|
It
Is Not A Sin To Stop Sinning
There
are so many tangled in the web of deceit weaved in mainstream
Christianity today. Another problem is the matter of forgiveness.
Many Christians, as well as non-Christians, are under the deception
that they cannot stop sinning until after
they are saved and have Jesus in their life for they do not have the
ability to stop their sinful deeds until then. Many Christians are
led to believe that they cannot stop sinning until they are saved.
We can put this to the test by asking them:
-
Must
a child molester stop molesting children before he can be saved?
-
Must
a rapist stop raping before he can be saved?
-
Must
an adulterer stop committing adultery before he can be saved?
-
Must
a drunkard stop drinking and getting drunk before he is saved?
The
list can go on. Stop and think for a moment. What would be your
answer to those questions? Most people are told they do not have to
stop these sinful acts but to come Jesus “just as they are.” God
will forgive them and help them clean
up their lives later.
In other words, they are saved in
their sins.
Salvation
in the majority of the church system is just:
There
is nothing about stopping
the sins in repentance. Why? Because people are taught they cannot
stop sinning until after
salvation. They learn that there is remission
of sins before there
is any repentance.
It is believed that God will somehow help them clean up their lives
over a period of time after
they are saved. In other
words, they are waiting for God to change their evil desires! How
dreadful. The need for repentance has been terminated. They think
they are fighting this supposed “inbred sin” from Adam. I must
ask, “If a child molester is waiting for God to help him stop
molesting children and he does not stop, who is to blame? Does God
get the blame because the desire to molest children is still there?
Or does one get to blame the “inbred sin” and blame it on their
“nature” supposedly handed down from Adam?”
Furthermore,
how can ministers send confusing and contradictory messages to their
members? For instance, a minister will say that a saved person cannot
continue to live in sin but tell them that the deeply ingrained sin
they are having problems with may be difficult to remove or eliminate
completely, but over a period of time God will help them overcome it,
but in the meantime they are assured they remain saved.
I
remember a sermon where our pastor started out by reading 1 Cor.
6:9-10:
Or don’t you know that the
unrighteous will not inherit God’s Kingdom? Don’t be deceived.
Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor male
prostitutes, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor
drunkards, nor slanderers, nor extortionists, will inherit God’s
Kingdom.
He then told the congregation,
“I commit lust every day.” He said that when he sees a beautiful
woman he ends up with lust in his heart. He then lets the members
know he is actually guilty of adultery. Thus, he was admitting to the
congregation that he commits adultery every day! And he said it with
a smile on his face. I could not believe what I was hearing! I
remember turning to my friend and whispering, “How can he say that
when it said these are the sins that will keep us from inheriting the
kingdom?” What the pastor was doing was trying to relax
the congregation. He went so far as to poke fun by chomping on his
fingernails to demonstrate how
one must feel if they commit one of these sins. He assured us it
happens but not to worry, that even though we should
commit any one of those sins, it does not mean we lose our salvation.
It was not long after that our music minister was charged and jailed
for molesting his child. Is it no wonder with this kind of teaching?
Does anyone not pay attention to the, “Do not be deceived” part
of the passage?
It is not God’s
responsibility to clean us up. People are led to believe that they
must wait for divine
guidance to
miraculously
get them to stop sinning. In the meantime, they live in willful
rebellion, that is, until God does something! Does anyone remember
that we can do all
things through Christ
who strengthens us (Phil. 4:3)?
Paul
A sinner?
In
order to enforce this belief that they cannot stop sinning before and
after salvation is by using the apostle Paul as their example from
Romans chapter 7:7-25, which gives anyone the excuses to habitually
sin because, after all, they are born with this “sin nature” and
Paul had the same nature and the same struggle.
In that chapter Paul simply
contrasts the pre-Christian condition of the sinner. A careful
reading shows this is not about the struggles of a born-again
believer at the time he writes this. If Paul was a wicked sinner,
then we have a wicked sinner preaching the gospel!
There
are several reasons why this is not Paul's present condition:
-
Paul
wrote five letters before the book of Romans. One of those five
letters was to the Saints in Thessalonica which he says, "You
and God are witnesses of how pure,
honest, and blameless
our conduct was among
you who believe. (1 Thess. 2:10). Does this sound like the person in
Romans 7:7-25?
-
It
contradicts everything he taught up to that chapter (Romans 6).
-
In
Romans 7:14 he says that he is "carnal" and "sold
under sin." Is this the condition of Paul and every true born
again believer? It should not be. (John 8:30-36; Romans 6:1-23;
8:1-13).
