Three Keys to Overcoming Sin

“By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.” (Pr 16:6 AV)

There are two items listed by which man can be purged from his sin.  There is one that keeps man from returning to it.  These three, and only these three, are the key to a victorious Christian life.  The saint that tries to live in the light of God’s presence knows sin is his number one enemy.  Sin, as tempted by Satan, the world, and the flesh is the stronghold that keeps us from God’s perfect presence.

We can understand this truth by way of salvation.  The mercy of God is what motivates His grace.  The truth is our acceptance of our need of salvation and the fact Christ paid that price.  Fear is what makes us accountable to God and understands our condemned status before a holy God.  This fear is what leads to repentance from sin.  However, we can also apply this to our daily walk with God.  Leaving out one or two of the three will results in succumbing to sin.  Mercy means that God will never cease to forgive the penitent sinner.  As long as we are sincere, we are promised upon confession of sin, that God will forgive that sin.  Mercy means God will not quit on us.  He will perfect that which concerns me.  Truth is required to understand the why, how, where, what, and when of sin.  Knowing more and more is not a bad thing.  Study of scripture will reveal the error of sin, the motive of sin, and practical solutions to overcome sin.  Fear is the ultimate foundation.  It is our terror of, and respect for, the LORD that will ultimately chase sin away.

We can try all sorts of solutions.  We can try substance abuse to try and drown out our guilt and sorrow over failure.  We can replace on sin with another.  Even without realizing it.  We can even go so far as to permanently end our struggles with sin in our own way.  But that won’t change the formula above.  It is only mercy, truth, and the fear of God that conquers sin.  If we struggle without success, consider which of these are missing.  Are we forgetting the limitless mercy of God?  Are we failing to spend time in the word of God so that we can learn what our sin is, what promises overcome it, or what practical steps can be taken to gain victory?  Or, do we simply lack the fear of God that is to be deep within the heart of man?  We should fear Him somewhat like we fear our earthly father.  We love our earthly father.  He is not our buddy.  He is not our pal.  He is our authority figure who nurtures and rebukes us in love.  This garners respect and fear.  The same us true of our heavenly Father.  We have made Him too common.  We need the old-fashioned fear of God again.  Awe and respect beyond any other.  If we do not, we will enjoy the pleasures of sin without any regard to the Father who will most assuredly deal with it whether we see it or not.

Seeing is Believing

“I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:5-6 AV)

It is one thing to hear the word of God.  Quite another to finally understand it.  This is what Job is meaning here.  When he speaks of his eye seeing God, he did not mean the LORD visibly revealed himself to him.  What Job means here is the LORD gave him full understanding of all that he heard.  This required a blunt conversation with the God whom he was doubting.  Job repents of all the emotions and rash words he spoke while trying to make sense of the situation.  God calls him on the carpet and basically tells Job He is not required to justify what He causes or allows.  This wake-up call is exactly what Job needed.  After losing his family, health, and wealth, one would think the LORD would show a bit more empathy and pity.  This is not what Job needed.  To get Job out of his pit, the LORD had to remind him of who He is, what He can do, and that He has not forgotten nor abandoned him.

This is the difference between growing in knowledge and growing in maturity.  Those that grow in knowledge may be able to rehearse verses or pass an exam.  This does not mean they are maturing.  Those who mature in the LORD are those who will yield to the hard things of God.  Those who repent, turn, and change are those who do not run from the hand of God.  Job could have removed himself.  His wife told him how to do it.  Curse God and die, she said.  Job could have ended his suffering by rejecting the hand of God.  But he didn’t.  He may have mused more than wisdom would dictate.  But who wouldn’t?  He had a lot of emotion to deal with.  He was in a fix.  In his musing, he questions God’s purpose and wisdom.  He does not condemn it.  But he does question it.  Job heard the word of God in chapters thirty-eight through forty-two.  It wasn’t until the LORD demanded of Job and answer and Job realized there was none that he finally saw with his mind’s eye that God is sovereign and He doesn’t need to explain Himself to Job.

