A GOD-LIVED LIFE: Be Honest

INTRODUCTORY NOTE

          We are in the middle of a series of sermons with a Stewardship emphasis. Stewardship, ultimately, is about our entire life. We use what God gives us to his glory and for the good of our neighbor. Over the next few months, we will consider the various ways we use the gifts God gives us as is God-pleasing.

          Each month, I will be sending out an email to further encourage what we pondered on the first Sunday of that month. In this way, the thoughts do not perish by that Sunday evening, but each one can give intentional consideration how he or she may put into practice what was proclaimed as a God-pleasing way to serve him.
          For the month of December, we continue to consider what it means to have A Life of Hospitality.

A LIFE OF HOSPITALITY

Week #3      Be honest, even about your sins

            All the people we meet have a past.  Some pasts are more sordid than others, but all people have regrets.  If someone new comes to church, you can be sure that he is a sinner.  Everyone is.  Some are offended that we would confess our sins in church in such strong terms.  (The terms may not seem strong to you because they are familiar, but they are rather blunt to someone who has never considered their sinful condition that deeply.)

            Consider what we confess.  We are by nature sinful.  We did not learn to sin; it comes out of us naturally.  It harbors in our hearts and minds.  We are not sinners because we do sinful things; we do sinful things because we are sinners.  We don’t like it, but we acknowledge that we are sinners.  We manifest that in our thoughts, words, and actions.  We acknowledge that we have done evil.  Yes, we call our sins evil.  We don’t sugarcoat that.  God doesn’t, so why would we?  And we have failed to do good.  We have been lazy, negligent, and even rebellious.  We don’t love our neighbor as we ought.  Again, we are not proud of it; but we admit it. 

            There is relief in standing before God with this kind of honesty.  We don’t have to invent virtues we don’t have.  We don’t have to pretend to be what we are not.  We know what we are.  Our relief is all the greater because we come before God in the confidence that he is ever-merciful.  We know that, for the sake of Jesus, he forgives our sins.

            People who are new to the Christian faith (and even some who have been in Christian churches) might be intimidated because they think their checkered past makes them ineligible to be real Christians.  This is where our honesty can grant them the relief we know.  We can talk freely about our sins, our struggles, our weaknesses, and the temptations that plague us.  Granted, some sins might be a little more sensitive than others.  We don’t have to air out all our dirty laundry.  But we can admit that we still struggle.  We still fail.  We admit that before God.  We can even admit that to others.  This will erase the idea that you have to be perfect to be a Christian.

            But then we also get to confess the truth: It is not our morals or behavior that save us.  Jesus saves us.  It is not our righteousness that gains God’s favor; God’s favor grants us Jesus’ righteousness.  We strive to live as godly people, but that is not where our confidence is.  It is with Jesus, who saves sinners. 

            Jesus came for real sinners, not for phony ones.  We don’t believe in fake promises; we trust in real ones.  The Christian faith allows us to be honest—before God, with ourselves, and with others.