-
Paul
says he is a wretched man (Romans 7:24). Is this the description of
the man who said he was "made free from sin" (Romans
6:18)?
Sin is a moral issue and not a
substance. Some will ask, “What about where Paul says, ‘So now it
is no more I that do it, but sin which dwells
in me’” (Rom. 7:18)? Sin "dwells" in sinners because
choices are made within us and we choose to cling to it. It is by
consent.
For example, if greed
(a sin) "dwells"
in me, it is because I choose the evil passion and hold on to it. If
unforgiveness (a sin) “dwells” in me, it is because I refuse to
forgive. What is in my heart will eventually manifest itself by my
deeds, by what I do.
Paul
The Chief Of Sinners?
The church system also has a
habit of labeling Paul as the “chief
of sinners” (taken
from 1 Tim. 1:15) to prove that even this apostle could not help but
be a sinner to the core. He is the most wretched sinner, and it
should be no surprise to find ourselves under the same condition.
Imagine what being the “chief of sinners” actually means. Are we
to believe Paul was a wicked man doing wicked deeds and at the same
time going out there preaching the gospel? What kind of gospel was he
preaching? Furthermore, Paul says:
Awake to righteousness, and sin
not. (I Cor. 15:34)
Let everyone who names the name
of the Lord depart from
iniquity. (1 Tim.
2:19)
If Paul is the wicked chief of
sinners, how can he tell people not to sin and to depart from
iniquity? This would make him the biggest hypocrite to ever preach
the gospel!
It is obvious that this is not
Paul’s condition after salvation. He was the chief of sinners
before
his salvation. He could not get rid of the fact how he persecuted the
church of God (1 Corinthians 15.9). He had people killed for their
faith. People cannot use Paul as their example to continue in sin.
Godly
Sorrow Vs Worldly Sorrow
For godly sorrow produces
repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow
of the world produces death. For observe this very thing that you
sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what
clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement
desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved
yourselves to be clear in this matter. (2 Cor. 7:9-11)
“Godly
sorrow” produces repentance leading to salvation proven by his
deeds, whereas, “worldly sorrow” produces death. In other words,
godly sorrow will be proven
by our actions and
worldly sorrow is just feeling
sorry, but no change
in conduct. Our example could be of Peter and Judas. When Peter
denied Jesus, we find later that he had true repentance and did not
give up being faithful. Judas was sorry; he had regret and remorse
but went and hanged himself. He pretended to honor Christ for his own
selfish
Tell
me if this following scenario shows true repentance:
A wife has full proof that her
husband has been cheating on her with another woman. When confronted
with his infidelity he confesses, begs, and pleads with her to
forgive him. He tells her he never meant to cheat on her, it just
happened and he promises never to do it again. She decides to show
mercy and forgive him. However, the husband proceeds to keep cheating
on his wife time after time, and continues begging and pleading with
her to forgive him.
Does
the husband show true repentance? Of course not, but this is the
mindset of professing Christians. They are sorry
and have a willingness
to stop, but continue anyway. This is worldly
sorrow. Do you think
God the Father falls for this type of phony repentance?
The
bible is clear that the sin must stop (in repentance) BEFORE
pardon can be granted. Note the following:
Let the wicked
forsake his way, And
the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, And He
will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly
pardon. (Isa. 55:7)
Now therefore, amend
your ways and your doings,
and obey the voice of the LORD your God; then
the LORD will relent
concerning the doom that He has pronounced against you. (Jer. 26:13)
In
John 8:1-11, Jesus responds to the woman taken in adultery: “Neither
do I condemn thee. Go
and sin no more.”
Jesus showed true mercy, but also notice that true mercy will always
include the counsel that the sinner must mend his ways.
The
message of the bible assumes that man is fully capable of obeying God
and doing what God has said to do, namely repent, to stop the sinful
living and seek His mercy. This message is clear through the whole
bible.
People
will say they cannot stop sinning without Jesus. How do they explain
the people of Nineveh when Jesus was not yet around? Note the
following:
So the people of Nineveh believed
God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to
the least of them. Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he
arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with
sackcloth and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and
published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his
nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste
anything; do not let them eat, or drink water. But let man and beast
be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let everyone
turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands.
Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His
fierce anger, so that we may not perish? Then God saw their works
that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the
disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do
it. (Jonah 3:5-10)
Here
is the preaching of repentance and the manner in which the mercy of
God is dispensed to the people. They did not need some special grace
(some call it Prevenient
grace), to overpower them so they could repent. The prophet told them
the consequences of their actions if they continued in sin, but gave
them the way of escape through repentance (“Let the wicked forsake
his way”).
