Responding to Sin – by Pastor Chandler

  Posted on April 26, 2016  by   No comments

Recently I laid my son in his bed around 1p.m. This happens every afternoon. He knows the routine. Lie down and take nap. Get up and play for the rest of the afternoon. As I left the room, I looked at Salem and said, “Please stay in your bed, okay?” He smiled and responded, “Okay.” I continued on with my to-do list. It wasn’t long before I heard the sound of little toddler feet padding on the floor above. I could hear Salem rooting through his toy box and pulling out some of his toys. I waited a moment or two and then quietly headed up the stairs.

As I snuck up the stairs, I was found out. I heard those little toddler feet run across the floor, and, with a leap, my son landed into his bed. When I reached his door I quietly pushed it open. He had already covered up and was hiding his face under his blankie. I can remember pulling the same trick when I was little. Obviously my son wanted me to think, “Hm… I must have been hearing things, because he is in his bed sleeping. He’s been here the whole time.”

IT’S OUR NATURE

It must be human nature to run when we’ve done something wrong. I never taught my son to hide when he disobeyed; however, this was his natural response. It’s the same response we have. Our nature tells us, “Run. Hide. Don’t show your face,” when we are in the wrong.

Consider the first sin of man. After being convinced to eat of the fruit, Genesis tells us Adam and Eve’s response to their wrong doing:

“Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden” (Genesis 3:7-8 ESV).

Adam and Eve covered up with figs. My son covered up under in his blanket. Then, Adam and Eve, upon hearing the footsteps of the Lord, ran and hid. When I approached my son’s room he heard me. So he ran and leapt into his bed and hid his face.

WE RUN AND HIDE

Let’s explore this just a little more.

Sin makes us cover up and/or run away. First, what are ways that we cover up when we are in sin? Adam and Eve sewed fig leaves. We cover with other things. We fake holiness. At church, we act like we have it all together. In front of brothers and sisters we pretend that life in Christ is all good. There’s nothing creating a wedge in our relationship with God. We cover up.

Others of us skip to step two when we sin, run. We run away from the holiness of God. Going to church on Sunday morning is no longer an option for us. If we come to church we might have to confess what’s truly going on. So we run somewhere else on Sunday mornings. Personal devotions go out the window because, when we look in the Scriptures, our transgressions are revealed. We’re caught red handed. Fellowship and community cease because we couldn’t possibly share the issue with others. We are afraid we’ll be judged and condemned. We cover up and we run.

THE PROPER RESPONSE TO SIN

What’s a proper response to sin? Simply put, a proper response to sin is the opposite of how Adam and Eve responded.

—Simply put, a proper response to sin is the opposite of how Adam and Eve responded.—

First, we must expose (confess) our sin. We don’t cover up. We confess that we have wronged God and others. We confess that we have fallen short of God’s holy standard. We confess we need forgiveness. Jesus made a way for sinners to know God, but to come to God there must be confession that Christ is needed (Rom. 10:9). J. C. Ryle said, “Christ is never fully valued, until sin is clearly seen.” 

Secondly, we need to repent instead of run. Repentance is turning around. It’s leaving the hiding place of sin. Our repentance, however, isn’t a guarantee that we can do better. Yes, we should strive for holiness, but the repentance we need is a turning around into Christ. The repentance we need is to stop running away from God and run into Jesus. Acts 11:18 put it this way: “When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.” The only repentance that leads to life is repentance that confesses I cannot but Jesus Christ has.

Let’s not let sin drive us away from God. Sin should drive us to the feet of Jesus where all our guilt and shame is wiped away. Then, in His sufficient forgiveness, there is no reason to hide from God; there is no reason to run from His presence.

In Christ,

Pastor Chandler