We may not enjoy all the LORD brings into our lives, but that doesn’t mean they have no purpose or end in mind.  Job was irreversibly changed and became what the LORD wanted of him because he was willing to yield to the LORD’s hand even though he doubted it and questioned it.  Unless we are willing to endure the hardness that comes with change, we will never be what the LORD wants us to be and ultimately, we will not find the happiness which the LORD has for us.  If we question the LORD’s hand and seek ways to circumvent it, we will only grow more confused and miserable.  Job was able to keep himself quiet and take the rebuke of God’s word even in the midst of horrendous circumstances.  Which, by the way, is the measure of a person.  The depths of adversity which we are able to endure while the LORD seeks change is the measure of our character.  We want to hear.  We just don’t want to see.  That has to change.

A Classroom of One

“The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way: but the folly of fools is deceit.” (Pr 14:8 AV)

Understanding one’s way is quite a feat.  This is not simply knowing what we are doing.  It is knowing why we are doing it.  Understandings our way is to also perceive what we should or should not do before we do or do not do it.  The opposite is to lie to one’s self.  We live in an impulsive generation.  A generation that acts out of mere emotion and desire without much forethought as to why we are doing what we are doing.  Ignorance of, or callousness towards, the consequence’s is ignored.  Another writer understands this to mean the prudent comprehends the way of his calling and knows how to best manage it.  He does so as to honor God the best way he can.  Matthew Barnes writers, “The Hebrew counterpart to the Greek “Know thyself.” “The highest wisdom is for a person to understand his own way. The most extreme folly is self-deceit.”  Solomon is sharing with his children the best way to make life changes is to know yourself very well.

To be a student of one’s self is the beginning of applying the fear of the LORD which results in wisdom.  We are conditioned to live a certain way.  Not that everything, or even most things, are a matter for a Psychologist.  Much of our issues are spiritual ones.  We are conditioned by our experience, our desires, and our training.  We are a product of the world around us.  There is cause to our effect.  Nothing is random and without reason.  We make a choice because we are motivated and guided by something.  Knowing what that is begins the process of growth and change.  There is a great principle here that may escape the mind if we are not careful to consider the depth of this proverb.  The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way BEFORE he pursues that way.  The wise take the time necessary to determine appropriateness, motive, and goal before he chooses one thing over another.  He weighs everything in the balance.  Not just the consequences of what he is about to do.  He also considers the motive behind it. 

America’s Funniest Videos is filled with a library of clips of those who did not understand their way.  If we are struggling with sin, we may want to stop and be a student of self.  We may want to delve into why it is we feel it necessary to pursue a harmful lifestyle.  What is it about that sin that is so attractive?  What are we replacing?  Why is it that we feel we have to do something?  Is it our ego?  Is it our flesh?  Why can’t we say ‘no’ to something we know will bring us harm?  This understanding takes time and commitment.  It takes slowing down the life and taking the time to understand our true nature.  This takes examining not just our actions, but the heart and mind behind those actions.  It requires musing and self-critical thinking.  This takes honesty.  Hence, the second part of the proverb.  Only then can we rid ourselves of that which hinders our walk and replace it with the true Word of God.

That's It!

“Touching the Almighty, we cannot find him out: he is excellent in power, and in judgment, and in plenty of justice: he will not afflict.” (Job 37:23 AV)

Elihu had a lot of things right.  This statement is the last of his dialogue.  He should have said this at the first and be done with it.  The context of this statement is the sovereign acts of God.  He rehearses God’s hand in all that He does and asks Job if he can understand the wonderous works of God.  Then he makes this statement.  It is appropriate that this be the last words of opinion from man.  After reasoning it all out, what Elihu is saying is even though we cannot understand all that God does, how He does it, or even why He does what He does, what God will not do is afflict without cause.  Either it will be a matter of justice; that is because He must judge sin.  Or, a matter of judgment: that is, it is the right thing to do.  Either way, there is a reason for what God causes or allows and that reason is based on His holiness and sovereignty.  The fact we may not be able to understand it does not change the nature and purposes of God.  This is the lesson of Elihu to Job.

Putting ourselves in the place of Job, it would be natural to ask, ‘why’.  If we lost our family, we would naturally ask, ‘why’.  If we lost every material possession through not fault of our own, we would ask ‘why’.  If we were to suffer a serious illness, we would ask ‘why.’  The question suggests God’s nature is not consistent.  To ask ‘why’ once or twice, is seeking wisdom.  But repeatedly asking the question demands an answer.  Elihu is revealing the comforting truth in all this.  God does not allow or cause anything for no purpose at all.  There is always cause.  Job couldn’t see it.  Neither can we.  That does not mean God doesn’t have purpose.  Trusting God without seeing purpose is the problem.  This is where faith comes in.