Waiting
For God To Clean Up Your Life?
It
is interesting that a drug addict can stop his dependence on drugs
without Christ. A drunkard can stop drinking himself drunk without
Christ. A thief can stop stealing without Christ, etc., but
professing Christians have to sit back and wait for God to “clean
up their life,” as though they have no freewill to make the right
choices.
People
addicted to drugs and alcohol who say they cannot resist these
temptations often find new strength to do what they formerly said
they could not do. For example, if the drunkard were told by his
doctor that he only has a few months to live if he keeps drinking,
the drunkard suddenly has been empowered to conquer his bodily
addiction. The sad lesson in all of this is that the non-Christian is
able to teach Christians that when they make successful choices not
to yield to their temptations, he has not only confirmed that one can
cease from his sinful choices, but also the power
of freewill. However,
people who profess to be Christians excuse their sins by saying they
have not yet been delivered from their “sinful nature.” They are
constantly fighting this “mysterious other self,” waiting for God
to deliver them, but of course, this will not happen until they die!
When
someone is told they can and should avoid sinning, false converts
will say something like, “If we can stop sinning, why do we need
Jesus?" Interesting that they would ask such a question when
they do not believe they can stop sinning when they HAVE Jesus!
The
influence of God’s spirit draws us to Christ and conviction of sin,
but God is not going clean up anyone. He wants us to do the cleaning
by forsaking our sinful behavior. Some people may give up certain
sins (while indulging in others) for selfish reasons. However, only
those whose hearts are completely turned to Christ in repentance and
faithfulness are abundantly pardoned from all the sins they ever
committed, no matter how vile, and declared righteous in the eyes of
God and will always remain righteous as long as they are faithfully
following Christ. They will be righteous as he (Jesus) is righteous
(Isa. 55:7; 1 John 3:7).
"Sinless-Perfection”
–The Straw-Man Argument
The
scriptures are bursting with encouragement for us not to sin. But the
blind mindset on the average person today who claims to be a
Christian says, “I cannot help but sin everyday in thought, word,
and deed.” Once you tell them it does not have to be that way, they
snap back with, “Oh? So you do not sin? Are you perfect? Are you
sinless? Are you claiming to be self-righteous?” In other words,
you are accused of “sinless perfection.” None of us should be
defending sin and the excuses for sinful behavior.
How
tragic that we live in a day where good is called evil and evil is
called good. We are to believe that those who live righteously are
considered self-righteous while those who are unrighteous, sinning
every day in thought, word, and deed are in the true faith! In other
words, if you do not sin, you are a hypocrite, but if you do sin, you
are good with God and walking in the faith. What utter insanity to
believe that obeying God is impossible and morally wrong.
How
ironic that people who cry “sinless perfection” are the very same
people who are actually teaching the very thing they condemn! Their
false assumption against those who believe we can live in obedience
to God is that when a person is converted, he will never
ever sin again! After
trying to convince you of this false assumption, they then try to
disprove the claim (which was never made in the first place). They
will quote such passages as Heb. 12:6. They like the “chastise”
passage, for this is
their proof that
one is a child of God if they are chastised because of sins they have
committed or are committing. If you are not chastised, according to
sin defenders, this proves you are not a child of God.
I
had a roommate years ago that when anytime something went wrong in
her life, she thought God was punishing her for some sin in her life.
One night she was doing her dishes and dropped the glass and it broke
into pieces all over the floor. She wondered out loud what sin she
must have done for this incident to have happened. I told her,
“Nothing. You simply dropped the glass!”
Sin
supporters talk about sin, being saved in sin, stay in sin, defend
sin, and then punished for their sins and this cycle of thinking
continues. They hope that you, the reader, will fall for their
assumptions, and then try to convince you that you cannot be anything
but a low down sinner for the rest of your life.
Now,
let us see who is really teaching sinless
perfectionism. By
pronouncing condemnation on us for something we never claimed or
teach, they reprobate themselves. According to them:
-
When
you ‘accept’
Jesus, you are justified (forgiven).
-
There
was this magnificent
transfer that took
place, meaning, Christ becomes your perfection because his obedience
was transferred
to you by faith.
-
Because
of number 1 and 2, your past,
present, AND future
sins are all covered
once and for all.
-
Because
Jesus’ perfect obedience (righteousness) is imputed to you, God is
now blind
to your conduct since the blood
of Christ makes it
impossible for God to see you who
sins.
