Ya know its funny how we can live for Christ for years and grow and learn, even receive degrees based on the bible, and yet His truths continue to come alive. I suppose that there is the truth that there is just so much to know and learn that it will take more than a life time to fully understand it but there is something more spiritual going on there. God's truth truly is living. Not in the sense that it changes, but that it has this conversational quality. It becomes new. God Him self reveals and explains himself new to us as we pursue His truth. And this is not just a standardized schedule of new information that 'we' all need to get. He does so in a personalized way.
I have always been drawn to the concepts of sin, faith, and redemption. Not that others aren't, I've just noticed that I am in a particular way. So, I thought that I had a fairly advanced understanding of these concepts. But just in the past week God has revealed His truth to me in a way that seems so basic and foundational. And that's the amazing part of it; God blows me away in His simplicity. Ya see God is not concerned with complexities and impressing people with advanced intellect. He is more concerned with impact and life change.
So here's what it was...
Last week I was preparing for a teaching and I was going through some of the basics of the gospel message, Romans, John 3:16, etc. As I was wrestling with concepts and allowing God to mold the message I was trying to answer in a particular way the question of "why would God do this?" in reference to the death and resurrection of Jesus. Obviously the answer id because he loved us. But I felt that I need to root that out more and see if God had more there to say than just that He loves us. Not that that is not sufficient, but that there was another aspect to why. I began to meditate on the concepts of faith, sin, and righteousness. What came to me was that sin and faith are the exact opposite of each other.
If sin is saying "God your ways are not what I believe to be what is best for me"
And that sin separates us From God and breaks the relationship we can have with Him
And saying "God I believe your ways are what is best for me" would be the opposite.
Then isn't that faith and doesn't that make faith the opposite of sin?
See, we talk about sin and think about all the individual sins that we have committed. I am beginning to think that the individual sins only apply in this world as far as consequence and intensity. But God only really looks at the amount of faith and the desire to follow Him.
Then as I was continuing to read in Romans later in the week I came across this verse, which I am sure I have read so many times, Romans 14:23b "and everything that does not come from Faith is sin" and that sounds exactly like sin and faith are opposites.
God's amazing that;s all I can say...