When we are facing the worst of all circumstances, no matter how deep the water is, we have to believe the truth above.  We have to believe that God does not afflict without a cause.  No matter how hard the experience, we have to believe God has caused or allowed it for a purpose greater than ourselves.  When the LORD allows hard times, we have to believe God is who He claims He is.  When the LORD allows Satan to have a temporary advantage, we have to believe the LORD is still in control and one day, it will all make sense.

Trust In God's Mercy

“He shall pray unto God, and he will be favourable unto him: and he shall see his face with joy: for he will render unto man his righteousness. He looketh upon men, and if any say, I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not; He will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light.  Lo, all these things worketh God oftentimes with man, To bring back his soul from the pit, to be enlightened with the light of the living.” (Job 33:26-30 AV)

This is one of my favorite passages in the entire Bible.  Elihu speaks the absolute truth here.  This truth is most precious, but hard to remember.  Specially when we fail the LORD far more times than we care to dwell upon.  Even though Elihu meant for Job to confess some sin here and end the trial of which he suffered, it is still true.  Job had no sin to confess.  Job was clean of iniquity.  Elihu was trying to encourage an impossible outcome here.  Nonetheless, his words are the basis of our relationship with a God whose mercy fails not.  When we consider the statement of grace above, it must be accepted by faith.  Our nature thinks there are limits with God.  We think that no matter how repentant we might be, there comes a time when God will not forgive.  This is a lie out of hell.  God forgives any and all who genuinely seek His forgiveness in response to the convicting ministry of the Holy Spirit.

If we think back to our fathers, or being a father, there were times when they, or we, purposely stayed mad at our children to teach them a lesson.  This should not be so.  Years ago, serving as a chaplain, I was called to the bedside of a man suffering from a terminal illness.  He lay in his bed in the PCU, waiting for his last breath.  I asked him if he had any children in the area which I could call for him.  He said he had one child, but they were estranged.  I encouraged him to humble himself and call this child.  What a horrible thing to die alone.  He refused.  Then I asked what it was that happened.  It was so minor that it came as such a shock to me.  From my point of view, the fault of the child was not worthy of the permanent wrath of the father.  What startled me even more was the willingness of this father to go off into eternity knowing he was leaving his child in the condition of unresolved reconciliation.  The fact this would torture his child for the rest of his or her life was of no concern.  It was sad all around.

Our heavenly Father works His ministry of grace and mercy oft times with men.  The purpose is stated in the end of the passage.  He grants forgiveness and reconciliation that we might get out of the pit of guilt and despair.  I just read this morning the number one emotion that contributes to addiction is depression.  If we are not forgiven, it will lead to worse and worse sin.  God never intended man to stay is a pit.  He never intended for our lives to be what they are.  He intended for us to live in the light of His life.  He intended for us to have a life more abundant that we can imagine.  The beginning of the life He intended for us starts with getting out of the pit.  Escaping this pit means we need to confess and forsake our sin one more time.  It means trusting in God’s infinite mercy, goodness, and forgiveness.  As we stated above, this is hard.  Specially when we consider just how often we have failed the God who claims His love for us is undying.  Why would a God who is infinitely perfect and holy forgive without measure?  How can we believe this when the only examples in life we have possess limited grace and mercy?  Because we have to trust!  If not, we are doomed to eventually fall into a pit and never come out.  Trust in God’s unending mercy!  He doesn’t want you to stay in that hole you dig for yourself.  Grab to ladder of God’s grace and let Him pull you out.  This is what God works often with the children of men!

Priceless

“But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding? Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living.” (Job 28:12-13 AV)

It is a sad reality that mankind does not understand the value of wisdom.  This is the understanding of Job’s statement.  A statement that is reflected many times in the book of proverbs.  Job then proceeds to compare wisdom with the most valuable materials on earth and finds them wanting.  The last phrase is intended to testify God is the only source of wisdom.  In the light of the advice of his three friends, he intimates they have no wisdom no matter how deep they dig because wisdom only comes from God.  Seeing as they are not asking God for His opinion, their wisdom is not wisdom at all.  The underlined phrase above is our meditation this morning.  There is no way we can fully appreciate the value of wisdom because we fail to apply it more times than we care to think about.  If we really understood the value of it, we would never fail to apply it.

