The Message)

Have you failed? Does some sin haunt you, fill you with regret, make you feel shame?  I am sorry, and I know how you feel.  But, I will not leave you there, letting you soak in self-pity.  
“Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool." (Isaiah 1:18, NIV)
"Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me." (Psalm 51:2-3, NIV)
"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:8-9, NKJV)

Kneel, listen, confess, turn, stand, go!
________________

Jesus, what a Friend for sinners;
Jesus, Lover of my soul.
Friends may fail me, foes assail me,
He, my Savior, makes me whole.

Jesus, what a Strength in weakness;
Let me hide myself in Him.
Tempted, tried, and sometimes failing,
He my Strength, my vict'ry wins.

Hallelujah, what a Savior!
Hallelujah, what a Friend!
Saving, helping, keeping, loving;
He is with me to the end.

John Wilbur Chapman | Rowland Hugh Prichard
© Words: Public Domain

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