It
is interesting that Christ’s righteousness (“his obedience
imputed to you,” which the bible does not teach) was magically
transferred
to you once you trusted in him, as they teach. This means you are now
sinless.
How? Because all your past
sins, even future sins
you have not yet committed, are all forgiven. God does not see you,
He sees Jesus, so they claim!
So
there we have it. No matter what vile sins they may commit, because
of Jesus, they are sinless even though they still sin. However,
all that aside, there are a couple of problems for those accusing one
of sinless perfection
that they must face:
Problem
1. If the above is true (God blind to your sinful conduct since you
accepted Christ), there is no need for chastisement!
Why even quote the
Hebrew passage? Pray
tell, how can anyone be chastised over sins that the blood was
supposed to cover
and God became morally blind to any kind of sinful conduct upon
accepting His Son, even afterward? If all our future
sins are automatically forgiven, what purpose would there be in any
type of correction since God does not see us anymore, just Jesus?
Remember? Therefore, how can they accuse those who encourage
righteous living of “sinless
perfection” since
Christ is their substitute?
Does their teaching not equate to sinless perfection?
These
people teach that we cannot help but sin each day in thought, word,
and deed. They even go so far to say that temptation
is a sin to make sure
we cannot squeeze out of sinning. What they are in fact telling us is
that sinning is proof that we are saved and in the faith! How
ludicrous!
Did
you know Jesus faced temptation? If temptation is a sin, then Jesus
was a sinner as well. Also, note that if Jesus were God, then it
would have been impossible
for him to sin, because God cannot sin nor can God be tempted by
evil. This would also mean that Jesus actually had no victory
over sin for there really would have been no challenge for him to be
obedient, which leaves such passages as Hebrews 4:15 meaningless
along with his being tempted in the wilderness.
This
kind of gospel is nothing but a hoax to deceive the masses into
believing that it is impossible to stop sinning. Apparently Jesus’
words mean nothing when he says, “Go and sin no more” (John 5:14;
8:11).
Let
us clear some things up. Those who believe we can live righteous
lives as God commands have never said:
-
That
a Christian has never sinned in his entire lifetime.
-
That
a Christian does not have the ability to sin now or in the future.
-
And
that once a person is converted he will be forced not to sin.
The scriptural fact is that a
person cannot have salvation without repentance, which is forsaking
all sins. (2 Cor. 7:10-11)
But we must also understand
that it’s not just a matter of telling someone about forsaking sin
or repent of their sins. There is a reason
for it. I believe many do not forsake sin because they do not have an
intelligent understanding of God’s plan concerning the gospel of
His kingdom, the “Gospel of the Kingdom of God,” which is a
necessary requisite for repentance and forgiveness. Jesus said:
If they were to perceive and
understand [the Gospel about the Kingdom, Matt. 13:19], they would
repent and be forgiven (Mark 4:11-12).
It is this gospel that is
vital to salvation that Jesus says when anyone hears the Gospel about
the Kingdom:
…the Devil comes and snatches
away what has been sown in his heart so that he may not believe it
and be saved (Luke 8:12).
So once we have an
understanding concerning the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, in his
heart, that Christian would not want to sin against God as he has
done in the past, for:
No one who abides in him [Jesus]
keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or
known him. (1 John 3:6)
We can know who is a child of
God and a child of the devil:
It is clear who are the children
of God and who are the children of the devil by this—anyone who
does not act righteously or love his brother is not of God. (1 John
3:10)
IF
a child of God should give into temptation and act upon it (sin),
God’s word tells us we have an Advocate with the Father (1 John
2:1). Notice it says “IF.” This means that sinning is not a
foregone conclusion in John’s mind, nor was it with Jesus as well.
Jesus says, “Go and sin no more” (John 5:14; 8:11). Paul says,
“Awake to righteousness and sin not” (1 Cor. 15:34; Eph. 4:26).
Problem
2. Nowhere is Jesus said to be our proxy. Where it concerns
righteousness, we are told not
to be deceived in
this matter:
Little children, let no man
deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he
[Jesus] is righteous. (1 John 3:7)
There
is no such proxy. There was no magical
transfer of moral
conduct that took place.
The
part of the gospel preached today is missing the element of
repentance, along with preaching concerning the Gospel of the Kingdom
of God. Jesus preached to repent
and believe the
gospel (Mark
1:15) because unless
one repents, he will perish
(Luke 13:3).