I worked in a plastics factory years ago and they took safety very seriously.  As they should.  Working with hot plastics carries with it the danger of serious burns.  There was also the danger of cuts from cooled plastics or the knives which we worked with.  The rule of the floor was gloves, all the time.  The burn resistant gloves went up to almost the elbow.  The cut resistant gloves were normal sized gloves.  When one is in a hurry, cut resistant gloves were not always worn.  The wisdom assumed time was more valuable then health.  Another rule of thumb was using the e-stop and locking out all power no matter the problem at hand.  Even for a small jam or restringing the twist-tie machine, the entire line had to be stopped and locked out.  I remember one such incident.  It involved our safety coordinator (usually the highest risk takers of all).  He needed to restring the twist-tie wire and didn’t lock out line.  He put his hand in front of a moving line.  He couldn’t get it out of the way fast enough and it caused a great amount of damage.  Wisdom was there but it cost time.  This is our problem.  We underestimate the value of wisdom and therefor, fail to apply it.

If we were to look back and meditate upon all the foolish things we have done, it would dawn on us we didn’t value wisdom at the time.  We valued something else.  Whether it was pleasure or convenience; pride or laziness; willful ignorance or innovation, wisdom cannot be ignored.  If we are honest with ourselves, we can see some of the things we have done and wished we would have done differently.  Why?  Because we see the value of wisdom.  Unfortunately, we see it after the fact.  The consequences of our foolishness coming home to roost and then we finally concede wisdom is a priceless thing.  Being what we are, we go down a road that only reinforces this same pattern.  Wisdom flees because we can only see the value of it after it is applied.  It would be much better if we would simply trust the LORD and His word, apply it to every area of life, and enjoy the absence of unfortunate consequences caused by the lack of appreciation for wisdom.

The Question with only One Response

“What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? and what profit should we have, if we pray unto him?” (Job 21:15 AV)

Job makes this utterance out of a heart of desperation.  His situation resulted in a complete emptiness of all human strength.  Emotionally, physically, and spiritually, he had nothing left.  This, after a life of devotion to the LORD is the motive behind the question.  Job was at a complete loss.  It is totally understandable.  Losing everything he had and stuck with nothing more than a wife who wished him dead and friends who thought him evil, it would have been abnormal for Job to feel as his did.  There are other reasons we can ask this question.  The answer is found in God’s response to Job’s musing.  We will not judge Job here.  We will understand, empathize, and realize we can get this low, too.  We all feel this way at least once in our walk with God.  The question may be a rhetorical one.  Yet, this question is a life changing one whether we intend it to be or not.

There could be other reasons we ask this question.  We could ask this question because we serve in the flesh and not in the spirit.  We become burnt out because the Spirit isn’t the power and influence behind our walk with God.  We could ask this question because our motives or expectations are not correct.  We serve God with certain expectations in mind.  We hope for certain results.  This was Job’s particular struggle.  He expected blessings because of his dedication.   He was expecting to see more blessings in life than anything else.  This is reasonable as long as we ignore trials of faith.  We can become disillusioned because we didn’t expect the resistance which comes as a result of faithfulness.   The adversary will not be happy if we are fully engaged in the will of God.  He certainly was not with Job.  When you consider the leeway which God gave Satan compared with what Satan did, one can easily see the devil inflicted as much damage as he could.

The reason this question is so life changing is that once this question is asked, there can only be two responses.  The more common response is to quit.  This is the vast majority of those who experience extreme stress or disappointment.  The other, which Job chose, is to not entertain what we think we perceive and serve God anyway.  We come to this point and decide it really doesn’t matter how walking with God affects us more than it does the glory of God.  Job clearly did not quit on God.  Otherwise, the LORD would not have a discourse with him in a few chapters forward.  Job asked the question.  But his answer was to continue to plug along and let God be God.  He clearly wanted an answer.  But if no answer was forthcoming, he was going to go on anyway.  Go ahead and ask the question.  When you do, be prepared to serve and walk with God even if there is no answer.  It is more than worth it.