Some
would go so far to say that repentance is not part of the gospel!
Imagine going against the words of Jesus.
So
what does repentance mean? Repentance is not an apology
for being sinful or being born with a sinful
nature as falsely
taught. It is a “change of mindset and life-direction,”
which is
a total change in inclinations and desires, which
translates into a total
change of conduct. As
stated above, the “Gospel of the Kingdom of God” is a necessary
requisite for repentance and forgiveness. When we believe the gospel
Jesus preached concerning the Kingdom of God and follow his example
by obeying him, we bear
the fruit of repentance (Matt.
3:8).
The
“good news” is that our sins can be forgiven, and be assured the
promise to live a life of immortality in the kingdom to come. This
should motivate us to love God with all our hearts, not because we
have to, but because of His kindness and forbearance and patience,
which leads us to repentance (Rom. 2:4). It has nothing to do with
teaching “sinless perfectionism,” but only that we can obey God
from the heart.
It
is possible to be righteous, set apart, holy, and blameless before
God. Nevertheless, the charge of being “self-righteous” still
echoes condemnation for those who encourage to do what is right.
I
imagine Job was self-righteous since he was blameless (Job 1:8).
Elizabeth and Zachariah were probably self-righteous hypocrites
because they carefully observed all the LORD’s decrees blamelessly
(Luke 1:6). Moses was said to be righteous along with Abel,
Zacharias, Cornelius, and a host of many who were blameless before
God. Nevertheless, according to the “I sin every day in thought,
word, and deed” supporters, they must defend their sinful conduct
and malign the character of righteous people.
I
always ask the sin supporters (for lack of a better term), “What
sin in your life do you find impossible to stop? What temptation is
there that is impossible to avoid” (1 Cor. 10:13)? They can never
answer the question. I have heard some people call things sin that
are not sins! For instance, I had one person tell me that if he takes
long showers, it is a sin! Therefore, if I take long showers, I am
sinning! He was serious! Can you imagine you perish for all eternity
because you took long showers? How absurd!
The
desperation of sin supporters does not know when to stop. I had
someone, who does not know me personally, write to me and say:
Have you read James 4:17? Yes,
Paul was a sinner saved by grace. The sharp disagreement that he had
with Barnabas would qualify as dissension, which is sin. Do you have
any evil desires? Do you always do the good that you ought to do? Do
you take care of orphans and widows? Do you ever put anything before
God? Do you ever cause discord? Are you ever envious? Do you ever
overeat? Do you ever sin in your anger? Do you ever have malice in
your heart? I can name hundreds of things you fail to do every day.
You don't have a chance. Your works will not save you because there
are many things we are commanded to do and you fail to do. You are a
hypocrite!
Do
you see the desperation in order to support sin? Also, notice that
whenever we hear, “Paul was a sinner saved by grace,” what sin
supporters truly mean is that, “Paul
was still
a sinner though he was saved by grace.” Furthermore,
using James 4:17 is another verse wrenched from its context to try to
prove we cannot help but sin every day. It is simply another attempt
to prove we are constantly under condemnation and stand hopelessly
doomed to a life of sinning. It is a no win situation. The verse
actually says:
Therefore to him that knoweth to
do good, and doeth it not, to him it is a sin.
The
BBE translate it as:
The man who has knowledge of how
to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.
If
we read the whole chapter and read it in its context,
we see James is dealing with sinning against the
light, "...to
him that KNOWETH
..." James, as with the other writers of the New Testament,
writes to keep us from falling back into sin. From cover to cover in
the bible, God is against sin and there are eternal consequences for
those who would want to remain in rebellion against God. Sinning is
not a condition for salvation. It is genuine repentance, forsaking
all sin, upon believing the Gospel that is a condition for
salvation.
Along
with twisting James 4:17, to prove people sin every day, is to bring
up the red herring about feeding the orphans or helping the homeless
or not getting angry, etc.. The fact is, by their own definition,
Jesus Himself would have been a sinner! Jesus would have to be
accused with “sins of
omission.” When
Jesus walked this earth, did He heal everyone? Did Jesus clothe every
person who was naked? Did Jesus take care of all the orphans? Jesus
got angry. Did he sin in his anger when he blasted the Scribes and
Pharisees (Matt 23)? According to the standards of sin supporters,
Jesus himself would have failed miserably and a sinner like the rest
of professing
Christians who
maintain sin in their life, whether real or imagined.
Also,
Paul's disagreement with Barnabas was not a sin. It is amazing what
people will do to justify their own sins by assuming Paul sinned
here. He was not a daily sinner at all after conversion and taught
against sin.
Two
Different Types of Perfection
Another
argument from sin supporters is to cry, “Nobody is perfect, even
Paul said he was not perfect.” They use Phil. 3:12 against him by
quoting:
I have not yet reached my goal,
and I am not perfect.
Sin
supporters think this has to do with moral
perfection. Paul is
not giving excuses that he was not yet free from sin and therefore
give the idea that it is impossible to reach moral
perfection. Paul, as a
converted man, said he lived with a good and pure conscience that was
void of offense (Acts 23:1; Acts 24:16; 2 Tim. 1:3). Either he was
delusional or telling the truth.
Paul
was talking about being free from physical
corruption. This can
clearly be understood if one looks at the context
(there is that annoying word again). The verse right before it says,
“If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead”
(v.11). Like Paul, no one attains physical
perfection until they
get a glorified body.
Sadly,
it is unfortunate that sin supporters do not realize that it is not
impossible to have moral
perfection, for later
Paul says, “Let us therefore, as
many as are perfect,
think this way” (v. 15).
All
Sins Equal?
Sin
is sin, but not all sin is of the same degree. It was the Stoic
philosophers who held that all sins were equal but Jesus shows us
that there is a difference, i.e., there are sins that are greater
than others. Jesus said the one who handed him over has the “greater
sin” (John 19:11).
Even in the Hebrew scriptures, in Ezekiel 8, we see “great
abominations,” to “greater abominations.”
There
definitely are sins that will not let the person inherit God’s
kingdom in the age to come (see Mark 3:29; 1 Cor. 6:910; Eph, 5:5-6;
Gal 5:19-21; Jude 7; Rev. 21:8). However, if a person should have a
lapse of unthankfulness, worry, or lack of humbleness, this does mean
he or she is eternally damned should they, unfortunately, die before
they repent. However, the continuing in such behavior can become
habitual over time and will consume the person to the point that he
becomes a slave to sin (by habit). This is not good.
Sin
supporters are so desperate to defend sin so badly that they will
toss a number of scriptures to prove that we cannot help but sin
every minute of the day. To them, there is no such thing as
“righteous people” who are considered righteous when the
scriptures are loaded with them. Even Jesus talks about “your
righteousness,” and Paul as well (Matt. 5:20; 2 Cor. 9:10). Sin
supporters are so obsessed with defending sin that as a last ditch
effort they will throw in, “Our righteousness is as filthy rags.”
They appeal to Isa. 64:6:
But we are all as an unclean
thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do
fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us
away.
Many
sinners are capable of doing good deeds, yet still engaged in acts of
wickedness. But what about the saints? What about those who have
truly repented and are transformed, i.e., those who have forsaken
their sins and walk in a loving relationship with God the Father and
His Son? When Jesus was walking on this earth doing the Father’s
will, would the Father have actually turned to His Son and say, “You
are such a mess! You are a disgusting stench in my nostrils!”
Nevertheless, all sin supporters believe that no matter what good we
do, even when we give our very best, our righteousness is nothing but
stinking rags. Do you treat your children that way when they do their
best to please you because they love you? How can a child of God
really think they are loved when all the Father does is remind them
that no matter what good they do, it is a stench in His nostrils?
What motivation would there be to keep trying to please the Father?
God
is very well pleased and smiles on us when we walk in righteousness.
We are told:
And to her was granted that she
should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white. For the fine linen
is the righteousness of the saints (Rev. 19:8)
What
is the “fine linen”? It is the righteousness of the saints.
Notice they are not filthy rags.
Those
steeped in the original sin doctrine use the passage of Isa. 64:6 to
support its teaching by uprooting the verse from its surrounding and
historical context. There is a saying that, "a text taken out of
context is a pretext."
Isaiah
simply summed up how far the covenant people had sunk into deep
idolatry, worshipping other gods and who had the illusion of
righteousness with their "holier than thou" attitude, even
while burning incense on strange altars (Isa. 65:3-5). They had
fallen into gross sins. Therefore, because of their apostasy, all
their righteous deeds were considered as filthy rags. This has
nothing to do with mankind in general. In fact, if we read the
preceding verse (5), Isaiah teaches the exact opposite of the common
interpretation of “filthy rags.”
You meet him who rejoices in
doing righteousness, who
remembers You in Your ways. Behold, You were angry. When we keep
sinning all the time, would we be saved?
God
does not consider genuine works of righteousness as filthy rags. God
meets with those who walk in His ways.
|